cadmen

Maybe l'm being cheap but one thing l take into consideration when going out is the cost of parking. It's not the only reason but if l'm deciding on a restaurant with free parking vs. paying, $20 to park more often than not l'll choose the free or cheap parking. As much as l love supporting downtown when l eat out l'm more apt to eat in a nice Cleveland neighborhood rather than downtown. In fact l rarely eat in a downtown restaurant except when l'm there for a game or the theater. Downtown is struggling to get back to its pre-covid activity. Jacking up parking is only going to discourage people from going downtown.

^ l don't know what you mean by the statement that multiple small governments force them too compete with each other is a reason for not having regional government but regardless, l think by far the best reason is simply reducing the need for each city in the county to have a mayor, a chief of police, a fire chief and any other head of a city department. A regional or county government would by definition eliminate all of those positions. And by eliminating all of those Chiefs you can use the savings to hire more Indians (workers). Look. I get that there are benefits to being able to get a local official on the phone in a small city vs. a larger one but in the grand scheme of things l think the benefits of one large government pulling in one direction is better than dozens of small governments pulling in different directions.

Ha! Oh l absolutely understand that converting our system of balkanized form of government to a regional one is dead on arrival. But that ties into a previous point l've made. One of the best ways to move the region forward is to stop our selfish ways and do what is best for the whole. Unfortunately, we're not going to do what we need to do, which is make the tough decisions.

I totally agree that converting all of our cities into a regional government would be a great step in moving us forward. But getting all the suburbs to give up what local control (read: power) they have will be like building the pyramids. Nevertheless, l'd love to see our leaders make another attempt. It will take a ton of Public meetings with data to show the benefits but l think it's worth trying.

When l talk about the problems that Cleveland is facing l didn't mean to imply that they are unique to Cleveland because they aren't. They are the same issues most of the Rust Belt cities are dealing with. And because they are regional issues of very long standing duration that makes them even harder to solve. But my focus is on what WE can do as a city. I think it starts with the economy. We love talking about some new development but really that's just the cheery on the sundae. The sundae is the economy and without a growing economy we'll see less and less of those. As l've said before, there are a lot of things we can do to improve our economy. We still have a lot of strengths. We just have to be smart about it and get to work. We start by realizing that we need to work together and make decisions that are best for the region and not our little suburb. A bunch of nothing towns in North Carolina came together and created the Research Triangle. The key was recognizing they had a problem and then coming together to solve it. Rather than castigating people like Larkin we need to admit he is correct. We need to accept it and then get to work. All of my comments boil down to that one thought. Admit we have a problem and then work on solutions TOGETHER.

@Clefan98 lf you can't see how Columbus on so many levels (population, percapita income are just a few) is passing us by then no point in continuing with this subject. I'm more interested in what WE can do as a region anyway. So again, the answers to our problems can be found in any number of studies of successful regions. That's not the hard part. The hard part is getting us to agree on several of those answers and begin to implement them. First thing is to admit we have a problem and second begin to work on it as a region. As long as we fight among ourselves we'll never improve.

@Clefan98The truth l was referring to was in reference to comments that some think our problems are due to our leadership while others think the problems are because of selfish infighting among citizens. I maintain the truth is it's all of us. And your statement that most of us don't have a clue what the problem is is exactly my point. Larkin may or may not know what the solutions are but dismissing his concerns lS part of the problem. And l agree that regionalism would be a great start in stopping selfishness. When the subject has come up in the past on this forum have been one if its proponents. Regarding your stats about Cleveland outpacing Columbus in jobs...don't those numbers show the opposite? Over the last couple of decades Columbus has slowly been outpacing us but recently that pace has picked up and l think with the new Intel plant that will only increase exponentially. We're already reading about discussions between Columbus and outside tech companies negotiating to open facilities at a rate that dwarfs Cleveland. Their economy is beginning to expand at a much faster clip and l think it's only th beginning.

A lot of us don't like facing the truth. So we make valid points when explaining why things are the way they are. But just because there is truth in their statements doesn't mean it's the whole truth and the whole truth can often significantly change the dynamic. There is truth in the statement that our leadership IS part of our problem and it is also true that ordinary citizens are a big reason why we struggle economically. We are all part of the problem. If you study why some areas take off while others languish there are always multiple reasons. Some are just fortuitous circumstances but it's usually as much about decisions people made over decades that ultimately propelled a region. Some things are out of our control. We don't have a leading university and we're not a state capital either but Columbus had OSU and was the capital for decades when Cleveland was much more dynamic and wealthy without either. All we've done is make one bad decision after another and over time we've squandered our position. The best way to turn things around? It starts with being honest about ourselves. And then what? It's actually not rocket science. If you study what worked and what didn't the answers are there for the emplmenting. The hard part is stopping the infighting and then begin to pull in the same direction. Easier said than done. But if we copy policies that have been successful in time we can turn NEO around.

Hey, who doesn't like a good development rumor on a Monday morning. It's what we live for lol.

@EthanGreat for the state but an outside portion of it probably comes from Columbus. We have to get our act together here in Cleveland. We're not maximizing the potential of the port, NASA and the business community. We need better leadership.

I agree that a museum based on Rock made perfect sense. But in one way it's becoming obsolete almost overnight. I'd love to see the marketing research the Hall does on the demographics of present visitors and expected future visitors. If they still see interest from non Boomers then great. Problem solved. But if that's not the case then they'll have to pivot to remain relevant as an attraction. If nothing else they'll have to do something about new inductees because at some point relatively soon the old rockers are either already in or don't warrant induction and there just aren't enough new artists playing rock and roll. That's why l suggested broadening the focus.

First off, thanks for the article Ken. It had some new stuff that puts a spin on what we thought we knew. So the Landmark building and 925 Euclid added to the possibilities. How to take that... If 925 gets the courthouse that means they are struggling with their original plan. Not good but also not surprising considering just how difficult it will be to make the numbers/idea work. If they do get it 9th and Euclid may just recapture some of its old energy. And if the Landmark building gets it that takes a great building out of the residential space. But IF it does get the courthouse it instantly adds more life to Tower City. Then again, if either are the site we don't get a new tower. Booooo. If Bedrock wins we get a new build that a should kick-start the riverfront project. So many options and they all come with positives and negatives. I don't know which one l prefer but it sure will be interesting to watch.

I guess l'm kinda getting used to it. Time has a way of doing that. Besides, the original design makes it practically impossible to seamlessly add an addition. A potentially bigger issue is having the Rock Hall becoming obsolete. Its only real audience are aging Boomers. When the idea of a museum dedicated to rock was first broached the music was still current. I don't think that's the case anymore. Are Gen X. Gen Z etc. really interested in rock? And since there aren't really any new rock bands at the rate of inductions how many are there left who warrant getting in? Seems like we'll run out of contenders soon enough. Maybe the answer is to just call it a music museum so the genres can be expanded.

@Ethanl've spent some time daydreaming about the same thing except l've added some island stops off the breakwall. Remember when we built a few islands using dredgings from the river? It's become really popular with the locals who use it for hiking, picnicking and sunbathing (weather permitting of course). Great views of the city too. You should check it out.

All in all l think this is bad news. It's one third empty and the only way it sells for what used to be fair value is if there is a sudden change in the worth of these office buildings and who expects that? Best case scenario is Cliffs acquires US Steel and then buys the tower at a discount to move those headquarters people into the space. But IF that happens then they won't be building a new tower themselves. I just can't get used to this new WFH paradigm. Don't like it.

We are going to love this when it's done. Can't wait to see it lit up at night. Thank you Sherwin Williams!

Damned if you do. Damned if you don't.

Like most everyone on here l'm not a fan of the family George and l don't gamble either but if the new sports book can inject more life onto 4th street l'm all for it. Throw in some neon lights too while you're at too Mr. George. Side note: Hate being placed in a situation where in order to get some cool development we have to root for schmuck's. Even more than the sports book l want to see his plans for River Rd. get done. Would add so much to the Flats. Sigh.

^ Totally agree.

Pet peeve here: l'm just a little frustrated when l see an old stock photo of downtown used in a current context for advertising a company or worse a sporting event. I get that it may be cheaper but l think the real reason might just be laziness.

I guess l don't understand why any particular suburb has more money to throw at a stadium than a city the size of Cleveland. Not that Cleveland has a lot either. So assuming a new stadium gets built somewhere in NEO the reason l prefer Cleveland is l don't want to lose any money spent on hotels and restaurants/bars. Plus just having more people moving around downtown adds to the vibrancy if that's what we're calling life downtown these days.

^ So for arguments sake let's assume he gets a viable partner and builds. Is it a foregone conclusion that whatever is built is residential?

Revenge of the rubes.

@LibertyBlvdWell if that's the case then the SHW leadership is populated by a bunch of local yokels. I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they know they're adding a brand new skyscraper in the heart of a city and not some suburban campus. Cities mean city views.

Jeez. I didn't realize the building was empty. Here's hoping work begins next month then.