Everything posted by inlovewithCLE
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Cleveland: Marketing the City
The "Best Location in the Nation" campaign was great. But its old and tired. Cleveland needs a new theme. That isn't good enough. I agree with the comments about rallying back to the "Comeback City" mantra, which isn't as old as the Best Location in the Nation thing. I also agree that, yeah it acknowledges how down we used to be. So what? Its not like everybody doesn't know that in the first place. Let's be real. So lets acknowledge that, yes we were down, but now we're back. We're the city that refuses to die. People like the underdog. That's good. We should embrace that. But even that alone is not enough. We need to have a marketing campaign built on our assets: the Rock Hall, Playhouse Square, our Medical Industry dominance, our growing Film Industry, our quality of life, our downtown, our culinary prominence, all of those things. Our new Casino, the rebirth of the Flats, the West Side Market, our Educational institutions, etc. All of those things should be put together to market Cleveland. Cleveland should be marketed as the Manhattan of the Midwest. We have the amenities of a major city with the affordability and the sense of community of a midwestern city. There's very few places where you can get BOTH big city lifestyle and affordability. Very few. We should capitalize on that.
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Cleveland: Downtown & Vicinity Residences Discussion
Sounds like a winner to me. I wonder how much rent could go for. I imagine a pretty significant amount, if this is the location.
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Cleveland: Retail News
WHAT PLAN? :? :? Using existing vacant space in the exiting arcades, isn't equivalent to creating an outlet mall. Again, outlets have low overhead, downtown space is usually at a premium. A handful of outlet stores in the CBD has been done before, examples: Philly along Chestnut, while Walnut was transitioning into a mid to high scale mixed merchandise retail strip. Chicago S. State street, once Carson Pirie Scott went downhill. Outlet malls will not work in the CBD, unless we have flagship stores in the CBD in place. Outlets are "hit & miss" stores as many items are irregular or do not pass QC, therefore the merchandise cannot be sold. Traditional (flagship) retail brands are needed before you can expand 2nd hand brand culture. I don't understand why they are using Vegas as a cited source considering they have some one of the worst outlet malls and with the strip right there, there is a different customer. They didn't. That was the location of the retailers conference Oh and to answer your question, "what plan?", this plan: http://downtowncleveland.com/media/38530/euclid%20avenue%20retail%20district.pdf
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Cleveland: Marketing the City
^If it was a typo, thank God! :-D Our marketing has been terrible. That's the point, to bring it back. Its not a choice of "marketing vs reality". Its BOTH. You gotta have both. And in some cases, not necessarily 50-50. Some things are 60 percent hype and 40 percent reality. I still argue that "Best Location in the Nation" is not enough.
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Cleveland: Marketing the City
I don't get it??? Thats laughable! PR/Promotions/Marketing/Special Events is what I do. LOL LOL. Hilarious! Cleveland has always had great marketing. One campaign that I've suggest we bring back is the "best location in the nation". We also had a great "Downtown" Campaign. We get it, but out old antiquated leaders do not get it! If you think that, you don't get it, with all due respect. lol. Our marketing has sucked for decades. We're still trying to get milage off of old, stale marketing. Cleveland has no identity. The "Best Location in the Nation" thing is cool and to have that hang around, thats all well and dandy. But its old and stale. Cleveland needs an identity. Our marketing thus far has failed in that aspect. You gotta admit that. In Cleveland, you can live a big city lifestyle at a small city cost. THAT's the hook. Best Location in the Nation doesn't define anything. Building our image around the lifestyle that we're trying to create here, that's what brings people in. Not things like "Best Location in the Nation" or the woefully corny "Cleveland's a Plum" ("Cleveland has always had great marketing", lol). We need to market ourselves as a modern, 21st century city that has all the perks of the big cities but its not so big that you get lost in the crowd.
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Cleveland: Cleveland State University: Development and News
What is the basketball pavilion? Is that a new arena or a practice facility like the Cavs' Independence facility?
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Cleveland: Marketing the City
^You don't get it. Everything, EVERYTHING, is part reality and part hype. Yes the hype can't be just completely fabricated. But lets not be naive and pretend that hype doesn't matter. It does. People don't want to go to "unsexy" towns. Detroit is getting better, but its a dump. They have more problems than we've ever had. Their corrupt government makes the Dimora era Cuyahoga County government look like the boy scouts. But the marketing of the Eminem commercial and everything HAS made a difference there. I just think its absolutely blockheaded to think that marketing doesn't matter. It's a very small, regressive, "midwestern" way of thinking. We have a quality of life better than most. We have bright lights. Its time to turn them on and show it to everybody. I will never understand why people in this town don't get the power of glitz. The power of marketing. We have the individual pieces in place. But we need to promote it. I love this city, but I HATE that mentality. Promote Cleveland! It matters. And Atlanta has been doing pretty well in recent history. BECAUSE OF part reality and part hype. YOU NEED BOTH.
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Cleveland: University Circle: Uptown (UARD)
is the Uptown website EVER gonna get updated? lol
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Cleveland: Retail News
The outlet plan isn't dead...From May of this year "Convention attendees with a stake in downtown Cleveland hope growth-hungry stores and restaurants will look at the center city, where projects including a casino are reviving retailer interest in Tower City and renewing talk about a high-end outlet district along Euclid Avenue. 'While the recession dealt a bit of a belly blow . . . there's a beginning of a movement of consumer spending turning around,' said Mitchell Schneider, president of First Interstate Properties and the developer of shopping centers that include Steelyard Commons in Cleveland and Legacy Village in Lyndhurst... Leaders from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and PlayhouseSquare planned a trek to Las Vegas to see whether outlet retailers might be interested in several arcades and other little-used spaces on lower Euclid Avenue. 'We're really going to test the waters,' said Joe Marinucci, chief executive of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, a nonprofit group that represents property owners." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/05/with_new_construction_projects.html If the Casino brings as many people as projected to downtown Cleveland on a regular basis, oh the outlet malls downtown WILL happen. No doubt in my mind about that. We're really only in a race against time to do it before the suburbs do it. If we can get it going before they can, this will happen and it will be big.
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Cleveland: Cuyahoga County Gov't properties disposition (non-Ameritrust)
Does anyone know if the assessment is done yet? It should have been completed by now. http://campusdistrict.org/cuyahoga-county-hires-consultant-to-assess-again-its-office-space-needs
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Cleveland: Marketing the City
See, but this is part of our problem as well. We put too little value to those "3 minute videos". I agree that we need to make sure that the experience here is fantastic. But marketing DOES matter. Marketing IS important. And we've always been bad at marketing because we foolishly put no value to it. We can have the best attractions, the best experience, etc. but if no one knows about it, it doesn't matter. Word-of-mouth alone isn't enough. I've heard many people, including Ivan Schwartz of the Film Commission, say that outsiders opinions of Cleveland is not as bad as Clevelanders think it is. Outsiders, for the most part, don't have a BAD opinion of Cleveland. They have NO opinion of Cleveland. That's where the marketing comes in. You have got to market what you're doing or no one will know it. Cleveland's image isn't sexy enough. It's not because we don't have tremendous assets or things to brag about. It's because we suck at marketing. And I think this attitude of "marketing doesn't matter" puts us even further back. If people have any opinion of Cleveland at all, in many cases its the same tired old "smokestacks and hardhats" image of Cleveland's past. I've heard outsiders still talk about the freaking Cuyahoga River catching on fire, like that happened last week or something! So yes, the experience means A LOT. But let's not be foolish and act like marketing isn't important and that the experience alone is enough. It isn't. It can't be all marketing and it can't be all experience. You need both. In my opinion, waiting for people to get dragged here to fall in love with Cleveland instead of attempting to entice people to want to come here in the first place is not a winning strategy. And Cleveland is in desperate need of a swagger increase. Marketing helps that. It's time for us to brag about ourselves a little bit more. That's the biggest thing I hear from people who come to and fall in love with Cleveland from places like Chicago or New York City or Los Angeles. They all say that our swagger isn't big enough. We don't brag enough. And we should. We have a lot to brag about :)
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Cleveland: Random Development and News
That would be playhouse square RE No they don't. Playhouse Square Real Estate (a separate entity from the Playhouse Square Foundation) IS a developer.
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Cleveland: Lakefront Development and News
With our new global focus (ABOUT TIME!) is it possible that the Cleveland WTC could now happen on the lakefront? Just curious.
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Cleveland: Campus District
I LOVE this plan
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Cleveland: University Circle (General): Development and News
^^If you're talking about the Circlewalk comments, you can clearly tell that they were joking, right? Chill out. 8-)
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Cleveland: Cleveland State University: Development and News
Agreed
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Cleveland: Downtown & Vicinity Residences Discussion
If you're referring to the KeyBank Center at 800 Superior, Crain's reports that building's vacancy will be about 60 percent after Calfee leaves for its own building on East 6th.... http://www.crainsclevelandbusiness.com/article/20110808/FREE/308089938 That's enough occupancy to keep cash flows flowing while different parts of the building are rehabbed on a rotating basis. KeyBank Center's new, mysterious owner (as might the owner of the former East Ohio Gas 1717 East Ninth building) may view this as opportunity to refurbish the building, bring it up to Class A-like standards and market it with rates that are competitive with suburban office markets (and Class A downtown buildings). Yes, the current downtown office vacancy rate is high, but it includes the Breuer Tower which is not on the market. And the 1717 East Ninth Tower wasn't on the market until very recently. Those two buildings alone have vastly distorted downtown's overall vacancy rates. The new owner and at least some of their intentions have been known for quite some time now... NYC group wins bid for KeyBank Center And it may bring 200 more jobs to office site By STAN BULLARD The embattled, 23-story KeyBank Center in downtown Cleveland not only is about to get a new owner, but it also stands to gain a new tenant that could bring more than 200 jobs from the suburbs. AmTrust Realty of New York City was the winning bidder in a July 27 Internet auction for the lender-owned tower at 800 Superior Ave. If the purchase closes — and if an incentive deal is struck with the city of Cleveland — it will clear the way for more than 200 workers to come to the building from a unit in Seven Hills of sister company AmTrust Financial Services Inc., according to three sources familiar with the situation. Two of the sources said relocating AmTrust Financial jobs to Cleveland from outside the region also could be in the mix. None of the sources agreed to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss the unfolding situation publicly... In situations similar to KeyBank Center, which soon will have a 60% vacancy rate, AmTrust Realty in the New York and Chicago deals was undaunted by buying buildings that were half empty. It bought 59 Maiden Lane at an auction. Today, 59 Maiden Lane is the address of AmTrust Financial's headquarters in New York, and it has offices at 33 W. Monroe in Chicago. Relocating AmTrust Financial's operations in Seven Hills from a 60,000-square-foot building at 5800 Lombardo Center that is owned by an affiliate led by Michael Karfunkel — whose family is the equity behind AmTrust Realty — would give AmTrust Realty a base to rebuild the tenancy at KeyBank Center. Especially suiting such a move is that KeyBank Center includes a huge parking garage." http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110815/FREE/308159955///&template=mobile
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Cleveland: Warehouse District: Development and News
Are there any renderings of this project available yet?
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CLEVELAND: What one "speculative" project would you like to see built?
Well the city has said that they won't redevelop Muni Lot until they find another place for Browns fans to tailgate. And sometimes the lot is crowded but there are plenty of times during the day that the lot is half empty. I personally think that the Muni Lot is more value to the city if its redeveloped. But we'll see.
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CLEVELAND: What one "speculative" project would you like to see built?
Oh! And how could I forget? The planned Aerotropolis development around Hopkins airport. (http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/urban_planners_say_land_around_cleveland_hopkins_international_airport_could_spark_development.html) This is vital and I think this plan, along with the Lakefront Plan and the West Shore Commuter Rail Plan, could have a hugely positive impact on Cleveland's future, if implemented.
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CLEVELAND: What one "speculative" project would you like to see built?
I'd have to agree with KJP and say that I want a downtown rail loop. That would be fantastic for our downtown and, if done properly and had the right stops, could be a game changer. It would finally do something that Cleveland has never been good at, connecting all of our assets together. But what I'd REALLY like to see is (and I don't know if this has been proposed or not yet and if it hasn't, sorry for breaking the rules :oops: ) rail that connects the most popular areas of the city. I'd love to see University Circle, Shaker Square, Downtown, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway and Edgewater connected. A stop at Steelyard, if possible, would only enhance that line. Logistically, I don't know how you could do it or if you could do it, but if its possible, we need a rail line to connect our best neighborhoods.
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Northeast Ohio: Regionalism News & Discussion
:clap: You hit the nail on the head right there. That is absolutely right. That's what it's really about. The folks. Now I know that in most cases, the state could dissolve a county whenever they choose to because a county is nothing more than an extension of the state. In charter governments like ours and Summit, we get some additional "home rule" privileges, but its still essentially part of the state. With municipalities, there's the Home Rule clause in our state constitution. I think that's why its so hard to get some of these municipalities off of the books. Because some states do not have that clause, and they can merge or break up cities as they please. I don't know if there's a provision in our Home Rule clause that gives our state that kind of power. Can you or anyone else help me with that? I'm not sure. It's been a while since I read through our state constitution.
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Northeast Ohio: Regionalism News & Discussion
You can call it what you want, but splitting up East Cleveland in the way that you describe would, in fact, give Cleveland Heights the nice parts and leave Cleveland with the bad parts. You can justify it in whatever way you choose to, but the fact remains is that the end result would be what I described earlier. Period. I've taken a drive through the area. Many times. I live about 15 minutes away from it in Cleveland and I drive through it to get to Cleveland Heights. I also go to Forest Hill Park quite a bit so yes I'm very familiar with the area. And I still say that the only way to support a split of East Cleveland in that manner would be if you wanted to deliberately screw the city. So let's say we do your plan and give the nice parts of East Cleveland to Cleveland Heights. The City of Cleveland would most likely say, "never mind. We don't want the rest". So now that leaves what remains of East Cleveland in an even worse shape because now, not only are they left with all of their problems but now all of their assets are gone too. That'd be highway robbery. So splitting the city doesn't work and it doesn't make sense. I want Cleveland to take all of it, but I'd rather have Cleveland Heights take all of it than to do what you're suggesting, which would be disasterous no matter how you look at it. If Cleveland took the bad parts and lost the good parts, it'd be disasterous. If East Cleveland stayed as an independent city and Cleveland Heights took their assets, it'd be disasterous. Its a bad, bad, idea all the way around. That would be like me breaking into your car, taking everything out of it, take out the interior, stealing the tires, stripping the car down to the bare bones and then say, "well here's your car back". There's nothing left but a shell! The car loses value because all of its assets are gone. Now the car is worth 20 bucks. It isn't worth anything! So no, that's a bad plan. It's been a bad plan from the beginning and its a bad plan now. I'd rather leave it like it is than to split it like that. All of it or none of it. And yes, Cleveland taking East Cleveland makes sense from a logistical standpoint, from continuity of development and because (and this'll be a shock to you) Cleveland has the infrastructure and the dollars to grow East Cleveland better than East Cleveland could on its own. That's the biggest point. Yes, the city has its problems, but you seem to think that we can't do anything right. All of the little shots you take at the city illustrate that. From the last time we got into this tussle about the same subject. If you think that Cleveland couldn't take better care of East Cleveland than East Cleveland could, you're out of your mind (or you have an anti-city bias). University Circle Inc by themselves could take better care of East Cleveland than East Cleveland could! Like the old saying goes, "you don't have to help us, but don't hurt us". If you don't believe annexation is a good idea in general, that's fine. But then don't turn around and advocate for a partial annexation by Cleveland Heights that would screw over the city of Cleveland, and you know it would. (Whether you want to admit to that fact or not) You'll say you're not trying to screw the city, but the end result of doing it like you have suggested would be that the city gets screwed. So you may or may not be intentionally or deliberately supporting a plan that would screw the city, but the fact remains that that's a plan that would end up screwing the city of Cleveland. That's why the city rejected it in the first place when it was first talked about a few years ago. You don't have to advocate for the city, but don't advocate for screwing the city either.
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Northeast Ohio / Cleveland: General Transit Thread
A fixed transit facility is what attracts investment. The reason why most bus routes don't attract significant investment is because you can move the routes too easily to makes a developer/investor weary that the service will be there in the future. But a bus transit center represents as much of a long-term investment as a rail line does, offers possibly as frequent of a service (depending on where you're going), and usually offers more destination possibilities than a rail line. So even a bus service that is stabilized by a fixed alignment with frequent or enough service, such as the HealthLine, can attract investment. Bingo. :clap:
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Northeast Ohio / Cleveland: General Transit Thread
Showing examples of development in other cities doesn't mean that's what can be done here, but that's not the purpose. The purpose is to show what's possible. Too many people in this town are unaware of the world around them and therefore believe something is impossible if it hasn't been done here already. And yes, access to public transportation has spurred economic development. That's not new. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_oriented_development) It's just new to those of us who still mentally live in the 20th century. Public transportation is important to any 21st century city. I don't believe we should have a no-car society, but we MUST improve and increase our public transportation in order to compete in this era. As long as 20th century thinking continues to rule the day by putting a bad taste in the mouths of some any time RTA is even mentioned, we will continue to get left behind in that department. As I've said before, I want to see some renderings. I want to see some plans. I want to know exactly where this thing is going to be. I want to know the details. THEN, I'll make a judgment on it.