cadmen

While Duck Island isn't exactly a hidden neighborhood anymore if you haven't visited in a year or two you will be quite surprised by the amount of (expensive) infill. It's almost built out and serves to seamlessly connect Ohio City with Tremont. Quite impressive l think. I went to the Market last Sat. and there were a lot of people walking around and what l thought was especially cool, a few dozen folks looking out from the rooftops of Intro. A real urban experience there.

^ Sounds about right. The plans for that stretch of Old River were really cool. On the one hand l was super excited about them. On the other hand it's the family George so l don't wish success for them. Turns out the project is nothing more than some pretty pictures and wishful thinking. OK then.

If there is a disconnect between manufacturing job openings and awareness by those looking for jobs maybe part of the problem us how those seeking those jobs are actually looking for them. In days past the most common way to find those job openings was newspaper want ads. That's no longer an option. Those openings and the application process now takes place online. And because a lot of people looking may be somewhat illiterate or lack the computer skills necessary to find and apply for those jobs l think that may be the biggest disconnect. If l were in charge of solving the problem that disconnect is where l would start.

^ It's basic capitalism. Give people a reason to buy or use something and generally they will.

^ Exactly. I don't think the problem is geography or routing. It's no longer having a promoter with the reputation of the Belkin's.

I am a huge proponent of leveraging the expertise of research scientists at CWRU and our medical institutions to create products and businesses. That being said. I think BioEnterprise has been disappointing. Not quite a failure but certainly underachieving. Maybe it's because they were basically starting from scratch and that's always difficult. While we haven't created any high profile companies we have brought in hundreds of millions in grants and that has created jobs. Maybe BioEnterprise has served a purpose by basically kick-starting a nascent industry here and now it's time for the next phase. The area is starting that phase with a lot of momentum in terms of researchers, funding and awareness of possibilities. There are regional successes around the country we can learn from. We already have many of the necessary components in place. I'm excited to see where we go from here.

^ That must be a first. Usually the apartments rent fairly quickly while commercial is lagging (way lagging). Is that leasing an outlier or an indication that things are looking up for all those commercial spots downtown for tenants?

^ Agreed, but if City Club was built up to 668 then we wouldn't know it was fake. Too late.

Maybe the reason for the views can be explained because the Greyhound station is still quite visible and sort of iconoc while Slavic Village is removed from most people's radar now. Been out of sight and neglected too long. Maybe a development like this can give it a high-profile again.

I thought the Galleria was really cool. Especially the barrel vault ceilings...but what do l know?

The Immigration debate is a lot like the political one and if you get your news from a particular source you are mostly getting the truth, just not the whole truth and of course, the whole truth changes everything. Example: what is happening at the southern border now is chaos. We really need to get our border under control. Example: The US needs immigrants. The vast majority do work that needs to be done and too many Americans either don't want that work or are not qualified. Immigration contributs far more good than bad. Anyone trying to say otherwise is just wrong. So we need controlled Immigration. Just not out of control Immigration. Easier said than done.

I don't understand why cities don't keep an arborist on staff....and then USE them. The position would pay for itself in cost savings by not having wasted money on planting the wrong trees in the wrong location the wrong way.

Nice article in the PD today about the rise in popularity of Great Lakes cruising. A lot more stopping in Cleveland including 3 on the same day. Just one more reason to really develop the waterfront. Give people something to do and they'll do it lol.

I think downtown is in a weird place now. On one hand over the last few years there has been a very steady building boom. Well steady for Cleveland when on any given day there is construction of a new high-rise. Used to be we would go several years between buildings. On the other hand, post covid the downtown seems much quieter with much less foot traffic. Less restaurants, less retail. Just generally less activity. I know WFH plus covid is the problem but still...it's kinda odd that we have steady building and a quieter downtown too.

Thanks for those postcards pics. I've never seen anything like that before. I had no idea there were some walking paths north of city hall.

^ You need a little more than a train ride to ride a train. The waterfront line was successful when there was a reason to ride it. Like Browns game days. Give people a reason to go somewhere and they usually show up. Fully developing the waterfront gives them more reasons to show up.

@coneflower Yes, depending on the person it can be a long walk from parts of downtown crossing a landbridge and finally arriving at the waterfront. Would it be worth it? Right now as things stand that's a big maybe for many. But the landbridge is not the end. It's the beginning. Right now, even if you make that walk easier by building it you still don't have all that much of a payoff even when you get to the waterfront. What makes the landbridge worthwhile is the resulting development. If done right we get a brand new neighborhood, on the water, in a park-like setting. A setting filled with residential, entertainment, restaurants and eventually office space. An attractive setting giving people a reason to make the walk from downtown. A setting that puts Cleveland on the map. A look that tells visitors that Cleveland is a viable alternative and not just an afterthought. Right now Cleveland is never mentioned nationally when it comes to successful cities. Cities that people want to move too, create businesses in. But something as simple as developing a waterfront properly can change perception. You know that old saying, you have to depend money to make money? Well there you go.

So the argument is made that we should develop easily accessed properties around town before spending on a landbridge. At first glance that might seem reasonable. But let's look at the big picture. You can put a building here, a building there and what do you have? Infill, which is important, but in the grand scheme of things doesn't add a lot of value. Now consider the landbridge. It connects ALL of downtown (not just Public Square) to the waterfront. Which opens up that area to massive development. The landbridge is a catalyzing development. It's an economic multiplier. Why is that? Because people are subconsciously attracted to water views. It's in our DNA. Don't agree? Then why are properties on the water more valuable than properties across the street? They always have been, always will be. We have a waterfront. Not taking advantage of it it just stupid.

If you filter out all the noise (Rich owner of a bad team, no existing neighborhood, altering a highway etc.) and just focus on the primary idea which is seamlessly connecting downtown to the lakefront, l think you come to the core of the debate. Is a landbridge a good idea or not? For me, it's not just a good idea but if we end up with anything close to the present propossl it is potentially transforming. We have a Great Lake. It's cut off from downtown ensuring whatever development that is there is a shadow of what it could be. Landlocked cities would kill for access to that Lake. If we don't do this right and take advantage of a major asset then we are just being foolish and deserve our present second class standing.

Look, l don't live in Akron but l used to be married to an Akron girl and we spent a lot of time in that area when we visited. It's actually very inviting and quite close to an upscale, old school neighborhood. The problem is some of those old mansions are money pits. It takes the right owner with the right kind of wallet to maintain them. While I'm not familiar with this particular home from the pictures it takes either a very wealthy owner or some kind of business to keep it from ultimately being abandoned. The proposal sounds like a great idea. Plus, there aren't a lot of rich people looking to move there and take on that home as a residence. It sounds though that the local NIMBY'S will have their short-sighted way. Frightened, clueless people pulling up the drawbridge. What they can't comprehend is their position is ultimately a losing one. Rather than invest in their neighborhood and adjust to changing times they turn inward. One day they'll look around and wonder why they now live in a declining neighborhood.

@GISguy Those photos are really cool. I've seen a million pics of Cleveland but l don't think l've ever seen one like those. Thanks

Sad news. The Gilbert family certainly has had some tough health issues.

Once more the mayor shows he is a new school leader who understands that Cleveland needs to focus on the future and stop with the "lt is what it is" crap that we had to endure with Jackson

@LibertyBlvdYou're right. From what l remember the original expansion was tucked into thd base of the little hill between the Rock Hall and the Science Center. It wasn't much more than a connector between the two but it would have allowed visitors to park in the garage and walk inside to the Rock Hall. It was very low profile and a lot smaller than this version.

Well that sucks. That's my go to for Thai.