NEOBuckeye

Interesting to see Meijer seriously looking at entering the NE Ohio market. Honestly though, I'm not sure Stow would be the best location for them. Where they are looking there is a fairly busy area, but it's got nothing on say, Montrose or Belden Village, which are somewhat regional in pull. Stow isn't a destination spot at all. Plus, all of the Meijer stores I've seen are typically located in easily accessible, high traffic areas, usually near an Interstate, like around I-270 in Columbus. Greater Akron has no such loop, and the closest thing to an interstate highway, Rt. 8, is a few miles down the road. All this, and it seems to me that Stow would be better off trying to go for density, rather than more sprawl. A mixed-use development akin to Crocker Park, with apartments or condos over storefronts would be a more forward-looking use for this property.

Biden doesn't come across as a total prick. Kasich and his henchman come across as exactly what they are -- bullies who will poke your eyes out then blame you for not being able to see. It's not just Kasich and his lackeys. That's the modus operandi of the entire Republican Party these days. They revel in mean-spiritedness and cruelty, and go largely unpunished for it.

I'm not a Hillary fan, but I think she would completely expose and destroy Kasich in a single debate. But then, any reasonably solid female candidate should. He's a misogynist and completely unapologetic about it. Very much a product of the time and the 1950s WASP-y culture he grew up in. It would be not unlike David Duke debating Martin Luther King Jr. in the face of the former's glaring racist beliefs. Run from or embrace them, either way, he's damned. The reality is that Kasich is buddy-buddy with Jeb Bush. If a "Bush III" candidacy gets the green light from the real powers that be that are pulling the strings, Kasich will be his VP choice. That's Kasich's only real chance of being relevant on the national stage in 2016.

If it depends upon winning the right-wing extremists sitting in the Republican Party's drivers seat, Kasich has zero chance of winning the presidential nomination. Even here in Ohio, very few of the Tea Partiers are actually happy with him, even if they hold their noses and will vote for him anyway. They don't believe that he is one of them, and he isn't. He's a solid moderate-right Wall Street corporatist more than anything else. He lacks anything remotely resembling the acting skills necessary to pull off wearing the far-right Tea Party mask, and if he does try, it will backfire on him badly, both locally and nationally.

These lists all seem so random. Toledo and Buffalo--and even Akron--made it onto this list, but somehow Cleveland didn't?? :wtf:

I recall that Proenza and the president of CSU at the time were quite interested in the possibilities of a consolidated regional university, even to the point that they actually seriously considered just merging UA and Cleveland State if Youngstown and Kent wanted no part in it (The conversation even went as far as considering which president would lead the combined institution). I think YSU was also receptive to it. I could also see their reluctance, given that Youngstown State is one of the last major institutional anchors remaining in the Mahoning Valley. Kent was the one that was vehemently against any kind of a merger. They were very adamant about not giving up their autonomy. The initial proposal was floated fairly late during Strickland's administration by higher-ed chancellor Fingerhut. Strickland's loss in 2010 to Kasich and administrative turnover probably had a great deal to do with why talks stalled-out. I agree though that sooner or later this will be revisited, if by no other reason than economic necessity.

I was not much at all impressed by Scarborough's candidacy or his selection by the UA Board of Directors' to succeed Proenza. (I didn't endorse Tressel either.) It seems to me that they settled for someone in Akron's backyard this time (Toledo, relatively speaking) instead of casting a wider net with the intent to land a high-quality candidate as they did in 2000 when they landed Proenza. I do see and understand as you do, the reasoning for why they chose him, however. All the same, and as you also grasp, I don't think mastery of number-crunching alone in Buchtel Hall will be enough to save UA. It's too conservative and "safe" of an approach when a more proper balance between cost-cutting/consolidation and visionary leadership is what's needed at this time. And yes, I know that's paradoxical. But such leaders do exist. Just not right now at the head of UA. Accountants will do what they do best, typically without regard for sensitivities. But in this case, you need a leader with a firm grasp of the grim math Akron faces who will also engage people in a vision of the future beyond the dark and stormy night, and bring them along and through it for the journey. Even if there is going to be a lot of blood-letting and heads-rolling along the way. Such a balance in approaches might make all the difference between whether there is anything and anyone around in the aftermath to still call a University of Akron. UA presidents usually stick around awhile, but I give Scarborough 2-4 years before he's gone or ousted. He's not a proven leader, but he'll have to learn fast, or they're going to have his head on a pike. Then again, maybe the full intention all along was to bring him in as the proverbial hatchet man, who may then unwittingly serve afterwards as the fall guy. Long term, on the order of 5-10 years, I suspect the proposal floated a few years ago for a Northeast Ohio University or "NEO U" will be dusted off and receive much more serious consideration. A key question then will be what Akron's standing and bargaining power will be at that time within the merger/consolidation process, relative to that of the other three universities (Kent, CSU and YSU). What happens these next few years at UA will be pivotal.

I would agree with that. Even though I would have rather seen adaptive reuse of some of the existing structures I'm glad to see multiple large scale developments going on in and around Downtown. I also agree there is no shortage of land downtown. The amount of surface lots is ridiculous and at this point I think I would rather see empty older buildings waiting for reuse than another surface lot with the thought that maybe sometime down the road someone might build something on it. In fact, in the long run I think Akron might do better hanging onto more older buildings as from what I've read it is often historic tax credits that make projects financially feasible, particularly with the relatively low rents we have in this area. I just don't see runaway demand for new builds any time soon. Even with the new student housing that was built, it was obvious they were built cheaply - from what I could tell all of those buildings are wood frame construction. Indeed they are. Throwaway buildings that will be in serious need of repairs or demolition in 20 years--think mid-2030s. Ironically, many of the older buildings they replaced would probably still be standing then. The hope seems to rest in the ability of these, as outgrowths of short-term fixes, to be parlayed into longer-term ones. I just don't know that Akron will have that luxury. So much of the city's long-term outlook rides on the confluence of medical research and the polymer technology being developed here, and their roles in laying down the foundation for a new local-regional economy. Some have expressed serious doubts about the direction and fruits of these efforts, including the former President/CEO of Acme no less, long a player in the Akron business community. The University of Akron is also a key player, which itself looks disturbingly shaky and exposed in the face of broader trends looming on the horizon in Higher Ed that could dramatically reduce the number of colleges and alter the focus of the ones that do survive. UA essentially stands as a very modest regional research university, permanently dwarfed by the likes of Ohio State and U-M, and still not remotely on par either with the next-up tier of public universities, such as Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Whatever shakes-out in higher-ed, it's tough to imagine a world without OSU surviving in some relatively significant form or another, but can anyone honestly say the same about Akron, Kent, Cleveland State or Youngstown State? Akron stands to lose big. I hope that isn't the case, but I am wondering what the contingency plan is?

Given the historic lack of concern for integrating buildings into the urban landscape, I would call it a win. I am concerned though with how well all of these buildings plus the existing neighborhood will fare over time. That is a lot of additional rental space to drop into a stagnant student population. I have heard of some aggressive rent negotiation going on. I totally agree on both counts. At the same time, it is unfortunate that so many new student housing complexes have gone up downtown that we are much less likely now to see the full buildout of East Exchange in front of the university, meaning that those vacant lots between Spicer and Rt. 8 are probably going to remain just that for awhile, maybe for years at this point if UA doesn't see a sustained uptick in enrollment. Downtown has essentially run off with University Park's plan as far as student housing goes. The greater irony is that demand for downtown living from adult non-students is higher than it has been in decades, yet there are few options available to them. Even for students who graduate and want to stay in town, they are forced to look elsewhere for places to live, usually out of the Akron area altogether. IMHO, the vast bulk of student housing should have been built mostly along E. Exchange instead while the lots at S. Main, High and Exchange should have been reserved for more general adult housing. The city could have done a better job of enforcing this, but I suspect they saw student housing as the key to reviving downtown, and didn't honestly care if that siphoned off energy and momentum from UAPark, though it was already hindered by other issues. Maybe all this will be corrected down the road, but I worry that a struggling UA's and a general shakeout in higher ed will result in reduced need for student housing in general, instead of more of it. Some of the existing complexes will likely eventually need to be "flipped" over to housing for the general adult population.

I totally agree. Just about all of the cities you name, along with Lima, are literally dying for passenger rail and would benefit from it greatly, as would also be the case for the cities linked to them (new markets, travel destinations, etc.). Even Columbus, because I'm sure it's been said elsewhere on UrbanOhio that Columbus is probably the largest city in North America with no passenger rail service, period. Its leaders and the state govt. should be VERY embarrassed about this fact, but with the possible exception of Mayor Coleman, no one seems to see this as a concern and is willing to act on it. Kasich as Governor comes off as having the attitude that cars and highways are all he needs to get around, so they should be good for everyone else, too. So let's just add another lane to I-71 and I-75. :roll: It's an incredibly shortsighted and let's just say stupid way of governing. It's a bit disheartening to think that our best shot at this may be generational turnover during the next 10-15 years. The ideology and "culture war" fighting Baby Boomers like Kasich, but also people like the Clintons and Bushes, have been utterly obsessed with things like religion, gay marriage and abortion to the detriment of planning and infrastructure. Maybe when they are finally pushed aside by the Gen-Xers/Yers/Millennials that are more concerned with practical matters, we'll finally see more of the wholesale changes happen that we have been waiting on for so long.

Lima's mayor, David Berger, is a huge Amtrak advocate. He and civic leaders in Columbus, Fort Wayne and other cities are pressing for Columbus-to-Chicago rail and funding studies. Um yeah. Good luck with that. FitzGerald's implosion has all but doomed Ohio to another four years of an ignorantly pro-sprawl, anti-rail governor in Kasich. It'll be at least that much longer before Lima sees this kind of a lifeline, and what may be its best hope for even a modest revival. This state's government and politics does little to serve and support its legacy cities.

Been to the CityTarget in Seattle. It's perfect for a downtown that is highly residential like what Seattle has. It really is quite similar to the University Heights multi-level Target store, except without the larger seasonal items (e.g. patio sets) and such that the average Downtown Seattleite has no place for, even if they could somehow manage to lug them back to their apartment. Downtown Cleveland is moving towards becoming more residential, but still has quite a ways to go before it hits the critical mass of residents that would make this store viable here. I'd guess we'd be more likely to see the smaller TargetExpress model happening first, perhaps as part of a major mixed-use development within the Warehouse District, or maybe adjacent to CSU.

I think Downtown Pittsburgh is about on par with Cincinnati when it comes to liveliness. They both have their clusters of restaurants and entertainments, largely surrounded by dead zones (at night). Market Square/Fountain Square, Cultural District/Aronoff area, North Shore/Banks. Not a perfect comparison, but I'd say they're about equal. I don't think you can include Columbus in the same discussion as Cincinnati, Indy, and Pittsburgh when it comes to downtown liveliness, though. Having been in Downtown Columbus many times recently, it feels almost completely dead at night. The arena district adds some life but is on the fringe of downtown. There is no Fountain Square/Market Square/Monument circle area in downtown Columbus...not even close to it. Now, if we're talking downtown near, and you pick up High Street just north of the Convention Center and the area near North Market, then yes, there is a ton of energy and vibrancy. I think that's akin to including OTR with Cincinnati, though. Not a true CBD to CBD comparison. I haven't been to Cleveland in over 10 years, so I can't comment on it. Totally agree with the Pit-Cincy assessment. Between the two cities, I see plenty of parallels between similar downtown clusters of nightlife, parks, museums/cultural venues and public spaces, open markets, sports/arena zones (and outlying gentrifying neighborhoods). Not too much concentrated energy and vibrancy in either CBD when there isn't a game or festival going on, but there's still no shortage of places to go and things to do in either. You just might have to walk a block or two to get from Point A to Point B in either case.

If current national trends in urban retail and millennial/aging boomer preferences for urban/urbanized living bear out, Montrose and Fairlawn both are definitely in trouble in the next 5-10 years. Precluding this in the Akron metropolitan area however, is the fact that the residential redevelopment of the city center (and neighborhoods like Highland Square) has moved forward so slowly. Demand for urban living exists, but options relevant to what people can afford and want still remain scarce. Some of the glut of student apartments being built downtown should have instead been built and marketed to the general adult population. It's quite ironic that downtown Akron's residential revival has been facilitated mostly by students, yet UA's enrollment has been slipping downward, making it less likely that some of the additional residence halls planned closer to the university on East Exchange will actually be built in the near future. This presents an opportunity for some of Akron's more ambitious and forward-looking suburbs (if there really are any) to cash in on the demand. I don't see this happening in Montrose since it is unincorporated and more of a commercial hodgepodge than anything else. I honestly don't see Fairlawn going this way either, though it probably has the resources and wherewithal to pull it off if they were more inclined to do so.

I don't pretend to know what goes on in LeBron James' head, but my thoughts are that at the very least, he's likely going to be looking for some tax write-offs for his immense and still-growing fortune. That may or may not mean dabbling in real estate, but if so, why not in his hometown of Akron? He's already shown a great deal of interest in helping out the city community through his foundation and the events he has staged around town. I could easily see him taking things a step further by trying to place his stamp on the city in a more substantial and lasting way, through community and neighborhood development of some kind. The house rehab project he highlighted during his "homecoming" rally at UA could become the foundation for him of a larger effort of scale.

Sure, probably. As could Columbus' Mike Coleman, Don Plusquellic of Akron, or even Cleveland's Frank Jackson. It's actually really unfortunate for this state, as urbanized as it is, that it doesn't have a pool of current and former mayors with higher political ambitions. There really should be a coalition among the state's cities to take control of state govt. to allow for and promote better urban/metro policy. There's virtually no chance of seeing the real reforms we need in Ohio as long as we've got a bunch of bible-thumping and fetus-obsessed farmers occupying the Statehouse. Ohio has three separate large urban areas that don’t particularly care for each other. I think only California, New York, and Texas have that many. This is a disadvantage for any city politician. I find this interesting, because there was actually a coalition that formed and existed around 2005-2006 consisting of six of the "Big Eight" Ohio city mayors. Don Plusquellic (Akron), Mike Coleman (Columbus), Jane Campbell (Cleveland), Jack Ford (Toledo), Rhine McLin (Dayton), and Charlie Luken (Cincinnati). I think they were then trying to raise awareness about some of the challenges that big cities within the state were facing while trying to influence policy on the state level. There was even a point during which Coleman and Plusquellic were debating over who should run for governor. At one point, Coleman made his intent known, but he withdrew them when his then-wife's DUI came to light and cast a shadow of doubt over his aspirations to higher office. Plusquellic ultimately decided to remain mayor of Akron, and Congressman Ted Strickland eventually emerged as the Dems' nominee. It seems the mayors felt that they had someone in Strickland who was sympathetic to their interests, and decided after his election that their coalition was no longer needed. That, and there were also some election turnovers that took a few of the members out of the picture. Frank Jackson defeated Jane Campbell in Cleveland, while Carty Finkbeiner beat out Ford in Toledo. Charlie Luken in Cincinnati decided not to run for re-election and was succeeded by Mark Mallory. Personality conflicts may have also played a role as far as the disbanding of the coalition. Plusquellic and Campbell seemed to get along famously well as mayors of the two largest cities in NE Ohio, but Plusquellic and Frank Jackson don't talk at all (which seems stupid and ironic in light of the cities' relationship). The coalition also was Democrat only, excluding Janet Creighton, a Republican who was mayor of Canton at the time. Also, the mayor of Youngstown, Democrat George McKelvey, was mysteriously excluded. In any case, I think there is just as much need now for a coalition of big city mayors as there was 10 years ago, and in some ways more so. Where as Gov. Bob Taft and the Republican state-level officials of his time simply seemed indifferent to our cities, Kasich and Republican state-level officials today are openly hostile towards them. None of this changes the fact that our cities need advocacy, backing and support at the state level to continue to prosper, grow, and thrive. A nonpartisan coalition would be ideal. We don't need people running our state government who are single-mindedly obsessed with imposing patriarchal Christianity over women and gays, or people like Kasich whose view of public infrastructure and development is rock-solid frozen in reverence toward 1950s suburban sprawl-land sitcoms like Leave it to Beaver.

Maybe when LeBron retires from the NBA, he'll move into commercial property development and take interest in this sort of thing? Short of another area developer like Testa or Stark taking up interest in HS, he's probably Akron's best hope for accelerating and expanding the city's redevelopment.

During the last two Presidential election cycles, the Republican primary race has been a extremist d***-measuring contest. Kasich will be competing against folks with credentials such as not believing in Evolution, still opposing gay rights, and that the United States should still be in Iraq...and Republicans voters that eat this stuff up. His first step is to win their approval and it's not going to come from being a moderate. In fact, that may even be held against him by some of his opponents. He has no incentive to showcase his supposed moderate bona fides in the months leading up to the Presidential race. Kasich has zero chance of winning the GOP nomination in 2016, even with Ohio playing host to the RNC. Maybe he could have done so two or three cycles ago ago, but he's far too moderate, and the ascendant Tea Partiers steering the GOP want someone as foaming-at-the-mouth bats*** Reactionary crazy and conspiracy-driven as they are. They want someone much more like Ted Cruz or Sarah Palin. Mitt Romney tried to emulate them, but he couldn't pass it off. I can't see Kasich faring any better because he doesn't even try to be the chameleon the way Romney does. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's trademark phrase comes to mind when trying to describe him. That must be the reason why they seem to get along so well.

Sure, probably. As could Columbus' Mike Coleman, Don Plusquellic of Akron, or even Cleveland's Frank Jackson. It's actually really unfortunate for this state, as urbanized as it is, that it doesn't have a pool of current and former mayors with higher political ambitions. There really should be a coalition among the state's cities to take control of state govt. to allow for and promote better urban/metro policy. There's virtually no chance of seeing the real reforms we need in Ohio as long as we've got a bunch of bible-thumping and fetus-obsessed farmers occupying the Statehouse.

Looking better with each passing day. Now if only we could convince Walgreen to rebuild their store flush forward to the sidewalk with the parking at the rear, we'd have a true west end gateway to the Highland Square commercial district. I know, it's wishful thinking at this point, but still. How frequently do they remodel/rebuild their stores? Shouldn't this one be about due?

I'm still shaking my head that FitzGerald was apparently the best the Ohio Democratic Party could come up with to pit toe-to-toe against Kasich. This story only further validates my opinion about his sorry candidacy, but Dem state party chairman Chris Redfern is the real idiot here for being so eager to sign off on it. :roll: That he and the party didn't even vet FitzGerald properly for derpy things like this that could derail his campaign and wreck the entire slate's chances in November is pure incompetence. But really, Mr. Redfern? A one-term county executive? 8 key cities with 8 mayors, all of them currently members of your party, and a Josh Mandel-esque one-term county executive in a state with two such unique positions among 88 counties is the best you can come up with?? I'm admittedly not much of a fan of running legislators for executive roles, which pretty much takes us back to Voinovich. But former Congressman Strickland at least got us jump-started and headed toward the 21st century in 2006. Then we ended up with the rail and urban-hating former Congressman and Wall Street/Lehman Bros. man Kasich, and we've been fast-forwarded in terms of our state-level social and urban policy backwards to 1954. Kasich should not be allowed to cruise completely unchallenged into lame duck status and his even lamer presidential ambitions by default. But that's where we are right now, and it looks like we're going to be stuck with him until January 2019. Yay for inept and corrupt two-party politics. :wtf: :x :roll:

Looks phenomenal, but I agree. The rate of enrollment growth doesn't support it right now, and long term trends aren't optimistic. Also UA isn't OSU, and people really aren't flocking to this part of the country.

Montrose needs a streetscaping plan, alright. It's called a wrecking ball, to tear down all of the haphazard development resulting from nonexistent zoning and planning. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen, but it is nonetheless sad to think about what proper zoning laws and planning might have done for the area, one of many unintended consequences of 19th century township governments. Had Montrose been incorporated on its own or as a part of Akron or Fairlawn, it might today look more like Easton, Legacy Village or Crocker Park.

There were actually plans for a Downtown Akron Dave and Busters about 10 years ago to go into space adjacent to the Civic Theater. They never materialized, likely in no small part due to the market crash in 2007-2008, but also because of Akron's sluggish economy, which wasn't helped any by the crash. Also, we used to have a Jillian's on South Main where ZAR/22 Exchange is now located. It inexplicably closed in 2007 and the building it was in was later demoed to make room for the 22 Exchange complex. I do think some kind of mixed-use entertainment facility similar to Jillian's or D&Bs would really thrive in Downtown Akron now. Jillian's for a long time was THE go-to place for anyone wanting to hang out in downtown, well before the invasion of student housing. I still don't understand why they closed--they never seemed to be hurting for business. They left a void that has yet to truly be filled by anyone, but perhaps something will eventually come along to replace them.

Just about any kind of new retail in the Northside district is welcome at this point. The district footprint itself is tiny, but it does has some room to grow and become a genuine community. Furnace St. in particular beyond the southbound leg of the Y-Bridge could really become much more than what it is now, lifeless with a number of vacant and poorly appropriated lots. I really wish the city and developers would start working their way through here. Northside seems ripe for several mixed-use buildings with street-level retail and apartments on the upper levels. With such renewed interest in downtown living, Akron seems to be missing the boat on the trend, save for the student housing binge. But non-UA students need viable options. How do you keep UA grads and attract young professionals and empty nesters back into town when all you have to offer are student apartments? Akron should really be trying to strengthen and diversify its community lifestyle offerings beyond UA Park/South Main. Highland Square and the Middlebury/East End area could also really play into this strategy.