blinker12

Cuyahoga County (Cleveland): 67% Kerry, 33% Bush Franklin County (Columbus): 55% Kerry, 45% Bush Hamilton County (Cincinnati): 53% Bush, 47% Kerry (Source: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/) I couldn't find results from the city limits themselves, but you'd find the city of Cleveland swinging even more heavily toward Kerry than the county. Also, it's not accurate to say that Cleveland's Democraticism (a word?) is entirely or even primarily a result of labor (though labor is certainly still a factor). That might have been accurate about 50 years ago. However, labor is no longer nearly the force it once was in NEO, as the area's manufacturing base continues to erode. Cuyahoga County's (and Cleveland's) high number of Democrats is more due to its sizeable populations of blacks, Jews, Latinos, gays, Catholics and people of moderate or low incomes, all of whom tend to vote Democratic for various social and economic reasons.

The figure I remember -- and if you search backwards in this thread you'll probably find it -- is that it would cost $20 million just to stabilize the hillside. That expenditure is not justified by the current Cleveland real estate market. Maybe some day. In the meantime, the hill's lack of stability might help get some of those horrendous low-rise structures on the east side of W. 25th, near the Detroit-Superior Bridge, demolished (of course the current tenants would need to be sensitively relocated). One plan OCNW has for the site is a park, which I think would be beautiful (gorgeous skyline views, interesting topography, potential trails to the river, etc.).

So yeah, all car-oriented. Oh how I wish we could get away from that, or find a more aesthetically appealing compromise.

How does that follow from anything else that's been posted in this thread, or from 2004 county-by-county election statistics? The Columbus area is more Republican than the Cleveland area, by a long shot. Let's face it, the only reason the '04 election was even close was because of NEO and Toledo.

Cool! :mrgreen: I would like to know more about NPI's Retail Initiative. Are they just building horrible suburban strip malls in urban settings, or are they actually trying to fill old storefronts?

Controversy thickens for Ohio City housing Friday, March 03, 2006 Angela D. Chatman Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland City Councilman Joe Santiago has entered the debate over the mix of affordable and market-rate housing in Ohio City. The newly elected councilman, whose Ward 14 includes part of Ohio City, has said he has threatened to withhold some of his Community Development Block Grant money to the Ohio City Near West Development Corp. Santiago said his constituents south of Lorain Avenue say the group's board does not represent the entire neighborhood. They say it favors market-rate housing over affordable housing and housing for the poor. The residents fear they will be priced out of the neighborhood. Officials of the development group disagree, saying their focus is on housing for people of all economic backgrounds in the near West Side neighborhood... more at: http://www.cleveland.com

These places are "so Cleveland" with "Cleveland" meaning unpretentious but a little funky... and often old as dirt: The Parkview Nite Club, on W. 58th (perhaps the ultimate Cleveland joint) Happy Dog, on Detroit Siam Cafe, on St. Clair (a converted fast food joint with some of the best Chinese food in town!) The dearly departed Ruthie & Moe's Hot Sauce Williams Heck's Cafe Snickers Nate's Deli any place in Tremont I could go on...! :type:

Or at least all Cleveland reporters should read it. They might actually be shamed into avoiding this cliche from here on out. :type:

The Site Selection stories can be viewed here: States: http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/mar/cover/ Metro Areas: http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/mar/p176/ Micropolitans: http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/mar/p184/

Can we stop moaning and groaning yet?

Ohio, Cleveland, Cincinnati rank high in business expansion cleveland.com 5:45 p.m. Site Selection magazine ranked Ohio first in the Midwest and second in the country in the number of new and expanded business facilities in 2005. The magazine tallied 598 projects for Ohio, trailing only Texas, with 842. Rounding out the top five were Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina. Greater Cleveland ranked eighth among the country's largest metro areas in number of projects. Cincinnati-Middletown ranked sixth. Ohio ranked first in activity in so-called micropolitan areas, which have populations of less than 50,000. To qualify for the ranking, a project had to involve capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs or add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area. The ranking doesn't track job growth or the number of businesses that leave the state.

Beautiful -- Thanks MayDay! :clap: BTW, does anyone know how I can get my browser to show the full images? It cuts them off at the margin of the thread.

This "urban" Ikea looks just like the suburban ones.

Yes, but what about the Chester-Doan housing? Is that being developed in collaboration with a private developer?

I picked up a schedule for the 30th annual CIFF yesterday. How exciting! This event is one of the jewels of Cleveland's great arts scene. The festival runs March 16-26 at Tower City Cinemas downtown. You can peruse 10 days' worth of films from all over the world here: http://clevelandfilm.org/

Yes, the lots are truly awful. Downtown would feel so much better if there were buildings on them. I got a little nervous reading KJP's last post. I hope the publicity about the project hasn't somehow put it in jeopardy.

The last I heard was that they'll open in May. Can't remember the source, but it was credible.

That shirt seems to be a reference to the 2004 presidential election (given the fact that the state is colored red). A lot of people blamed us for putting Bush into office. Why they don't also blame the other 30-odd states that voted for him -- and by not nearly so narrow a margin -- I don't know.

The project inches forward ever so slowly... 11 vie for county building job By JAY MILLER 6:00 am, February 27, 2006 Cuyahoga County's plan to move 1,500 county employees to new quarters along East Ninth Street — at a cost of $100 million-plus — has piqued the interest of 11 architectural/engineering teams, several of which include the country's largest and most prestigious design firms. Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum Inc. of St. Louis, No. 1 on Architectural Record magazine's 2005 list of largest firms, and the No. 2 firm on that list, Gensler of San Francisco, both have united with local firms to respond to the county's call for professional services to help it figure out what to do with the site that once was home to former banking concern Ameritrust. HOK is teaming up with Collins Gordon Bostwick Architects of Cleveland, while Gensler is joined by Vocon Design, a Cleveland space planning firm. Last May, the Cuyahoga County commissioners paid The Richard E. Jacobs Group real estate concern $22 million for a complex of buildings that stretches south along the east side of East Ninth Street from Euclid Avenue. But the commissioners have not decided which, if any, buildings on the site to knock down. Only the 1908 Cleveland Trust rotunda building at the southeast corner of East Ninth and Euclid is considered untouchable. Even the 29-story, 35-year-old Ameritrust Tower is under the shadow of the wrecking ball. The architectural firms' responses — hefty bound 'resumes,' essentially — to the county's call for architectural/design teams are the first step in a process that is expected to select a team by June. Many of the submissions also included a long list of other consultants who would handle parking, security, historic renovation and other specialties they anticipate might be needed for the project. The supporting casts in these submission are intended to show the breadth of each team's capabilities and their ability to satisfy small business employment goals. Others submitted proposals solely in their names and said they would flesh out full teams as needed. The county sees the headquarters project not only as a way to solve its space problems, but also as a bold attempt to provide a much-needed economic boost to Euclid Avenue. The submission from the Cleveland-based Oliver Design Group goes so far as to describe the new county headquarters as 'the most important (project) in Cleveland in the last 50 years because the critical mass of (the county's) headcount has the potential' to catalyze redevelopment in the surrounding area. That said, the project won't be easy. Tower presents challenge One proposal, from Westlake Reed Leskosky of Cleveland and Pelli Clarke Pelli of New Haven, Conn., describes the project as presenting 'several enormous design challenges related to the various buildings now existing at the site.' The main stumbling block is the 29-story tower on the site. Its small floors make it awkward to keep on a single floor offices such as those of the county treasurer and county recorder. But the building also has some architectural cachet. It was designed by Marcel Breuer, a leading modernist architect of the 1960s, and the building's demolition likely would bring architectural preservationists out of the woodwork. The 11 submissions reflect the attractiveness of a commission on a pricey project at a time when the largest architectural firms have consolidated into hungry giants with as many as 30 offices and, in the case of HOK, 1,700 employees to keep busy. For the local firms, the county administration building is a choice plum in what was described as a slowly recovering market for architectural work by John C. Waddell, co-president of the Cleveland chapter of the American Institute of Architects and head of Waddell Associates Architects Inc. Mr. Waddell said the teaming of national firms with local firms creates a level of comfort for bodies such as the county commissioners, for whom hiring an architect is a once-in-a-career event. 'These organizations don't think the smaller guys can handle (a big project) and want the depth and experience the larger firm can offer,' Mr. Waddell said.

^Pretty pictures! Now, how actively is CSU pursuing private developers to tackle these housing projects? Or are we still in the "dreaming" phase?

It occurs to me that I wouldn't mind seeing the Galleria go dark. Get all those stores out of the mall and onto the street, where they belong. We can start with the Avenue retail spaces. And then find another use for the Galleria (easier said than done, I know). Downtown Cleveland needs to face the fact that indoor malls are obsolete. Even the suburbs have realized that by now. On the question of the Flats vs. the Lakefront, I think it boils down to something very simple. In the Flats, there's already a "there" there. There are buildings, boats, bridges, streets, history. (Incidentally, I'm not a huge fan of Wolstein's designs because he wipes out some of those ingredients.) On the Lakefront, however, we'd be trying to create something out of nothing. That's a huge feat to tackle, even for a prospering city like Chicago. For a distressed city like Cleveland to try it seems like a recipe for defeat.

True. Still, do you know if there are plans to bring MC out to Euclid?

Oh sure, I'm not saying forget about parking all together, but for it to come up as one of Sandvick's chief concerns is backward-thinking. At any rate, I'm sure Stark will be building new parking garages a-plenty.

Nice! Thanks for posting, musky. What an improvement over the stuff we've got now. One question: With Main Classroom, why are they building a new entrance fronting on Chester, rather than Euclid? There is currently much more foot traffic on Euclid than Chester, and Euclid in general is the more pedestrian-oriented street.

Yes, the article's wrong. There was lots of discussion about it when it was first published. A little weird that Stark wouldn't talk to Crain's after speaking to KJP. But it's good to hear Asher's optimistic take on the project. Sandvick disappointed me with this remark: 'If you're removing that much parking, you have to replace any that we're losing and provide additional parking.' Let's stop worrying so much about the damn parking, kids! It's what got us into this predicament to start with. If we're creating walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods of the type Stark is discussing, we don't need as many spots for cars.