NewtoCLE

this is why I called out United specifically, above. I could not agree more. For a non-hub city, it is almost as if United is still treating CLE almost as a mini hub with its not-insignificant offering of direct flights from here and its status as both a crew and maintenance base. With all the drama at EWR (ATC and weather), the insanity of ORD (weather and traffic), I am still perplexed over the lack of consideration for possibly adding transatlantic service from CLE. I think given load factors and demand, this airport could definitely support LHR service on a 3x-4x basis, for example. I recall Cirium data indicating that every day, there are at least 90-100 passengers who depart CLE - on average - whose final destination is London Heathrow. That could be dated now, but don't tell me there is insignificant demand from business travelers alone, to say nothing of leisure flyers. Cmon, United! Cleveland Clinic leaders should be pushing for this given they have a Hospital there (and Abu Dhabi).

I also noticed this plan is set to include a new international arrivals and customs facility for the main terminal building. From the video, looks like the plan is to utilize the sterile connector that will connect Concourse A to a new arrivals hall area in the main concourse. Obviously they are doing this with Frontier in mind specifically, as F9 has made a big investment in CLE and operates a handful of international flights. I haven't seen how CLE presently processes arriving passengers, but I imagine it is haphazard and borderline absurd, involving mobile CBP kiosks and exclusively for Concourse A. But what about other airlines that might introduce new direct international service? Aer Lingus will soon be expanding into daily, and presently passengers may pre-clear with BCP in Dublin. But what if Iceland Air returns, or hey, what if United surprises us all and introduces at least 3x weekly service to LHR on a 787 and pre-clear is not available? It would be ideal in those scenarios for those flights to park in Concourse A, but then more challenges emerge, such as available gate space and if current jet bridge availability that is configured for mostly A321s/B737s with F9 in mind (and sometimes Delta) could also accomodate a wide body (in the 787 example). These are the conversations I want to have! Also - it sucks that during times of bad weather, or other contingencies, when CLE absorbs wide body international diversions from Detroit, Newark, or Toronto, these planes do not even have the option of being able to pull up to a gate because the infrastructure here cannot support it. I recall a diverted Delta A350 from Shanghai a couple weeks ago, and also another A350 operated by THY. Diversions typically never stay on the ground for more than 2-4 hours, and rarely are passengers allowed off, but still it would be nice if CLE could accomodate with the right infrastructure if they need it. Obviously the Qataris and their B747 Amiri flights do not need this, there is still prestige associated with airside CBP processing and having a motorcade of black UberXL suburbans lined up at the mobile stairs. I guess my bottom line is that I wish CLE was more than it might ever need to be. Being sandwiched between other airports with either hubs or existing transatlantic service does not make me feel CLE will ever break out again. I think United could possibly change this with the advent of service that connects CLE to EUR again, but that's it.

i think I like this, but is it just me or will the vast empty space right in the middle of this site that is created by the Concourse C and Concourse A connectors just look weird? Watch the video after the old terminal is demolished. I don't know, this just looks like odd, enclosed empty space. Need informed thoughts on what the heck is this space going to be used for. Also the Gold Lot. By investing in a parking lot so close to Concourse D, are they basically saying that Concourse D will never ever be operational again, even in a scenario where CLE needs to expands in the future? Or is a surface parking lot like this considered to be something that could be easily eliminated should expansion be necessary?

Looks like today is the day when site preparation for Phase 2 has officially begun. Perimeter fencing being erected and jersey barriers going up all around. Heavy equipment removing asphalt. here we go!

i took this yesterday before the snow came. They had a separate apparatus for snow removal so these ones are definitely staged for something..maybe for ripping up asphalt

89% leased. Absolutely great news. @KJPI think you mentioned a while back that the success of The Lumen will impact whether PlayHouse Square Foundation decides to explore the feasibility of a potential second tower across from the Greyhound station. Have you heard anything on this front? thank you so much for all your reporting

thanks for the reporting @KJP Happy about the jobs. Disappointed like most of us for all of the aforementioned reasons. Holding out hope for the NuCLEus Jenga Tower as the sky-line altering tower Cleveland deserves

do we think that SWH executives lurk on UO? do we think they might rather go to @KJP's blogspot site instead? I have an irrational (or rational) concern that executives are proceeding with these plans thinking that the public is either supportive or at least indifferent to these developments (as they are trickling out) because there are no comments left on @KJPsite in response to his amazing scoops. All the comments happen here. I am wondering if executives are even aware of the level of disappointment by passionate UO fans (to the extent they would even care). Do we need to start leaving comments on KJP's site too?

totally obnoxious tweet from Stan Bullard

I am confused. So there is NOT a skyscraper going on Public Square? I thought the consensus was at least 30 stories? What is Stan Bullard referring to?

hate to ask the obvious, but when do we get to see renderings? Or will this be another absurdly long wait too?

here it is: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:0cf31f95-f658-488e-9780-d37db97c87ca

regardless, anyone else find this tedious at this point? These competing stories must probably be nothing short of psychological torture for current employees who want and need to make decisions about their future. Enough is enough. Despite CEO Morikis last statement regarding timeline for official announcement, I think they need to re-consider and move this up ASAP. Not fair to employees (and fans of UO ?)

that would be incredible. I know that original design was controversial, but I loved it

thank the heavens! This is a must. They cannot be selling a slice of luxury on Euclid but then have doors that look like they were excised from a Menards in Parma

From yesterday's article on cleveland.com re: first look of The Beacon. Last paragraph: "Stark continues to work on its larger and more complicated nuCLEus project that Stark plans to build nearby at Prospect Avenue, East Fourth Street and Huron Road. Stark had previously hoped to start construction in August, but continues to work on closing financing for the project. “We are still very hopeful” the project will move forward, a Stark representative said." https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/11/first-look-the-beacon-downtown-apartment-tower-offers-lake-views-luxury-living.html

this is most excellent! amazing stuff Ken

the doors and the signage are trash and completely cheap in appearance - incongruous with rest of building and the quality on the inside. very much minor and cosmetic but creates a terrible first impression. Would make me not even want to come in the door.

i stand corrected! clearly my information is dated. point taken. we both are in agreement, however, on the fundamental point: totally possible

not to knit-pick, but there are better examples than the DC Navy Yard. The aerial image here is misleading: make no mistake, this is a closed facility. There is no boardwalk. This is a restricted access military campus. Perhaps a better example in DC (just to stay local) would be the Embassy of Sweden in Georgetown which is located right on the Potomac and literally on the Georgetown waterfront and boardwalk. You can walk right up to their door. Do we think the government of Sweden is so cavalier about their security and nonchalant about the very real threat of espionage directed against them? Of course not. this is why they invest in a defense-in-depth approach to their physical security. They do employ controls such as contract security guards, EMF shielding countermeasures on all their windows, security cameras, and strict access control. SHW can still build on the river, have a public access channel, and still allow an effective security program to protect their people, assets, and mission

the reason why you are receiving bewildered reactions to this is because this was discussed here ad nauseam already. It doesn't look like you glanced at previous posts. Things move quickly here. Also, the author of that blog is here on this thread too. His handle is @KJP

I keep saying it: we have to disregard any article like this that is nothing but lazy, click-bait journalism that feeds into the 'sound-bite industrial complex' that apathetic reporters perpetuate. John Boyd is clearly enjoying his moment here as a 'go-to' source for something in which he is utterly unqualified to comment on. He might be a corporate relocation expert but he is offering completely insipid and generalized commentary that ignores any appreciation for the local context. Please make me stop saying this over and over again. Boyd is talking but he isn't saying anything. He is saying just enough to sound somewhat knowledgable; however, his rap appears to be a certain type of BS artistry that is good enough to get quoted because it sounds somewhat informed to the local reporter whose only motivation is filing the story before deadline and then moving onto the next thing. This is journalism now. They do *just enough* but never more. And God forbid they ever ask an informed follow-up question (i.e. "You keep citing lack of suitable air service at Hopkins compared to east coast hubs yet SHW and dozens of other legacy Fortune 1000 companies appear to be doing just fine despite their presence in Northeast and central Ohio. This, coupled with increasing passenger numbers at Hopkins and news of major capital improvements, seems to suggest there is only positive momentum in this regard. Care to comment?" ) Wanna know why there aren't more journalists like @KJP in Cleveland or other markets? Because it is difficult. It is difficult to be a good writer. It is difficult to cultivate sources. That takes years of relationship building and trust. Most of these local reporters are not here that long nor do the majority of them possess the type of doggedness and inherent knack for open-source investigation that really can cut into the story behind the story. This is also why you see a lot of journalists filing stories that offer no fidelity beyond what was spoon fed to them via a corporate press release. i don't want this thread to be locked. No more threads on John Boyd. We know his motivation and the motivation of reporters who go to him for quotes. So let's ignore him and wait. I am crossing my fingers for an announcement by the end of next week (per KJP). Hoping for a beautiful 60+ story high rise in PS. Stay positive and don't let lazy click-bait journalism get us down. It is exactly what they want because they want you to keep returning to their stupid site.

when you look at Boyd's bio on his company page, it says this among other things: "John's expert perspectives are routinely featured in the global news media, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, NPR, Fox News, CNN, The Globe and Mail, CNBC, Tencent Media, Al Jazeera Media Network, Industry Week, USA Today, and others." This guy is a professional commentator. All he has to do is say something somewhat coherent and the media will keep going to him for quotes. He is a soundbite factory. Being quoted begets more opportunities to be quoted. This is how the media game works. The soundbite industrial complex. It's a thing. And it's how lazy journalism works. My money on Ken. Always.

@KJP by any chance, do you think the impending Sherwin-Williams decision be an impetus for nuCLEus to actually happen? If Stark is still trying to raise outside investment for this beleaguered project, I would have to think the idea of this Fortune 500 giant re-committing to downtown is a huge potential catalyst

ugh totally agree so tired of lazy, click-bait journalism like this that seems to serve no purpose other than to feed into the 'sound-bite industrial complex' that some reporters covet. KJP knows the deal. John Boyd is not involved in this process and he does nothing here but offer up tired, macro-level analysis that any reasonably informed man-on-the-street might say when discussing "Cleveland." This is the kind of thing you hear at a hotel bar or while waiting to board a flight and that might pass for thoughtful or informed business talk. No - they're the vanilla musings of a BS artist who enjoys seeing his name in print. Yes, we get it. Cleveland is no longer a commercial hub for aviation and yes, Cleveland does not have the relative proximity to X schools relevant to chemical sciences as compared to X, Y, and Z. Gee whiz, it's so crazy that all these legacy Fortune 1000 companies located in Ohio are so profitable and doing so well despite their geography of *not* being in the inherently better cities of Austin, Charlotte, Atlanta, or Dallas (sarcasm)