blinker12

Some exciting details to report on the Arts District. Regarding the Detroit Avenue streetscape improvements, already funded by NOACA (to the tune of $2 million, I believe, though I don't have the exact figures with me): - New sidewalks and curbs will be built all along Detroit between W. 58th and W. 73rd, and new street lights installed - Detroit will be narrowed from 48 feet to 42 feet in that span; sidewalks will be widened and curbside parking eliminated - The street will be further narrowed to 36 feet at 65th Street, to make room for a piazza with new brick paving - Overheard wires will buried (would have thought this would push the cost way above $2 million but who knows...) Other random developments in the district: - Detroit Shoreway is in serious negotiations with a local coffee retailer (not Metro Joe's, thank God -- they're dropping like flies) to open a new coffee shop at Detroit and 65th, in the old dollar store space. - The old Craciun funeral home site at 61st and Detroit has a new owner who wants to build townhouses on the site. Detroit Shoreway is trying to talk him into street-level retail with condos above. - Exact same situation at the old factory site next to Club Azteca, at 58th and Detroit. The building is to be demolished, with new mixed use buildings to replace it. (Honestly, the building itself is nothing special, and it's set back from the street.) Before anyone asks -- no timeline on these last few items. The streetscape improvements are supposed to start next year.

Are these units going to be townhouses/mid-rise, or just one big apartment building? Seems like the latter would defeat the purpose of HOPE VI, since it would look out of place in the neighborhood.

It sounds like you can get around the "no parking lot" rule just by proposing development on the site when you submit your application to demolish. There's no mechanism in place for the city to force development after the parking lot grace period (1 year?) is over, though. So the ordnance is pretty toothless. I do think it reflects a growing reluctance on the city's part to allow demolitions -- but that's about it.

Beautiful!

Capital ideas may lead to Capitol Theatre makeover By JAY MILLER 9:24 am, February 6, 2006 Some of the most complicated financing deals these days are being done by community development corporations, the nonprofit groups that are helping to rebuild neighborhoods in cities such as Cleveland. One such effort finally may reopen the Capitol Theatre on Cleveland’s West Side. Jeff Ramsey, executive director of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, said the group is getting closer to restoring the theater on West 65th Street, thanks to some creative financing. Mr. Ramsey said it will take a little more than $4.5 million to restore the 1920s-era movie house, and he believes Detroit Shoreway will be able to offer investors significant tax credits on almost every penny of that investment, either as tax credits or through a conservation easement. The tax credits and easement are creatures of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows investors to reduce their taxes by investing in older or low-income neighborhoods. Because of the credits, equity investments are less risky, and loans can be made at lower rates. Jonathan Forman, owner of the Cleveland Cinemas chain, said he has discussed the Capitol Theatre with Mr. Ramsey and would consider operating the movie house should the restoration program succeed.

This sounds encouraging, I think, regarding the kind of vehicles we'll be getting? RTA’s new ride to make cameo appearance By JAY MILLER 8:28 am, February 6, 2006 The first of the new Euclid Corridor vehicles is coming to Cleveland for one day. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is expecting the vehicle here this week but won’t make that official. Actual arrival depends on when the manufacturer, New Flyer of America Inc., decides the prototype is ready to travel from its Crookston, Minn., assembly plant to a testing facility in Altoona, Pa. RTA will park the $900,000 vehicle at Public Square, where would-be riders can kick the tires of the silver, 60-foot long vehicles. RTA is paying New Flyer $20.5 million for 21 of the fancy, bend-in-the-middle buses.

I hate to see a building like this razed in some ways, but from what I've heard it's beyond salvage. Also, the fact that there is interest from another company justifies its removal. Let's hope the new building is constructed to good urban design standards, so it fits into its dense surroundings.

So that's an old rendering? I was starting to get hopeful that they'd actually start work this spring! Either way, thanks for posting MGD.

KJP, I had some trouble translating the formatting codes from your e-mail (you know, the codes that show up instead of certain characters). I made my best shot at interpreting; sorry if I got something wrong. That's also why I didn't post the whole thing to begin with. Maybe you'd like to post it for us? The whole thing is great...

I couldn't agree more. I can't even believe this is being raised a reason to envy Detroit (or any other city that hosts the SB, for that matter).

Carnegie is actually one of the more in tact East Side arteries in Cleveland, particularly once you get past the 40s. One good piece of news is that it has a new transit-oriented zoning overlay for the section between E. 40th and E. 79th, along with Euclid and Chester avenues. This is to coincide with the Euclid Corridor project. It means future buildings along the street must be at the sidewalk and mixed-use whenever possible (retail/office below, residential/office above). However, we probably won't see any visible results from this until the street becomes desirable for development again -- which likely won't be happening anytime in the near future. Welcome to the board, by the way, AJ!

Are those freeway overpasses? What a travesty. Some nice-looking buildings though.

brtshrcegr, Ditto what Mister Good Day said. I'm also a CSU student, also live in Ohio City, and use the same proportion of buses to trains. I pay my fare via U-Pass. So for me, paying is very convenient; I just flash a card.

Hey, KJP, thanks for the shout-out in this week's Sun! Excerpt from the column "City missing chance to develop prime site": Worse, consider how many downtown buildings, including an emerging live-work district, will succumb to the wrecking ball if ODOT's plans for the Inner Belt trench are realized. To gain an appreciation of the scale of this threatened loss, check out this photo essay by Justin Glanville, a Cleveland State University urban planning student, which he posted at [this Web page]. Here, Cimperman is fighting the good fight, with the help of affected community development corporations and others. It's time that ODOT realizes that the two D's -- density and diversity -- are what makes a city vibrant. Density of development and population energizes a community, as do diversity of buildings, architecture, people and transportation. Instead, ODOT seems to think the two D's are demolitions and driving. Here's hoping the city's approvals process ... sends this project back to the drawing board.

^Exactly!

Uh, thanks for the sunny outlook. Very helpful. :roll:

I've wondered the same thing. Frankly, I don't think an art theater makes sense in the Flats. But, I also think Wolstein may have a more liberal interpretation of "art theater" than we do. He's probably envisioning something like Crocker Park, where they show higher-end mainstream stuff with the occasional "independent" flick tossed in.

Hey all, just this week I started a new job at DSCDO as the District Coordinator for the arts district. So if anyone has any questions about the district specifically, ask away and I'll do my best to answer. I can also try to answer questions about Detroit-Shoreway in general, though I'll have less expertise there. I'm going to take a camera to work one day to snap photos of some great-looking renderings, plans for Madison and Lorain avenues, etc. In the meantime, theguy and ewoops are right about the Capitol Theatre. It is currently slated to be redeveloped into three or four screens. Four screens would be financially safer, but cramming that many screens in could compromise the theater's gorgeous lobby. So that's still up in the air. In its current, one-screen configuration, it seats 1,200 people. The theater was built in 1920 and was retrofitted to show "talkies" in the 30s.

Go Sun! Yeah, stopping this destructive idea was a major community accomplishment. A freeway running through the Shaker Lakes -- how brilliant. :roll:

That's the new Aldi's. See above.

Good... Let's hope the new owners don't continue letting the buildings rot much longer...

West Side group plans 85 new apartments Saturday, February 04, 2006 Thomas Ott With trendy housing driving up prices in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway area, neighborhood leaders want to make sure they save room for people of modest means. The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization plans to renovate 64 low-income apartments at the Gordon Square Arcade and carve out 21 new low-income apartments in a former furniture store and two other vacant buildings. The $12 million project will provide a haven for the poor and help preserve the neighborhood's mix of races and incomes, said Jeff Ramsey, executive director of the nonprofit group, and Michael Bier, its housing director. Detroit Shoreway recently developed 18 other low-income apartments...

That figure is unbelievable. It must be a misprint.

Great news! I was at the party and there was great turnout. Rent party rescues landmark bookstore Friday, February 03, 2006 Michael O'Malley Plain Dealer Reporter There appears to be a new chapter for the Bookstore on West 25th, a longtime storefront shop that, because of mounting debt and ebbing profit, was preparing just a few weeks ago to go out of business. On Jan. 21, friends and patrons of store owner Mike O'Brien gathered in the cluttered, urban shop for a rent party to save the 30-year-old neighborhood landmark on Cleveland's near West Side... www.cleveland.com

This from the February 2006 issue of The Plain Press: Gordon Square Homes project aims to preserve affordable housing in Detroit Shoreway neighborhood On January 25th Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) released balloons in the Gordon Square Arcade to mark the beginning of Gordon Square Homes, a $12 million effort to preserve affordable housing in the neighborhood and rehabilitate neighborhood commercial space. Among the sixty people gathered in the atrium of the arcade were many residents of the Gordon Square Apartments, one of the buildings being renovated. Participating in the release were: Ward 17 Councilman Matt Zone, City of Cleveland Community Development Director Daryl Rush, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Deputy Director Jeffery Patterson, Ohio President & CEO of Charter One Bank Ned Handy, Executive Director of Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) Jeff Ramsey, and DSCDO Housing Director Michael Bier. Gordon Square Homes is DSCDO’s newest effort in the revitalization of Detroit Avenue and the preservation of affordable housing. The project includes the rehabilitation of four existing buildings and the creation and preservation of 85 rental-housing units designated for low-income tenants. In addition, 6,000 square feet of commercial space will be rehabilitated. The project is located in the heart of Detroit Shoreway’s emerging arts and entertainment district. The four buildings undergoing renovation are located along Detroit Avenue: the Gordon Square Apartments at 6518 Detroit Ave., the P.J. Shier Building at 6515 Detroit Ave, the Conrad-Balsch-Kroehle Building at 6710 Detroit Ave. and the Muriel Apartment Building at 7001 Detroit Ave. The Gordon Square Apartments will be receiving a moderate rehabilitation with new windows, updated kitchens and bathrooms as well as a new 1,800 sq.ft. resident community room and learning center. Residents of the Gordon Square Apartments have moved to other apartment buildings or will shift to other apartments in the building while their apartments are being rehabbed. Gordon Square Apartment resident Lou “Donuts” says he is moving to another apartment in the building while his apartment is being refurbished. “Donuts”, who moved to the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood 56 years ago, says the project “helps people like me very much in my old age. I say thank you very much every chance I get.” The other three buildings, which have stood vacant and boarded for several years, will receive significant improvements. All buildings are designated as historic properties and renovations will follow the Secretary of Interior historic renovation guidelines. Gordon Square Homes is part of a flurry of development in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. This current project follows DSCDO’s recently-completed West Side Homes, a similar project providing 52 affordable housing units in Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway, 18 of which are adjacent to the Gordon Square Homes project. Detroit Avenue streetscape improvements are planned for summer, 2007. Additionally, there is a growing effort to revitalize two neighborhood theaters – Cleveland Public Theater and the Capitol Theater – and create a new facility for Near West Theater, as part of a $20 million arts and entertainment district. The new Near West Theatre facility will be built behind one of the buildings being rehabbed as part of the Gordon Square Homes project -- the Conrad-Balsch-Kroehle Building. 6710 Detroit, (the former home of Lou’s Furniture). Ward 17 Councilman Matthew Zone says, “Approximately $750 million of neighborhood development is either under construction or soon to begin in Ward 17. Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization is one of several non-profit organizations and private companies making strong efforts to improve this part of Cleveland.” “There is a very strong demand for market-rate housing in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The Gordon Square Homes project helps to support DSCDO’s efforts to provide quality affordable housing and preserve the character of our community as a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood,” said Jeff Ramsey, DSCDO’s executive Director. The $12 million Gordon Square Homes project is financed through a variety of sources, making it the largest and most complicated undertaking in DSCDO’s 33-year history. Low income housing tax credits and historic tax credits are the largest financing source. Enterprise Community Investment will be providing $7,345,000 of tax credit equity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, will be providing $2,470,000 of Capital Grant funding. Additionally, the City of Cleveland is providing a $1 million Housing Trust Fund loan and a $4 million construction float loan. Charter One Bank has provided $1.7 million in acquisition financing as well as $4 million in construction financing and security for the City of Cleveland float loan. “Charter One is committed to helping redevelop neighborhoods, and the Gordon Square affordable housing development will play an important role in the redevelopment of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. As part of our commitment to revitalizing neighborhoods, Charter One is proud to make an investment in this significant project,” said Ned Handy, President & CEO of Charter One Bank, Ohio. Predevelopment activities have taken about two years, and construction is expected to last about ten months. Marous Brothers Construction, Inc, of Willoughby, Ohio, is providing design and construction services. DSCDO is planning to have all buildings occupied by December 31, 2006. Monthly rents for the project’s one-bedroom units will be $400 and two-bedroom units will be $450. “Inner-city housing development does not follow the path of least resistance, which is why it is so important for community development corporations, like DSCDO, to take on such complicated projects. Developments like Gordon Square Homes are only possible because there is a dedicated group of funders, real estate professionals and builders that are willing to make the extra effort to make housing projects like this work. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our development team and project partners,” said Michael Bier, DSCDO’s project manager.