CLEbertarian

Not to derail the thread, but I'm guessing you are referring to Super City Comics, Cards, & Collectibles. My buddy's father owned that place. Glad to see I'm not the only one who remembers it. Truly was an awesome store!

Clevecane just took both of these. One from the Terminal Tower, and the other while walking home. I highlighted where it appears the bricks are falling from. And to the question about wind: yes, he says it is extremely gusty down there right now. I think the last we heard construction was supposed to start in June. What horrible timing. I'm glad no one was hurt, and I hope this doesn't hurt the project at all.

I almost forgot about this one. Just checked the portfolio page on First Interstate's website, and I notice that the One University Circle rendering that was previously there has been removed. It's been replaced by... a stock photograph of some rolls of blue prints. I think we have to assume that means the project either has been sent back to the drawing board or is close to being scrapped altogether. And of course, being sent back to the drawing board in and of itself could end up being either a good thing or a bad thing. It thus appears that like the great Woody Hayes said about passing in football, three things might have happened to OUC and two of them are bad. FIP has made obvious and clear progress on the Legacy Village expansion within the past number of months, and yet we've had absolute silence about OUC for literally a full year now. Heck, many doubted that Intessa would ever come to fruition and yet we've seen and heard more progress on that than UOC. Come on FIP! We know you have people lurking on this site. Release some news - any news - to suggest that One University Circle isn't dead in the water. Your silence is deafening!

Understood. As mentioned, I'm not holding my breath. It just seems that between those two possible sites, one would be a cool location that's "in the heart of it all" and makes sense for the entire region while the other is... Northfield. Regardless, it was actually the Virgin Hotel at nuCLEus idea that just popped into my head today.

Fun Random Thought Of The Day Within the next five years we may have two new hotels opening near musically significant buildings. How cool would it be if the hotel flags were appropriate to both settings? I therefore humbly propose that it should of course be a Hard Rock Hotel opening on the lakefront near the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. But what to brand the hotel within nuCLEus? Given that it will neighbor the Harold and Record Rendezvous buildings on Prospect, it can't be anything other than a Virgin Hotel! It’d only be fitting that a hotel owned by one of the most historically significant record store companies of all time setup shop next door to what used to be one of the most historically significant record stores of all time. Note I'm just spitballing this... I'm not demanding it or expecting it. And I certainly don't have the resources or networking connections to make either one a reality. It was just a fun random thought that popped into my head that I figured I'd share. :-D http://www.hardrockhotels.com/ http://virginhotels.com/

I see what you are both saying. And I agree the piece doesn't have the most diplomatic of tones. That said, I liked the fact that she proposed numerous alternative policies and projects the Clinic could be undertaking instead of (or in addition to) the garage. That took it out of the realm of just criticism and turned it into constructive criticism, which is something we don't see nearly enough of these days. Was this perfectly written? Absolutely not. But I liked it enough that I'm about to forward it to a few family and friends that I've had similar conversations with. As for the Little Dubai part, that never occurred to me until you pointed it out. I've since reread it a few times and even now, I really don't see it as having racial connotations. She properly prefaces the comment by mentioning that it is a moniker used by her architect friends. Further, she goes on to describe exactly why they do so when she states that the Clinic campus is "a bunch of monolithic institutional buildings with a lot of dead space in between. It’s not really a community. It’s not really walkable. It’s not really an inviting or fun place to be." That adequately conveys that "Little Dubai" has nothing to do with people... let alone with their race, nationality, religion, etc. Instead, the name has everything to do with architecture and urban planning. Personally, I think both Houston's Energy Corridor and the Las Vegas Strip could share in most of that description. Each is also "a bunch of monolithic institutional buildings with a lot of dead space in between. It’s not really a community. It’s not really walkable. It's not really an inviting or fun place to be." OK, scratch the "not fun" part off for Vegas. :-) Regardless, should calling someplace a "Little Energy Corridor" or a "Little Vegas Strip" be taken with racist connotations? Of course not. Should either reference be avoided simply because someone could take them the wrong way? No. These days someone could be offended by almost everything. In my humble opinion, the author and her friends are using an apt nickname for the Clinic's campus, and she did a fine job of explaining precisely why.

Winking Lizard to Close Coventry Spot, Open New Location at Golden Gate Posted By Douglas Trattner On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 10:41 AM For nearly 20 years, Winking Lizard has been a fixture on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. It replaced Pepper Ridge Tavern, which replaced Turkey Ridge Tavern, two popular neighborhood watering holes. That legacy will end in early fall when the Lizard opens its next location, this one in Mayfield Heights. The company recently took possession of the former El Rio Grande (and Buca di Beppo) spot and have begun work to transform it into a Winking Lizard. More: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/02/04/winking-lizard-to-close-coventry-spot-open-new-location-at-golden-gate Mods: I wasn't sure whether to stick this here or in the restaurant thread. I know this technically isn't about the Mayland shopping plaza redevelopment, but East Gate & Golden Gate developments have been repeatedly cited in this thread. So I figured I'd put it here. I apologize if you think the restaurant thread is more appropriate, and I then thank you for moving it. As for the article itself: I'm sure this location will do fine for the first few years, but I can't help thinking that this is a huge mistake in the long run for the following reasons: 1. Emery/Miles (Bedford), Chagrin (Beachwood), and Mayfield (Mayfield) are basically three consecutive exits along 271. Yes, I know technically they aren't consecutive since the Cedar exit and the Harvard exit are in between, but man are they close to each other. Considering that they have both a Winking Lizard and a Lizardville on Miles, this will result in having four locations within about a 7.5 mile stretch of 271. Seems like supersaturation to me. 2. The visibility and access to that spot within Golden Gate Plaza is atrocious. It doesn't matter whether you approach from Mayfield Rd. or Marsol Rd., either way you have to wrap around the half of the plaza to reach the restaurant. IMHO, that's the main reason neither Buca di Beppo nor El Rio Grande could survive there. Unless Golden Gate is willing to modify their abomination of a parking lot, I don't see why Winking Lizard will fare any better than its predecessors in the long run (once the honeymoon period ends.) 3. They are basically conceding that they cannot and/or will not compete for business closer to the urban core. Mr. Lane seems to be citing the development of University Circle, Ohio City, and Detroit Shoreway as obstacles to their success. Yet are they opening a location in any of these hot neighborhoods? Nope, their response is to shutter the inner-ring Coventry location and run out to Mayfield Heights. I'm not sure that I follow that logic.

Indeed it does. It is really quite a gorgeous connection as well. Marble everywhere.

^You appear to be thinking of the Eastgate Shopping Center. That's the plaza at the corner of Mayfield and SOM Center with Marc's, Microcenter, and Target. Golden Gate is a few blocks further west down Mayfield, with "anchor stores" including Marshall's, HH Gregg, and Jo-Anne Fabrics.

Extra height would be a happy bonus. Other than that, I honestly couldn't agree with you more.

Do we officially know that the Kimpton will be under the Hotel Palomar flag? For some reason I've always kind of preferred the Hotel Monaco name to the Hotel Palomar name. But I truly think all Kimpton properties should have their own individual names, like they've done with the Prescott Hotel, Argonaut Hotel, Hotel Triton, Hotel Solamar, etc. I was really hoping this would be called The Schofield...

Sorry folks. Have to self censor again. I would delete it if I could. That's all I can say.

As of now, I am not losing any sleep over the lack of progress on Phase II for a few reasons. First, if there is no development whatsoever on the riverfront property, I don't see how that land is worth anywhere near the $80 Million that Danny Boy paid for it. Which means that he made a very bad investment. Danny Boy may be a lot of things, but to my knowledge a piss poor investor is not one of them. Second, he likes to think of himself as a self made billionaire who owns multiple professional sports teams. In other words, he - like virtually all other sports team owners - is an absolute egomaniac. Now I've heard from a few people who've met him, and even had dinner at his house in Detroit, that he's a very nice guy. The type of guy I'd love to have a beer with. But he's an egomaniac nevertheless. He's also only 52 years old. Which suggests that he likely still has plenty of energy and desire left to continue "growing his empire." A youngish egomaniac with immense resources at his disposal isn't very likely to admit defeat. And again, to a guy like this, indefinitely holding a bad real estate investment is most certainly a defeat. So he "has to" either develop that land at some point or sell it off. Third, and most importantly, laws are not unchangeable. Even Ohio's Constitution is not unchangeable. Gilbert knows this better than anyone. If enough time goes by with no development on that land, "We The People" can always attempt to force his hand by modifying the laws that Mendo so graciously cited. We could go about this in a few different ways. We can propose that, if not developed by a certain date, the riverfront property be removed from the parcels a casino is allowed on. That lowers the future value of the riverfront property and makes his $80 Million investment an even more horrendous mistake. Better yet, we can propose that a second casino be allowed on different land in Cleveland... maybe somewhere along the lakefront. Given that most Ohioans recognize that the sky did not actually fall down after casinos opened here, I don't think it's too out of line to imagine eventually passing an amendment allowing a second casino in Cleveland. And although it's my least favorite option, as numerous folks have pointed out, we can always propose either to disallow gaming within the Higbee Building or even pulling Rock Ohio's gaming license altogether. Importantly, I'm not even sure any of these legislative options actually has to pass. It's entirely possible that just the threat of legislative action might be enough to force Rock Ohio to develop the riverfront land sooner rather than later. In summary, I still believe that we will hear definitive plans for a mixed use development including a casino floor on that land within the next 3 years or so, with a completion date scheduled for around 2020. But if not, as rich and powerful as Gilbert is, technically "We The People" still hold all the cards when it comes to casinos (pardon the bad pun.)

Sorry, I honestly couldn't. Almost all of the ones that I've been to, I haven't actually stayed at. I have been in the lobbies & public areas of all of them, and I've seen pictures of the rooms in each. But I haven't actually been inside the rooms of most of them, nor interacted with enough staff to truly gauge their level of service. I could probably subjectively rank the architectural beauty of their lobbies, and rank how friendly the receptionist or concierges was, but that's about it. I'm sure that is not at all what you were looking for. :lol: You see, I have a very odd habit of stopping into historic, luxury, and "independent" hotels (damn... I used that term) in any city that I visit. And I always ask for a pen with the hotel name on it (yes as in the writing instrument.) Why? Few reasons. 1. I collect hotel pens. 2. In my humble opinion, historic & luxury hotels (along with parks and often government buildings) tend to be among the most spectacular public spaces within any city. And hotels, unlike government buildings, are open 24/7. 3. It forces me to explore lots of different neighborhoods within the city, rather than confining myself to just the areas I'm staying in or visiting. I think it actually started off when my folks took me to The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL as a wee little tot. And in the 25+ years since then, I've amassed a collection of well over 1,000 hotel pens and pencils. I told you it was very odd!!! Typically, I just stop into the lobby and ask either a receptionist or concierges for a pen, and then wander around any public areas of the hotel that I can without trying to cause a disturbance. I also enjoy the brief interaction with the staff for a moment, especially over such an odd request as a pen. It gives me a very teeny tiny insight into their mindset. How friendly are they? How proud are they of their property and/or their city? A couple of times I have asked to see a ballroom or a hotel room, but not often. Sometimes I'll have a drink at the hotel bar or a meal at their restaurant, but again, not often. It's really more about the architecture for me... and the pens! Just one of my many eccentricities. Ask my bro Clevecane, he'll tell you... I'm a strange guy!

I wholeheartedly agree with you X, and that's exactly what led to all of the confusion above. The Tudor Arms would indeed meet Marriott's own definition of "independent" as cited by Devin. It would not, however, meet my personal definition of "independent." It fails my definition in two regards: 1. It participates in the Hilton Honors program. 2. MRN owns an additional hotel in the Holiday Inn Express. It seems that MyTwoSense uses a strict definition of independent, one probably very similar to my own. While TPH2, Devin, jam40jeff, and many others (including Marriott themselves) are using the more loose definition. And that's fine, I understand where both sides are coming from since there is no widely accepted true definition of the term. Personally, I try to refrain from using the phrases independent hotel and boutique hotel whenever possible. I just don't think either term does an adequate job of describing anything. But I won't jump on anyone for doing otherwise.