j73

Don't know about their other items, but their chocolate-covered pretzels are fantastic, though... In any case, you'd think a relatively-large local chain like that, HQ'd in Cleveland would have a downtown location.

OK thanks... I understand it now and it makes some sense, although it obviously makes more sense it hotter markets than in markets like CLE. There's probably some way to tweak it, but that's a battle for another day...

Always thought there should be a Malley's in downtown rather than just in the burbs... here's the map oftheir locations from their website. Any guesses on what the big hole in the middle is called? :x

It's late (for me anyway) and so maybe I'm not thinking clearly, but what's the evil they're trying to prevent? You mean someone might come in use the tax credits to convert an old run-down building into something someone might want to out and out buy rather than just rent and might *gasp* make a profit on it? My God, we better outlaw that immediately! Taking on the renovation of an historic building seems like it involves a lot more risk (ask Lola who was delayed for about a year b/c of all the historic issues). Would seem like the credits give people an incentive to save the old building rather than just tearing it down and build new. I don't see how encouraging renting rather than buying leads to a more stable neighborhood. Is this law local, state, or federal? Regardless seems crazy to me.

This is something I've thought about for a long time, but never voiced. A mission statement and a list of things that we believe...in other words, positions on issues that Urban Ohio supports. I think there are certainly things that we all agree on. Here's a few I think we could (mostly) agree on... - more density is generally better - mass transit is good - places should be pedestrian/bike friendly - surface lots are evil in urban environments. if you have to have parking, structured is better - mixed use developments are generally better incl mix of day/night uses (ie. lively 24/7) - architecture/buildings should engage the area/street to create a more engaging environment These aren't so much about specific issues, but kind of tactical principles we'd likely agree on. This the kind of thing you were thinking about, grasscat? What else what you add?

More info on this from the St. Clair-Superior CDC newsletter. Hadn't heard about the Florian Court one. Here's a link: http://www.rysar.com/proposedprojects/ProjectDetail.asp?DevId=12 New Upscale Housing on 45th Street! Jamie Blackson Baker The East 45th Lofts are underway. This project entails the conversion of an existing warehouse at 1427 East 45th Street to twenty loft apartments. The developer, Doug Perkowski received approvals at the Board of Zoning appeals on December 4th. He expects to start construction this winter and finish mid-to-late 2007. The units are 2 stories and will feature kitchens opening to living space, with bedrooms upstairs. The East 40s Block club reviewed the plans in early December and expressed their enthusiasm about the positive addition to the neighborhood.This development will compliment efforts at Florian Court, a new construction condo project just south of the site. With these 2 significant developments in progress, East 45th and 47th Streets will be the talk of the town.

Thanks for volunteering to do that, KJP. This seems like a great idea - to move beyond a forum where we can discuss and complain about how we wish certain policies, developments, etc. were different, to actually doing something about it... (To be fair I know many on this board actually work in development and thus "do something about it" every day...) A few thoughts: 1) It seems like there are some issues to work out re:whether this is Cleveland-only or OH-wide. As someone else pointed out, there has to be some local presence since the issues are played out locally. Could be a larger OH organization (presumably to comment on state laws, share best practices among the local groups). 2) I know you said you'd take a crack at a draft mission statement. An admittedly clunky version of the one-liner that comes to mind is something like "To promote urban environments and urban living and the policies that support them". Needs refinement, but it's a start...

Don't think we have to worry too much about B of A buying Key - Federal law prohibits any one bank from holding more than 10% of all deposits. B of A is currently at 9.2%. Key has about 0.9% which would put them over slightly. Unless B of A bought them and divested some assets or they got the Congress to lift the 10% cap, Key likely wouldn't be bought (by B of A at least)

^^Joe C and his freaking buses... I think you were generous in saying that a demo with buses wouldn't tell you "as much". Seems like it wouldn't tell you anything at all...

^How tall are the two projects slated to be?

In other news, The Mad Greek in Cedar-Fairmount is adding a patio to the back to be open this spring. Any outdoor seating is a good thing around here since there isn't too much of it...

^Jan typically is pretty slow, although the restaurants I've been in lately have been packed. Not sure if it was just random, the smoking ban is helping or it's a sign of the improving economy... Anyone else noticed the same thing?

You can also check out the not terrible cedar fairmount website at www.cedarfairmount.org

Given all the stuff along Cedar (at Farimount, Lee, Taylor, Warrensville Ctr, Green, Richmond) a good transit line that connects to the University RTS would seem like a good idea. The current bus route along Cedar has stops about every 100 ft... Even a BRT with stops at this major intersections would seem to be attractive and might help alleviate some of the car traffic.

If it's the building I'm thinking of, it was sort of cool-looking - decrepit, to be sure, but looked like it would have made a cool rehab. Maybe it just wasn't in good enough shape for that...

Frankly I'm a bit surprised about the enthusiasm here for circles/roundabouts/rotaries/whatever. There are tons of them in Massachusetts and they're almost all nightmares traffic-wise. They're pretty much going about ripping them out because of the hassles and accidents they cause. From a UO point-of-view they take a ton more space than a normal intersection and are a lot less pedestrian friendly as they're nearly impossible to cross... Give me a normal intesection any day...

I'm not an expert on this (KJP can probably help), but wouldn't it seem to make sense to extend the green line across the Detroit-Superior bridge (on the lower level) and then run it out either along Detroit or as part of this project, maybe ending in downtown Rocky River?

^Have you been to Eton? The people who hang out there seem to think they are...

It would help to have some idea of what kind of company it is... (realize you might not want to go into specifics, but...)

Why don't they just go to a Chicago-style stored value system. Ride all you want for 2 hours (any, even cross-modal transfers included), fare just deducted from the card. You would need someone at each station, but once you get past the turnstile, there's no paying the driver at all. On buses, there's a standard farebox that accepts the same card. Maybe it's cost prohibitive, but that system has always made more sense to me than any other. It's simple and efficient.

I don't think so... from all the reports I've herad/read he just was done with it.

Sorry - The #s are from a document inside the Courthouse Plaza website.

Unless something's changed dramatically for the worse in the 8 yrs since I lived there, this is hard for me to believe. My impression of the DC dining scene at the time was that it was pretty large and diverse with many very good restaurants. Was your comment more around the quality or just something unique about the Cleveland restaurants?

Thanks for the great post, Dan - I didn't think anyone could make S. Euclid interesting :-) You've mentioned the "hidden Russian bars" a few times. It's interesting to me that there are hidden Russian bars and especially in SE. What's the story on them?

According to the website, pre-sales are projected to begin Jan 2008, w/construction completed in Nov 2010. Looks like they're trying to raise capital for this. They also expect the avg price to be over $1MM which is around $400/sq ft. Given that the Pinnacle's Penthouses were only in the upper $300s, seems aggressive to average over $400... I'm skeptical on this one.