Mendo

The site plan definitely isn't new. First time I've seen the conceptual massing though. Not that it means it's new either I guess.

Doesn't appear there is any interest in adopting KJP's draft resolution. Here is the marketing brochure for "Van Aken South" https://images2.loopnet.com/d2/p47nDGlv9R0_7GzBBiR95ysNXrSqdh7ihzyMfDBKwj8/document.pdf

I'd be more supportive of these subsidies if they didn't require all the hand waving and spin. There is real value in providing contemporary office and retail space when trying to attract growing companies. But this is no more a "loan" than the TIF and other abatements already part of the project. Here is Bullard's article on Crains. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/city-weighs-12-million-nucleus-investment

This is from yesterday.

Work seems to have picked up. Scaffolding went up just this week and they started punching out the closed off windows.

I agree about the lack of outdoor space. But the windows aren't narrow. The thin metal strips are odd, but it's far more glass than most new apartment buildings.

Yeah it's hard to tell from the low-res site plan. If you zoom in it says there is a concrete retaining wall separating the outdoor parking and Bergen Village rear yards. So it looks like the first floor is 6 or 8' below the Bergen Village level, and the basement/garage further below that.

Sounds plausible. Maybe the AT&T easement killed this proposal as well. It's telling somewhat that Cleveland Heights can't get a small apartment building built with practically no parking required. The original proposal was for over 100 units so the density was definitely there. If the easement wasn't the showstopper, is it the economics of the neighborhood, the city government, or other?

Does this mean the original Snavely proposal fell apart? I wonder why they think a larger, not contiguous, piece of land would be easier to build on.

That section started construction last year.

The implication this would be safer set waaayyy back from the sidewalk, fronted by parking, to assuage concern about crime is just silly. And it's a shame the idea refuses to die. People get robbed in my neighborhood on the sidewalk in front of houses -- occasionally in broad daylight. We could ban onstreet parking, trees in treelawns, alleys and other ways for people to hide. But I'd rather we work to improve the economics of the city than butcher basic urban principles.

Tough crowd. I'd take this over the Hough-Ansel renderings in the UC thread. I love the floor to ceiling windows.

The curve runs along a utility easement cutting through the property. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2019/04262019/index.php

j-Roc development is going before city planning for schematic approval for Electric Gardens, the 4/5 story apartment building proposed along Literary behind Bergen Village. The design looks early so I assume there is a lot of refinement left to do. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2019/04262019/index.php

I think the design looks pretty good. Mostly brick, and it manages to avoid trying to look like 5 buildings which is a plus. I'd love if the parking was below-grade but it being affordable likely precludes that.

Cuyahoga county will continue to lose population if we keep demolishing more housing than we build. Right now Cleveland is the only one building anything of consequence, and it's more than offset by demolition and dwindling family sizes. There is a smattering of recent construction in Beachwood and Shaker. And Lakewood and Cleveland Heights finally have a handful of projects in the planning stage but none that've broken ground. It doesn't help that rezoning projects in the suburbs get voted down. https://www.cleveland.com/community/2019/04/council-revisits-2-old-rezoning-candidates-in-kerem-lake-fountains-of-solon.html

It might be a slow replacement. Voss, Jakprints, Chilcote, and Produce Packaging are taking with them about 1000 jobs. I wonder how many people PNC moved downtown. And the new owners of the Chilcote block talked about moving their mortgage(?) company into that space.

^^ Last two pours happened on 3/27 and 4/5, or 9 calendar days.

Looking good! It's weird to me that the rock wool is on the outside of the yellow panels. I know that stuff doesn't absorb water but I still wouldn't want anything trapping water against the building.

Ah yes the safety boogeyman. Apparently bus drivers are unsung heroes for rescuing helpless women from other passengers. I suppose the author of that story has never been in a train with more than one car?

Here are the latest renderings for the phase 3a restaurants. The form hasn't changed from the conceptual drawings last year, but materials and colors sure have. And it has all the symptoms builder-driven modernism. Take a simple box and decorate it with too many materials and shapes to hide the fact that it's just a simple box. The project was tabled at design review earlier today, mercifully. https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/04/flats-east-bank-restaurant-design-going-back-to-the-drawing-board.html

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There is a cool tour of the lobby if you've never been inside the building (like me). This building should be a showpiece downtown when it's completed. I hope it actually starts this year. https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=6Hua2vCT2vA

Might be a good opportunity for the Stone's Levee area just down the hill. That's probably closer than walking to north of the Q or Progressive Field.

I agree with a post upthread (or maybe the Highline thread?) that called the Vessel alien or sinister looking. I get a foreboding feeling just looking at it. Despite that it's very creative and will be an icon for that area.