cadmen

"Expedited hearing." Would that take place next year or next decade?

Well surfohio since you asked I prefer more density, less open (parklike) spaces. One reason I think Cincinnati's skyline works is that its buildings are clumped together. Even though they don't have the height we have I think their skyline looks better. Then again, if we keep up with infill at some point our skyline will grow into itself and eventually look better. I just think especially when viewed from the southwest Flats all you see are the taller buildings and the whole thing looks a little strange. Of course the view from the near west side looking alongside the Detroit - Superior bridge is one of the best and will really look amazing after adding SHW. But ultimately beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Yes, from many angles Cleveland has a very unique skyline. It almost looks like there are no other buildings except the tall ones. I have studied other cities skylines for years and no other place looks like Cleveland.

Come on now Infrafreak, you can't bother us with photos of our town. That makes us happy!

I know we're not building a re-furbished parking lot on the site. But I'm used to seeing a construction site of this magnitude look more like a construction site of magnitude and not like a construction site for a parking lot. After all the work done if you didn't know better and just looked at that recent photo you could make the case it looks more like a new parking lot is being created rather than a huge office building. Maybe it's just parking lot PTSD. and my brain still sees parking lots everywhere and not a brand new 616' office tower. Man those parking lots are hard to kill lol.

Thanks for the report Ken. Always interested in info about the local office leasing climate.

Yeah guys, I know the old Class B and Class C space was mostly empty or emptying out so converting those buildings to residential was the best option to fill them while also adding to the downtown population. That has been going on now for several decades and it has been a huge success, so much so that leaders from around the country have been coming here to learn how they can do it where they live. So kudos Cleveland. But now that success is coming to an end as the supply of potential conversions is getting slim. I'd prefer to see the remaining obsolete buildings somehow, someway be modernized to make them at least appealing enough for small or new companies who want to be downtown but can't afford Class A space. It may be a niche market but there has to be enough demand to fill what is now a relatively small number of options. Maybe I'm just thinking with my heart and not my head but in the interest of creating a more well rounded environment downtown I think a focus on promoting small business growth downtown can achieve that. If I remember correctly downtown Akron has been using some creative approaches to fill recently refurbished office space for small business. Maybe we can do something like that here.

l want to see the number of people living downtown to increase like all of you. But now, other than the old SHW hq's (which is obsolete for Class A space) l prefer the remaining older office space to remain office space. Let's build new residential going forward. Downtown needs a vibrant office climate. I don't think replacing office workers with residents is progress. We need both. Residential seems to be moving along at a good pace. At this point l would like to see a greater focus on increasing the downtown office population.

Well then, all I have to say is there better be BALCONIES.

^ Fair questions.

Odd. MRN submits plans which become public record, you report on it in your blog and they immediately retract. It's almost like they were baiting you. So Ken, coincidentally in a very tight timeframe l have seen you appear on local news, read about your reporting and also heard your reporting mentioned on local sports talk radio. Maybe MRN doesn't want an upstart who is outside the local mainstream media making news. In the old days reporting was cutthroat. Are we reliving a bit of the good old days when actual reporting took place? I hope so and l'm sure l speak for all of us on UO when l say "Keep up the good work."

Thanks for the report dwolfi01. I see that we are still below our previous foot traffic as I thought. A few things stand out to me. I used to volunteer at the film festival (stopped when they wouldn't let us actually watch during our shifts lol) and saw attendance rise to over 100,000 each year. The most recent festival recorded an attendance o 77,000 but only a third were in the theatres, the rest online. That may be good for the bottom line but not so good for downtown foot traffic. I liked how our hospitality sector is coming back at an even better rate than other cities. The biggest loss for me is only 52% have come back to the office. WFH may end up being the biggest Covid game changer of all. I REALLY miss the days of office workers filling the streets, restaurants and of course OFFICE BUILDINGS.

^ Right . That design doesn't look all that bad at least from that view. Not outstanding but not terrible either. Later designs look worse IMO.

^ Interesting take. Maybe its been the poor weather this spring or maybe its just when I've been out but I've noticed E. 4th is less popular now. Same for the Warehouse District. FEB is packed when the weather is good but not all that busy when it's bad. Ohio City seems to be doing well all the time. Gateway only on game day which might be expected. I hope your experience is more reflective than mine because I don't think we're anywhere close to pre-Covid times. Foot traffic still appears to be down from then. So adding a bunch more places on the other side of the highway IF that ends up being the new Browns site can't help existing establishments. Maybe if the new Lakefront ends up being the game-changer we all hope that will bring a lot more out of area traffic and then it could be helpful for the entire downtown as a rising tide lifts all boats. Still a lot to be determined.

^ Yeah, the deck is stacked against us rail buffs for many reasons.

Holy mackerel Dave2017 I love that idea. Color, plantings, glass atrium! It is a paint company after all and that should mean color. This keeps getting better and better. Seriously though. I may lack the ability to design an amazing space but I DO have the ability to recognize one when I see it. Too bad none of this will happen.

Two sites, both have their plusses and minuses. Personally I favor the E.13 - E.17 site for all the reasons articulated by others on this forum. The best reason for me is that the neighborhood is already attached to downtown. although it is vastly underutilized. But unlike the Post Office site you wouldn't have to build out new bars/restaurants. The new builds wouldn't be used all that much on non event days. How would that work for a going business? Plus they would cannibalize existing establishments some of which are already struggling. We don't need more places competing for customers. If we build all these these areas will there be enough people to fill them? We already have the Flats, E.4th Street, Warehouse District, Gateway, Ohio City etc. Now add to that a new lakefront center of activity and new bars/restaurants if the Post Office site is chosen. That's an awful lot of entertainment sites for a city the size of Cleveland. Does anyone really think all those centers of activity are viable? 'Cause I don't. I prefer fewer but more concentrated areas of life over many diverse centers struggling for customers. There are only so many days in the year to fill these places. We don't need a bunch of entertainment areas competing for business. I agree that the Post Office site while still downtown feels like it might as well be in the suburbs as it is effectively removed from downtown by highways. Don't like that at all. Those highways are the only thing I do like about that site though. It seems to me that getting in and out might be easier than building on the other site although I'm not a traffic expert. I'm sure studies will be done to determine that for both sites. The biggest drawback to the E.14 - E.17 site as Ken indicated is acquiring all the necessary land from a lot of different owners. Sure as sh*t one or more will hold out for a King's ransom. I don't see a way around that unless eminent domain is used and that might take a lot of time and still be more expensive than using the Post Office land. I guess the biggest question is can we afford it and at what cost? Still a lot to be determined but it sure will be fun to watch this play out.

Sorry for being lazy but can someone tell me the minute mark Slife's comments occur in this very long video?

The shack...I like it! You should have given them your number. See...we're full of good ideas on this forum.

Apples and Oranges? I was asked by you to show evidence of a poll that was inaccurate. Which I did. Now you want me to produce evidence of a transportation poll that is inaccurate? A quick google search about inaccurate polls will show that pollsters are having problems. Look, my statement was about not trusting polls in general and not specifically transportation polls. There are issues with poll results. If you think the reliability of a specific poll is based on the subject (political = no trust and transportation = trust) well, I don't know what to say about that. You may be correct...or not. I don't really know. But back to rail...forget the polls. Let's look at behavior. As was said previously, the concrete/highway/auto lobby gets WAY more funding by our political representatives than rail specifically or public transportation in general. On that we agree. And why is that? Is the public demanding that outcome or is it the politicians simply responding to the money doled out by the lobbyists for the concrete/highway/auto? Maybe a little of both but either way that side is getting the funding. At any rate, as I said before I believe the biggest reason for the disparity in transportation is cultural. Americans are just a different people. We love our freedom and that means we prefer the freedom to drive anywhere vs. having to be forced to go where the train/bus goes. We love our personal space and prefer to not have to share it with strangers. The American ideal is still the suburban home with the white picket fence and a car in the garage. I'm speaking in generalities here. Of course there are millions of us (me included) who don't subscribe to that view. But the majority do and THEY also have control of the purse strings so until that changes I don't see rail as any more than a reginal (primarily the East Coast Corridor) transportation option. As a train buff I wish I was wrong. But I don't think I am.

Oh we believe you Ken.

Wow. That looks fantastic. The addition of SHW to the skyline from that angle looks even better than I imagine in my head. I need to get a life. And yes, that additional blue glass DOES offset the Cleveland beige and makes the skyline look more modern. Fills in and connects with the other high risers too. Can't wait to see it live.

^ Ok. Here's an example. The 2016 election. Polls predicted Clinton would win handily. After that misunderstanding of what voters wanted we heard alot of talk by pollsters about needing better models. I'm not saying polls are worthless, l'm just saying you have to be careful in interpreting them. People often say one thing but do another. And look, I'm a train guy. I just don't think the majority of Americans agree with me. Unfortunately.

Fine. Blitzer buys into the team and Harris builds the Ballpark Village. That's my plan and l'm sticking to it. Man, it's fun spending other people's money.

I take polls with a grain of salt. Depending on how questions are asked you can get very different responses. Even if a majority of Americans (doubtful) say they favor improved public transport that doesn't mean IF they got it they would actually use it. Talk (poll opinions) is cheap. Actions speak louder. I do think ridership would be greatly expanded if there was better service. Ex. Even though I love rail (don't like busses) I rarely use RTA because the train doesn't go where I want and when it does the service is way to slow. Believe me I would like nothing better than to have the old street car system back in place. Because most people in Cleveland lived near a stop back then hoping on a streetcar to go shopping or get to work was very convenient. The only way to create that kind of convenience today would be to massively change the funding. That's not going to happen.