blinker12

Discussion of the lot MGD was talking about was included in the Plain Dealer's coverage of last week's meeting (posted in full above): According to my own notes, Wolstein responded that he wants to retain the lot because it will be needed for the neighborhood's new residents.

MGD, if we're thinking of the same lot, it is indeed part of Wolstein's action zone. And a lawyer for whoever owns it was at the meeting last week, complaining about the possibility of eminent domain. He also said the current owners have their own residential development plans for the lot, independent of Wolstein's plan. As they say, WE SHALL SEE....

I rode a #25 bus last week during afternoon rush hour that was so crowded people couldn't get on... I felt like I was back in Guatemala -- or at least New York...

Ella, I could be wrong but wasn't Samsel concerned partly because Wolstein had rather suddenly and unexpectedly expanded his proposed development zone to include Samsel's parking lot? (Here with go with people's beloved parking lots again.) It did strike me as odd that he would do so without consulting them first. After the planning commission approved Wolstein's "action zone" proposal for the area, Commissioner Robert Brown advised Wolstein to "have a serious conversation" with the Samsel owners, in private, about exactly what he has in mind. That conversation should clear up current concerns.

I'm still figuring out how I feel about Jackson too. I'm certainly not impressed by his public speaking skills or his ideas. He also doesn't come across as the kind of creative and dynamic leader this city needs right now. However, would he be any worse than Campbell? I don't know. At this point I support Campbell mostly for the people she has working behind her -- particularly Ronayne. Unfortunately, he's not going to be mayor.

Yeah, I also resent the implication in that quote that the city is home only to people on drugs and in prison (or that even a majority are on drugs or in prison). That's simply not true.

Any word on the cause yet?

Groundbreaking is scheduled for Thursday.

It's nice to see there's money for the terminal -- and not just a feasibility study, actual CONSTRUCTION!

That's why those of us living in OC or near west should e-mail OCNW with messages of support -- so they know not everyone is opposed to "density." (read: poor people) [email protected]

Weird... I thought they were going to announce new construction over the RTA tracks. Anyway, looks like enough people are up in arms about the Duck Island proposal to through another cog in the wheel of this development. Meantime, only 8 days left til the deadline! Is the whole thing going to die? That would be a real shame... I don't get these reactions we're getting from neighborhood residents. God forbid we have density in a city neighborhood... :roll: Housing project too dense, Duck Island residents say Thursday, September 22, 2005 Angela D. Chatman Plain Dealer Reporter Residents of a near West Side neighborhood criticized a mixed-income housing project planned for that area for its high density Tuesday night. Residents of what is known as Duck Island, southeast of the West Side Market, said the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority's proposal to build 242 housing units along Columbus Road would alter the nature of their neighborhood. CMHA and its co-developer, the Telesis Corp., identified the property owned by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority as the fourth, and largest, site for housing in its long-delayed Riverview HOPE VI project. The CMHA parcel would replace the city-owned Hicks parking lot as the site for the bulk of the housing. The housing authority proposes to build 384 units, including 81 public-housing units, on four sites... http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1127381464308751.xml&coll=2

OK, I know this is slightly off-topic but I just ate at Snickers for the first time this past weekend -- what a great little place! Beautiful garden. It's nice to see that Cleveland can support a (largely) gay restaurant.

It would help to know what the expected travel time between Cleveland and Cincy would be. If it's faster than driving (unlikely), that would help justify the $95 fare. But who knows, maybe the ORDC has done research showing that people are willing to pay that rate -- it's unclear from the article. Certainly it would be within the range of business travelers, who could probably expense the trips anyway.

I say ixnay on the green space. Euclid Avenue isn't built for green space -- it's built for density.

The wall itself isn't buckling -- the thin-brick veneer is, as I said. MayDay, point taken; my original intent was to call for making E. 12th as high-quality as possible, and I certainly didn't mean for this to turn into a discussion about Stonebridge's merits. I'll write you personally about the facade issue.

Sorry KJP, just one more diversion... MayDay, I didn't mean to offend in my comments about Stonebridge. Since getting back to Cleveland, I've had the impression that the project is generally regarded as shoddy -- but obviously not everyone feels that way. Since you asked, here's a couple of examples of what I'm referring to: 1) They used "thin-brick," a type of fake brick veneer that would be kinda tacky on its own, but on top of that it's already buckling in places and falling off completely in others. The buckling is most noticeable at night, when the building is lit from below. 2) The floors of the corridors having a 'bounce' when you walk on them -- probably because the bar joists (or whatever they used) are spaced too far apart. Either that, or the sub-flooring isn't screwed down tight enough. For such a showcase location, I wish they had built to a 50- or 100-year standard. I'm thinking Stonebridge will hold up for about 30 years. Anyway, I don't want to take away from the excitement around The Avenue, and again -- apologies if I offended.

Fantastic news. Let's just be careful not to allow more Stonebridge-style shoddy construction by keeping a close eye on any design plans that surface and holding Zaremba and the mayor accountable...

FYI, Ari Maron of MRN Ltd., the company that's developing E. 4th, said at a public forum a week or two ago that the new LOLA is scheduled to open first quarter 2006. He also promised to make an announcement about new tenants, either on E. 4th or lower Euclid, in about a month.

Definitely, MGD, but I'm wondering about the supposed CVSR rail extension... Are they contributing money, design plans for the rail platform, what? Here's what the site says now: Steelyard Commons supports plans to extend the 51-mile Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, one of the longest and most scenic excursion railways in the country, to downtown Cleveland via the Otis Leed rail line. A planned railroad stop at Steelyard Commons will include a 400-500 foot rail platform. As part of a rail excursion to Cleveland, a special shopping/dining stop at Steelyard Commons and connection to the Towpath Trail and Steel Heritage Exhibit is proposed. Currently, more than 100,000 Clevelanders ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad annually, with that number expecting to double when rail service is completed to downtown Cleveland.

It ticks me off that the Hicks lot was ruled out just because some West Side Market tenants were worried about losing overflow parking. A real example of how the WS market (especially longtime tenants) views itself as separate from the neighborhood -- since maintaining parking is about continuing to accommodate commuters, while new construction would be about building the neighborhood consumer base.

Speaking of the CVSR extension, how exactly are the developers supporting this project? The Web site just says something like, "We fully support the rail extension." Are they somehow involved financially, or in negotiating with CSX? It's all very vague.

The Steelyard Commons Web site has launched: http://www.steelyardcommons.com I have to say, while I hate the idea of there being a Wal-Mart in the city, the site plan doesn't look half-bad -- for a big-box complex. I like that parking is in the interior of the complex, while the stores face out onto the roads, and a towpath extension is prominently featured (including a "comfort station" located, quite conveniently for the developers, right next to Home Depot. Yeah, that's pretty tacky.).

I agree. Also, why let the beautiful old convention center we already have go to waste? First let's revitalize what we already have -- then worry about building new. The city's economy isn't robust enough right now to justify this kind of speculative development.

Nice to see it's being deemed a success. I was duly impressed -- go Mulready and Levin! Arts festival's test flight is A-OK Ingenuity organizers look ahead to longer event in July 2006 Monday, September 05, 2005 Carolyn Jack Plain Dealer Arts Reporter Ingenuity wound up its final day Sunday with more gorgeous weather, happy crowds and a commitment from organizers to do it again next year. The new Cleveland arts and technology festival, which debuted in a sort of pilot version Thursday evening in the lower Euclid Avenue area of downtown, drew what co-director James Levin roughly estimated as 70,000 people over four days. Those first-year attendance levels and the enthusiastic support of a wide range of community backers and participants have reinforced Levin's and co-director Thomas Mulready's intention to make Ingenuity an annual event. They have already begun planning the next festival, which will likely move to a time slot in the first two weeks of July for 2006 and expand to 10 or 11 days, Levin said. He said the next steps needed would be to assess what worked this year and what did not; seek even more sponsors, including national ones; and strengthen the festival's business and artistic collaborations. Ingenuity enjoyed an unusual number of such partnerships and the help it received from donors, city and county government and arts and technology groups "was more than just Here's the money -- now show me,' " Mulready said. People also gave time and effort to make the festival a success. "It was the community, not James and I," he said, gesturing toward the crowd on Euclid. "This is better than our vision -- we didn't think this many people were going to come." Both drew on long experience in planning Ingenuity. Levin founded and ran Cleveland Public Theatre for 20 years. Mulready co-founded and ran the Performance Arts Festival for 11 years and now runs his latest enterprise, the CoolCleveland.com e-newsletter. The two decided last year to start Ingenuity as a way to showcase Greater Cleveland-based creativity in the arts and technology. Festival participants ranged from NASA and the medical imaging firm Brainmaster to the Cleveland Museum of Art, local poets, dance troupes and bands. Helped in part by fine weather, Ingenuity went smoothly and its notably diverse crowds stayed happy, Levin said. "Nothing went wrong. Police told me they were amazed," Levin said. He would like next year's festival to do an even better job of showing how arts and technology can be combined in artwork, performance and scientific projects. In 2006, "I'm hoping we'll have some knock-your-socks-off, World's Fair-type exhibitions," Levin said. Still, festival-goers found plenty to intrigue them. Fred Wright, 58, a Cleveland Heights resident who runs an online art gallery and has experience in concert presentation, said he was impressed at what Ingenuity featured and how it was run. "All the components were in place," Wright said. "I'm amazed at how arts and technology worked together here. . . . It brought the left and right brains together."

KJP, where are they saying the Cleveland station would be located if not in Tower City?