Vulpster03

what the heck is this ugly building? Tear that thing down.

^I think the views from the western bank is the driving force behind the success of Stonebridge. Have you checked out their views from the Superior Viaduct? Another spot just down the hill from Riverview at the intersection of Columbus and Franklin has similar views. At that intersection there is a small strip of new contemporary townhouses- called Irishtown Condominiums I think- and a blue collar bar called Hooples with large picture windows of the skyline.

I remember a PD article put out 7-2 months ago about strong negative perceptions from NEO residents. Newcomers had a much more favorable opinion of the city. I think it concluded with someone illustrating the lack of confidence in the area by comparing it to when asking someone out on a date the response is "why would you want to go out with me?" Does anyone know if this article was posted somewhere?

Those would both be non-smoking bars. Well the bar at the Renaissance has probably been non-smoking for a while, but the entire lobby area around the fountain where you could take your drinks and sit in a plush couch under the chandeliers permitted smoking until only a few months ago.

I hope everyone has seen Glen Shwartz at Hooples. He's an amazing guitarist and INSANE! so its a really good show- especially with the amazing skyline views from the west bank of the flats. He won't last much longer, so you better be sure to see him soon. In fact, I'm going to see him play tonight.

Best Coffee Shop TIE: Talkies, Arabica in University Circle Best Restaurant (food) Don's Lighthouse Best Restaurant (atmosphere) Heck's Best Diner My Friend's Best Bar West End Tavern is one of my favorites, but its not in Cleveland, so I'll go with Hyde Park downtown. I would choose Great Lakes or the Renaissance Hotel lobby bar, but they don't want my business. Best Shop Modern World Best Neighborhood Ohio City Best Bus or Rapid Line 46 Best Summer Event Feast of the Assumption Best Abandoned Building The old church building at Lake Ave. and W.117th

It is actually along Dover Center Road between Clague and Crocker/Basset Roads. Dover Center is the north-south running road that runs through the center of both Bay Village and Westlake. This development is halfway between Detroit Road and Lake Road. The NS Railroad line provides the border of Bay and Westlake, so this proposed development is pretty much the exact center of the area encompassing Bay and Westlake, which was historically known as Dover. Right now there is a pretty decrepid strip mall called Dover Junction on the site, but the area has a lot of potential- especially for a TOD.

I very much dislike the current Dover Junction Center. The site certainly has a lot of potential, and a transit station + redevelopment makes a lot of sense.

Way overrated in my opinion. I like fine dining and Baricelli is good, but way overpriced for the food and service. The atmosphere doesn't even merrit sinking that much cash into the meal; torn and stained seats and decor not updated since the 1980s. I was way off guard when we got the bill that priced our glasses of Champagne at $18, and that was just one of the qualms I had with the place. BTW Mayday, I like all the other places on your list, but Baricelli is very expendable. Anyway, my recommendation for a nice vegitarian friendly oriented restaurant "downtown" would be the Metropolitan Cafe. I personally like the place, but I also know several vegitareans who really like it and seem to find things there that they like.

Well as this study indicates, job offers (or wages) aren't what attract college students to cities. And I strongly believe it. Besides, even if wages are higher somewhere else, it doesn't gurantee you'd have as much fluid cash because cost of living can vary so much. I think college grads in Midwest cities have it pretty god after they graduate, whereas grads in first tier cities making a lot more money don't really have it all the good. I've seen the difference between my friends in Cleveland and those in Chicago or east coast cities.

Chris Ronayne is interviewed by Thomas Mulready of Cool Cleveland. Its a pretty long interview, and it can make you pretty dizzy if you actually watch it the whole time. http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/video/ChrisRonayne.wmv

Has anyone seen the new full page ad for this campaign in the Scene with Osama Bin Laden?!

Supposedly the site plan is Florentine inspired- according to Wolstein who made the comment after he vacationed in Florence. We'll see though.

I think the survey response is accurate. I know a lot of my friends in college who pick a city first, or have several desired areas they'd like to live in and then make the final decision based on jobs. Or since a lot of companies have offices in multiple cities, they can pick what city they'd like to be in once they get a job offer. I think very few college students want to go to Cleveland, and that's why we are supposedly loosing college grads. The fact that college grads' reasons were "vague" just goes to show how strong perceptions can effect local economies.

FYI on the Warehouse District Panini's and Nauti Mermaid on W.6th, and Johnny's Little Bar on Frankfort (which is an alley that runs perpendicular and next to Johnny's Bistro Downtown) are the most casual places in the Warehouse District without cover and pretty good prices on drinks. I especially like Johnny's Little Bar, because it is a cool authentic 'neighborhood' bar in the Warehouse District. The Chophouse, which is a pretty nice place, has a really nice happy hour from 4-7 with 22 oz. drafts of their homemade micro-brew at $3, and half price apitizers. I'm not sure what their regular prices are. Hyde Park is a very nice restaurant and bar- not in the Warehouse District, but very close in the Landmark Building next to Tower City on Prospect- has $4 martinis during happy hour. I like it a lot because I think it is reminiscent of the old school Cleveland with a lot of people wearing suits and everyone smoking; even cigars. Bar Flyy and Velvet Dog dance clubs on W.6th have reasonably priced drinks and NO COVER. I'm not a huge fan of dance clubs, but I'd probably prefer Bar Flyy. Velvet Dog, however has an outside bar and deck on the roof-top with incredible views and is a definate must-do in the Warehouse District. I went to Mercury Lounge a few weeks ago, but don't remember if there was cover or not. I don't think there was, but it is definately a cool Miami style atmosphere. Drinks were a little pricey there if I remember correctly. Sushi Rock is awesome about anytime of the week, but Wednesday nights especially get packed with a good crowd for half-off sushi. I've only been back in town and 21 for a few weeks now, and I'm not completely aware of all the prices at bars and places. I still know its pretty difficult to get ripped off in Cleveland based on my experience at other cities. I wouldn't hesitate at all to check a place in the Warehouse District for drinks. By the way, there is a taxi stand on W.6th, but late one Friday night when I was there I didn't see any cabs hanging around there. My friends and I waited a couple minutes and flagged a cab down to take us all the way to Westlake, and considering the distance it was a reasonable fare with no problem.

You know, about half of the East Bank along Old River Road will not be touched by the Wolstein development. No one seems to tak about this, but there is an attractive strip south of the Main Ave. Bridge on Old River Road that will remain. In my opinion the strip that Wolstein is tearing down has absolutely no aestetic value to the neighborhood.

^I'm going to read that thread further, but there is still a lot of blighted structures on both sides of the street that need to be dealt with and I feel like the developers on the West Bank need to see the opportunity and sense in spreading it down W.25th to the Market Square area. Like peabody mentioned through her own experience, it is kind of a blighted area that really seperates the two neighborhoods and discourages legitimate pedestrian activity.

I'd like to see these developers do something about the land along W.25th between Detroit and Franklin. Maybe something like a new mixed-use Stonebridge phase. Better connecting the West Bank to Ohio City seems like a good idea to me.

Here are my concerns/comments about the proposal: 1. Changes to the northern quadrant. My absolute favorite quadrant is the northern one. I like the fountain surrounded by benches, and I think it fits well as the gateway between the civic center and Tower City as a nice public area. That quadrant is also one of the oldest, and best preserved to the orginal design. 2. Signage and Connections I'd prefer no gateway signage over somethy cheap and datey looking.Too often signage in public places fails to convey a dignified sense of place. For example University Circle signage is extremely disappointing. I'd like to see gateway signage tie in some of the more classical elements of the Society Bank street light, the Arcade, and Terminal Tower Lobby. Rounding out the interior corners and installing brick crosswalks seem like a good idea. 3. The Amphitheater and Ice Rink I think it would make more sense to combine the Amphitheater and Ice Rick in the Southern quadrant. It would preserve the Northern quadrant as is, and would be an efficient use of space. The amphitheater events happening in wamer months, and ice skating happening during colder months. The built in seating would still be used year round. 4. Kiosks I think this is needed and would do a lot to actually make the square used. Small places to buy news, coffee, cigarettes, souvenirs, sandwhiches, etc. would be very nice. Something like this is being added to Market Square in Ohio City and some kiosks are being constructed in Crocker Park and it seems like they will have some interesting tenents. Perhaps these two projects could provide some inspiration for Public Square. 5. Piazza Instead of focusing on the edges on the interior of the quadrants for a piazza, I'd like to see this exterior edges of the square be unified through single unified wide walkway lined with kiosks, permanent benches with seating. I would create a tree-lined landsaped buffer between the walkway and the street, or in other words bring the sidewalk in and eliminate the current one all together. I think this would help encourage people to take strolls around the square, and contain the square into a unified space. It is this walkway around the exterior edges that could provide space for farmers markets, christmas markets, and other fair types of things as well

Having the buses go through Public Square is the reason why I like Public Square road configurations as is. The Terminal Tower quadrant is congested with cabs, buses, and other vehicles sitting idle to pick up people- and I like that situation. To close off Ontario or Superior and force all vehicles to use Public Square roadways would create too much congestion and buses would have to be routed somewhere else to pick up people- other than the front doors of Cleveland's transit hub, city center shopping mall, and landmark tower. There is too much traffic and too much density in Public Square to create a Shaker Square configuration. It is no problem to cross the streets in Public Square. Anyone who feels prohibited from getting somewhere because they have to cross a street to get somewhere has serious issues.

I agree too, but I think there are units in the 180s available at Stonebridge, which is a great option in my opinion.

Well one can only speculate. But Cleveland is the largest (metro-area), so that had probably had something do with it. Also, its on the lake and has a rapid transit system. Waterfront property and public transit seem to be two critical factors in real estate development buzz. I'm guessing this guy's comments were probably more based on knowledge of Forest City and DDR's presence in the city, and maybe some knowledge of the Stark, Wolstein, and Fleck talk.

That sounds nice, but if there is one area that Public Square fares pretty well in as is, I'd say its landscaping. The landscaping in the square is kept up very nicely and I think it looks great- especially since the Special Improvement District started. I was escorting a journalist (who lives in New York) to the Rock Hall from Tower City. The first thing he mentioned to me when we exited Terminal Tower was how clean and well kept everything was, while making a wave motion to indicate Public Square. Anyway, I like Public Square very much as is. I think it could use some kiosks, and tables for people to eat lunch or play chess on, but I'm pretty against permanently closing the streets and doing something drastic. Squares are different than parks. They serve different purposes. I hear and read stuff all the time about how we need more parks and greenspace, but remember we do have Edgewater State Park, Rockefeller Park, and the Metroparks... not too bad I'd say. Rockefeller Park in particular is considerably similar to Central Park, but more Clevelanders have probably been to Central Park than to Rockefeller. It's quite sad really.

I've been to Miami quite a few times now. I've obviously spent most of my time in Miami Beach (which is geographically/politically distinct from "Miami" and especially downtown Miami), but I have been through downtown and even spent a little time in Little Havanah. I think Miami Beach is pretty unique place in that it is probably the only place in the country where you can stay at a resort on the beach to relax and then exit your hotel and walk to really nice restaurants, shops, and clubs. Plus everything is in an attractive and an architecturally-interesting neighborhood. You can't do that in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, or Atlanta. Maybe you could do it in Vegas, but that city is a joke; a bunch of hotels and casinos in the desert is not a real city. Miami Beach is urban, and places especially like Lincoln Road in Miami Beach are fantastic. However, this good urban space is certainly limited to Miami Beach, and any place that relies so heavily on tourism to exist; isn't a real city in my opinion. Actually seeing downtown Miami and other downtowns in supposedly more desirable areas than Ohio is exactly the reason why I don't want to leave Cleveland. It also amazes me how places that have much more fluid investment than Cleveland- aren't always developing in sophisticated ways. Someone mentioned in earlier post about downtown Miami building fortress-like apartment buildings, and we would all ask why. Our city officials and developers might be a little short-sighted but no one wants to build another Reserve Square in downtown Cleveland. I do believe there is a strong will to do things right in Cleveland and I think its maybe a combination of the influence of CSU's Levin College and our inflated standards and expectations as Clevelanders.

One thing I'd like to see in Public Square are some fixed tables with some fixed benches somewhere in the Square like the ones that exist in Oxford's uptown park, so I can more easily eat my lunch there. Today I grabbed some lunch from Sushi 86 and was trying to eat it while sitting in Public Square, but because there were no tables- I got soy sauce all over my pants.