ML11

That was quick! Some time between 8:30am and 6pm yesterday, the majority of the existing Max Hayes structure was reduced to rubble. While it's a prime development spot, the city could certainly use a decent public school. Let's hope they can find a way to pull it off.

Interesting. I was just reading about Whole Foods trying to expand beyond its "base" in some areas, including lower income and "millennial-focused" areas, which would have a slightly smaller-format store. Unique's site could hit both markets, and offers decent access to I-90 for 'burbanites on their way to/from home. http://www.wsj.com/articles/whole-foods-sets-up-shop-in-low-income-neighborhoods-1476010801

Ah yes, thanks for the heads up on Zone. Appears they're just south of the main building on Detroit, so I'd never seen them. I had tried Gordon Park a couple summers back, but those courts had sadly been torn out/left to rot. Point remains: too bad we lost our public option in the downtown vicinity, though I understand the short-term $ considerations from CSU.

CSU's new indoor tennis facility opens to the public: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/05/cleveland_state_universitys_te.html#incart_river_home PROS: will be nice to have an indoor option in the city during winter months. CONS: tearing out the perfectly nice and popular outdoor courts and replacing them with a $27/hour indoor facility (which apparently has part-time hours.) Are there any outdoor public tennis courts left in the city?

Oy. I'm happy the project is coming along, and they're trying to think of ways to make it appeal to different people, and maybe it's just a really bad set of renderings... ...BUT this seems like a pretty misguided/lazy concept to me.

Or you could take the cynical view (as I often do) and say that it's fairly commonplace to "open" these types of discussions to the public to give them an added sense of "ownership" of a project, regardless of whether you have any plans to incorporate their feedback :-D I'm glad the mall changed hands, and I think it definitely has room for improvement in the short-term. For it to be a major success, though, there will have to be significant investment/development surrounding Tower City, including a lot more residential. I really hope they keep the movie theater open, and maybe this can even be a catalyst for the theater to get a facelift? I also really, really hope there is a plan for the sea of parking near the river. A new entertainment option would be welcome...mini-football/fútbol stadium anyone? :wink:

The place doesn't sound like my favorite concept, but I guess it only has to offer a little more to the surrounding work crowd + pre/post-game sports crowd than the existing mediocre stretch of bars in Gateway to be a success. That's a fairly modest goal though, so I'm sure they're hoping for more than that.

Washington DC has about 650,000 people now and has 8 council members. It somehow still manages to represent everyone in the city. Never understood why Cleveland still needs 17 members for a city of 395,000. I'm assuming the large council was a product of when Cleveland used to have 900k+ people. I wouldn't hold D.C. up as a beacon of successful municipal government. That said, it is a little silly that getting 2,000 votes can land a spot on the Cleveland council right now (though lowering the bar could also hypothetically provide more chances to upstarts/newcomers.) I think the answer is probably somewhere in between. As for the mayor's proposed tax hike, it's definitely a blow, but as a city resident at least I'd get better value for it with 87% of $'s coming from suburban commuters. Is it enough to push some people/businesses to the burbs?

Follow-up on the new trolleys today: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/01/new_trolleys_a_local_windfall.html#incart_river_home "But Ohio City has expressed interest in trolley service, and so has University Circle," Calabrese said. That potential expansion would be a new role for the 30-footers. Sign me up for a couple trolleys doing a Market District --> Hingetown --> Gordon Square loop!

Adding meters makes sense to me, especially with the large, free-to-park lot just north of Detroit.

^ Ah gotcha, sorry about that - don't venture out of this sub-forum too often. I do think this is a wider topic than just WSM though, and affects the entire neighborhood, especially if the lot becomes 24/7 pay-to-park.

Big article on potential changes at WSM: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/06/west_side_market_faces_changes.html I would be in favor of changing the hours, and I think moving Wednesday hours to later could be more important than opening on Sunday. Concerned about negative consequences of paid parking though.

The Platform guys are all over the place (in a good way!) Not a huge cider fan myself, but this could be another cool addition to the area.

The rest of the updates look fantastic, and even the jury boxes aren't as jarring as they were (to me) at first. The Indians already had some of the most affordable tickets and food/bev options in the league. Then they went and upgraded the food/bev with local flavor and built what looks like an awesome new destination in the bar. The team is coming off 2 consecutive winning seasons, the FO just locked up the CY YOUNG winner for the rest of the decade, and many national outlets are picking them as a leading contender and/or World Series winner. All of this privately financed, without major ticket price increases, by a (*gasp*) Cleveland-based ownership. Let's Go Tribe! /Opening Day tangent-rant

The Terrace boxes don't look great in the pictures, but I guess I'll reserve judgement until I'm at a game. The concept of the terraces is OK with me, but I wish they would have put a bit more time into designing them. I think it would be unfortunate if they came to overshadow the rest of the renovation. From the pictures I've seen, the bar looks fantastic, and the concessions options have seen a huge upgrade. Area for kids looks to be expanded also. (For the record, all I need is a seat and a beer and I'm happy, but hopefully this appeals to the casual fans...) I know this forum has an architecture lean, but economically speaking the seats affected by the boxes were used for no more than 2-3 games last year, and no more than 2-3 games the year before, etc, etc. The reality is that unless the Browns suddenly pack up and leave town again, the 1990's-level attendance is never coming back, and a ballpark that has thousands of unused seats 362 nights/year is not going to help the Tribe. The terraces will take some getting used to (and hopefully they are upgraded over time), but if the choice is that or a tarp, I'll take the boxes.

Full story from Cleveland.com: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/03/detroit_shoreway_apartments_in.html The parts that were new (to me) from the proposal were the "resort-style" swimming pool and the 425 parking spots.

Tribe is doing something cool today for any downtown St. Patrick's Day crowds, opening up the Terrace Club to public to check progress on renovations. http://tribevibe.mlblogs.com/2015/03/16/stop-by-progressive-field-on-st-patricks-day-to-check-out-renovation-progress-and-grab-a-free-hot-dog/

Thanks - I was wondering if plans had changed, since this most recent article made no mention of apartments that I could see. (Plus, the lack of public mentions of pre-leasing to this point.) If it's still the plan, those are going to be the most appealing (IMO) in Cleveland.

TL;DR: will there be any apartments/condos included in this building, or will it be 100% hotel rooms?

This line from the article pretty much sums it up: 'As Doug Price, K&D's chief executive officer, puts it: "What a nightmare this whole thing is. You couldn't make a bigger mess."'

I prefer the name of the second one, and the design of the first one.

^^ I got a little lost the first time I tried to visit Merwin's Wharf, and ended up barely making it through a sea of road craters on an adjacent side-road. :-D

McDowell's. As per earlier posts on upper-right field, that area will be mainly geared toward large groups (companies, school/community groups, etc.) In the past these large groups would only have "meeting/mingling" spaces on the outer edges of the stadium, with no view of the field. Now, they will have an affordable area, with views of the field, and amenities to create a picnic/bbq style experience. The main public improvements will be on the lower-level and mezzanine concourses. The bar and new food options should seriously add some more life to the place. Also, the Tribe is shaping up to be very, very good.

^^^ That's a great story. You should reach out to U-Haul and see if they can hook you up with a free rental in the future after all the free publicity they got from you. 8-)

The proposed bike lane expansion toward the east should be a step in the right direction in driving demand. I think being able to market the area as an easy 5-10 minute bike ride to downtown, CSU, Case Western, West Side Market, Univ Circle, etc. would be a nice boost.