audidave

I think this is an exciting project for downtown Cleveland. This is a growing strong company thats intricately involved in the transportation industry. I would expect it to be somewhat of a bold complex. Does anyone know if architects have been picked for this or is it too early?

Seems like the exact correct response. Its too early at this point to have a feel where this will go. A lot of what Continental will have to do is based upon the variety of decisions that the new Delta makes in perhaps shutting down a hub or 2. Right now there doesn't seem like anything obvious Continental can or should do. But the other thing is all other airlines will also be altering their strategies now.

Probably a good stock to own over the long haul. I haven't done any financial research on them but their solid expertise in hydraulics should serve them well for creating a formidable hybrid industry. If you don't know what I'm talking about check out this: http://www.designnews.com/article/CA6549294.html?industryid=43651#_self If you can't bear to read the whole article click on pic #2 on the bottom for a graphical representation of what a passat diesel with this hydraulic system installed can do.

I've now updated the map with a downtown circulating streetcar system. Akron doesn't really lend itself to a full blown steetcar system by its diagonal streets just outside of downtown. I've also now added a circulator for Summa Health Systems. This would run by several of their buildings on W. Market as well as their 2 main hospitals. I added an offshoot route to hit Akron General and Childrens and jump back on the downtown route. Also added a UA campus circulator. Tried to make it as logical and compact as possible.

I've created a poor man's Google map of the rail line. I'll work on the Streetcar system.. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=109216813410690775550.00044ab08caa31926139c

You're right I'm not sure Cleveland is worth the effort to link up to at this time. I believe the majority of the $200 million was trying to get a rail route up from Independence to downtown Cleveland. Its been 7+ years to move a dusty towpath North a few miles from Independence it would probably take triple that to get rail rights of ways set up and built. Cleveland is the obvious route to hook up with a commuter connection but if its that big of a challenge there seems to be no reason to start there. Summit County has changed quite a bit since 2004. Akron has 8 housing projects in progress downtown and within 2-3yrs the CBD should be doubled if not tripled. There will also be a massive reinvestment and redevelopment in Spicertown community as part of University Park Alliance and the Knight Foundation. I think a little bit of that was seen today in the news regarding the High Speed Wifi. I'm not sure whats going on in Canton but 6 lanes of I-77 are packed with vehicles. According to 2004 AMATS report, 70-100k cars are flowing between Akron and Canton everyday. The Akron-Canton airport is a major destination of those cars and now has approximately 1.5 million passengers a year. Goodyear HQ has around 3500 employees of which several hundred do come from Stark County that will be working right up against the tracks. An additional $500 million retail/office development alongside the HQ would be perfect for a circulator bus. In the Merriman Valley there is an instant TOD development in waiting: 6000 people within 5 minute walk of the tracks. A large segment of those are students at University of Akron. With $18 million in new operational funds via the sales tax that just passed, I'd say Metro Rail should get rolling.

Thanks KJP. I don't feel Ohio Hub needs to go through Akron. To me that would be cost prohibitive based on attempting to add another track alongside Norfolk Southern on the Eastern side of the Cuyahoga Valley going to Cleveland. I see a phased in approach to building commuter rail out of Akron that would eventually reach Cleveland and Medina: I. Service from Akron to new Goodyear HQ to Akron-Canton Airport to Downtown Canton. Need to update 10 crossings in Summit and perhaps 5 crossings in Stark county. (2010)? II. Service from Akron to Kent. This can eliminate some bus service for Parta that comes into Akron. Its a short distance that might only need 1 or 2 gates upgraded. (2011)? III. Service from Akron to Independence. (2012)? IV. Service from Akron to Medina (2013)? This is where I think Akron would be able to hook up with Ohio Hub. For most of the above the rail lines are under control of Metro. They don't own the line to Medina yet. The Metro RTA sales tax just passed adds $18 million a year in new operational funds. Response back from Metro: " We have preserved the railine between Akron and Canton for this purpose. However, in 2004, our local planning agency, AMATS (Akron Metropolitian Area Transportation Study, rejected a recommendation of commuter rail in the Canton-Akron-Cleveland corridor. Without AMATS support, we are not able move forward in developing a rail project using federal funds. The estimated cost for such a project was over $200 million. With both the Federal Transit Administration and ODOT funding projects, it is highly unlikely we would be able to obtain the needed funding for the project." There are new public planning meetings over the next 2 weeks with AMATS. I'll be attending the Twinsburg meeting on April 23.

I think Ohio Hub if its going to get started must start with commuter rail. I went ahead and sent my thoughts to Akron Metro regarding taking advantage of the rail and trains they have and attempting to use some grants from ORDC to get started with commuter rail service between Akron and Canton serving CAK airport. I mentioned that a grant would be in order because it would save SARTA(Stark County) money by pulling 2 different express bus routes to Summit county. We'll see if I get a response.

From the Beacon: http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17413464.html Wooster company will add 150 jobs State aids construction with $6 million in loans By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer Published on Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008 TechniGraphics Inc. of Wooster will construct a $6.2 million building on its campus and create 150 jobs in digital mapping and computer-assisted design over the next three years. Co-owner Mary Vaidya and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher made the announcement before some 60 local business and community leaders, who gathered to cheer Wayne County's latest economic development coup. TechniGraphics has a dozen offices around the world, but the new jobs will be added here, thanks to a state and city incentive package. Ohio will give Techni-Graphics $6 million in fixed low-interest loans, and Wooster has approved a 75 percent tax abatement for 10 years... CHOPPED

There has been a lot of consolidation in the Dealer network for Chrysler the past year. They have figured out they really don't need as many dealerships. Thomas Chrysler Jeep in Cuyahoga Falls closed last year and I'm aware they were still wanting to cut down on the smaller dealerships which I think Deluca probably is. Its stupid having a Chrysler dealership every 3-5 miles in any direction.

Good research Jeffrey. Its pretty much what I felt bebopping around Dayton a few years ago. I totally felt comfortable in Oregon District, Downtown for the most part, Oakwood, and Belmont. Anywhere else in Dayton I didn't feel particularly comfortable. The sprawl outside of Dayton is pretty annoying. Its pretty obvious thats where the former population resides likely because of schools. I think its too bad that Oakwood and Dayton never merged. Its probably too late to do that.

Nice biz story from the Beacon of a growing local company needing to move into a city for better services and LEED Gold to boot: http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17378479.html Shearer's Foods to build headquarters in Massillon Mayor hails expansion as great news for city; plant will create jobs By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer Published on Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 Shearer's Foods Inc. will build a new snack-food plant and headquarters in Massillon, adding at least 180 new full-time jobs over the next three years, company officials said. Some 60 people will move from the current corporate office in Brewster, where the infrastructure of the small Stark County village — including the wastewater system — won't support an expansion, Chief Executive Bob Shearer said. CHOPPED

It still smells to me like a parking lot developer. Figure out who the parking lot slumlords in Midtown are and I bet you'll have your man. He's environmentalist because he likes a lot of green in his wallet.

^Totally agree with all points. They can find their mall at Tower city, Galleria, or maybe even Arcade. I think the vantage point of the Mall location opens up Cleveland for an incredible range of experiences and opportunities by walking any particular direction or taking a cab or the light rail.

I don't think environmentalists are that anal to worry about a scrub patch of land in Cleveland being rezoned for commercial use. I would say the person is more likely a parking lot owner that may have an eye on that land and just saying they are an environmentalist.

It makes the most sense for Wells Fargo to buy National City. It would probably keep most of the jobs in Cleveland which could serve as their midwest hq. The only overlap in branches might be in Indiana and Illinois.

And a biggie... http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17121706.html Port eyes shipping expansion Cleveland and Toledo could be system hubs By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer Published on Saturday, Mar 29, 2008 It's been a long time since area manufacturers could export consumer goods using the Port of Cleveland, which today is almost exclusively used for ships bringing in raw materials. But Adam Wasserman, president of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, is trying to stir up enough interest among the region's companies to change that. The port could begin ''container shipping'' this year, he said, giving area businesses a new option for moving their products to Europe, India, Southeast Asia and other eastern destinations. CHOPPED

Some nice articles from the Beacon Journal... http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17121691.html Moving port to new location on the horizon New site called ideal for moving products By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer Published on Saturday, Mar 29, 2008 The Port of Cleveland could be moved in another decade — to land that doesn't yet exist. Plans call for the 100-acre port to move from downtown to the shore off East 55th Street, on 200 acres that would be built from mud dredged from Lake Erie's shipping channel. Port President Adam Wasserman said a proposal approved by Cleveland and Cuyahoga County officials and pending with the federal government could take 20 years to complete, but private investment is being sought to cut that time frame in half. CHOPPED

The landcaping picture has a nice Miami feel to it... Maybe its the pink hues and the baby blue Cuyahoga. I had to look closer to make sure those trees weren't palm trees.. The massing looks better I suppose. The Waterfront line doesn't seem to be depicted very clearly and I think thats odd since thats the only known factor to this whole thing.

Took a little trip into Akron today.. The first 3 are pics are where the new Multimodal facility(bus station) is going. As you can see a train showed up right as I was shooting the pics. The last pic is the CVSR station. It looks pretty similar to other CVSR stations..

KJP, I agree that would be expensive to link that track into the multimodal station. Thats why I don't feel it should be done. So Akron has 2 downtown train stations. 1 to go East-West and 1 to go North-South. Link them via Streetcars. Problem solved. Its still going to be slightly expensive but its pretty much the expected streetcar path anyways. I figure Akron can link up with the Ohio Hub via Medina, assuming Medina is part of the Ohio Hub... I don't see the point in trying to bring in Amtrak to Akron since then people will then be able to say "see there's your passenger train coming into Akron. Barely anyone gets on it at 3AM so obviously no one has any interest in riding on trains." Whereas if the trains are controlled by Metro they decide how they sync up with buses, streetcars, and other trains.

^I was feeling the same way... Altho, I've had Bravo when I worked in Dayton and its good. He's not from the area so here goes: Papa Joes in the Valley, Vaccaro's Tratoria on Ghent rd., and Rizzi's in Copley. Thats three different directions you might be coming from... I don't care about this project as long as its kept at a smaller scale. It has better than average shopping.. No Walmarts, Meijers, or anything thats 5 minutes down the road in Macedonia or 5 the other way in Streetsboro. That should be a challenge...

The multimodal station is currently under construction. It will be finished in November 2008 and the changeover of moving the buses off of S. Main St to this new hub will begin January 2009. There has been hinting at using rail with this building but I have not heard anything more than that. This station doesn't connect with the Cuyahoga Valley to Canton line. This does connect with Medina and Kent. So there is nothing exclusive about the fact that the new hub is being built with a train connecting Canton to Akron. The station for the Independence-Akron-Canton line is almost a mile away on the North edge of downtown. We discussed in the streetcar thread its probably wise to have streetcars connecting these 2 locations.

It seems to me that Ohio Hub project is a bit pie in the sky at this point. Ohio isn't going to all of a sudden "Go Rail". I think rail projects like West Cleveland-Lorain commuter line are needed to inspire and help promote rail as a serious option. Akron isn't even in the Ohio Hub Plans and I think thats fine since there doesn't need to be high speed trains linking Akron and Canton. There probably do not need to be high speed trains above 70+ linking Akron and Cleveland either. Thats what make Akron perfect and unique for low tech rail. We've been discussing potential Akron rail projects on 2 different threads one related to the Akron-Canton Airport expansion and the other to Akron Streetcars and it made sense to give it its own thread. Essentially what I'm proposing is linking the 2 closest Ohio cities of Akron and Canton together via a train. There is already a rail line connecting the cities that is owned by Metro and doesn't see a whole lot of use except for scenic trips of the CVSR. I think there needs to be a study to look into this further but even a rudimentary system that I'll outline should move a lot of people, take a lot of cars off the road, and barely alter what is already in place. It kind of started off with mrnyc's thought about the airport connections via the railroad. The railroad goes right next to the Lauby rd interchange off of I-77. From there it goes South to downtown Canton. From the airport North it goes next to the Goodyear airdock and right by the Goodyear HQ and their nearly $1billion dollar redevelopment before continuing on to downtown Akron. The line continues on through Akron going into the Merriman Valley where by placing a station right on Merriman Rd by the Liberty Common's it would pretty much have easy walking access to approximately 6000-7000 people. I'll lowball it and say 30-40% of them are students at UofA. This is essentially an instant TOD. Merriman Valley is the biggest grouping of UA students outside of the UofA campus. It already is a destination and has a rail line right next to it. Create at least 3 new stations: Akron-Canton airport Goodyear HQ and massive retail complex Merriman Valley There could be a 4th station near Belden Village. Perhaps have trains run up the Cuyahoga Valley to Independence where people can take buses the rest of the way to Cleveland. The other rail line that needs to be looked at is Medina to Kent via Akron. There are 30,000+ people in both Medina and Kent. Its approximately 13 miles from Akron to Kent via rail and perhaps 15-20 miles to Medina. Again Metro owns the rail from Akron to Kent. I think some shortline owns the Medina leg.

^well he hit all the salient points and beat them to death like a good out of towner should.... :wave: But seriously, they better be bringing a whole lot more conventions to Cleveland than adding just 1000 people a weekday. I'd say its a bit hard to predict at this point but Merchandise Mart has more than implied they will bring a good helping of conventions to Cleveland. I was thinking a good range of convention size would be 4-12,000 attendance.