jmc8651

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated

Hello UO, My parents are seriously considering purchasing a townhouse in the Duck Island 7 development on Abbey road. http://www.duckisland7.com/ They have rented downtown for 4 years and while they enjoy it they are looking to buy. It would be great if people here could address the following: - What are the crime/ safety concerns? - It looks like there are a few bars near the development site. Velvet Tango is high end but what is the reputation of Duck Island Club and Forest City Brewery? Will noise and congestion be a real issue on weekends? - Is there tension between the newcomers and long-term residents? I've heard anecdotally that residents in the area have pushed back against development. - Any other thoughts or comments on Duck Island would be appreciated...thanks!

I doubt anything will get developed there in the near future. Rising occupancy downtown is putting more pressure on parking and outlying lots are starting to fill up and raise their rates.

I also saw Erie Street bookstore in the same building as the Gateway Paninis just closed, maybe the landlord is trying to redevelop the property. The Gateway location is pretty dingy.

I prefer local but chains downtown help create a 24/7 city since they are usually open 7 days a week and often open late

^ True but many of those shopping centers are closer to larger and wealthier populations. Also while people on UO may not care about free parking lots of shoppers do and that puts TC at a disadvantage

The Brooks Brothers seems to do well with the lawyers and bankers around public square. My dad shops there mostly because it's convenient. A Joseph A. Bank probably could do OK given the number of office workers. I'm not sure a store which doesn't cater to the business crowd would succeed. A lot of the mid level shops were downtown until 06/07. Gap, Forever 21 and Ambercrombie all closed in TC around that time. The recession was likely a factor but the rise of online shopping would make it a tough sell for those stores to come back.

The walk from East 4th to the WHD can be rough late at night. The area around West 3rd in particular can feel isolated and creepy. Personally this is where I think the DCA safety patrol needs to do a better job. Providing an extra set of eyes around downtown is their job. Their patrol routes never made sense to me. Why are there 3 ambassadors hanging out by East 4th at 8 pm when it feels lively and safe but no one in the quieter parts of downtown? I frequently see safety patrol hanging out and doing nothing. On several occasions I've seen them just ignore aggressive panhandling. Also their late night presence needs to be improved. I've complained to DCA a couple times with mixed results. The first time I got a very candid response which acknowledged they have issues with the ambassadors. The next time I got a form letter. To their credit if you call their dispatch they will send safety patrol to your location within 5 minutes. I've down it twice when a super aggressive panhandler was outside my building.

I believe the credits can be transferred. Maybe his goal is to sell the building along with the credits. Considering how competitive the program is it would be appealing to buy a property with the credits lined up.

Thanks for all the responses!

Has anyone on UO worked in the Caxton Building on Huron road? My company is interested in space there and I would be curious to hear the thoughts of people who have worked there or are familiar with it. I don't have specific questions or concerns just curious to hear about maintenance issues, the landlord etc. Thanks

Where exactly is the new location?

^ Part of the plan is to close off the portion of West 30th street between Wendy's and the performing arts center and turn it into a park.

I live in Shaker Heights and would strongly recommend it to anyone, especially if you are working in Warrensville. There are several nice buildings in Shaker by the intersection of Van Aken and Warrensville Center Road. Also a new mixed use development is under construction right across from those buildings so you will be able to walk to bars, restaurants and shops. There is a UH hospital a few miles away in baseball. Good luck!

I think the activity on the ground floor is the build out for Hecks which is opening a new location there

Chinato has a nice private room in the basement. A friend of mine had his rehearsal dinner there last year and it went well.

I remember seeing some pictures of the athletic facilities such as the basketball court and neglect of the building basically destroyed everything. The court was a mess from all the moisture which got in the building. The pool, racquetball court and bowling alley were on higher floors so I would imagine they are in rough shape too.

Pearl moved across the street to Shaker Plaza next to Qdoba. They also changed the name to Pearl Asian Kitchen

With Giant Eagle, Heinens, two Whole Foods and Trader Joes all within a few miles that will be a tough location for another grocery store. Personally I would love to see a gym such as Planet Fitness take the spot on warrensville set aside for Fresh Market. Lifetime fitness in Beachwood is nice but really expensive.

I didn't know it was that bad...still I know a lot of lawyers who got pushed out of their office space by apartment conversions and that is a very appealing location for a litigator. You're probably right that the building's primary use won't be offices but perhaps it could have some office space like Halle or Leader.

I think this building has a future as an office property if it gets cleaned up, especially the garage. Maybe a partial conversion could work too. A lot of small law firms want an affordable option close to the courts. A small personal injury or criminal defense firm is not going to be in Key Tower.

It's a second location

The decline of clerical/admin assistant jobs doesn't help either. Law firms for instance hire a fraction of the support staff they once did.

I will taking the blue line to opening day tomorrow. I've been on the red line many times but not the blue. How does payment work on the blue line? I don't see any ticket machines along Van Aken. Do I pay on the rapid? Do I need correct change? Thanks in advance!

My wife and I just bought a home in Shaker last week so I can add my thoughts as a very new resident. We both grew up on the west side but I went to John Carroll so I have some familiarity with the area. - We landed in the Fernway neighborhood - The housing market in Fernway seems pretty strong especially for homes with some modern upgrades such as AC. Several homes in the 250-300k range sold quickly - There are lots of young families, we have 2 kids - The residents for the most part seem highly educated and pretty devoted to the community - Personally we limited our search to north of Van Aken and mostly east of Lee. We have a friend who lives south of Van Aken not far from Avalon and they've had some property crime issues during their 5 years in the area. That being said our friend feels the police do a great job and are quite responsive. - The city has a very good economic development director who has been proactive in attracting/retaining key businesses. Not just retail but professional firms too. I personally worked with the city on an economic development issue and was impressed with their efforts. The city has put a lot of investment into the Tower East office complex to retain professional firms. - We plan on sending our kids to private schools but the neighbors we've spoken with seem very happy with Fernway elementary. Feel free to PM me...good luck with your house hunting