blinker12

Interesting to hear what Stark considers the Warehouse District's market: Rocky River to Bratenahl. I think that's rather conservative, actually... Already people come in from Mentor, Akron and farther to go clubbing. If Stark's project happens, the area will have an even greater pull.

I had heard that work had begun on the Capitol Theatre; nice to see that confirmed. I wonder what exactly is being done. Last I heard Marous had agreed to replace the roof in-kind; it had been leaking badly for years, creating lots of water damage.

Great photos! I was sorry I couldn't make it to the open house this weekend.

Senate committee wants to study tax credits for films Cleveland.com 3:28 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1

This is appalling.

^Really? I think outdoor piped music give streets a fakey, mall-like atmosphere. It's not a theme park -- it's a city. Real people live here.

Yeah, that Frommer's listing didn't excite me much. I get so tired of hearing about the damn river fire. If your city was around during the industrial revolution, chances are a river near you caught fire too. :roll:

Bad news: Brooks Bros. is vacating its (large) space in Tower City in April. No one yet lined up to take their place.

I heard from the person who is developing the corner of W. 32nd and Detroit. (I think wimwar has made passing reference to this before.) He is planning to build two condo buildings -- one 5 stories, the other 7 stories. The units will range in size from 1,100 to 2,500 square feet. Prices will start in the low 200s, but will also include some high-end penthouse units. Preliminary designs are done and they are going through the design review process now. I'm not sure exactly what parcels he's working with. My first thought is that the seven story building, in particular, may be a little out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood and that he will run into some problems in design review. The existing buildings at the intersection are one and two story wood buildings -- nothing at all special.

Yeah, Talkies is pretty good. City Roast is the best, but it's only open when the Market is. Oui Oui has good dine-in coffee (in French presses) but the carryout is just plain ol' drip. I don't know what happened to the coffee collaborative. The last I heard they had almost reached their fundraising goal -- but that was months ago, and nothing has happened since. Strangely, I can get better espresso drinks in Chinatown than I ever did in the OC. Koko Bakery serves up a mean cup of latte.

^^KJP, post your cool photos here when/if you get a chance!

^But it would be the first truly compelling argument for the Tower City location that I've heard.

Could there BE anymore parking? Oh yeah, I forgot -- YES! To the tune of a $170 million garage!

Ugh, I hate all that parking in front of the West Boulevard station. That is probably the most obvious place in the city for TOD, what with the dense housing and cool old buildings surrounding it on all sides.

That whole block on Superior between E. 9th and E. 12th is rather dead at the moment. You've got the diocese on the south side, which is pretty but doesn't add much street life, and this empty building plus two parking garages (with no ground floor retail) on the north side. Someone needs to slap some retail into the ground floor of those garages.

U.S. urban policy vs. Canadian urban policy... a case study. Thanks for the great pics.

Federal officials probing CMHA's $150,000-an-acre land purchase Thursday, November 16, 2006 Mike Tobin, Christopher Evans and Sandra Livingston Plain Dealer Reporters The FBI and U.S. attorney's office are investigating the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority's purchase of land in one of Cleveland's poorest neighborhoods for $150,000 an acre. U.S. Attorney Greg White confirmed a preliminary investigation Wednesday, a day after developer Todd Davis - whose company sold the land to CMHA - met with federal investigators at the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse downtown. Davis' lawyer said he requested the meeting after recent Plain Dealer stories about the deal. "Mr. Davis and his companies have been transparent about their efforts during the seven years they worked on the project and have nothing to hide about the work they did turning this toxic property into a neighborhood asset," attorney John McCaffrey said in an e-mail statement Wednesday. More at Cleveland.com

What are the hip neighborhoods in Detroit? I'm going there next month.

Is this where the hip crowd lives in Detroit? I know wimwar used to live there, so I'm assuming so. ;) But seriously... if you were a hip 20something moving to Detroit, would this be where you'd live?

Agreed. The combination of the two, along with a burgeoning artist live-work scene, is what makes the place so intriguing.

Wow, those are the best photos of Detroit I've ever seen. Nice work!

And in related news, another outer ring suburb tries to whip up something approaching a sense of place: Solon considers town square to lure upscale retail, dining Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Tasha Flournoy Plain Dealer Reporter Solon - The city known for its outstanding school system and thriving business community may finally get what some call its missing link: a real downtown. A proposed center-of-town project at Bainbridge and SOM Center roads would bring parks, a new firehouse and a bandstand, which city officials hope will attract upscale shops and restaurants. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

I love how this article doesn't even mention downtown Cleveland. :roll: Downtowns, centers vie for shoppers Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Leila Atassi Plain Dealer Reporter Tucked away in the corners of Northeast Ohio -- far from fast-food restaurants, three-story parking garages and big-box stores -- are streets that tell stories. They lure us from our subdivisions on snowy December evenings, imploring us to trade our palm pilots and laptops for mugs of hot cider and tales of simpler times. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

When must the public smoking stop? Enforcement after Dec. 7 puzzles merchants Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Harlan Spector Plain Dealer Reporter A week after voters passed a statewide public smoking ban, some merchants said they still don't understand when they have to pull ashtrays off the tables and put up no-smoking signs. Mixed signals from health officials and SmokeFree Ohio, the campaign of the American Cancer Society, have created some confusion. Link missing.

Yeah, I think that's definitely a factor in this case. Still, the irony is striking. For a project that's supposedly all about economic development, the ECP is sure having a negative short-term impact. With all the demolitions around 55th and the closings of at least a few businesses, we'll end up with less than we had to begin with. I hope this is just a case of things having to get worse before they can get better.