gruver

Generally speaking, Hotel Monacos are adaptive reuse of architecturally significant old buildings, while Palomars are new-build or contemporary reuse of a more recent building. Both are the Kimpton's upscale brands. I'm not sure if things have changed from Kimpton's perspective (with all the recent Cleveland buzz), but I seem to recall a Kimpton official saying Cleveland could not support an upmarket Kimpton. So, it very well could be the Hotel Schofield. Personally, I'd love a Monaco, like their glitzy old Philly property.

'voussoirs' are coming along.

Did anyone else note that page 10 of the Stark nuCLEus brochure appears to show a build-out on the upper floors of Euclid Avenue's 515 Garage? Any info?

It will be an outlet mall. You heard it here first.

Looks like the old lighthouse residence was in what is now the National Terminal warehouse parking lot. A shot from 1931, before they built the Shoreway bridge.

Does anyone know if they plan to do anything to finish of the dome on the rotunda? I love what they are doing with the whole complex, but that dome is bugging me with its finish. It looks like old, peeling grey asphalt.

Cornice is going up on 1010. Sorry for the lousy resolution.

This project certainly has a Potemkin feel about it. It almost advertises abandoned buildings. I agree that what that street needs more is repaving and a real tree scape. I am continually baffled by Cleveland's urban tree plantings. The City seems to have a curious fondness for small, ornamental trees that are planted in very confined spaces, causing a failure to thrive. Why, oh why, can't they simply fill spaces like this with trees that will mature into arboreal arch?

I truly hate to say it, because I love Cleveland and what I see happening downtown, but Cleveland's demographic trends ironically combine with downtown's residential renaissance to thwart retail. Take a look at the population numbers: 1980 - 573,822; 1990 - 505,606; 2000 - 478,403; 2010 - 396,815. The City has lost nearly 200,000 people since 1980, and all these class-B office conversions, which are fantastic, are symptomatic of that loss. Spaces that used to be filled with desks are now large apartments, which are often single occupancy. Not too long ago, the East Ohio Gas building, 660 Euclid, the old National City Bank building and the Huntington Building were full of workers. Now they are empty or are undergoing residential conversions. I simply can't see any retail comeback until a great number of affluent residents offset the dramatic loss of transient workers.

I hope the end-product turns out well, but this does not bode well. Let's just say, I'm pretty sure the Marriott (and Hilton, and the Metropolitan, and Kimpton) is breathing a sigh of relief.

Personally, I think this project has been totally botched; and that's a crying shame. What a wasted opportunity. If you stand back and think about it objectively, the Westin will be THE UGLIEST hotel in town. Even the Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn have better street presence. I am mystified by their exterior design choices. Unfortunately, it looks like they have made equally poor choices on the inside. While the original interior renderings showed a cool, grey modern look (much like their original exterior renderings), it appears that they have ditched that approach, and adopted a very fugly Brady-Bunch look. (Take a look at the hotel website) Well, at the least the outside and inside will match. :| Apparently, $65 million dollars couldn't buy much. Unless one is an avid SPG points collector, I cannot imagine why anyone, ever, would choose the Westin over Cleveland's existing, and certainly upcoming hotels.

I completely agree Yanni. The church is simply a brick, steel and concrete building with a stone veneer; like just about every "classical" building in this city. It was built to look "old" a mere 88 years ago. To suggest that a contemporary builder could not reuse the façade materials to perfectly recreate a worn classical façade on a new-build is silly. It happens every day, all over the world. The problem isn't that it cannot be done, and done quite convincingly; rather, Cleveland buyers generally do not demand such architecture in a shrinking city and real estate market. Why would one buy a $600,000 townhouse when you can get a fully-renovated, lovely house nearby for nearly the same price? Or get the same townhouse floor plan, with a "contemporary" exterior for $250,000 a few blocks away? In such a market, I'm pretty sure we will continue to see ersatz modern, gimcrack townhouses for quite some time. And I'm pretty sure they won't age as well as the Brickhaus concept....

Before the renovation, the garage was hidden behind a brick lattice, and was essentially invisible, if a bit forbidding. If this is the final look, it is a design disaster; and may be the most in-your-face garage in town. What a waste of a $65M renovation. Will Westin tout its new, art laiden grand staircase to event planners by pointing at the façade and saying "yeah, right there, between the rape van and the pick-up truck."

It's fantastic. A 21st century addition to a decidedly post-modern skyline. In the 3-d rendering, you can easily appreciate the facade's nod to the Burham plan.