cadmen

Tax policy needs to be balanced and geared to the time. Too much of one tax and you put the squeeze on development. Not enough and you put the squeeze on the ability of the city to run itself. In addition no property tax on new development puts an unfair burden on existing property owners. At one time Cleveland was desperate for development. Fortunately that is no longer the case. We're running now but still not flying. I think rather than eliminate the tax abatement completely or leave it alone it's best to begin to wean ourselves. I think this proposal is a good approach. Rather than simply create an all or nothing tax policy I appreciate this more evenhanded one. The concept has my vote. If the specifics need to be ratchet up or down, so be it.

^ Of course I was being somewhat flippant about the internet killing local newspapers. There were and continue to be other factors too. Those of us who grew up reading the newspaper lament what has happened. Deregulation has hurt more companies than just newspapers. Whatever happened to the anti-trust laws? Sure the ability to buy up competing media outlets in the same market, then ending some of them to limit competition is part of the problem. Not good for the consumer of news. Decisions by management to let seasoned writers go is more a function of lack of advertising dollars than just poor decision making. What happened to those advertising dollars? They went to the internet. I don't have a background in the business like you Ken, so I'll defer to you. I'm sure you could write a book on the demise of the business from an insiders perspective. One bad decision after another, chipping away at what once was a mainstay in hometown news. The local newspaper was not just a source of local news it was part of the national fabric of democracy. A successful democracy needs an informed electorate. Yellow journalism notwithstanding, local newspapers had a history of printing the truth. They held themselves to a standard that the internet doesn't. You can't put the genie back in the bottle but the internet is a decided mixed bag. We have Urban Ohio. We also have QAnon.

Absolutely!

I miss seeing people on the streets downtown. To me, that is the one thing that separates cities. You can have all these other metrics that measure how a city is doing but simply having a vibrant street life is what does it for me.

^ I'm not so sure about that. Is the design/color scheme amazing? No...but I wouldn't call it boring either. I think it looks pretty good actually. Certainly much better than those 1970's modern square blocks that we have scattered about the E. 9th St. area. On the whole I think the bar has been raised for urban design in Cleveland over the past few decades. And I like a lot of the pending products as well. Sure, there's still some fails but I think we're doing much better than before.

Yeah, well across the country most local newspapers are dead now or just a skeleton of themselves. The internet killed them. No use complaining that local newspapers stink. It's like complaining that a corpse smells. What do you expect?

I wouldn't be surprised if they moved there to be closer to the government spigot.

State's like Georgia and Indiana do have one advantage though. They only have one big city to focus on. The pie is not cut like it is in Ohio with the 3 C's. We don't receive nearly the percentage of state help that they get. Makes it a lot easier for them to get behind a big project.

Case Western is our flagship university located in the heart of one of the most unique areas of the country. The institutions in the University Circle area deserve our attention and support. As they go, so we go.

Serious question. Do you think any of the local development or architectural firms come on this site to see what the general consensus is for their developments? Depending on the plans there is usually a kind of agreement here on what works and what doesn't. And speaking for the forum, I think we are right way more than we are wrong. Then again, how many of us are complete amateurs? I know I am. So if any of them do come on here do THEY think we're mostly clueless when we criticize something? Speaking of design, I get that cost is a huge factor but it does seem that a lot of what is generated isn't all that cheaper than something that looks way better. Plus, if you're in the business, there is no shortage of material showing different developments using different price targets. And yes, design can be subjective but, come on, you can see what works and what doesn't. I've often said, you don't have to re-invent the wheel, just steal a little of what works. The concept, not the exact design. Most architecture is derivative anyway.

I thought l read that Geis uses Inhouse architects. It made its reputation building industrial type structures in nondescript suburban office parks/warehouses. That's fine for what it is but its latest forays are with residential structures. Problem is they haven't adjusted their look. If they're going to continue to design and build residential buildings, especially city buildings they really need to step up the design process. Probably need a different team because the current architect's simply don't know that buildings housing people need to look different than buildings housing office workers or storing stuff.

This is a tough one. On one hand Lakewood fills in a prominent site in the middle of town with a new development that will keep a growing business within the city borders. All good. On the other hand when compared to any of the proposals presented when this site was originally solicited for development I think this one is by far the weakest. Is the glass half full or half empty? I'm not sure.

I agree that quality of life is subjective even when using "objective" measures. So I'll give the state a pass on that one. Job growth has been a problem for decades and quality jobs even worse. There's no getting around that one and the reasons are obvious to me. The continued focus on good paying union manufacturing jobs is a big reason we fell behind as knowledge jobs became the driver of growth. By the time we realized what was happening we were already behind. Of course it's not just a Ohio problem as much of the inner three quarters of the country is playing catch up to the coasts. I am glad to see we rank 7th in corruption. Maybe that slap in the face will get our attention. I think political corruption has been a huge strain on us while at the same time going somewhat under the table to the general public. It's been going on for a long time. The massive First Energy, PUCO, state pols scandal is only the latest example. I would hope that something as blatant as that would serve as a wakeup call to all of us. Unfortunately, we see that the governor and the Republican controlled state house are doing their best to ignore the problem. Until that changes l'm afraid it will continue to be (corrupt) business as usual.

It's not much but at least we get some more trees.

Yes, at this point the conversion and attachment to the CC is by far the best option. I also agree that the initial plan probably did provide (some) cover and was used as a way to upgrade the CC. Sometimes things in government have to be done that way. It may not be all that ethical but at times it's necessary to do what's best for the public in spite of themselves. Just my opinion. That being said, I still think the the idea of a MM was a legitimate gamble. There are no guarantees in business and I still think it was worth a shot. Especially when it did get us a new CC and the MM building. The question now is can the additional space really be utilized for future conventions? I am very concerned about the convention industry, business travel, hotels etc. Not to mention working in the office. Those things added so much life to downtowns across the country. It looks like Covid may have been a game-changer in that regard, at least for many smaller cities. I hope I'm wrong.

You're right. The large conference room (often separated into smaller spaces when necessary) attached to the hotel seems to be all the conference space needed at this time. If the hotel/conference center hadn't been built in its present location perhaps it could have been built adjacent to the Play House and used the theater's for meetings. As it is l could see the theater space possibly used for training. Maybe. But another problem working against saving the facility is apparently it needs alot of deferred maintenance. Expensive maintenance. For any of the above scenarios to take place one has to assume the Clinic cares about architecturally significant buildings. It doesn't.

Nice expansion from a company that is under the radar here. And I didn't realize that there were all those food service businesses in such relatively close proximity. These are the kinds of businesses that I usually associate with the suburbs. It's great to see all of them existing in the city and it's even greater to see them growing in the city too. No need to go into all the great reasons why development internally (central city) is better than development externally (outer suburbs) but it's safe to say that this is one example of the kind of growth we need to see if we want to be a viable region.

One can argue both sides here but really, there is only one paramount issue; is there a way to make use of the space that makes financial sense? Sure, the original Play House does have some historical and possibly architectural significance. Is that enough to save the structure if the use for which it was intended is no longer in place? What other uses can a building that is comprised of several fairly large conference (theatres) rooms and adjoining halls be used for? I think the only way to save the exterior and repurpose the place would be to gut the interior and turn it into offices. Would that work? Is it financially doable? Does the Clinic need that office space? That's the bottom line here. Saving the structure means it has to have a use and it has to make financial sense. If not it has to go.

This development really has me conflicted. The bad things I know about George come from site's like this. I'm sure they're true because there is so much smoke there has to be fire too. Plus there is that d*ck move of his to buy that dilapidated property on the hillside where a phenomenal park is planned. Holding up the park for a higher price than that corner lot is worth is a smart business move but also says alot about his character. Now we have what looks like an amazing plan for that long neglected section of Old River Rd. If it wasn't Bobby George behind it we would all be jumping for joy. If it DOES come to fruition as shown in the plans I guess I'll just hold my nose and smile because while George does stink that plan certainly doesn't.

I live around the corner from the Lakewood Food Truck park. It seems to be very popular although the number and quality of food trucks available does seem to be lacking. When I asked people working there about that they always have some version of "Working on it."

That too.

And such a really small project too. Seems like a crew could knock it off in a day or two while the movers and shakers are contemplating the big stuff. Come on City government. LITTLE things like this go a long way in ones perception of whether or not a place is welcoming or not. Do I want to invest here? Do I want to move here? Maybe not.

Wasn't the land where the old Cleveland Institute of Art campus was put in mothballs until the market called for it to be developed? Right across from the Art Museum. Great location for a high rise condo building.

It only stands to reason that the entire real estate market from developer to buyer will slow as interest rates rise. That's just the nature of the business. Having said that there are other components to a deal. Hot demographic markets, deep pockets by some developers/buyers and government tax breaks so all is not lost. We'll still see development. It's just that more and more those deals on the margins will fall by the wayside as rates continue to rise.

Not me. I loved that design...although looking back I'm not sure how well it aged.