newyorker

They seem like nice guys, but I am judging both by their track records. In my view, there overall body of work lacks both higher level vision and seems extremely parochial. I digress, all I'm saying is we should expect more, or we will strive for just average.

Sorry for the typo KJP.

JKP - I met both those guys and was equally as underwhelmed with them as Frank Jackson. As president of University Circle, it would be pretty hard to screw that up with all the assets that reside there. The unknown is how much more developed would it be with more visionary and effective leadership. As I remember, lack of leadership and vision were issues that Peter Lewis had with UC and the city.

This mayor is completely underwhelming! Cleveland deserves and needs more progressive leadership for the city to realize its full potential. Look at the list of candidates that you are discussing for the mayor: Zack Reed, Jeff Johnson, Chris Ronayne, Matt Zone. Do you truly believe any of these guys have the vison, leadership and political acumen to move the city forward in a substantial way? Cleveland needs fresh new leadership that breaks away from traditional "let's look and what Pittsburgh, Detroit, Columbus are doing and copy that". Cleveland needs to look to Seattle and other progressive cities for fresh ideas. Take Playhouse Square for instance, why is it not much more of a regional draw? Their talking point is always that it is the largest theater district outside NYC. Who cares if it is a relatively local destination that is not being fully optimized. That place is dead when there is not a play. Also, why aren’t there competing plays? Think bigger. Why is there no vision on the east side (say Hough) to create a flourishing African American neighborhood such as Harlem. Hough should have coffee shops, restaurants, new apartments such as Ohio City. We seem to be happy that there were two cranes in the sky...why? With all the class B and C office space that has been converted to apartments, there should be more than two cranes. Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh would die for Cleveland’s lake, but we have a few lack luster smallish rental apartments built next to a football stadium and with a poor newly designed connecting bridge that was just approved. We are settling for average! More effective leadership should be driving the city at a time when it has some level of momentum.

Do not underestimate the significance of Progressive having a presence downtown. This is not a token move.

It's the vacant corner of the Garfleld building on 6th and Euclid.

Interestingly Crain's Cleveland Business has a sports article about the Browns but no article about 500 jobs relocating to downtown.

I did not know it was that many people.

How many jobs did Eton Corp take out of downtown? My sense is that this will replace what was lost and then some.

I wish Akron and Cleveland could blend more together. I believe it would make the region stronger and more competitive.

Remember Gastineau was interviewed and said what there to do in Cleveland. Best game I ever saw the Browns win! That team never gave up,

Bernie is the best I've ever seen play. He had swagger, guts, heart and great accuracy. Please watch.

Who in Cleveland has recently invested in more development downtown that Gilbert?

Thank you.

YABO713 - That is so funny. I can't stop laughing because its so true! Who buys this stuff?

How do you pull the Dan Gilbert thread to the front then? If there is good conversation on a topic, let's keep it going. That's what makes this forum interesting.

It is interesting that people that are rich are not suppose to make more money. Remember, Gilbert is the one taking the risk. He is doing things in Cleveland that locals cant's afford to get financed. My sense is that Columbus would love to have Dan Gilbert investing there. How may tries to renovate May Company before Gilbert or look at Stark and NuCLEus. Do you actually think NuCLEus will ever be built? Gilbert knows how to get things done as most big city developers with money.

Could not agree more. You can say what you want about Gilbert but one thing he is not is cheap. • The renovated Ritz Carleton is extremely well. • He immediately ripped out those ugly powder blue seats and upgraded the score board and sound system at the Q as soon as he took over the team. • While he did not follow through on phase 2 casino, I'm convinced Higbee and May Company would be sill be waiting on local investors to somehow obtain financial funding to renovate. • I believe the renovation of the Higbee Building as a casino is well done for what it is. • The guy created a downtown Quicken Loans call center which is beautifully done andnow employs about 600 people downtown. • I have not even mentioned his investment to build a team to win a championship. • With the exception of casino phase 2, what has he not delivered on at a high level? • Why all the hate for Gilbert in Cleveland?

Bill Belichick would have cut the guy years ago if he were with the Patriots! The Browns look silly cutting him now because it's obvious they only kept him because of his ability. The guy is deeply troubled and needs to work on getting well.

Number 11 for Ohio State is just awful. How can you be a WR and not be able tp catch. He killed drives and drop a TD pass right in his hands yet the key him in the game.

KJP, I agree that the region needs to grow organically. That being said, I also agree that because Cleveland has been maligned for so long, the region took advantage and effectively pulled companies out of downtown. My view is that downtown Cleveland is now much better equipped to compete to retract a percentage of business that outmigrated. I see the movement back to downtown as a positive because a strong central core will make the region more competitave. Smaller local cities such as Akron and Cleveland suburbs have canalized downtown, and from where I sit, has stunted regional growth. Regional companies moving back to the major core is not remotely new because it is happening across the country including cities such as Detroit, Columbus and New York. I fundamentally believe that an agglomerate of business in a focused central area will better strengthen and position the greater metropolitan area to compete on a more broadly. Communities such as Akron and Elyria will benefit with a strong Cleveland core.

Let me rephrase my statement. I can'r believe ownership would allow such a poorly developed website(s) be launch to represent their brand.

I'm not sure which site developer put less thought into their development process, cleveland.com or the city of Cleveland website.

Whoever designed the new cleveland.com should be fired. The basic web development principle is that architecture drives design. I have difficulty believing this new design was remotely driven by best practice. There is no possible way the web developer conducted a usability study or it would have not turned out so poorly. Best practice shows that people typically read left to right...my eye wonders all over the place trying to figure out what to focus. I though it would be hard to get worse than the previous design but cleveland.com somehow did the impossible by making an already awful architecture and design even worse. Now Cleveland is stuck with this mess for the next several years.

Go Browns!