jws

Not enough zig-zagging boardwalks at the greenhouse !!!!

If you think the W73 opposition was bad, multiply it x3 and that is what you'd see with development near Clinton and Franklin. Realistically, I think the stretch most primed for infill is Madison Ave from West Blvd to W65.

The ghost tree represents an existing tree at the corner of the lot that is being retained. I assume they just made it translucent so you could see the building in the render. The resident feedback was to save trees so the developer is planning to keep the trees around the perimeter of the property.

The final product, assuming the design doesn't significantly change, will likely resemble the rendering at best or be value-engineered down at worst (but probably not much of the latter). The Clinic isn't generally one for uniquely striking architecture. For example, I think the Health Education Campus/Samson Pavillion is a good proxy for the prevailing style of the Clinic's higher-profile developments.

The commuter rail idea is great, but some of that rapid transit connectivity can also be achieved via improved BRT on Clifton and, in a dream scenario, Madison (I'm still bitter the new #25-Mdison bus stops running through Lakewood in the evenings). As has been pointed out, a long-term growth scenario where that rail segment plays into a much larger regional rail scheme is a different story. That being said, having that ROW become a true bike/ped commuter trail could be pretty transformational for the area in terms of inducing actual mode shift. Madison, WI has some excellent commuter paths that are very similar and they get heavy use all year. Lakewood to W25 is a pretty prime spot for this type of trail, especially since it can tie in to the existing trail network pretty easily. If it extended to Avon Lake then that would be another huge asset, but there is a core commuter population in Lakewood and the west side that would probably utilize it pretty heavily.

Knez proposed a duplex at W83/Lake which I believe is moving forward. There's also some single family infill in the neighborhood they've been building.

There is no funding behind implementing anything proposed in the plan. It's generally meant to guide future advocacy and planning efforts when funding and/or development interest does arise. I think a lot of the features of the plan are actually being realized in different, more subtle ways throughout the neighborhood. There are also plans that did happen, like the rebuild of Madison Park, now Miriam Ortiz-Rush Park. It should also be noted that DSCDO merged with Cudell Improvement, so the new CDC - Northwest Neighborhoods - will undertake its own strategic planning process. Even without a merger, this would be the time when an org would naturally want to revisit their old strategic plan and update it. There's also stuff happening which wasn't explicitly in the plan, like the renovation and expansion of the Lorain Branch library and the 30 CHN infill houses.

It's right on the border between Cudell and DS, and the neighbors in the immediate area are generally pretty intentional about saying they live in Cudell. The W80s block club also calls their specific micro-neighborhood "Edgewater Parke"

This one slipped by me somehow. New infill at 2043 W93, just south of Madison Ave. Lot is owned by the county land bank.

EDEN is building 5 townhouses. https://www.clevelandohio.gov/node/165712

For sure. I bike to work via Euclid and right now and my main thought is how they've created a setup that is inefficient (for the HealthLine) at best and dangerous for bikers and pedestrians at its worst. They've periodically been doing the same thing with the construction in Midtown, too.

The construction site plan that completely blocks the sidewalk and the traffic lane seems like it's going to result in a big mess.

@Boomerang_Brianit's a bit of a confusing situation. NWN considers all of the area within the Cudell and Edgewater borders to be "service area" in the sense that residents and stakeholders in the neighborhoods qualify for things such as running for the board, since these are their neighborhoods regardless of the arbitrary ward boundaries. This is a policy that was formed under Cudell Improvement. However, all of Ward 11 is also still Westown's territory, so Westown is really the CDC with "authority" on matters within the Ward 11 boundaries. They try to work together (such as the dual CDC involvement on the West Blvd/Detroit road diet study), so writing to both orgs about this development can't hurt. Just keep in mind that NWN can only do so much without stepping into Westown's lane. Ideally this weird Ward 11 section will go away when ward boundaries are redrawn. Ward 11, for those who don't know:

It's Westown so don't hold out for a much better alternative...

There's a flip on W95 that was listed at $313k that's pending so we'll see how that goes... *this is all anecdotal observation, but* Cudell is weirdly resistant to change in part, I think, because it actually has pretty low turnover. A lot of the properties that turned over in the past ended up in absentee landlords' hands, and that's the stock that is slowly making its way back into the market with pretty high premiums attached considering the quality of a lot of those units. It's not a particularly accessible neighborhood IMO. The lack of vacant lots except for a few blocks is also why there is some stagnation, however the new infill by CHN and Northwest Neighborhoods (when it was still the two separate CDCs) is a big positive. Little Kirkwood Ave is a night and day difference from two years ago.

On the national retailer front, I think hitting the H&M, Zara, etc. part of the market would probably tap into a demand that is currently lacking. I see a lot of people lament how hard it is to just buy basic items like pants and dresses. It would be great to have a focus on local retailers that hit the same price points on those items but that may require a level of nuance that Bedrock is not going to apply to tenant selection. I think actual high-end retail will continue to be difficult. I doubt another Brooks Brothers would perform sustainably, but maybe something matching or just downmarket of Banana Republic would do better.

FYI the above meeting is not about the Metroparks multipurpose path. It's just about the resurfacing the city is conducting, which does include some bike infrastructure in project area Section 2. Figured I'd mention that since it's easy to conflate the two projects.

Name selection is a lose-lose situation. Either it's this very straightforward name that acts as a blank canvas and makes sure not to prioritize one stakeholder or area over another, or the name is more colorful and then someone else has an equally hostile response to that one and claims the one neighborhood is trying to dominate another one. To tie this topic back to this development thread, the new org will be functionally the same as the organization that has previously been operating. The two orgs have been sharing staff for three years and have also been sharing resources, to a good degree. The added strength will be in terms of cohesive strategic planning now that the entirety of Ward 15 falls under a unified organization and board of directors.

Westown is very proud of that parking lot 🙃

I think Edgewater would be able to sustain a Murray Hill Market-type establishment. I'd really love to see something like that in Cudell, but I'm not sure what type of mixture of goods would allow that to even be possible. I do most of my primary shopping at Lucky's Market, but have been surprised how much I can do on foot from my house in Cudell if I reaaaaally try, though I have to rely more on CVS than I really want to, and the cost of trying to buy stuff at convenient stores is oddly high. I would [selfishly] very much like a bakery/coffee shop/general store/market combo place right on Madison. I think it could work if it had the ability to capture through-traffic and also didn't alienate people who need some level of affordability. Potentially the new bus line on Madison would open up some opportunities.

Perhaps she's too weak for politics---she needs to explain to her constituents why this is a good thing for them. If she can't handle that, she needs to be voted out. This project is good for her ward and the city and if she is blocking it, she is bad for her constituents (even if they think otherwise), her ward, and the city. As a city, we are suffering too long with crappy leaders like Ken Johnson, this woman---and she's only been in office a few weeks, Mayor Jackson, etc. N Jenny is hands down one of the best council people. Her statement is pretty tactical and well thought out and the amount of resident engagement she's already facilitating at the neighborhood level around other topics is very admirable. Advocating for her to simply disregard all of the opposition (regardless of whether we think it's legitimate or not) completely disregards the current power structure in Ward 15, both in terms of influential resident stakeholders, the CDC board, etc. As has been mentioned above, the objections to massing and the design itself are really bizarre. As far as I can tell, nearly no one has actually complained about the size of the development. Landmarks just sort of brought that up on their own, for some reason.

Three new rent-to-own houses on Kirkwood (right behind Belinda's Nightclub). I'm really pleased with how this infill looks, as the elevations were never widely published prior to construction. There are 20 (maybe a few more, I forget) houses being built south of Madison Ave and primarily on the Detroit Shoreway side of W85. These are part of a project by CHN and DSCDO with a few being placed in the current Cudell Improvement service area.

The pool received some work a year or so ago. There has already been engagement with the neighbors about what they'd like to see done with Lake Park. Both Lake Park and (I think) Cudell Commons are supposed to be receiving large improvements soon. The Cudell Commons improvements will probably be synced with the demolition and rebuilding of Marion C Seltzer elementary school and I'm not sure if CMSD has a date for that, yet.

What's weird about those three newer infill houses is that, according to the County Auditor's site, they've been owned by the land bank since 2007. The builder (Cleveland New Construction Limited Partnership IV) transferred them directly to the city land bank. Sounds like they may have been a rent-to-own situation that never made it to the "own" part? I'm very confused about this one. They definitely had residents at some point, though.

Smart Development. They're a relatively new nonprofit.