j73

^I suppose... There are just ways to make it look better than a giant carport stuck on top. Since no one asked, IMHO the best garage in Cleveland is the one attached to the Federal Reserve Bldg - they used something that looks like the same pink marble/granite/whatever of the original building and hid the cars well enough that it's hard to notice that it's a garage at all...

We had dinner at Parker's around Thanksgiving since we knew it was closing at the end of the year. Per the waiter, the owner (Parker Bosley) is older and wanted to get out of the day-to-day of owning a restaurant. That said, the main chef in recent years has been a young of about 28 named Andy something. The waiter said he was going to take some time off, but that people we're trying to talk him into opening a new place somewhere.

I hadn't noticed the ramp leading up to the 2nd level... In any case, having the second floor open like that just looks plain weird to me...

Agree with everyone else on University Square. Lots of promise with the small setback, but that godawful garage and the lack of street access hurts. For what it's worth, I think you can also get into the Applebee's from the street - PARTY! The Whole Foods shopping center doesn't look very promising so far - they've put glass into the 1st floor of the Whole Foods (which actually looks good), but it doesn't look like there's an entrance on Cedar and maybe not on Warr Ctr either - I'm assuming you'll need to enter from the rear parking lot. Additionally, are they planning to put anything on the 2nd level or just leave it open (under the big wing thing in the photo at the top of the page)? I thought that was going to be offices or something, but it sure looks like it'll be open. Also, they stuck the new First Watch down a side street within the shopping center (it's as obscure of a location as it sounds). I believe the "side street" is there to improve access to the rear parking lot... I haven't seen plans for it, just judging by what they've been doing. Likely one reason the North side won't be all residential is that it's in South Euclid. If Univ Sq, and the South Cedar Center were all in the same town, they might be more open to concentrating the residential in one area and the commercial across the street. With the developments split between UH and SE, they probably each want a bit of both. I don't really care either way to be honest - just wish they do a better job with the ones they're building (e.g. move the south side up to the street with entrances on both the street and parking lot sides). With all the development going in there, that intersection actually has/had the chance to become a mini-walkable neighborhood... Doesn't seem like that's going to happen...

I supported the ban as far better than issue 4, better than the situation before, but certainly not ideal. My preferred solution would have been to create a limited number of smoking "licenses" a la liqour licenses. Set the number at something like 20% of the number of establishments that currently allow smoking and auction them off. Would allow places that really felt that smoking was important to their business continue to allow it and raise some $ for the state budget (I'd feel better about that part if I thought they'd actually do something intelligent with it, but I digress). I do think some of the restrictions in the current one go too far - e.g. the patio rule pretty much eliminates smoking on outdoor, open-air patios, which seems a bit much, as does the restrictions on private clubs (why does it need to be a standalone building?) Since it's a law, though, I expect that some of these quirky problems will be addressed.

I agree - this probably had more to do with the exodus to the suburbs than the decline of mass transit. I've heard stories of realtors back in the day going to all the white residents on a block encouraging them to sell once a black family had moved in (or bought anywhere nearby). Their argument was basically that the neighborhood was obviously going to hell and property values were going to fall so, best to sell ASAP. Additionally, some have argued (and I don't know if it's true or not) that the forced desegregation of schools scared the white residents of the day, so they moved into more homogenous communities to avoid it. Like it or not, msot schools are still pretty segregated today since (most) cities are pretty homogenous today.

Per their website (http://www.pcparch.com/flash.cfm), Pelli did the Cole, Crile bldg btwn Euclid and Carnegie @ E100 , the Lerner research bldg on Carnegie, and the Taussig Cancer Center (89th and Euclid)

So when do we stop calling it the "Gordon Square Arts District" and just shorten it to "Gordon Square"? Just too clunky and planning-y...

From the RTA website: RTA News Dec. 15, 2006 Trolleys Score a Strike Corner Alley Sponsorship Keeps Trolleys Free to Ride CLEVELAND – RTA’s Downtown Trolleys will remain free to ride in 2007 thanks to a promotional sponsorship by The Corner Alley and 4th Street Bar & Grill. Owners of the new East 4th entertainment complex have agreed to sponsor both the E-Line and B-Line Trolleys now through June of 2007. This ensures a fun and functional way for office workers, residents, and tourists to get to downtown restaurants, clubs, and venues. It also delivers a solid strike towards the continued comeback of downtown entertainment. Transformation continues throughout the downtown area -- from new trendy restaurants in the Warehouse District and unique shopping at the Old Arcade, to improvements at Playhouse Square and a planned makeover of the Flats. The Entertainment District at East 4th has seen the most dramatic changes of late, and The Corner Alley will make it an even hotter hot spot area. The new venue has the right hook to be a big hit. Bowling and Cleveland are a natural match. But you’ll find much more than just slick wooden lanes and two-toned leather shoes at The Corner Alley. It also has a martini bar and 100-seat restaurant. The interior is as unique as the concept. Walls were removed to connect three buildings together, with architectural features of each structure maintained to create an interesting eclectic decor. New late-night hours on the E-Line Trolley will make it easy to bowl a few games after work. The E-Line Trolley now operates from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. weekdays. It arrives every 10 minutes at stops along its route along Euclid Avenue from East 21st to Public Square, connecting to the Warehouse District. Ridership on the Trolleys has steadily increased since being introduced in the spring of 2006. Currently, the nostalgic green and gold vehicles, complete with cowcatchers, wooden rails, and brass bells, carry more than 2,700 daily passengers. Financial support from the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland allowed riders to hop on for free with a smile. The partnership with The Corner Alley continues the free service, which RTA hopes to offer indefinitely. FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY: Jerry Masek, 216-566-5211

Why did anyone think that not allowing cabs to cruise for fares made sense in the first place?

B&N was once talked about - don't know if they're in now or if they ever were, just that they were rumored or hoepd for.

One reason I asked is b/c I thought they had only committed to breaking ground on Site 1. This is great news if they're already going to break ground on Site 3.

Where are the "Townhomes at the Avenue District" supposed to be? Are they still part of Site 1 or are they over at Site 3 as the quote suggests?

Per their website, they had reservations for 14 of the 46 units. I thought 30% pre-sale was generally enough for the bank to let you begin construction (or renovation in this case)...?

I haven't lived in Cleveland for 18 years, so sorry to ask a dumb/or repeated question, but I'm trying to get my bearings. This is the area at the corner of Mayfield and Euclid? What is the "beach"? The Triangle sits at the SE corner of Mayfield an Euclid. The new MOCA Cleveland bldg is going into that site (although I think they're keeping the apt towers). This project w/MRN & Zaremba stretches east from there along Euclid toward (to?) the Cleveland Inst of Art bldg. It covers roughly the same stretch on the North side of the street, too. The "beach" is the nickname for all the parking lots that line the north side of Euclid. If I remember right the new college bookstore (run by Barnes & Noble) is planned for the NE corner of Ford & Euclid (if you go straight on Mayfield it turns into Ford).

I wondered if there were a lot of problems with those - always seemed to be a lot of work being done on the exterior long after they were done. What kinds of issues did you run into?

^I'd be surprsied if it were that much. Only costs about $30 to get from Cle Hts to Hopkins. As for AmrapinVA's post. It seems like one of the reasons the airport thinks service will get better w/only one taxi provider is that they'll know which company to yell at if the service is bad. If there are enough complaints they won't need to go after individual drivers or try to figure out which of the 6 or 7 companies the rider happened to take. They'll be able to put pressure on the one company. If they're smart, they'd bake something about complaints into the contract as a sort of SLA.

Some of the info cited seems like wishful thinking at best. The 4k residential units along the ECP and the tripling of the daytime population in the WHD from 167k to 566k in 5 years... I;d love to see that happen, but that seems pretty unrealistic. What's the daytime population of all of downtown Cleveland today?

If you want more upscale Italian, try Michelangelo's in Little Italy. It just opened a few months ago, on Murray Hill Ave, across the street from Valentino's pizzeria (which has good pizza, btw). Michelangelo's is by no means cheap (entrees are typically in the $20-$25 range), but the food is very good and pretty authentic and a bit adventurous. It's also worth having a drink at the bar before dinner (ok, it's always worth having a drink before dinner anywhere, but it's especially nice here). The bar area is really cozy - try to score a seat in one of the leather chairs near the fireplace.

Per musky's site, it's to be 10 stories: http://clevelandplanner.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_clevelandplanner_archive.html

^Good question...

Re:UC. Biggest concern (and in some wyas oppty) is that the big institutions run things there. If they decide to invest in creating a residential neighborhood, they have the resources to make it happen. But if they just keep sitting on their asses, the neighborhood will pretty much just stagnate. I guess Glenville is just too far to even make the list? I wouldn't vote for it, but there's some activity there and the proximity to UC and Rockefeller Park make it at least interesting...

Anyone else worried how this math is going to work out better? Prior one was 32 units for $11 million. New one is 49 units for $21 million. If they couldn't sell the old one b/c it was too pricey how are they going to spend more $/unit and make it work?

CB Richard Ellis has just posted their review of Q3 office market in Cleveland: http://gkc2.cbrichardellis.com/GlobalMarketReports/us/cleveland3q06ofcdt.pdf Generally positive news. Here are some highlights: - Vacancy rates still high, but at their lowest levels since end of 2003. With lots of deals announced, they expect continued firming in the market during Q4 and likely into 2007. - They also noted that Forest City will bring the Higbee building to market in phases during 2007. (It looks like this has been noted in past reports, but I never noticed). - As for new construction, every past issue of this has said things like "no new office bldg construction for the foreseeable future". This edition softens that a bit to no new developments for 12 to 36 mos. Not great, but an improvement.

^Probably a difference in definitions. I got mine straight from the fed: http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/default.htm