bizbiz

saturday, april 1, 2006: euclid looking on at highrise(s): <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4682.jpg"> these doors are only open during construction hours: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4683.jpg"> lower euclid in action on a saturday morning: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4681.jpg"> i love shiny parking garages: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4685.jpg"> neighborhood emerging: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4691.jpg"> take me down e. 6th st: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4697.jpg"> 515 lacks retail but offers splendid views: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4701.jpg"> splendid views: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4703.jpg"> e. 6th st. from above: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4720.jpg"> i like this: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4714.jpg"> is that a terminal tower shadow i see cast upon the key tower?: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4706.jpg"> i love euclid avenue: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_4677.jpg">

I also agree that the biggest project in Cleveland (and Ohio) is the Heart Center at the Cleveland Clinic. It's a major construction site and this is going to be one of those structures that will stand out regardless of height. May 2005, we see the beginning of a major project unfolding: <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/Downtown%20Cleveland/IMG_2362.jpg"> <img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/Downtown%20Cleveland/IMG_2360.jpg">

The 185th Street Festival had beautiful weather in 2005, so I wouldn't blame it on the rain. However, the streets were less crowded last year than in the past. I doubt they'll scrap the whole thing - maybe just cut down the length or size of it.

Akron/Summit County is very well a part of Cleveland (and vice versa) for many reasons: 1. Akron shares the same media market as Cleveland (as mentioned above) 2. Route 8 is a very developed road/freeway between Cleveland and Akron - normally you have access points between two major cities, but everything is all as one on Route 8. 3. CVNP is the major roadblock between Cleveland and Akron. Both city's parent county's share this park and it's a well known fact that it can not be developed on since it's an almost fully protected park - meaning that you will see a lot of nature between the two cities. But that's quickly dissapearing as the west/east sides of the CVNP are developed, making Akron and Cleveland flow together even more seemlessly (e.g. Twinsburg, Macedonia, Broadview Heights, and Brecksville). 4. Akron Aero's / Cleveland Indian's There are a lot of things that can be said about Akron that makes it independent from Cleveland (e.g. each has a zoo, each has a downtown, each has a university, each has a major airport), but I personally think that the two city's complement each other more than not. If only the two cities worked together more often to create a closer connection, then we'd truly see the region prosper. We'll see what happens with future growth on I-77. Widened lanes, future mass development near Route 82, and a revised interchange for I-271 would all help the two cities connect closer together. It doesn't surprise me that Route 8 is being upgraded - this shows how many people travel back and forth between (Cleveland) Cuyahoga and (Akron) Summit County. Elsewhere in Ohio.. Cincinnati and Dayton are also comparable - two bigger cities with a close enough proximity to still be intertwined as one.

Cleveland: Tremont Artwalk Hessler Street Fest (near CWRU/University Circle) West 6th St. from 12am-2:30am on Friday/Saturday nights Cleveland Heights: Coventry Street Market (several times a year, mostly during the summertime)

Donnybrook, which is being shown at this years Cleveland International Film Festival was filmed entirely in Cleveland. Most of the film takes place on the east side and is centered around the Beachland Ballroom/Collinwood area.

Hello, does anybody know about this new road and/or bridge that is being constructed all along the Ohio Canal in Valley View? So far, they have placed foundations for small bridges over several spots near Granger (OH-17), Old Granger, and Warner Road. From the looks of it, this will not be wide enough for more than 1 lane of traffic and it runs near the towpath, so perhaps its part of their new masterplan!??

I believe the displacement to Slavic Village is 100% correct, but the 2 homicides at Fleet and E. 55th are 2 different murders and neither is related to the "goonies gang". Both were people shot in the head and found in the street on 2 separate occasions. The "goonies" murder was an old lady who fell after being mugged and she died later in the hospital from internal injuries.

That's all entirely possible, but you can't forget that India and China are growing very quickly and they also use oil. Whether our country is willing to adapt to higher gas prices won't necessarily solve the problem if other countries don't. Yes, there are some people who could easily afford gasoline at 100 dollars a gallon. But what if demand exceeds supply and you have an oil shortage? That means that gas stations shut down and there is NO gasoline, period. At that point, a black market would most likely form until the shortage goes away. The whole scenario is not pretty and entirely possible. Like you said, gasoline isn't some sort of life threatening expense for most people, so increases in the price of gas will curb some but not nearly all. It's when oil either becomes scarce and/or when demand exceeds supply that the real problems begin.

The first thing that comes to mind in this discussion is gasoline/oil. I definately think it will be the key to reversing the trend. As oil demand rises while oil supply simultaneously decreases, we may just see exurbs collapse - whether slowly or all at once is still unknown. The typical scenario is that oil will not run out completely, but the supply will not be nearly enough for USA/China/India/etc. and so the demand will be too high causing shortages and a huge price increase. Prices will spike way up (probably not 4 dollars a gallon, but perhaps 20 dollars a gallon!), thus preventing most people in the exurbs from using their vehicle anymore, ultimately rendering it useless. Public Transportation is non-existent in the exurbs and taxi services are already very difficult to use when living out in the rural areas. Sure, public transportation can be built and oil/gasoline alternatives can be developed and implemented - but it all takes time, sometimes a LONG time. If oil peaks before the future of transportation is successfully embedded into society, we will most likely all lose, but the exurbs suffering will be far greater. Think about how society would function if cars were suddenly no longer to our avail! Just imagine the immediate impact of a short-term economical collapse. Fortunately, we're seeing more and more people moving to the city and giving up the car for public transportation, walking, and/or biking. Those people set the pace for the future imo.

Excellent analysis done by Tom Bier and yourself. It's actually depressing to think about how this sort of thing happens everyday in our major urban cores.

E Comparing Arlington (which I am VERY familiar with) to OTR already loses your credibility, in all honesty (and yes, Arlington isn't as bad as it used to be). Just because "ColDayMan" says so does not mean I am correct. It is my opinion and I have traveled enough in this state (particularly "bad" areas) to create it. And I have been to nearly all the areas you mentioned as the "worst" parts of NE Ohio and (IN MY OPINION - read that again and again) they are not nearly as bad as DeSoto Bass in Dayton or OTR/West End/Pendleton in Cincinnati. They are more comparable to sections of East Price Hill, Avondale, and Evanston in Cincinnati. Again, that is "ColdDayMan's opinion." We all have them. Whoopdy do. Fine.. but you ranted earlier about how OTR *is* the worst ghetto in Ohio, telling other users that it's worse than the ones they mentioned. You said: "I just said its Ohio most "dangerous ghetto" neighborhood" and you also wrote: "But Cleveland's "ghettos" are NOT more "dangerous feeling" or whatever than Cincinnati's." To me, that is not an opinion, but rather your attempt to discredit someone else's opinion by stating an untrue fact. Where is there any sort of opinion in these statements you made?? If you were merely offering an opinion, "I think", "I feel", "I believe", or "In my opinion" should have preceded the statement that OTR is indeed the worst ghetto in Ohio.

A 2 Da K, the areas near CVNP I am referring to are: W. Tallmadge Avenue @ N. Main St. W. Cuyahoga Falls Avenue, west of N. Main St. Cuyahoga St. @ W. Glenwood Frederick Avenue over to W. Carpenter is known as "prostitute's block"

Hello A 2 Da K, I don't feel scared when in Akron as much as I used to be either. The part of Arlington that I am referring to (since it's a very long street) is North Arlington and E. Market St (RT. 18) just east of RT 8. The streets north of RT. 18, west of N. Arlington, such as Cotter, Upson, Hazel, and N. Adams are where it's statistically worst. 14 convicted sex predators living in a 4 block radius. The biggest crackhouse in many years was recently located here, with the arrest of at least 14 dealers in one bust. Still, Cleveland and the other major Ohio cities have worse, but this definately is one of Akron's worst parts.

Over The Rhine is not the worst ghetto in Ohio because ColdDayMan says so. But we all knew that.. Anyways, I have been to every major city in Ohio and I think that they all have their own little ghetto's - some big, some small. There really isn't a way to say which ghetto's in Ohio are worst unless you have data showing homicide and crime stats for each individual neighborhood or district - which I assume nobody can provide. I would say that OTR in Cincy is no worse than Arlington in Akron - both are situated near the downtown area, without full seclusion - they blend right into areas of the city that aren't so bad. Getting back to Cleveland, which this thread is about: As a longtime social worker/taxi driver/urban developer, I have seen and been up and down just about every street in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. I also work with a lot of people who also work AND live in the toughest parts of Cleveland. Here's what I think are the worst "ghetto's" or parts of Cleveland and NE Ohio. By all means, this is not a guide to the ghetto's of Cleveland and many more parts of the city are troubled than the ones I have listed below. 1. Garden Valley - This is definately the most secluded and scariest place in Cleveland that I know of. It's a combination of public housing (CMHA), mixed-income, boarding houses, and so forth. It's situated in a parklike setting off of Kinsman Road near E. 79th St. Surrounded by vacant and abandoned warehouses on Bessemer and E. 79th, right there near the infamous "Forgotten Triangle", the railroad tracks, and of course a very large # of boarded up crackhouses, this is the home of the "Garden Valley Boys", one of the most established gangs in Cleveland. If you think the other "ghetto's" of Cleveland are bad or if you think you've seen it all, go hang out in Garden Valley for 5 minutes. It's totally secluded and even once you leave these projects, you are not much safer, as Kinsman is the only main road nearby - and we all know that Kinsman doesn't have any "good" parts. On top of all of this, Garden Valley is not a typical street grid system, but rather a gigantic circle that offers only an entrance and an exit - as opposed to street grids that allow police for quicker access. I believe it's the biggest urban renewal project in state history. The site occupies 130 acres but only has 650 units built on it, most in 3-4 story low-rises, leaving a lot of seclusion from an already secluded part of the city. From Neighborhoodlink: "Between 1960 and 1990, the area's population fell from over 20,000 to approximately 7,500. The proportion of African-American residents rose from 53% in 1950 to 97% in 1980. The neighborhood has one of the lowest average household incomes in the City. Widespread deterioration, demolition and illegal dumping caused the area bounded by Kinsman Road, Woodhill Road and Woodland Avenue to become known as the "Forgotten Triangle." 2. Storer Avenue - This steet stretches from Fulton Avenue to West 65th St. on the near west side of Cleveland - and I consider the entire street to be a "ghetto". Not nearly as many boarded up crackhouses as you'll find on the eastside, but this is where I have seen a number of street fights, wild dogs casually roaming, grafitti on houses and cars, drug deals in broad daylight, and so on. I encourage someone who thinks the west side is a nice area to go drive to the West 50th St. and Storer Avenue quad and see how much street activity goes on in this VERY dense neighborhood known as the crossroads of the Stockyards and Clark-Fulton neighborhoods. There is no public housing in this part of Cleveland, and the majority of homes in these 2 neighborhoods are low-income multi-tenant rentals. I know at least 5 industrial sites on West 65th, West 63rd, and Denison that have gone to the extent of now having guard dogs on duty 24 hours a day. Not just little poochy's, but real "guard dogs". I have yet to see this sort of thing anywhere else in Cleveland or Ohio for that matter. Take a drive down West 63rd St. between Storer and Clark, tell me what you see.. Some of my friends at PURE will refuse to represent a property in this part of Cleveland or anything south of Lorain (SoLo). 3. The eastside of Cleveland has a continuous stretch of rough areas, but to break it down into blocks or central points, I think the following are worst: a. Buckeye between E. 116 and E. 130. Please don't let the presence of Shaker Square around the corner make you think this is a safe area. Many, many, many boarded up crackhouses can be found in this part of Cleveland. b. Union/Kinsman intersection - Just a lot of abandoned properties and boarded up crackhouses. 30-40 sex predators in a 10 block radius. c. E. 93rd to E. 130th between Harvard and Miles. A lot of industrial/boarding houses/residential all mixed up. It can get very nasty at E. 130th and Harvard at nighttime. d. Fleet and E. 55th is the most recent area to take a turn for the worse. Highest ratio of convicted sex predators living in this part of the city. 2 murders in 2006 at this quad already. e. Broadway @ Pershing - Every other house is boarded up. I don't even know how many people are actually living here anymore. This is a very troubled area right next to I-77. I also think that the nearby E. 65th St. is one of the worst residential streets in all of Cleveland - I am referring to the segment of E. 65th St. between Union going north until it dead ends near the I-490 off-ramp. (This is the "backyard" of the Garden Valley Estates) f. Eddy Road where it meets Hayman near Superior/Euclid. This intertwining of Cleveland/East Cleveland worries me. Probably the worst part of Cleveland north of University Circle. g. Noble/Taylor/Euclid/Terrace - This plateau'd 4 street "block" in East Cleveland can be seen from miles away, just locate the very tall Crystal Tower and you're there. Very rough area, full of boarding houses and the center of East Cleveland's problems. h. Anything between Superior and St. Claire in the low 100's. With that said, I don't think Hough, Fairfax, or some of the other aforementioned neighborhoods in Cleveland are nearly as bad. I just don't feel scared, threatened, or at risk when on foot in these neighborhoods, and I feel completely safe when in my car - day or night. I have done so many pickups for clients with my business in the denser parts of the eastside and Fairfax is not as bad as people make it out to be. However, I would not get out of my car under ANY condition in Garden Valley or on Storer Avenue, but that's just my personal opinion. Other parts of NE Ohio that are bothersome: Lorain - E. 28th St. near the factories/Ford plants and the segments near the "downtown" area. Akron - Aforementioned Arlington, as well as the secluded boarding houses in the SE quadrant of Rt. 8 and I-77/76 near Cole/Arlington. Druid Walk and Eva Walk are like the nastiest thing I know of in Akron. It looks like a prison that lets its tenants go outside. It's not just "scary" looking, it IS scary! I have a friend who lives nearby and we have seen some nasty things happen here. Nobody seems to know about it because nobody wants to go into that area of Akron. I guess that makes sense.. Also, I would be careful near I-77 @ Copley Rd. That area gets sketchy. Same with Vernon Odom (V. Odom) @ I-77, and Diagonal @ I-77. The Firestone area is a bit rough, so is the northern tip of Akron near Cuyahoga Falls and the CVNP. Barberton - There are some parts of this city (a suburb of the Akron area) that really bother me. I dated a lady in Barberton and the first time I was in the city, I was shocked at what I saw - I never thought the city was problematic beyond the common crystal meth lab issue. But it was and it still is! Mainly the area around "downtown" Barberton and Lake Anna Park.

Wow, that entire set of blogs/pics was amazing, I just finished going thru the whole site as well and really enjoyed that photographer's work. Some of those pics made my eyeballs jump. Anyways, does anybody know of any other photoblogs out there, featuring any other Ohio cities?? If not, I might follow in the footsteps with one for Cleveland or Akron. I love the idea of daily or weekly photo blogs of life in the city.

Great website! I long for websites that show urban life.

These are visible from I-90 and there is another project next to it under construction. I don't know the developer. Interesting story..

I understand all the cities/major counties are losing population and I know where they're going, but what I don't understand is what's replacing the houses that are being sold and left??? For example, if you live in a county and you move out of the county, your home or apartment would be replaced by somebody else, am I not mistaken? All other things constant, minor new residential developments are always happening in Clev/Cincy/Colu/Dayton/Toledo. The only thing I can guess is that inner-city's are having a lot of homes razed and torn down or that large families are moving away and being replaced by single occupancy households. And another thing, if it's the inner-city's that are losing population the most, then how would that explain the boom in neighboring counties.. A given example would be in Cleveland (where I live): Cleveland's population continues to decline while Avon continues to grow. How many inner-city families living in a $50,000 home are actually leaving the city and really moving to Avon into a $300,000 home?? Once again, I don't understand this whole population trends thing.. I guess inner-city could move to suburbs, suburb people move out of county, and in the end, the inner-city house becomes vacant, thus reducing inner-city population but increasing out of county population at the same time. Just some thoughts..

CMHA? :?

The Cuyahoga County Auditor's website is not going to tell you the price that someone will sell their property for. That is what the appraisal value is, but the seller can ask whatever they want, and will usually ask a lot more. Just for the record, I am looking at a property on Brookpark Road in Cleveland and the seller wants 1.25$ million. The Auditor's website values the property at just $425,000. Is the building you found for sale, or just one that you saw and liked? The problem with just picking a building that looks vacant but is not on the market yet is that the owner may not want to sell. There are a LOT and I mean a *LOT* of nice properties on the market, but they are for lease only and the owner specifically wants to remain the owner and lease it out. However, there's still a good amount of stuff "for sale" over there. As for prices I have seen, I am going to make a longshot ballpark figure: $300,000 - $900,000 for a typical warehouse between 15,000 to 30,000 SQFT. Anything over a million is usually due to excellent condition and location along Superior or Chester. I was inside of 4133 Payne and really liked the building, but it has no windows and the parking lot in front of it is owned by another owner/company and they want a lot of money for that single parcel because it's a corner lot. You'd need both parcels to make a site out of 4133 Payne. I am speaking primitevely about Chinatown because that's where I have focused most of my attention on. There's a lot of warehouses also available along Detroit Ave. in Ohio City, but I haven't looked into any of those.

Smackem, The range is so broad that I can't really answer your question. The dollar per squarefoot varies widely, not always by location, but rather by the condition of the property. A lot of industrial sites in Chinatown and in the general vicinity of Goodrich-Kirtland Park are priced very attractively for a number of reasons, but mainly because the area is slowly walking away from the industrial market and into mixed-use. You'll need about 20% downpayment on the property, which would be $60,000-$100,000 on average (in Chinatown). Then you will either need the cash in your hand to gut the property or be able to secure a second SBA to cover that - in which the banks are willing to do. I have seen potential warehouses/industrial sites in Chinatown and nearby range in price from $300,000 to $2,000,000, prior to being gutted. The price of conversion could cost as much as the property itself. Most industrial properties in Chinatown are about 15,000 to 30,000 sqft. These properties could house 10-20 lofts if developed correctly. The return would be enormous, but the amount of planning and work involved is also "enormous". For single loft development, it's going to be a lot more difficult since you generally can't just buy only a part of a warehouse or building, unless of course it's already rehabbed and converted, as is the case with Loftworks and Payne Ave. Lofts. Those run from $120,000 to $250,000.

Let's just hope peak oil doesn't destroy the "good life" out in sprawland. :yap:

Hey Mister Good Day, I also appreciate the loft conversions that have recently appeared all over the city of Cleveland. I have been inside a number myself and usually let my jaws drop when I see each one for the first time. I am actually in preliminary stages to purchase a site and do some conversions to create a unit for myself and depending on the size and funding, the possibility to convert the rest of the site for other tenants. My initial plans saw me moving in on sites in Chinatown, as a lot of warehouses/industrial sites are for sale in that 10 block radius from E. 30 to E. 40 between Payne and Superior. I would have to say that I really like the Payne Avenue Lofts at E. 36th Street. The Painters Loft Condo's on Franklin and W. 82nd Street are also very nice, but not in a neighborhood I am ready to live in yet. I also had the chance to go through a # of privately owned warehouses on Superior near E. 23, E. 24, and E. 25th St. 2500 Superior's entire top floor is one of the most beautiful lofts I have been inside. The owner is a very wealthy businessman who owns a large number of properties all along the innerbelt between Payne and St. Claire. I was there with my partners and reps in an attempt to make a deal on some vacant land at E. 25th and Superior, and so we had the meeting in his loft. When I told him my love for lofts, he gave me a full tour of the building including the private penthouse segment of his loft. He told me a lot of the warehouses over there are more active than they look from the outside! Loftworks is also a nice property at E. 40th and Payne. Mister Good Day, if you can share w/ me the locations of other known loft properties in Cleveland, I'd appreciate that very much so! If possible, could you distinguish which are lease/rental and which are owner occupied?

If you think this is bad, wait for the Amherst Quarries. Wait until South Amherst and the surrounding area becomes a boomtown. That is going to make this look like peanuts!!! :yap: