JohnSummit

Clarification on what I was getting at over in the retail thread.

Moving this over to the retail thread, we have a few clues as to their site selection logic. The first 2 are locations they tried to make work, both significantly further west (480/Tiedeman and 480/Transportation - now the jail site?) but didn't work out for unrelated reasons. Also, there's been plenty of opportunity to pick up freeway visible sites in the Beachwood corridor along 271 during the past say 20 years. So why haven't they ever moved on any of those? Clearly based on their previous moves, they have a preference for something further west.

Feels too far east to serve the entire market well. I think that's why they were looking for a more central location along 480. If Browns stadium in BP falls through, that would be better. Also was wondering about the recently demolished former Glidden complex along 71 in Middleburg now for sale.

Prior to now, the last post in this thread was November 4, 2024 😵‍💫. Obviously the world has changed since then. I know mine has! And there’s lots of uncertainty (interest rates, tariffs, stock market, federal government dysfunction, etc.). So it feels like time to reignite this thread. What project do we think is next? I guess Tower at Erieview / W has already started, so it can’t be that one. Vibe, Carriage Co., Shoreway Tower, or Bridgeworks? Something else?

Man, if it ever becomes halfway as green as what is shown in that rendering, what a huge improvement. Does anyone know if the Conway brothers are still the owners? I'd assumed that the former CEO was a hand hired to run the day to day, but ultimately answered to ownership. I thought the Conways were very civic minded.

Strange, I saw this CNBC video on YouTube a few days ago about CulDeSac. Gives a good overview of what it's like.

The only thing in these pictures I wish we could go back to is all the people in the Arcade. And maybe the fountains.

Well, the Valspar cans at Lowe's say Valspar - Cleveland Ohio on them. It seems like they're just a brand in the SHW marketing arsenal.

And now while we all wait, we try to interpret the meaning of a one word cliffhanger: Cool, as in cool it? Cool down? Cool story?

Relax. Probably going to put a bigger one there.

In @Boaty McBoatface 's first photo it's interesting to see the shapes of cascading shadows: Courthouse tower reflected in SHW, Terminal Tower shadow on 200 PS, SHW shadow on Key Tower.

Maybe I’m not digging deep enough, but after every story I’ve read, I still don’t know what they’re actually going to do in the place where the inner belt was.

@ink I love that you called it Sohio tower. I want to do that when referring to it, but the young'uns don't know what I'm talking about.

Yep, I have noticed this a lot more since the 2003 blackout. That was attributed in part to trees encroaching on some power lines, I believe.

Is it just me, or does the cold air return over the door into the bedroom in @Ethan 's first photo go all the way through to the bedroom? Seems like not the best setup for privacy, although I get that most of these are probably one bedroom apartments to be inhabited by single apartment dwellers. Still, it's a bedroom with a door for a reason.

Although we've known about it for some time, what a nice surprise to see the financing come together for this, and wow, $218 million makes this a major, major upgrade and many votes of confidence in its success. With that, here's my wish list for this project: 1. Return to the Top Of The Town branding for the restaurant. I get it, this may be counter to the brand image of W hotels, and I doubt they'll do it. But done right, it wouldn't have to lean too heavily on the past. Interior decor, and obviously food tastes have changed, so they have to recognize that. But an otherwise modern restaurant with the name only as a nod to history isn't unheard of, either. 2. A signature exterior lighting element to bring interest to the night sky. Something more than a giant W at the top. LED lighting has brought about so many possibilities here to get creative. And doing something unique with the lighting reinforces this building's position as an anchor and the tallest building in this part of downtown and brings attention to the property. It could be static or animated, in color or white. Vertical strips at the top of varying height, like the Aura at College Park in Toronto (not to be too derivative - this is just an example). But I'm wondering if the building's historic status would preclude something like this. 3. Perhaps most importantly, a thoughtful and comprehensive strategy for the retail spaces. Again, the world has changed - a lot - since 1987, and for sure the way people shop has too. So we probably won't see a return to form of the traditional retail mall with mostly apparel stores and a food court. But there's a lot of new thinking available, too. And people willing to pay likely big bucks to lease a W branded apartment are not going to want to walk through a dead mall on their way home. Nor would Marriott appreciate the impact of that on their brand. No offense, but the Hungarian museum and Dollar Bank aren't going to cut it. So we need thoughtful, creative design, programming, and leasing, and all of these elements need to appeal to both visitors and locals to bring much needed life and foot traffic to the space, and not let this become another arcade with a beautiful interior and next to nothing in it. I'm not an expert, but we've seen a lot of what doesn't work. Interactive? Experiential? Unique? Just a few things off the top of my head, how about an Eataly? Would something like Pinstripes or Silverspot work here? Starbucks Reserve Roastery? There's an urban format Ikea in Toronto, and now we have a lot of apartment dwellers downtown needing furniture and housewares, soon to be 227 more just in this building! And again, these are just the simplest of ideas that came to my untrained brain. The point is, I really hope they have engaged with experts who can develop a strategy to find the things and design the interior to be unique enough to make that space a success more than it ever had a chance to be in 1987.

I'll post an image of a directory from Tower City around the time of opening on another thread sometime, but the music store in there was Record Town, not Tower Records.

Christmastime 1990, and a directory from 1987

@newyorker what city is that on the video thumbnail? I don't recognize that skyline.

That's a feature, not a bug.

These Redwood things are popping up all over, at least in my neck of the woods in Summit and Medina counties. In some of the larger ones, it's like driving through a maze of garages. They seem to fill up though, so they must be fulfilling a need.

I guess "worth it" will be determined shortly by the number of people willing to sign a lease for said $2000 studio.

Doesn't look too bad there, but wait until all the lottery, beer, and tobacco signs get plastered all over the windows.

This ought to settle down all the talk about the Browns leaving the region. Although the timing of the announcement should generate some good will towards the Browns, it also kind of reduces the potential for relocating out of the area as negotiating leverage.

I don't think the cash flow is expected to cover the capital cost of the project. Last I heard, they were in negotiations with the airlines over the landing fees, which will be used to fund the rebuild.