Vulpster03

Not that Mexx is in Ohio or was ever announced to be in Ohio, I know some people put it on a wish list for downtown. Apparently they were operating 11 stores in the US at one point, but downsized to 4 stores which they presently operate. It was reccently announced Mexx will be closing these 4 stores and scrapping the US division.

I will comment first on specific things the reporter talked about that irked me. I'd like to see more pedestrians, more upscale hotels, more restaurants, more shops, etc. but the situation the reporter creates isn't exactly accurate. "Few pedestrians on a Wednesday afternoon" Now I'd for one like to see more pedestrians at all hours of the day, but picking a Wednesday afternoon during winter is probably the worst time in any city to judge pedestrian activity. "Few upscale hotels" - yeah well Cleveland does have Ohio's only Ritz-Carlton. Now these aren't luxury hotels, but the Marriot, Renaissance, Hyatt, Wyndham, Interconntinental (all of which are fairly new) are usually considered upscale. "Few restaurants" - this statement is the one that most confuses me. Not that there as an abundance of restaurants, but I don't think they are in short supply. "Store after store is shuttered" - a lot of those shuttered stores she saw are probably boarded up because they are doing work inside of them at the present moment to open in the near future. And finally she obviously knows nothing about Playhouse Square, because it is the second largest performing arts center in the country, the theaters were extensively restored a decade ago, and revenue is exceeding the foundation's expenses. Playhouse Square is doing well, and the actors have not left. She also doesn't mention E.4th Street, W.6th Street, the Euclid Corridor Project, anything about University Circle, or the fact that downtown Cleveland has one of the highest downtown population growth rates. I honestly think her visit didn't go anything beyond a walk from the Hampton Inn to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on a Winter Wednesday afternoon. For whatever reason, Ohio is the country's huge scapegoat, and it drives me crazy. A lot of things people say are so contridictory its ridiculous. I've heard the same people knock Ohio with shifting statments like Ohio is too suburban, Ohio is an industrial wasteland, or Ohio is a bunch of cornfields. Ohio is very union and Ohio is very Republican. Ohio isn't diverse and the urban cores are filled with minorities. Which is it people? People are really this stupid and ignorant. This reccent article as others have pointed out is filled with contradictions and preconceived biases. Now, I for one want leadership in the federal governent to take a stance on urban policy. The federal government leadership has really not had a stance on urban affairs and planning since the 1970s. As a Clevelander, I realize what our metropolitan region has been struggling with. In my opinion our local and regional leadership has been doing the best they can with what they have, but they need support from the federal government. I wish more discourse on Ohio would include what Ohio is doing right and what the state and federal government can do to make it better. For instance we have these great master plans, but little funding and support from the federal government. Whose fault is it that things aren't getting done? I'm not some homebody who has never been anywhere else, and thinks Cleveland is the best place in the world. I'm also not one of those ex-pats who percieves there is nothing of value in the state, travels and affirms these generalizations without ever knowing what Ohio really is. The fact of the matter is Ohio is very diverse in terms of landscape and lifestyle, but most people in the country want to paint the state one color or another. This is why marketing is so important. We really need to "show" people that no matter what lifestyle you'd like to lead, you could make it work in Ohio (more so than most states).

^ I was surprised Medina and Strongsville weren't mentioned, because it does seem they are regularly cited now in talking about sprawl in Greater Cleveland. But, I think the situation is that Strongsville and Medina, and now North Ridgeville are the "new" sprawl suburbs. Avon Lake and Avon have been booming in new construction since the early 90s, but I think they have always been close to the top and are surpisingly still at the top. (I suggest merging this thread with the Lorain County Growth Thread)

buckeye - I'm familiar with all those developments you mentioned. I've lived in Avon Lake since I was born in 85, so I've witnessed everything. There isn't a subdivision and builder I haven't heard of. Even though Avon Lake continues to build, I was really under the impression that other communities like those in Medina County had surpassed Avon Lake in construction. It just surprised me to still see Avon Lake so high up there. Legacy Pointe will span from Lear Road to Rt. 83, and is supposed to have more homes than the West Winds.

A map for the design district shows a map where spaces are zoned for live-work: http://www.districtofdesign.com/geo_over.html

The Avenue District also includes live/work townhomes: http://www.theavenuedistrict.com/newlayout/housing/work-live-town-homes.asp

The interesting thing about the article in print, was that in a box next to the article it showed something like the top 6 communities in Greater Cleveland for the number of new housing construction. The list was something like North Ridgeville, Avon, Cleveland, Avon Lake, and Akron. Its a shame that those suburbs are on the list, but pretty interesting to see Cleveland and Akron on the list. It also surprises me that Avon Lake is on the list, because it seems like growth has slowed down a lot compared to what it was 10 years ago, although the Legacy Pointe development (still in progress) will be the largest single development in Avon Lake when completed.

Yeah, well the more I have to drink the less I care about the ban. Occasionaly after 6 drinks or so I'll light up without thinking. Sometimes they tell me to put it out, other times they don't.

Honestly, the professor probably just has no idea about Cleveland's assets that might lend to an emerging design industry there. Keep in mind that though Miami University is in Ohio, the university is fairly oblivious to what goes on in Cleveland (even though many students come from the Cleveland area). Professors come from all different parts of the country like most universities. If they are familiar with anything regional it is more localized. They read the New York Times, and then the Cincinnati Enquirer. So, a lot of the professors at Miami are somewhat knowledgable Cincinnati, but have no idea about Cleveland. For example in my experience in poltical science classes and art classes at Miami, professors can routinely cite relative examples in Cincinnati, but never use Cleveland in case studies. I think Miami may also be far less dedicated to local, regional, and state issues than other state schools. Everyone at the university consider themselves competitive on a national scale. They don't give much credit to Ohio, which is a shame considering they receive funding from the state.

^ Wolstein's plan does in fact only demolish half of the building on the East Bank. People seem to forget about the strip of buildings on Old River Road on the other side of the Main Avenue Bridge that aren't part of his plan, and will remain in tact. And this strip of buildings is probably worth saving more than the others (in my opinion).

I always thought that church building would be a great rehab house for the Real World. Probably the right location too.

So, a good friend of mine at Miami - an interior design major - has coincidently chosen a building within the design district for a conceptual project that is design-oriented. Her project fulfills her capstone requirement for graduation (a final project requirement that all Miami students must fulfill). She has chosen a building on Huron in Playhouse Square to become a fashion design institution, which would include fashion design classes, a retail store where students can sell their work, and a fashion museum. Her project then is to create the facade and interior space. It is entirely fictitious, but it could be kind of interesting to see, because its probably exactly the type of space a design district would have. It's funny though that she had no idea about the design district project in Cleveland. Its also kind of interesting that her professor didn't know about the design district project, and when she submitted her proposal the professor commented that it was a horrible location for the concept; but now it seems her project is more relative and credible.

So the fact that there is a steady stream of high-profile guest speakers, sporting events, performances, concerts, film screenings, festivals, and other intellectual and entertainment opportunities wouldn't appeal to people in their 40s and 50s? I actually know some people who want to retire in college towns for these reasons. This thread started as photo thread, but should we move the majority of this discussion to a new thread under city discussion? There seems to be a lot of people who want to discuss college towns and not photos of Oxford.

I'm not sure. I mean its clear that OSU exerts its influence on the surrounding area and commercial services, but in many situations schools in urban settings don't offer the convenience or neighborhood amenities that you would expect. Schools in big cities get kind of lost in the city, and the city doesn't cater to them. As a result they don't have as much to offer in terms of a neighborhood. Surprisingly schools in smaller towns do offer more convenience and a higher concentration of neighborhood amenities to serve the student population. A fifteen minute walk anywhere in the Mile Square of Oxford can get you to class, a CVS, boutique shops and other services, liquor stores, bookstores, salons, a variety of restaurants, off-campus parties, bars, the hospital, the municipal building, law offices, etc. I have many friends at Case Western, University of Dayton, and Cleveland State, and my sister goes to UK in Lexington. In many situations the neighborhood surrounding these campus' don't offer the variety of restaurants and bars as Oxford. They say they often have to walk longer than 15 minutes to get things they need or they need to drive. * Now, obviously these cities have public transit that could help students get where they could go, but very few actually do this. I was surprised for instance that my friends at UD had never been to the Oregon District. I asked why not, and they're response was that they didn't know how they would get there. My sister didn't want to go to school in a small college town, because she wanted to be in a place where there was "more to do". But she is telling my parents that she needs a car on campus "to get what she needs". I on the other hand in Oxford don't need a car neither to to what I want or get what I need. It's kind of strange when you think about college towns being more "urban" than bigger cities, but I think if you consider what most people here consider "urban" its actually true. College towns are more walkable, vibrant, convenient, and entertaining.

Those campaigns look great. This is kind of nit-picking, but im not a huge fan of the picture of a police car on the neighborhood link on the homepage. A shot of people outside in front of Arabica would be more appropriate in my opinion. Also, there is no slideshow of University Circle and no pictures of lagoon (that I can easily find). To me the picture of the lagoon is one of the best shots that capture the Circle and its no where prominent on the page.

its not about being ridiculous, its about not getting busted by liquor control for a violation, and facing subsequent fines & suspensions of licenses. Liquor licenses are very specific as to where drinks can be served, i.e. only on your property, only on your patio if you paid the extra fees, blah blah blah I meant its ridiculous, because I don't think its clear where you can smoke. Business seem to let people take drinks and smoke on patios, but come summer when there's table service I don't know if you'll be able to smoke on patios. They could be interpreted as places of employment. In L.A. you could smoke on any patio, and what they determined a patio was far less restrictive than Ohio. I went to several restaurants that had a glass wall and door to a "patio", but their patio's were identical to the indoor space of the restaurant, had four walls, and beams across the top. At nicer and upscale places, and poolside no one around complained about the smoke, and servers are very gracious about bringing ash trays if you ask for one. California's ban is much less restrictive than Ohio's, and there you can really get away with an indoor ban that doesn't inconvenience smokers at all, because it never really gets cold outside.

^ I think its been closed for a while, but I'm not sure how long. Yeah its a shame about loosing that store, because it was such a cool space. I remember being there with my parents in the early 90s. It would be really cool if they moved their offices and openned a flagship store downtown as a tenant in one of the new projects.

Oxford does have a Kroger. It is not uptown, but it is a mile from campus and a couple of the Miami Metro bus routes stop there. Off campus students use it a lot, and many people get more than basic food items. I still think there is a need for some kind of food store closer to all college campus'. I could see Trader Joe's or something similar doing very well uptown or near any campus. Its not a full service grocery store, but it has a lot of cheap organic or international food and beer and wine. Its also just the right size that it could fit in a lot of historic commercial districts.

^ It seems like places with patios don't mind, but only if its railed off from the sidewalk. There are a couple bars I've been to that don't have a patio railed off and they won't let you take your drinks out - but if there's cover they'll let you re-enter without paying cover twice. Who knows? the law is so ridiculous no one really knows what to do. What I'd like to know is what about patio or deck bars used during the summer? Will you be able to smoke at those? because I think the law could be interpretted to not allow this, but I'm not sure.

My favorite European transit system is Vienna, and my favorite transit system in the U.S. is probably D.C. I'm surprised they didn't make the list. Paris and New York's systems are certainly extensive and get you where you need to go, but in other categories I think they fail.

I'm still pretty upset about the smoking ban, and its been enforced for a while. People say you get used to it, but I can't imagine... and I'm really not a heavy smoker. I still really wish smoking was significantly reduced from public places, but not completely erradicated. I honestly feel like with a ban this strict, it isn't a rational health issue. No smoking within 25 feet of an entrance? Only stand alone tobacco stores with 80% revenue coming from tobacco? anywhere with a roof and three sides? Violation reports by hotline? C'mon. It's like people don't want to ever look at a smoker and people believe smokers should be punished. I wish we'd ban driving in public or at least move all entrances and sidewalks 25 feet from the road, but we can't always get what we want.

Anyway, that surprises me about Hoggy's, but I agree about it being kind of strange and from what I could tell it wasn't the preferred restaurant at Crocker Park. Hoggy's seemed to only provide overflow from Champ's. I have no comment on the remarks made about westsiders. They don't dignify a response.

I think Miami's problem is that they study during the week - because thats what you do in real colleges.

well it is a college town, so... I don't know what you mean. 15,000 students live within a mile radius of uptown. Bookstores, bars, tatoo parlors, sorority gift shops, coffee shops, sandwhich shops, restaurants, pizza, etc. And everyone you see uptown is in college. You may prefer some other college towns, but how is Oxford not a college town? Go to Oxford at midnight on a Friday, and I think you'll see its obviously a college town.

I'm just kind of speculating, because I'm young, from the west side, and only began visiting the square a few years ago, but I think at some point in the early 90s the square was deterioriating physically and then they did a major restoration makeover. After the restoration they attracted all these new tenants like Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Wild Oats, Gap, Ann Taylor, Chico's, and other boutiques. A lot of those tenants didn't last too long, and the empty space created the perception that the square wasn't "well". Anyway, the Coral Company has only owned the square for a few years. With the tenants they've brought its become more neighborhood-oriented rather than destination-oriented.