cadmen

Love it!

^ Wow. Really stupid ownership/management to invest millions only to come up short with the last few dollars.

As impressive as those apartment buildings are as you drive down the street, when you see the peninsula from the air you realize just how much land there is still left for development. Some of it still has existing structures and some is empty. It will be very interesting to watch for news about that land going forward. Will this new development be it for awhile or will there continue to be additional projects announced? New downtown highrises may be done for awhile. We might have to turn our attention to Flats infill if we want to continue with construction news in the heart of the city.

Well since the old church is a bust if we want to see it continue as a church it will need a new congregation. I nominate the Church of Urban Ohio as the new entity.

I remember Bibb offering 480 something million for the lakefront. Didn't realize he can't offer it to a BP dome although that does make sense. How can he offer city funding for a dome outside the city? He can't, although the way politicians play fast and furious with public dollars you can see how people can expect practically anything to happen. So we're down to Ronayne holding fast to a "No."

Yes, l realize the House voting for the bonds is just the first step. The Senate needs to approve them too and then DeWine stays out of it and doesn't veto. But really, when the House voted for the bonds l figured the others will rubber stamp them because l don't see a lot of daylight between the chambers and l sure don't see DeWine getting a backbone and vetoing the legislature. Could something change? Of course. I just don't expect it though. Ohio politics have been corrupt for a very long time. Jimmy is a republican. He's donated to all the necessary people. Now he expects his reward. My original conjecture still stands though. Even with the 600 mill in state bonds Jimmy will come up 600 mill short if Bibb and Ronayne remain holdouts. The game is still being played. We still don't know the ultimate result but somehow, someway l'm expecting to see a dome in BP rather than something downtown.

I mean, it's a little thing and yet it's not. In these troubling retail times opening a brick and mortor store in the heart of Playhouse Square is an affirmation of stores AND downtown Cleveland.

^ Well, we always expected the State to come through for Jimmy, didn't we? So, the dollars are: 2.4 billion for the dome which works out to 1.2 billion from Jimmy, 600 million from the State and 600 million from the County/City. That brings us to the crux of the issue. Which is what will the County/City do now? IF they hold that means Jimmy has to come up with that 600 million on top of his already pledged 1.2 billion. Will he? And there's the additional millions for the entertainment/hotel around the dome. Not to mention the millions needed for highway/street work to connect everything. Who pays for that? This whole thing is still a long way from a done deal. If the County/City holds and Jimmy decides his new contribution is too much the original lakefront plan may yet be the choice by default.

I'm hoping that if these apartments lease out quickly and the peninsula proves to be successful as a neighborhood we'll see more and more housing begin to fill out the land down there. It seems all the ingredients are there. The city/region needs new housing. It's on a river. It will be connected to an amazing park in Irishtown Bend AND the towpath trail. Can't wait to see what the area looks like in a few years.

As far as the crown being lit up...something l don't think has been discussed, the pic l saw on this forum showed it having a whitish color. The SHW lettering is also white. How is that going to work? If both are some version of white won't they cancel each other out? Or maybe l missed it. Does the lighting of either (both?) have the ability to change color so that they can stand out from another?

"Lofts?" Looks more like Projects to me. Or just cheap apartments in any cheap suburb. Necessary, sure but beyond that, it's just basic housing.

This collaboration is a perfect example of vision and leadership that is often lacking in NEO.

I never understood the value of a BRT line. After spending hundreds of millions you still end up with busses driving down the same street. What's the point? Too save a couple of minutes? Even that proved to be ephemeral. It's light rail or keep the old bus line. And why it costs billions to put in a street surface light rail in America is a fu**ing crime. It's an embarressment to what used to be American can do.

Two concerns l have with the political situation in Columbus. First, if the problem is bond money taking away from state funding for education... since when does the state of Ohio care about funding education? These Republicans would support an educational curriculum consisting of the 3 R's like it's 1850 if they could get away with it. They don't suppprt funding much beyond that. Two, l just can't see Dewine vetoing the bond bill if it passes. I doubt he's going out fighting. He may "say" he opposes the bill but actually doing anything more than talk...l don't see him taking a stand for his principles as he's walking out the door. I would love to be wrong on either of these situations but l'm not expecting a miracle here. I can't remember the last time Columbus threw us a bone.

As l understand it the BP stadium will cost 2.4 billion. Haslam wants 600 mil from the state and 600 mil from local taxpayers leaving his share 1.2 bil. If the city and county hold and don't contribute their 600 mil does BP have the ability to make it up? If not will Haslam pick up that amount and add it to his half? I'm betting he won't. So even if the state comes through it may not be enough without local funding. Those of us hoping for a downtown stadium may yet win out. It's not often my wishes in the development world come true. Fingers crossed.

^ Ha! Looong way to go before that happens. Let's put up another half dozen glass highrises and then we can decide if they're too much or not.

This kind of crime is incredibly demoralizing to a community. Nothing can bring a neighborhood down faster than vandalism on a large scale. Murder is of course a worse crime and a violent assault does scare people but most will see them as a one-off and not really indicative of the area. But vandalism on a large scale makes people feel like leaving. Sometimes it's death by a thousand cuts that changes minds and not so much a single terrible event. Vandalism, graffiti, even large amounts of litter can chase people with means out of the city and to the suburbs. The problem is it's done mostly by kids and even if they are caught our system of justice really doesn't have a good way to handle the problem. I wish l knew some viable solutions. Maybe the old broken window theory is a possible start. Get the community together, bring in a pro-active police, cameras etc. Somehow the City needs to project a visible presence. We can't afford to go backwards.

Haven't seen the city from that location before. Love that density. Ten60 is a great addition and it really helps to close the dead spot between Gateway and Playhouse Square.

Wow. I missed that news. I knew Tom through our Hiram connection. I viewed him as a humble, smart everyman. RIP Tom.

So you're saying there's a chance...

I'm not blaming Bedrock at all for the situation we find ourselves in. I AM saying that because they own Tower City and plan on developing the riverfront next to it they are in a unique position to take charge of getting rail to their (at one time) rail hub. If they were successful it would only enhance their investment. Sometimes it takes an orginization or a person to push or champion a project for it to succeed. It's not exactly the same thing but look at Jimmy Haslam. He is championing a move to Brook Park and he'll probably get it through force of will and arm twisting, not to mention buying a few politicians. Sometimes you need a strong advocate to push through.

I don't want the team to leave and l don't want a dome in BP. What l want is the Browns playing downtown. But since l rarely get what l want l'm sure to get one of those first two.

Frustrating IS the word to describe Bedrock and Tower City. What does Tower City need? PEOPLE! It needs foot traffic. It needs people to walk by its empty storefronts. But if it got that foot traffic it could fill those stores with actual customers. Also, taking advantage of those empty park and ride lots by building apartment buildings would of course add to the foot traffic at Tower City. The merger of an already built terminus of shopping/office space with a rail network of RTA, Amtrack and CVSR is so obvious even a blind man could see it. The solution is right there. It's mostly done already. Just add the little rail connection and suddenly the solution will explode into a vibrant space. All the parts will come together to create life. I like to talk about the fact that often a great idea, a great solution just needs a champion. Here is a chance for Bedrock to be not just a champion for themselves because they already control a mostly dead Tower City and dead river front but a champion for a new rail network to use an already existing rail center. The seeds are mostly in place, dorment. The just need a rainmaker to bring them to life. That would be you Bedrock. Save your not inconsequential investment there and bring to life rail, housing, tourism and the graditude of an old rust belt city that's trying reinvent itself. The ball's in your court Bedrock.

As a fan of cities l take no pleasure in reading that Baltimore's lnner Harbor is struggling. During the '90's l found myself visiting at least once a year for baseball, clinical trial meetings or just to show it off to friends. I actually enjoy the scale, look and price of Baltimore. There are a lot of similarities with Cleveland. Now, l find l haven't been there in maybe 15 years. Maybe l'll substitute it for my annual Boston visit. Our cities need some love and support in these trying times.

So state politicians seem on the verge of helping out a billionaire from Tenn. Who knew a billionaire had so many friends. I wonder what's driving that friendship? Maybe it's Jimmy's stellar reputation.