SixthCity

Has anyone been following this back and forth? Black lives should also matter when the killer is black: Phillip Morris http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/02/black_lives_should_also_matter.html#incart_river Phillip Morris asks 'Where's the rage?' Seek, and you will find it: Cicely J. Philpot (opinion) http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/wheres_the_rage_seek_and_you_w.html#incart_river

Wow, the Red Line stats are remarkable - the Little Italy station will probably bump them even higher. Is the "all other service" category at least on an ascending trajectory?

E. 22nd St. streetscape and Stuyvesant apartment project inching closer.... MANDATORY REFERRALS: Ordinance No. 125-15(Ward 5/Councilmember Cleveland): Giving final consent of the City of Cleveland to the State of Ohio for the reconstructing and streetscaping of East 22nd Street from Orange Avenue to Euclid Avenue; and causing payment to the State of Ohio for the City's share of the improvement. Ordinance No. xxx-15(Ward 5/Councilmember Cleveland): Designating the Stuyvesant Motor Company Building as a Cleveland Landmark. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2015/02202105/index.php

^ Internment Camps.

Meh, depends what your getting for $50. I've shopped and got on the train/bus in Cleveland and in other cities. It's really no hassle if your stuff fits in a backpack - anything over 2 handbags gets difficult.

Sweet. So do we now have the privilege to add this to the "completed projects" section?

^ That's what I'm talking about baby!

K&D Group set to buy Keith Building at Playhouse Square - but not for apartments CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The K&D Group Inc. plans to buy another downtown Cleveland office building. But this time, the apartment landlord isn't plotting a residential overhaul. Doug Price, K&D's chief executive officer, confirmed this week that the company has a contract to purchase the Keith Building in the theater district. The deal, set to close in mid- to late March, is the latest in a spate of acquisitions for K&D, which bought downtown's Leader Building and Halle Building last year. Unlike those other properties, earmarked for apartment conversions, the 21-story Keith Building isn't set for a transformation. It's a pure office play, driven by a shrinking supply of cheap corporate space and K&D's need to find a home for businesses displaced by the downtown residential boom. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/kd_group_set_to_buy_keith_buil.html#incart_river

1. The fare machines are not that bad anymore. The first run of the software had something like 7 steps before you received you card - it has now been cut down to 3 steps. 2. There is a machine at each station. 3. Yes, you have to swipe your card (like a credit card) upon exit/entry. Hold your card so the magnetic strip faces your body. Good luck - enjoy the ride!

Case Western Reserve University receives $1 million for think[box] expansion CLEVELAND, Ohio - Case Western Reserve University was awarded a $1 million grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to create space for programs to provide mentoring, resources and advice to student entrepreneurs. The Burton D. Morgan Suite for Entrepreneurship will be built in CWRU's new think[box] innovation and entrepreneurship center. It will include Blackstone LaunchPad and the Intellectual Property Venture Clinic, two CWRU programs supported by the foundation. CWRU last fall began a $35 million renovation of a seven-story former cold storage building on campus, which will allow the current think[box] to expand from 4,500 square feet to 50,000 square feet. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/02/case_western_reserve_universit_44.html#incart_river

^ Wow! 2 grocery retail locations on Public Square and 1 on Huron behind Tower City. How could I have been so blind?

National publication: Cleveland Thinks Broadband 100 Times Faster Than Anyone Else Later this summer, Cleveland plans to open up a commercial broadband service that has capacity to provide a 100 GB connection. If you’ve been keeping up with the heartbreakingly slow expansion of high-speed broadband across the country, you know that this is far faster than businesses have access to presently. In fact, it’s even faster than the most recent super-high-speed 10 GB service touted in South Korea, the worldwide leader in broadband. (Average speeds in Korea are well over twice as fast as average speeds in the U.S., according to cloud services company Akamai.) http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/cleveland-broadband-fast-100GB-city

I just don't think the government can assess that better than the developer, who has all vested interest in a successful project.

^ Its easier to hide a tax from consumers because it's assessed after the purchase. Therefore, it doesn't factor into up front costs. The fees charged by the DCA are charged on the companies so we can assume they are "baked in" to the sales price of the goods being offered - up front.

Sh*t.

I know that's been the pitch, but I don't believe that. It's not like this thing is going to be exclusively for tourists. There's no way to make sure that it doesn't hit Clevelanders. No way. Plus I agree with one of the concerns that it will hurt the development's ability to compete with the Crocker Park's of the region. I get what they were trying to do, but I think it could do more harm than good so I'd veto it too There's no doubt it would hit Clevelanders - but look at the retail in FEB. It's mostly nightclubs and high price point restaurants targeting suburbanites and tourists. For those worrying about the regressive nature of sales taxes - this isn't a tax on modest neighborhood services necessary for working people. If you were going to levy a special tax on the neighborhood Dave's to pay for a park, I could see the outcry. But here, much less so - just take a look at the prices on Lago's menu. For the politicians who use the "defend the little guy" trope to death (basically all Cleveland politicians), I would think this would be a slam dunk. Like I said before, this is essentially taxing the rich to pay for the upkeep of public space on the water. Next, is Mayor Jackson the person to decide how this will be able to compete with Crocker Park? I mean, this has been requested by Fairmount themselves. Fairmount is almost certain to keep this in a long hold situation, wouldn't they be incredibly better situated to make that analysis? I certainly think so. If anything, I could see this being used as a tool imposed by the public sector on private developments to the private developer's dismay. So who is responsible for maintenance on the public boardwalk now? Does that have to be budgeted out of the City's general fund? Good luck with that. Now you've saddled the general tax base of Cleveland with the maintenance of a public good that a wealthy development was going to voluntarily pick up the tab for. I'm not saying Jackson doesn't have good reason to oppose this - I'm just having a terrible time trying to figure out what that reason is.

Going to Landmark's commission http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/2015/02122015/index.php It looks like some square footage was taken from the external walls of the building and added to the courtyard. I'm sure this was the response to the disgruntled neighbor. Most interesting - look at the two strips of "future town homes" Even more "future town homes" on the surface lot of 32nd and Franklin.

Wow. That seems ridiculous. This would have essentially been a tax on wealthy entertainment seekers and tourists to maintain and program public space open to all. I just don't understand the thrust of the arguments against. Seems like a purely symbolic political maneuver over a practical one.

I could be wrong but I *think* E Rocc said that in jest.

Good to see some effort.

Salvation Army aims to build new family shelter at Harbor Light Complex in downtown Cleveland CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland hopes to expand its downtown Harbor Light Complex with a shelter designed to accommodate 35 families. Members of the Cleveland City Planning Commission gave the project a thumbs-up last week. Architects told the commission Friday that funding is in place and construction might start in May or June. But in interviews, Salvation Army leaders took pains to stress that nothing is firm. "It's a plan that is still being rolled out, and some of the details still have to be finalized," said Major Lurlene Johnson, divisional secretary and area coordinator for the Salvation Army in the region. "I don't want to make promises to the community that we cannot deliver on." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/salvation_army_aims_to_build_n.html#incart_river

Any way you can disclose that number? Even, if possible, just a range?

New 7 property bulk sale listing on Loopnet - basically all the stuff on the east bank of the flats that does not have a clear development plan at this point. The listing says this was updated 4 days ago and I don't remember this being listed before, making me think that this is actually new. No price is disclosed outright. Looks like they are using Lee & Associates as the broker. 1198, 1204, 1220, 1295, 1301, 1313, 1330 Old River Road, Cleveland, OH 44122 Price Not Disclosed 58,276 SF | Retail Description 7 building bulk sale. Tremendous opportunity for redevelopment. Significant river frontage. RETAIL | OFFICE | FLEX Creative - Loft - Unique - Views - Walkable - Fun - Historic East bank of the Flats. http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=18640942&SRID=5368037357&StepID=101&jli=y

Here is some good reporting by, as usual, Michelle. This answers a lot of the questions we had. Finally, Cimperman and Wolstein weighs in with some logic. Flats East Bank dining, shopping, lodging could cost you a few extra bucks. Here's why. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A nickel on a latte. Two dimes on a $10 parking tab. Just over a buck on a $90 steak at Ken Stewart's East Bank restaurant. And $3 more at the Aloft hotel. That's the extra money visitors to the Flats East Bank project might have to shell out, if Cleveland City Council signs off on the creation of a funding scheme that would use surcharges on purchases in the 23-acre waterfront district to pay for amped-up security, maintenance and other services along the Cuyahoga River. That funding mechanism - known as a new community authority - would be the first of its kind in Cuyahoga County. Such authorities, governed by public-private boards, have been used in central and southern Ohio for years to fill development-financing gaps and generate funds for public spaces, parking garages, community buildings and other purposes. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/flats_east_bank_dining_shoppin.html#incart_river

So from conversations I've had, Brickman is having a hard time acquiring the last 3 parcels he wants from a stubborn landowner. Apparently, he (Andrew Brickman) offended the older landowner - if you know Andrew, you know this is not uhhm.....outside the realm of possibility. As a result, the landowner is now asking an exorbitant price and being less than amenable to negotiations. As it stands right now, the project can move forward but the site is not ideal from his point of view. I went to a CPC meeting a couple months ago and at the meeting there was another homeowner who is boxed in on all sides be either unbuildable land or property owned by Brickman. Given that, Brickman must grant the homeowner ingress/egress to a public road. It became clear that the two sides had had no formal negotiations about the subject at that point. Without getting to much into the administrative details, the CPC was clear that they could not thoroughly vacate the public right of way necessary for the project unless this was worked out between the homeowner and Brickman. All that said, Brickman owns enough land to start the project and he already has demoed some structures. IMHO, this is a great project that has most of the big pieces tee'ed up but cannot start in earnest given some difficult personalities.