Urbanophile

^ If we could do this, I would be ecstatic. And it certainly seems plausible, as long as our local governments actually decide to put some serious effort into it. The pedestrian bridge, as it's currently envisioned, would not be worth the money. But this would absolutely be worth the investment, and it also functions as a pedestrian bridge! I also agree 100% on the Shoreway. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't need to be a proper highway until it's East of E. 9. Eventually the Main Ave Bridge will have to come down (similar construction to the innerbelt bridge which was on its last legs), and I think that will lead to some serious discussions of converting it all into a boulevard. Construction of a new mile-long bridge would be astronomical, especially considering that vehicular traffic on the Shoreway is steadily decreasing.

^ Haha, I was just thinking about that. I can't imagine how angry they would be if they don't get the catalytic award this time.

^ Awesome. That is great news. I truly never expected that the state would move up the next catalytic award. They must really be noticing all the huge benefits that have resulted from the HTC program. It's been so successful, I hope we start seeing some more money put into it.

I just sent an email to The Observer. Everyone here needs to keep trying to contact as many people as possible, and try spreading the word. There is no reason to destroy that building - especially considering the function of the building that will replace it. They could just as easily build a connection between the Alumni House and the mansion next door, and renovate the inside to fit their needs. It's just pure laziness and apathy that is leading to the demolition of this building.

I should mention this to my friends at Explorys :)

The older renderings really were a lot better. I wonder why they decided to change the layout so much... I really don't see any added benefits in the current design, compared to the old one. Even so, I still like the current Flats East Bank plan. The E&Y tower and Aloft hotel look great, and the apartment building is starting to look pretty cool too. I just really hate the one-story commercial buildings.

A multi-story building with apartments is absolutely feasible for this site. The developer just doesn't have experience with those types of developments. I wish some people would leave their comfort zone every now and then. They would definitely get a return on investment with apartments above the retail.

^ Some people don't consider that area north of CSU officially "downtown."

^ Considering the rate of Uptown's rents, and the continued growth of CWRU, I don't see any reason why apartments on that site wouldn't be profitable.

Where are you getting 8 parking spaces? This link shows 45 parking spaces. http://www.passovgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Cleveland-Steelman-Building-Site-Plan.pdf

^ As someone who spends a lot of time in Jukebox (the bar right across from that building), I've always thought that that building has some serious potential. My friends and I think it would be a cool industrial-themed club/performance space. Now that I've typed that, I realize I must sound like a huge hipster.

An update on the Explorys acquisition: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/04/ibm_buys_cleveland-based_explo.html#comments From the article: Looks like Explorys's growth will continue in Cleveland :) I do wonder if they ever plan on moving to a new building, or perhaps building a new local HQ. Their current office is kind of awkward, being in the former Cleveland Playhouse space.

Yeah, it certainly has its merits but I'm not going to forgive poor design just because it's bringing some much needed street-facing retail. At such a prominent intersection, we should be able to get both good design and retail. My main concern is about the church arch for the Brickhaus proposal. One of the biggest draws of their proposal is that they would be preserving the arch.

Wait, they aren't keeping the church arch anymore? WTF. That was one of their major selling points for that proposal.

FirstEnergy closes 104-year-old coal power plant, electric rates to rise (interactive map) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The last three FirstEnergy's coal-fired power plants on Lake Erie closed forever today. The shutdowns come more than three years after the company announced it would close rather than modernize them to meet new clean air standards. Built generations ago, the three small power plants are in Ashtabula, Eastlake and Cleveland. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/04/firstenergy_closes_104-year-ol.html#incart_river Welp, now it's official. Time to move the Shoreway and develop that land! ;)

I mean, it's certainly not surprising that this happened. Pretty much the entire goal of Explorys (like many if not most tech startups) was to be acquired by a larger company. A couple years ago, IBM acquired UrbanCode (a tech startup in Cleveland), and they have continued to maintain and add jobs in UrbanCode's offices in Cleveland. So IBM appears to be comfortable with Cleveland's workforce. In this case, it just all depends on how IBM wants to consolidate its Watson Health offices. I think there's a good case for keeping a presence in Cleveland because of the strong biotech/healthcare industry here, as well as the benefits of the health-tech corridor (100 gig). I genuinely think that it would be a great idea to merge Explorys with Phytel and consolidate in a new building on the health-tech corridor, which would be focused on the Health Cloud. I'm sure the City would be willing to give a nice incentive for that too ;) As of right now, though, I suppose it's anyone's guess. In one of the articles, an IBM external relations contact was given. It couldn't hurt to contact her and mention the benefits of staying in Cleveland, or even consolidating some offices here: Contact: Holli Haswell IBM External Relations [email protected] 720-396-5485

Is there a link to the site plan for these townhouses?

I certainly will, but at this point I don't think they know much. My optimistic theory: Since IBM also acquired one of Explorys's smaller competitors (Phytel in Dallas), perhaps it will be merged with Explorys and relocated to Cleveland to serve as the main arm of IBM Watson Health Cloud. My pessimistic theory: Explorys goes to Boston :/

I have a couple friends at Explorys, and they seem to think that IBM wants to keep the jobs here. I have no idea how true that is though.

Wow, this was actually pretty lucky. No one was hurt, and there's no noticeable serious damage to the building's facade. We'll have to wait to learn if there is any more damage than meets the eye. I heard that the vibrations from the drilling in Public Square may have actually had something do with this, but that's just speculation. It seems a little far from Public Square to be serious affected by the construction there.

Yikes. Will this affect the project?

^ Mixed-income housing developments are at least a place to start, instead of actively trying to force lower-income people away from the neighborhood.

I once had a discussion with someone who opposed this type of development. It wasn't in Edgewater specifically, but he was opposed to a proposed apartment building on his street, which he thought should only allow single-family homes (despite the fact there are many multi-family homes and apartments that already exist on the street). In the end, his argument basically boiled down to "We don't want any chance of bringing any undesirables to our neighborhood." I don't think that's a very good argument.

I love Edgewater, but sometimes I really don't understand all the "activist" community members in that neighborhood. These are the same people who so strongly protested any commercial usage of the Fifth Church. They protested and protested, until they ultimately made it impossible for the site to be developed. A lot of the people in the northern part of Edgewater would prefer a bunch of ugly, boring ranch homes instead of the dense residential developments that this neighborhood really needs.

The Greyhound station may not be "grand" but it's at least unique for the region. Are there any other examples of streamline moderne architecture in the greater Cleveland area? I can't think of any.