SixthCity

West Side transit center is dead. Again. Did you hear this recently?

Ha! At first I thought it was a urinal that could be approached from both sides...then I realized that would be the worst idea ever.

Leader Building in downtown Cleveland fetches $5.4 million in sale to K&D Group CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The K&D Group, Inc. has purchased the Leader Building for a downtown Cleveland office-to-apartment conversion project. Property records show that the 16-story office building, at 526 Superior Ave., fetched $5.4 million in a transaction that closed Monday. The Plain Dealer reported in July that K&D, an apartment company based in Willoughby, planned to buy the Leader Building as a long-term redevelopment play. K&D hopes to maintain part of the 322,600-square-foot building as offices and to keep retail on the ground floor. Within two to three years, the developer could start converting most of the floors to housing. Doug Price, K&D's chief executive officer, has said that the building could house 230 apartments. The office space is roughly 60 percent full. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/leader_building_in_downtown_cl.html#incart_river ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So the building is selling for $5.4 million. Last month's article mentioned, "An asset manager at Carlyle Development Group, which owns the property, couldn't be reached for comment. A New York investor, Carlyle paid $4 million for the building in late 2004 but declined to sell it in late 2012 for nearly $7.7 million -- the top bid in an online auction. The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office now estimates that the real estate is worth $2.7 million." I bet they wished they would have sold in 2012.

With a boost from FlashStarts, 12 new companies join the Cleveland economy CLEVELAND, Ohio--Optimism and sophistication pervaded Monday's "demo day" for FlashStarts, a downtown business accelerator that introduced 12 new companies to intrigue and applause. More than 300 people crowded into the elegant Allen Theater in Playhouse Square for the evening showcase, 57 accredited investors among them. The moneylenders included Robert Hatta, a partner at Drive Capital, who called the event a milestone in Cleveland entrepreneurship. "This was, in my opinion, the best demo day yet by any accelerator in Cleveland," said Hatta, who helps run a $250 million venture capital fund in Columbus. "They built a really, really diverse set of companies." http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/with_a_boost_from_flashstarts.html#incart_river

Are there any remaining historic buildings that can be torn down to provide a site for this school? The old Third District police station!! Historic? (check), Architecturally significant? (check), Built up to the sidewalk? (check)......RIP IT TO SHREDS

Man, I love Richey Piiparinen. Dude deserves a statue or something. Cleveland's young adult workforce ranks among the brightest in America, study finds CLEVELAND, Ohio--An encouraging demographic trend has accelerated for Greater Cleveland, which is attracting highly skilled young professionals in eye-opening numbers. According to a study being released today, the area ranks 8th in the nation for the skill level of its young adult workforce, ahead of such "new economy cities" as Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Denver. About 16 percent of area workers between the ages of 25 and 34 held an advanced college degree in 2013, the study found, up from 14 percent in 2009. "That's a nice jump," said Richey Piiparinen, director of the Center for Population Dynamics at Cleveland State University, which conducted the study. He attributes the brain gain to the allure of the region's life sciences industry and its advanced manufacturing, as well as immigration, and said the trend bodes well for Cleveland's transition to a smart economy. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/clevelands_young_professionals.html#incart_m-rpt-1 America's Top Young Adult Workforces: A Rust Belt Rebirth? Figure 1 displays the results. The nation's largest 40 regions were ranked. The top ten highest-skilled metros are filled with the regular suspects, including Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. However, there are a few surprises, particularly Pittsburgh and Cleveland, which rank as having the 3rd and 8th most highly-skilled young adult workforces in the nation, respectively. http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1968788/thumbs/o-URBAN-PROGRESS-GRAPH-570.jpg http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richey-piiparinen/americas-top-young-adult-_b_5683298.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business

Do the right thing, Bobby Stark!

So we might be getting a 3,000 space garage out of this - north of Cedar and east of 105th Cleveland Clinic cancer center gets thumbs-up from city design review committee The Clinic is eyeing a site on the north side of Cedar Avenue, east of East 105th, for a 3,000-space parking structure. That land currently is a 500-space surface lot. Preliminary figures in a PowerPoint presentation indicate that the garage might cost $38.7 million and could include retail or office space along East 105th. A new garage would allow the Clinic to shift employees south from existing garages, freeing up more centrally located parking for patients. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/cleveland_clinic_cancer_center.html#incart_river

The "Tink," Case Western Reserve University's new student center, opens Aug. 24 CLEVELAND, Ohio - It already has a nickname - the Tink. Shaped like an origami starfish, the $50 million Tinkham Veale University Center at Case Western Reserve University offers students, faculty, staff and community members amenities including a food court, ballroom, indoor and outdoor gathering spots and scenic views of Cleveland and University Circle from floor-to-ceiling windows. The contrast to its nearby 85-year-old predecessor, Thwing Center, which cost $650,000 to build, is striking. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/the_tink_case_western_reserve.html#incart_river

Damn, that's a pretty cool art deco building we will be losing.

Good news for the Langston Goodman Real Estate Services Group brings Indian restaurant to Cleveland Goodman Real Estate Services Group of Cleveland recently completed a deal bringing Chapati Indian Grill to the Langston Building at Cleveland State University in Cleveland. Stephen Taylor, senior associate with Goodman, represented Chapati in this transaction. http://www.rejournals.com/2014/07/21/goodman-real-estate-services-group-brings-indian-restaurant-to-cleveland/

In Lakewood Park?! Suspected armed robber steals hats in Lakewood http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2014/08/suspected_armed_robber_steals.html#incart_river Lakewood cops seem to be pretty good. Based on anecdotes I've heard, they have been able to catch people pretty quickly.

Open a gay bar in a Cleveland double?

Enter the Ninja: Cleveland bar-eatery Ninja City opens Thursday in University Circle "You know, McDonald's is all we used to have in this area when I went to school here," says the Case Western Reserve University 2004 grad. "OK, there was also Mr. Hero ... but I could never understand why this area, which has so many students and people walking around, had so little options." Ten years later, the area is very different – thanks to new shops and eateries and the new Uptown development. The owner of Bac in Tremont decided to jump in with business partner Dylan Fallon to open Ninja City. "Cleveland is so food-and-drink crazy that I'd be worried opening a new place – except here," says Nguyen. "This is the kind of place I wish would've been here when I was attending Case." http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/08/enter_the_ninja_cleveland_bar-.html#incart_river

I think DM4[/member] 's point was that those neighborhood's structures were not built to handle that level of density. While 10,000-15,000 per square mile may not be "too" dense if housed in a series of high-rises - that same population may be overcrowded in the mid-rise apartment buildings, duplexes, and single-family homes ubiquitous in Cleveland neighborhoods.

Business, leisure visitors to Cuyahoga County increased by 4 percent in 2013, according to Positively Cleveland report Cuyahoga County welcomed 16.2 million visitors in 2013, a 4 percent increase over the previous year, due in part to the opening of the Cleveland Convention Center. Those visitors – defined as anyone who comes into the county from more than 50 miles away for a leisure or convention purpose -- generated an economic impact of $7.4 billion, an increase of 6.7 percent over 2011 (the last year calculated) http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2014/08/business_leisure_visitors_to_c.html#incart_m-rpt-1

^ Good point

JG[/member] ^

Not sure where to put this because it does not pertain directly to Ohio trends or statistics - only the Rustbelt (Cleveland and Cincinnati are discussed). I despise anyone/anything who uses municipal boundaries for any meaningful analysis at a "City" level. Fascinating work. POPULATION AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER: STANDARDIZING THE SIZE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN CITY Although cities are often judged prima facie, not to mention showered with congressional dollars via census results, based on population figures, perhaps a straight reading of the numbers isn’t a good barometer of the merits or demerits of a place given the wild variances in the geographic size of cities. Cities are arbitrarily constructed entities with culturally loaded boundaries. So what would happen if every city shared the same geographic borders? Would population numbers reflect different realities? Would the perceptions of places change, defining which cities are viewed as declining or prospering? http://beltmag.com/population-aint-nothing-number-standardizing-size-great-american-city/#comment-70047

Health-Tech Corridor gains first director; Jeff Epstein takes on real estate, marketing in Midtown CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Health-Tech Corridor has its first full-time director, four years after the city of Cleveland and nonprofit partners announced plans to rebrand the 3-mile stretch between downtown and University Circle. Jeff Epstein recently signed on to shepherd marketing and development along the corridor, a 1,600-acre target area for businesses with a healthcare or technology bent. The former vice president of development at the Coral Co., Epstein now is stationed at neighborhood nonprofit MidTown Cleveland, Inc. Established in 2010, the Health-Tech Corridor represents a partnership between the city, the Cleveland Foundation, MidTown Cleveland and BioEnterprise, a nonprofit focused on the creation and growth of biotech businesses. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/health-tech_corridor_gains_fir.html#incart_river

I talked to Joe Cimperman who in turn notified CPD. Also tweeted at the DCA. Nice - thanks for that

This is super embarrassing - winterton[/member] did you call the DCA or anyone?

I am looking at Google Maps aerials of downtown Houston right now and it still appears to be pretty heavy on the surface lots.

^ Is that a recent photo?!

From the article, to note: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But he waxed poetic about constructing something with "the kind of architecture that lets the world know that Cleveland is back, and that Cleveland is in competition with Chicago and New York." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stark Enterprises has no immediate plans for L&R's parking lot on West Ninth. But the company does plan to preserve and redevelop the Herold Building, the historic and condemned building at 310 Prospect Ave. L&R has been sparring with the city over the future of the structure, which is tied up in a legal fight over demolition versus restoration. It's unclear how the sale to Stark and J-Dek will impact that litigation, which includes a Cleveland Housing Court case and an appeal in Cuyahoga County court. An attorney representing L&R declined to comment. Stark said he intends to save the Herold Building and to pursue new construction on the small parking lot next door. Those Prospect Avenue projects would be a separate development from the new construction on the 3-acre Huron Road block.