blinker12

Any word on when "TOAST," the wine bar on W. 65th, is supposed to open?

Providence does this - http://www.waterfire.org/ And James Levin has talked about doing it as part of Ingenuity

A bit of self promotion... For all you green architecture buffs (and fans of Detroit Shoreway), my partner and I have a blog about renovating a Victorian house on West Clinton to meet LEED for Homes standards. Check it ooooouutt -- http://victorianleed.blogspot.com/

Loretto, what discussion are you talking about? I didn't see any comments on the NY Times page or am I missing something?

See below. The same column covered us in 2005 in similarly positive terms. We do tend to forget how good we have it here and it's often affirming seeing things from an outsider's perspective. There's also a slide show on the Web site. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/travel/20hours.html?hpw 36 Hours in Cleveland By BRETT SOKOL Published: September 20, 2009 “YOU Gotta Be Tough” was a popular T-shirt slogan worn by Clevelanders during the 1970s, a grim period marked by industrial decline, large-scale population flight and an urban environment so toxic the Cuyahoga River actually caught on fire. These days it still helps to be at least a little tough; a fiercely blue-collar ethos endures. But instead of abandoning the city, local entrepreneurs and bohemian dreamers alike are sinking roots; opening a wave of funky boutiques, offbeat art galleries and sophisticated restaurants; and injecting fresh life into previously rusted-out spaces. It’s a vibrant spirit best exemplified by Cleveland’s new all-female roller derby league, whose wry name, the Burning River Roller Girls, and home, a former GM auto factory retooled into a 60,000-square-foot sports facility, say it all.

There's an Olympic sized pool at the CSU Rec Center, E. 24th and Chester. This is also in my opinion the best gym downtown (perhaps in the city). It opened three years ago. Members of the public can join. http://www.csuohio.edu/recreation_center

The Clinic demo wasn't really that controversial, sadly. The Clinic submitted it, the UCI Design Review committee asked for more time to review, but approved it almost unanimously a few weeks later. City Planning stood by passively. Steve Litt wrote one token article that no one seemed to get very upset about. I agree, this is the most heartbreaking demolition I've seen since moving back to Cleveland 4 years ago. What the Clinic wants, the Clinic gets.

What's the favorite restaurant in this neighborhood?

My partner and I are visiting Detroit for Labor Day weekend. We'll be there Friday and Saturday nights, staying downtown at the Holiday Inn Express. ($39 a night on Priceline!) First, I understand from reviews that valet parking at the HIE is $18/day. Are there any nearby parking garages or lots where I could park for less? Second, any suggestions for what to do? I really want to see MOCAD, so that's on the list. Other than that, we're pretty open. If there are any fun/off-beat neighborhood-type festivals going on, that would be great. No rib-fests, but more like a Taste of Tremont or Made in the 216 type thing (frame of reference for Clevelanders). I'm really into seeing how people actually live here. Also, any interesting urban neighborhoods we should definitely check out? From photos I've seen on the board, Indian Village looks worth seeing... Midtown... Hamtramck... Any others?

I want to weigh in briefly on this. I don't have a problem at all with putting Section 8 housing along the corridor. However, I am frustrated by our community's collective insistence on demolishing historic structures to build new. The Section 8 housing units are replacing two 1920s-era, brick apartment buildings that probably contain a similar number of units to what's required (70). They are certainly in a run-down condition at the moment, but given the state and federal restoration incentives available at the moment (that together can provide 45% of the financing for a rehab project), I find it difficult to believe that there was no option to save these buildings. Chris Warren says they've been vacant for 15 years -- certainly other buildings have been vacant longer and been brought back to productive use. Regardless, they will go away so that we can make room for (to judge from the renderings) a suburban-looking, set-back-from-the-sidewalk exercise in mediocrity, complete with front lawns. Given what is likely a limited budget, the construction materials and techniques won't be anywhere near the level seen in the old buildings. Putting aside who will live there for the moment, is this the kind of built environment we want to create on what is supposed to be the City's Main Street? It continues a trend in Cleveland of "throwing away" the old city to create something new, as if new in itself is better. To me, this is not only wasteful (and therefore unsustainable), but a reflection of our poor self-image. If we thought better of ourselves, we would want to honor our heritage -- it's what separates us from and could make us competitive with newer cities like Phoenix and even Vancouver.

I got a tour of the model unit over the weekend. It was fairly well done - a lot of historic interior brickwork preserved. The kitchen was a very skinny galley-style, somewhat awkward. I was told that 37 of the 42 units they have online have rented already. Impressive! There will be 102 units total.

I have a general question about this project. Will there be additional phases of townhouses starting anytime soon? I'm assuming sales have slowed because of the housing market and that additional phases won't go up until a certain number have pre-sold?

I think that's going to be the new MRN/E. 4th Street neighborhood office?

For Little Italy rentals, the best thing to do is drive or walk up and down Murray Hill, Fairview and Mayfield roads (and side streets) looking for signs and writing down phone numbers. You'll see a few things on Craig's List but for the most part leasing is still done the old fashioned way in the LI. Also, this is a cute building that was recently renovated --> http://italiabldg.com/index.php

Tremont or Ohio City might interest you. Both neighborhoods are adjacent to downtown but attract slightly older residents, in their 30s-40s, many with children. Both neighborhoods have shops and restaurants within walking distance (depending of course on exactly where you live). Both have easy access to I-71, which will take you to Medina.

I heard the theater is ahead of schedule and is supposed to open in May. This was a while ago though.

I saw the tell-tale net fencing and back-hoe in front of the beautiful art deco building at Carnegie & E. 105 that the Clinic is demolishing.

Just a couple of suggestions/comments: - If your wife is a student at CSU she'll have free access to a nice, Olympic size pool at the new Rec Center (which is in general pretty awesome) - just in case the pool thing is a dealbreaker - Have you checked 1900 Euclid Lofts? They're right across the street from CSU. Not exactly the nicest place ever but inexpensive rents and you can't get a more convenient location. I think parking is cheap too. - You might take a look at Ohio City and Tremont too. Ohio City in particular is served by several bus lines that go directly to CSU. I lived in "the OC" when I was a grad student at CSU and loved it; it has a cozy neighborhood feel. Depending on exactly where you live in OHio City, there's a full-service grocery, the West Side Market, a library branch and tons of restaurants within walking distance.

I think it closed, didn't it?

... which is stalled. It's nice of Diehl to connect the move to the District of Design, but from what I understand the deciding factors for KSU's moving were 1) they wanted to be on Euclid because of the Euclid Corridor and 2) they wanted to be closer to CSU's Levin College of Urban Affairs to share resources and allow for greater cross-registration. As Hill/Cufarro announced several months ago, the DoD is "on hold" because of the financial crisis. They were unable to finalize deals with any of the firms they courted to move to the district, and they were never involved in the KSU negotiations.

It's too bad we lost the Hippodrome... but I'd like to add a counterpoint to this and say that overall I think we've done a good job with Euclid -- at least downtown. Really, aside from the 'drome and the buildings that BP replaced, most of the worthwhile pre-war architecture has been preserved. Now, if you're talking about 55th/Euclid and 105th/Euclid, then that's an entirely different story.

It really is sickening. In the three years since I've been back, the intersection of E. 55th and Euclid has been laid waste. As recently as 2005, most of the original buildings between E. 55th and E. 57th were still there, albiet in terrible condition, on both sides of the street. Now they'll all be gone. The Euclid Corridor, far from helping save these buildings, has actually been the primary catalyst for their destruction. Midtown Cleveland has been pushing for the demolition of these buildings for years and has some hair-brained plan to turn this area into an outdoor mountain bike park. How inappropriately suburban can you get for this location? Not to mention the safety issues that would come from having an open air facility that's open only during the day during the warm months. Sigh.

I've always thought it would make much more sense to extend the Blue Line down Chagrin, not Van Aken. With all the shopping and offices on Chagrin, I can see such a line getting a lot more use than one down Van Aken. I know, I know -- Beachwood probably hasn't wanted it in the past. I wonder if that would still be the case, however...

Not really downtown but not sure where else to put this... Lights go out in downtown digs as Graybar moves to Valley View By STAN BULLARD Crain's 4:30 am, December 1, 2008 The lure of a larger one-story building will take another longtime company out of the city of Cleveland after Graybar Electric Co. of St. Louis purchased a building in Valley View. The electrical equipment distributor on Nov. 20 paid $4 million for the former Tyler Elevator Co. building at 6161 Halle Drive, according to Cuyahoga County land records. More at http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081201/SUB1/312019989/1004&Profile=1004

I would second Zen. I'm not a fan of Marino's. I used to go while I was in grad school at CSU because it was convenient, but they seem to do one cut for everyone (i.e. short and square), and it wasn't particularly flattering on me.