blinker12

Great news about the building at 1317 Euclid! That will be a much more visible location for Weber Murphy Fox than the Ohio Savings Plaza.

8SOG, you know I love it. What about something simple, like cleaning up trash in Ohio City or some other visible, transit-accessible neighborhood?

Here's more enthusiastic chatter about a new office building downtown. I'm not sure why there's so much talk of the East Bank when everything seems to be purely speculation at this point. I say there's no clear need for a new office building downtown as long as the Atrium continues to disintegrate in one of the most visible spots downtown. It's not Class A now, but maybe it could be brought up to that level, and for far less than it would cost to build new. Monday October 2, 2006 Baker Hostetler search may alter office landscape Law firm’s massive space needs could spell end to decade-plus construction drought downtown By STAN BULLARD Crain's Cleveland 6:00 am, October 2, 2006 Baker Hostetler won’t say much about where its Cleveland office home may be in two years. But a buzz is rising in downtown circles that the big law firm could serve as the catalyst for the city’s first new downtown office building in 15 years. Such talk is astonishing because the downtown office market’s nightmarish condition a short time ago had middle-age office brokers privately writing off working on a new skyscraper for the rest of their careers. But a resurgence of Cleveland’s Class A office market — those buildings with the best views and locations — could change that situation. Developers have designs ready for a dream tenant, and Baker, with its 455-person Cleveland staff, could be it. Wolstein Group already has aired plans for a substantial office building at its proposed Flats East Bank mixed-use project. Behind the scenes, The Richard E. Jacobs Group has a concept for a new building on Public Square. Pat Lott, senior vice president of office leasing at Forest City Enterprises Inc., said Baker “chose to pass” on a proposal his company submitted to the law firm. Under the proposal, Baker would have been housed in a new building constructed by Forest City at Prospect and Superior avenues next to the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. According to Robert Roe, president of the Cleveland office of the Staubach Co. real estate brokerage, the office market supports the developers’ interest in a new building. “In our opinion, downtown Cleveland is ripe for a new office building,” Mr. Roe said. “You’ve got a series of large tenants, including Baker, that only have the option to renew in place or look at construction. If you’re more than 50,000 square feet, there are not a lot of options.” And Baker is a big tenant. The Cleveland-founded firm rents 164,000 square feet and fills eight floors at National City Center, where its lease expires in late 2008. Insiders say it needs more than 200,000 square feet going forward. Baker spokeswoman Christine Gill confirmed that the law firm’s management is “investigating several options.” “Beyond that, we have no comment,” Ms. Gill said. However, Baker might not be able to stay silent for long about its office plans. That’s because constructing a downtown building that could accommodate the firm likely would take a minimum of two years. Even redoing existing office space for a tenant of Baker’s scale would take considerable lead time. Options are few Todd Gabriel, a vice president at Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Cleveland office unit, said 200 Public Square — formerly known as the BP Building — is the only option for Baker if it chooses to relocate to an existing building because the 41-story building could accommodate the law firm by moving around other tenants to make contiguous offices available. While Baker could remain in National City Center, Mr. Roe said that building couldn’t meet the expansion requirements its lawyers seek. National City Center illustrates the improving nature of the downtown office market: It’s full. There’s also a feeling the building’s owner, banking giant National City Corp., might not mind securing Baker’s space for itself; it has cut leases at several suburban office buildings this year. The Class A vacancy rate in downtown Cleveland was just shy of 12% as of June 30, Grubb & Ellis reports, and is low enough for talk of a new downtown building to be reasonable again. However, Mr. Gabriel said he thinks rents are too low to support a new building. He said rents generally are in the range of $16 to $17 per square foot in the class A market, while a new building would require rents in the high $20s per square foot. However, Mr. Roe argues that tenants in Class A buildings are used to paying higher rents, so the price to occupy a new building wouldn’t be a shock. Besides, Mr. Roe said, developer Scott Wolstein, whose family-led Wolstein Group is proposing the Flats East Bank project, has larger motivations for winning Baker than other developers and might be willing to work with the law firm on price. “The Flats East Bank (plan) has retail and living and office space,” Mr. Roe said. “To support retail during the day you need the office space. It’s as important for (Mr. Wolstein) to have the disposable income for his retail tenants as to have the office tenant. He’s probably able cut a better deal than someone else who wants to build downtown.” Off the beaten path Even so, selling Baker or another high-profile office tenant on the Flats requires selling a vision for a new East Bank, which currently is a postcard for urban blight even though it adjoins the waterfront and the bustling Warehouse District. “It’s a weird location” for a Class A tenant, said Kevin Piunno, managing director of the Midwest Real Estate Partners brokerage. “It’s a suburban location,” Mr. Piunno said. “Where can you walk to from there?” Adam Fishman, a principal in Fairmount Properties and Wolstein Group’s partner in the Flats East Bank project, said the development team is marketing office space “to a few select, larger users.” “Frankly, it’s premature for us to discuss any office tenant,” Mr. Fishman said. Harbor Group, owner of 200 Public Square, confirmed it could house a tenant of Baker’s size, but declined comment on the law firm’s space search, as did National City Corp. Jacobs Groups spokesman Bill Fullington said the Westlake developer has done “very preliminary research to see if there is a market” for a downtown office building on land it owns at Public Square. “We always look at how it can be developed,” Mr. Fullington said. One other factor adds intrigue to this competition: Jacobs Group and Wolstein Group both have been clients of Baker. Indeed, the law firm itself promotes on its web site the work it has done for publicly traded Developers Diversified Realty Corp., the shopping center giant that is headed by the Wolstein Group’s Mr. Wolstein.

Beautiful. Love the one of the skyline from the East Side, with Beacon Place/Carver Park (I think?) in the foreground... where was that taken from? Thanks 8SOG. Yeah, it is possible to get good shots in the winter... snow can add a certain coziness.

Oh, OK. You know me and parking lots, wim. I get a little touchy.

How much do you love it? A friend pointed out the irony of a larger-than-life statue of a man known for extreme modesty, but it's still pretty awesome. From today's PD. Angelo Paolone, a worker with Shippers Highway Express Inc. holds the hand of a 13 foot bronze statue of Mahatma Ghandi as he and other worker place it on a base in the India section of the Rockefeller Gardens. It is to be unveiled in a ceremony Sunday.

^If this is the building I'm thinking of, it's a shame they're tearing it down. It's mega-cool, and I believe artists are either squatting or living legally in it. "Parking lot developer" -- is there a special ring in hell for them?

Bingo.

I doubt this will have much impact on anyone beyond those who would have voted against it anyway. Especially if they're sticking to bars and restaurants (presumably targeting smokers).

For men's stuff in Cleveland, you pretty much have to go vintage. I think you know the usual thrift suspects. Otherwise, ordering online is a good way to keep your tax money in the city, because online retailers usually charge the tax of the municipality they ship to. It also sends the message that you live in (the city of) Cleveland.

We'll try to pin him down a little more re: number of units at the Levin College forum.

I love Bookstore on W. 25th. It dares to be disheveled.

Thanks! Always good to see some Detroit. What's the new building? (Photo 3 or so)

Merge alert.

Maybe he hasn't really crunched the numbers like we have. With all the talk of projects downtown, it's easy to get an inflated sense of how many people could soon be living there.

Oh yes, those are great ideas for increasing pedestrian activity (markets, bazaars, etc) -- can you imagine big outdoor food markets in the summer? Maybe in one of the Dave's parking lots? Yum. The pedestrian activity that currently exists is heavily concentrated around Dave's Supermarket. Much of it is people walking from the parking lots to the store and vice versa, though I do see some people venturing over to Tink Holl or down to Payne Avenue Commons (perhaps for some bubble tea). Better signage, programming and lighting would certainly help build on this. As for the name, maybe we don't have to worry about it much. People will call it what they will, and whatever is most functional will stick, right? I know we still need a name for marketing efforts, in which case maybe "Asia Town" is preferable to Asian Village.

Except for that "night view of the East Side" and maybe a couple other things, much of what you posted still looks pretty much the same. It's nice to be reminded of what we've managed to save, rather than what we've lost, for a change!

I think it's important to retain Chinatown or Asian Village as a name, because those would have immediate associations for people and make clear that there is a strong Asian presence in the area. The nabe could also be referred to generically as the Near East Side (or "The Near East," if we insist), much like Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and sometimes Edgewater are referred to as a whole as the Near West Side. Chinatown's biggest problem is that it lacks density and walkability. Things like gates and signage can help in an overall streetscape plan, but first I'd like to see developers in the neighborhood get away from building parking areas for each establishment and come up with a plan for district parking that would encourage people to walk down Payne, Superior and St. Clair and truly explore the neighborhood. This makes sense not only from an urban design standpoint (more people on the sidewalk = greater vibrance and better perceived safety), but from a business standpoint. If people walk by more than one establishment, they're more likely to buy stuff from more than one place.

I heard about that too. I believe CSU was involved in the planning. It was supposed to be in the Warehouse District, I think, but it fell through probably because of a lack of site control or financing. Stark's big enough to overcome both those obstacles, I would hope.

Seeking bioscience boost, backing Leaders hope forum brings investors, firms together Wednesday, September 27, 2006 Emily Hamlin Plain Dealer Reporter Ohio's bioscience industry is growing, and its leaders hope a conference that runs through today will create even more momentum. The Biotechnology Industry Organization's Mid-America Venture Forum, which started Monday in Cleveland, links venture capital firms from around the country with bioscience companies, including seven from Northeast Ohio. The gathering at the InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center already has stirred up interest in the Greater Cleveland area, said Baiju Shah, president of the Northeast Ohio bioscience-company developer BioEnterprise. http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/1159346243258331.xml&coll=2

A reminder about the meeting tonight. State to air plans for Shoreway ODOT, city seeking public opinion tonight Wednesday, September 27, 2006 Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporter Neighborhood pressure and a limited budget are shaping the West Shoreway-to-boulevard conversion, which is in its final planning stages. The Ohio Department of Transportation tonight will unveil favored options for improved lake access along the Shoreway, including three new intersections. ODOT and city officials want to hear what the public thinks during a meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church West, 1355 West 70th St...

Wim, that seems like an accurate assessment. Just heard from the project leader again and the estimated groundbreaking has been moved to March 2007 (not a big surprise). They are trying to find a new builder and are still waiting to hear what level of support they'll be getting from the Cleveland Foundation. They also need to make 20 presales before construction can begin. Without having begun marketing yet, it's hard to imagine they'll be ready even by March. But maybe -- this is a very specialized niche and this group (A Place for Us) has been meeting for a long time now. Perhaps they already have a group of buyers organized.

Maybe that could be Phase 12. ;)

This new documentary is scheduled to air on PBS stations nationwide on September 28 at 8 p.m. EST and again on October 1 at 11 a.m. EST, in both instances to be followed by an in-studio discussion. You can get more information, including a PDF of the entire script, here: http://www.makingsenseofplace.org/cleveland Here's the film description: Making Sense of Place - Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City A documentary film and educational outreach project produced as a collaboration of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Northern Light Productions. Making Sense of Place "Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City" is a one-hour documentary film about deterioration in the urban core and older suburbs in what was once America's 5th-largest city, concurrent with growth at the suburban periphery. Through the eyes and voices of Cleveland residents, the film explores the interrelationships of individual choices, the democratic process and market forces in the region. Many factors contribute to the patterns of the last several decades, including issues of race and class, taxes and schools, and major shifts in population and jobs. Read More...

^Is it the Latvian?