MissinOhio

Is the hotel portion going to be seen from the Shoreway? It is going to be something like 8 stories. Maybe it's too early to tell yet.

We certainly deserve it, too!

They already have seen positive benefits along its route even before construction started. Look up a little development called Mercer Commons, and that's just a start. Nice try though.

We need our expert jssdecker here to confirm this, but looking at the webcam and current pics, it looks like the steel structure is halfway up. Looks like they are at the break in the steel on the two floors facing Lake Erie.

In the early 70s, Cleveland was averaging a murder a day. Today it's a relatively peaceful city. My oldest brother was an armed security guard for East Ohio Gas in the early 70s after he served in Vietnam. Why was he an armed security guard? Because when East Ohio sent out crews to shut off the gas for nonpayment, they would often get shot at. My brother was shot at "many times", held at gunpoint, knifepoint, chased and surrounded. Today he lives in a small town in western Ohio. Last Labor Day, he was in town for a wedding at a University Circle church. He brought his huge SUV to Cleveland to defend himself better (he also had a gun, but he always keeps a gun). I rode with my brother and his wife down Euclid -- the first time he'd been on Euclid in almost 40 years. He was shocked at how clean everything was, that there were students out socializing near CSU, that young white women were waiting alone for buses, that so many people were out and about, that Cleveland Clinic was so modern and large, and much more. Granted there are parts of the city that are war-zones like the Cleveland he remembers. But back then, if he says if you were a young, clean-cut man in a nice car driving down a main street like Euclid, Superior, East 55th or East 105th and you stopped at a traffic light with locals standing around, they would surround your car. If you were lucky, they would only threaten you. If you weren't lucky, they would smash out your windows, haul you out and take your car. It may be hard for some young people to believe it today. But it was hard for my brother to believe how much quieter and more peaceful Cleveland has become. I certainly believe it. When I went to CSU, I had no fears at all walking around downtown or over to Asiatown to get something good to eat. People would think I was crazy, but people had no clue how safe it was. Being an urban studies major, I had a major interest in the city and neighborhoods, so walking around checking everything out didn't bother me. I just get frustrated to see so many murders happen in such a short time because I know how far Cleveland has come, and how far it is planning to go. Stuff like this only holds it back. Anyway, here is an article from this violent past weekend. According to the article, before this weekend, Cleveland had 5 murders. http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/cleveland-police-urge-residents-to-come-forward-with-details-about-weekend-murders

Good stuff! I really think the mentality here in Youngstown needs to change, in the suburbs that is. Marketing really would help Youngstown, but I think this is an Ohio problem. I can only imagine how much better off Cleveland and Cincinnati would be if they marketed themselves better.

Ok, according to the Plain Dealer, and if I am counting wrong, there was a shooting downtown that resulted in a death, a mother and son were killed, a body was found in the back of a jeep, and two men were found dead in a house. Within the last 24 hours there have been 6 deaths! Cleveland is the new Ciudad Juarez! A city with 396,000 with this kind of a murder rate, pathetic! How many murders is Cleveland sitting at? It's only February.

That table is badass!

There's settling for what's there and then there's appreciating what's there, but demanding more. I'm for the latter myself and again defending the city for putting up lots of hurdles for developers who, as Ink pointed out are already dealing with a rather large investment that they're risking, doesn't make sense. You can't say you want to see more development occur and at the same time be a yesman for city policy that hinders said development. Pure boosterism hurts our cities rather than helps: it holds back their potential and alienates others who aren't content with the city remaining where it's at, i.e. stagnating. Others want to see these cities reach their potential instead of just lowering the bar and proclaiming: success! Developers simply shouldn't have to "chip away" at the city to get their project to go forward. You know it, I know it. So, where exactly is that constructive criticism anyway? No. See, it is one thing to criticize a city, then there is what you do. Clearly you hate Columbus, it is worthless in your opinion, and lacks any good urban environment/development. You are now in MSP, stay there and stay focused on what is happening in that city. I have seen you on SSP, and all you do is bash Columbus there, too! Not only do you bash Columbus, but you praise Minneapolis for everything it offers. You do not even talk about its bad qualities, but have no problem posting photo threads or discuss how Columbus lacks everything. So, give up on Columbus. If you hate it so bad and it does nothing right, then forget about it all together. But you still come on here and waste your time talking about how Columbus sucks and why MSP is so great; at least that is the vibe I get here and at SSP. Columbus clearly means nothing to you, you have moved away, and I would hope you moved on. I left Florida, and I have no desire to know what is happening in Tampa, nor do I plan to join anything like Urban Ohio for Florida. I have moved on, and I don't care. But I also don't bash Tampa like you do with Columbus. I also don't have an extreme hatred for Tampa like you do for Columbus. No one here is proclaiming Columbus doesn't have its problems. But even when something positive happens, it is never good enough for you. Hell, Columbus could approve a streetcar system tomorrow and you still would find some reason why Columbus is America's worst city.

Wonder when this will start construction? It says possible completion is expected in 2014. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/18/new-osu-building-tops-colleges-collective-budget.html

Well just look to the past, it wouldn't be too hard to believe such a proposal would move forward.

Those parking spaces look great, though.

Isn't most of Covington's skyline going to be vacant anyway? Cincinnati already has a great skyline. Skyscrapers do not make a city, street level activity adds to everything. So while Cincinnati builds its streetcar and connects all of its major development happening around the streetcar, Covington can build its 20 story tower while most of its downtown sits empty.

They read Urban Ohio and realized how big of a mistake it would be. :wink:

True. Blame the idiots that run the city of Cleveland. If Detroit can sit there and save buildings for useful purposes, why can't Cleveland....

I think I have seen your posts before, you live in both Indy and Cincy, right? I am sorry, the only thing Indianapolis can brag about is its downtown. If Cincinnati followed anything that Indianapolis did, I would really be disappointed in Cincinnati. Besides a few chain restaurants and a downtown mall, Indy can brag about its retail scene, and that's about it. Indy can look to Cincinnati when OTR is bustling and you can look down Vine and see the cars parked all down the street, see all the new spaces filled in the Italianate style buildings while looking south to a dense CBD. Or stand in a restored Washington Park and look at architecture Indy could only dream of. Then add to that a bustling riverfront neighborhood in between two stadiums, a new riverfront park, and all this is connected by a streetcar. I applaud Indy for the Superbowl, but I wasn't that impressed when I visited the city last year. If Indy wants a skywalk system and underground tunnels, good for them. Cincinnati has a brighter future with a far more attractive CBD, and how everything works around it is awesome.

I saw more families out enjoying Fountain Square and its surroundings, and I am pretty sure skywalks were the last thing they were thinking about because they seemed to be enjoying the CBD. Set them up in West Chester and Mason, a REAL city doesn't need skywalks to have itself an attract and vibrant core.

We won't get into that. I don't think anyone is saying that the last four decades has been all his fault, but certainly a lot has been destroyed recently in the area around the casino. Destroyed in the name of progress, but progress is parking structures? He bends over backwards to save all these abandoned buildings in Detroit, but now Cleveland has to lose theirs for parking, it's just annoying. Once again, Cleveland gets screwed by people from out of state. Don't get me wrong, I like that he saved the Higbee Building especially for the casino, but other than that, it is disappointing to say the least.

You wouldn't think considering the parking structures that are in the area for the stadiums in the Gateway District (plus the surface lot), the new "Visitors Center", and god forbid people walk from the biggest sea of parking lots in any downtown in the country... The Warehouse District. Also, isn't the casino planning to have a shuttle service type deal as well? I certainly hope that all this parking is to make way for construction of the $600 million second phase. Because I don't see demand at all downtown for this amount of parking they have planned.

Exactly! You're living in your damn paradise of Minneapolis, so why the hell do you care what is happening in Columbus? All you do is bash the city, so what is it to you, why do you care? We all know Minneapolis is everything you want and more, and Columbus is your sprawly, worthless POS city. You can take your pictures and brag about Minneapolis and its awesome infill, while constantly putting down Columbus. You're really a broken record at this point. There is constructive criticism, and then there is just constant annoyance. We get it, you hate Columbus, and it is a failure in your eyes. Glad you're enjoying Minneapolis, but for crying out loud, get over Columbus!

Downtown Cleveland = the new Downtown Detroit! Dan Gilbert saves buildings in Detroit, destroys em in Cleveland. Good times!

There are at least 10 "sprawly ones" for every nice urban city in this country. Would you qualify Cleveland as "nice?" I realize cities like Jacksonville and Indianapolis have nothing on Cleveland, but outside of those types of cities and cities more on the level of Cleveland; has any other city destroyed their downtown more with parking and decisions like this other than Detroit? That's a serious question, not a smart remark or anything.

Cleveland is the biggest joke of a city when it comes to parking. There is not that big of a demand to be downtown to warrant all this parking. Is there any other city in this country (minus the obvious sprawly ones) that have destroyed their downtown like Cleveland has other than Detroit? This is pathetic!

I was thinking the same thing. :clap: Great shots of the construction! There's no way I would climb up that ladder in the center of the crane.

Not to go off topic, but because the people who renovated the Caffee (spelling) building down in the financial district are also doing the Schofield, I am assuming Caffee is finished?