Urbanophile

^ Nice view! Looks like they've already made some headway on the northwest quadrant.

The architects should be publicly ridiculed. I'll go buy the tomatoes now.

Some people realize they have a passion for architecture some time in high school. Then they pursue higher education and spend years studying the trade and countless hours making designs. Then they have to prove they are skilled enough to hire. THEN THEY MAKE SHIT LIKE THIS. Why does this happen? I didn't study architecture, but at least I have some kind of vision for what looks good. It's crazy to me that so many people spend years studying it, and don't even know what good architecture looks like.

^ I've been saying that for years. Or at least the faculty should have a say.

I wonder why they nixed it. A patio would offer some pretty cool outdoor lake views,and aesthetically it just looks a lot better. Also, it appears that they removed the horizontal details on the concrete part of the "podium." How much are they going to dumb down the design before it's finished?

^ Is that the most recent rendering? It's different from what is on Cooper Carry's website: http://www.coopercarry.com/project/hilton-cleveland-downtown/ I think the one on the website looks much better. But either way, as it currently stands, it looks like the design has changed yet again with the removal of the patio.

Yeah it would appear that you're right. That's disappointing... The patio gave the front of the building some added dimension. Now it's going to seem really flat. Every time I notice a new detail about this building, I'm a little more disappointed. Oh well.

Regarding the single-family townhouse... are they going to be removing the retail space from that building? I don't know what technically designates something as a townhouse, but in my mind I don't usually think of a townhouse as having retail.

I'm impressed with the density. But yes, I agree that corrugated metal looks cheap. It kind of reminds me of the makeshift homes in shanty villages I saw when I was in Africa.

^ I said they should, not that they will. Wouldn't hurt to try to put some pressure on them though.

^ I'm sure some wealthy industrialist would have been willing to foot the bill back in the day ;) If I ever become a billionaire, I promise to fund a stone reconstruction of both of those arches over Superior, and a streetcar to run under them ;)

^ The financing isn't all there yet, so we won't be hearing much until it's there. From what little I hear, insiders are optimistic that the financing will come together.

They also erected a nice looking arch over Superior to celebrate the end of the Franco-Prussian War (picture 2). Was that such a common thing? To just build temporary arches for random events? Seems like it would have been better to build stone arches to permanently commemorate those events, while also beautifying the city.

They seem to be doing all the right things on this Progressive Field renovation. I'm not even a baseball fan, but I would love to go to a couple games this summer and enjoy some Barrio tacos while getting tipsy on Great Lakes (I'll probably have to pre-game, though, as I'm sure the beer prices won't be cheap).

There were some pretty nice buildings along W. 25th that CMHA had torn down. But yeah I probably shouldn't have mentioned that bit about the CMHA not caring about history. I know there has been a bit of a paradigm shift since then, so I shouldn't blame the current CMHA for what was done decades ago. However, my main point was about the overall failures of the traditional model of public housing. Lakeview Terrace may be famous for a public housing project, but it's still experiencing many of the same failures that stem naturally from that model. I think Lakeview needs to be slowly redeveloped as a mixed-use development, for the sake of the surrounding neighborhoods, and for the sake of people who utilize public housing. I'm not accounting for traffic as much as you are. The plan I suggested is not something I would expect to be completed ASAP. Trends are showing that younger generations are driving significantly less than older generations, and the eventual inevitable rise in gas prices will only speed that trend up. My plan rests on the assumption that the Shoreway has been converted back into a boulevard, and that more people are willing to use public transit, while less are driving. The truth is that the Main Ave. bridge is creating a huge divide between neighborhoods, and completely blocking development below it. This is all done for the sake of efficiently funneling as many cars in and around the city as possible. So why continue to cater to cars when cars are becoming increasingly less popular as a mode of transportation? Eventually that bridge will have to come down (it's a similar type of construction to the innerbelt bridge, and older too), and when it comes to that, it would be insanely expensive to build a new mile-long bridge. Besides, a car could also use the Detroit-Superior Bridge, or maybe even the Center Street bridge so avoid the traffic of the hypothetical Main Ave. drawbridge.

^ Yes, you're exactly right. "History" has nothing to do with it. I mean, if CMHA cared about history, maybe they wouldn't have torn down so many historic buildings to build their Soviet-bloc style developments. I do, however, think it's feasible to slowly redevelop Lakeview as a mixed use development - done block-by-block in phases. But, this would only be feasible once there is less of a separation between this area and the rest of Ohio City. By that, I mean tearing down the Main Ave. bridge, merging the Shoreway BOULEVARD onto Main Ave., and building an at-grade draw bridge connecting both bank of the Flats. This would do wonders for connectivity between neighborhoods, and could spur a lot of development. I made this picture for another thread, to illustrate this idea:

Yeah I really don't think Lakeview is very successful at all. A lot of mid-century public housing projects have proven to be failures. Housing projects tend to just create more concentrated pockets of poverty - and all the social problems that go along with that. Some argue that there's also a psychological aspect: if people are living in a building that is ugly and looks like crap, they are less likely to respect the property. Mixed income developments are proving to be more successful in helping low-income people, while also promoting social interaction between people of different socioeconomic classes.

I love graffiti, when it's tasteful and artistic of course. I wish there was more of it in Cleveland to brighten up certain places. I remember all the graffiti in Harlem, when I briefly visited there, and it added a really cool gritty/urban vibe to the neighborhood.

^ That would be my guess. For someone who started in beer brewing, he's really starting to become quite the developer. He bought up a few buildings along Lorain Ave and has been working to develop them.

JC Land Holdings is owned by the same guy who owns Platform Beer.

That's J Crew for you.

"Underestimate the cost of demolition" is putting it mildly. For one thing, I don't think the river is deep enough there to let it be exploded into it. That would mean piece by piece deconstruction. But the bridge will have to come down eventually, right? They say the innerbelt bridge was one its last legs, and the Main Ave. bridge is much older and of a similar design. So, when it comes down to it, if they have to demolish it, it would be much cheaper to simply connect the the Shoreway (hopefully a boulevard by that time) to Main Ave. in the Flats and building a draw bridge connecting the East and West Bank of the Flats. Think of all the development that could result from that. Here's a poor quality vision of what could happen... The orange street represents the new "Shoreway" Blvd - Main Ave, gray streets show possible grid-restoration, and black outlines represent possible development (offices, condos, apartments, parking decks w/ retail, etc.). And here's how it could affect downtown/warehouse district. Lots of new potential development off Lakeside. The Shoreway would just end and begin at W. 3rd Street, and the bridge over the railroad tracks would also be torn down.

While they're at it they should tear down that skywalk as part of the renovations. The NuCLEus renderings omitted the skywalk and for good reason.

Well, you are in luck! It is for sale. http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3101-Clinton-Ave_Cleveland_OH_44113_M45010-00450 Buy it and hold fancy UrbanOhio dinner parties there! ;)

I got a wrap from their "Global Grille" in the rotunda, and it was fine. As for their other prepared foods, I can't really say. Having grown up in the Youngstown area, I don't have much experience shopping at Heinen's. But if you're stopping there for lunch, I'd recommend the Global Grille. Not a lot of options, but it might be fresher than the other prepared foods.