w28th

It says that "Cleveland's inner core lost 30,000 jobs from 1998-2004," is that taking into account the jobs added, or is it a net loss of 30,000 jobs?

The music that's played in the store alone makes shopping at Dave's just a little more fun than anyother store. Damn that's some jazzy sh!t.

If there was a focus on creating a quality home life for these teenagers by "Black on Black Crime" there wouldn't be the need to ban guardianless kids. These groups are always so quick to ignore the core problems in lue of making headlines for their own personal gain.

And also jamiec, totally disagree with you on abandoning/ignoring our industrial past when it comes to new constructions. By your logic something built in the Flats should ignore the jackknife bridges, ore boats, and high level bridges when responding to context? I don't think so. It's what makes this city unique in a world full of Atlantas, Jacksonvilles, and Houstons.

The modernist addition of MOMA is hardly anything groundbreaking. I think once CIA is finished you'll be pleasantly surprised.

From today's Wall Street Journal... Cleveland By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI October 31, 2007; Page B6 Bargain-hunting office buyers have snapped up Cleveland's trophy towers and suburban spaces at record levels this year, making the city a bright spot in northeast Ohio's commercial real-estate market. The total volume of office-building transactions in the region valued at $5 million or more rose to $459 million through the third quarter this year, a 62% increase from all of 2006, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York real-estate research firm. The sale of the 28-story Eaton Center was part of a surge in Cleveland-area office transactions this year. The average price paid per square foot of office space for the period rose to $149, the second highest of the major Midwest markets after Chicago, where the average price fetched was $233, the research firm says. The surge in interest came after the image of Cleveland's property market took a hit in late 2005. Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp., then one of the area's largest landlords, announced it would exit from Cleveland and sell off its properties because it no longer saw opportunities in the market. Some buildings that have helped boost sales levels this year were part of the Duke portfolio, including nine suburban office buildings and some land sold in March for about $145 million. Some owners say they have been attracted by the prices and see potential where a restrained pace of new construction combined with some expansion by existing companies such as health-care firms have brought down the vacancy rate in upper-tier office buildings. "Cleveland's going to become a stronger market," says Zack Egert, director of acquisitions for New York-based Sovereign Group. This year, Sovereign paid about $71 million for the 28-story Eaton Center, a trophy building largely occupied by Eaton Corp., a diversified manufacturer. Sovereign has another downtown office building under contract and is considering office properties in the suburbs. The underlying weakness in the economy of the Cleveland area has taken its toll on the demand for all property types. As the region's manufacturing sector shrank, job levels fell 0.5% in the second quarter from a year earlier -- compared with 1.5% growth nationally -- and the Cleveland metropolitan area's population declined about 0.4% to an estimated 2.1 million, according to Moody's Economy.com. The metropolitan area's overall second-quarter office, retail and warehouse vacancies were well above the average for 54 major U.S. markets, though rents rose in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to Property & Portfolio Research Inc., a Boston real-estate research firm. There are pockets of strength and weakness, brokers say, with occupancies in some older malls deteriorating while newer centers in wealthier suburbs are faring better. Likewise, the overall office vacancy rate in downtown Cleveland is expected to end the year at 21.5%, while in the healthier east submarket, which includes such suburbs as Mentor, it is expected to be 13.8%, PPR says. Local government officials are working to capitalize on Cleveland's growing health-care industry, which includes the Cleveland Clinic. A county sales-tax increase went into effect Oct. 1 and is earmarked to fund convention-center space. That space will be part of a medical complex in Cleveland that would also include exhibit space for medical-equipment makers. Mark Falanga, senior vice president of Merchandise Mart Properties, whose parent company Vornado Realty Trust owns the Chicago Merchandise Mart, is working with local officials to find and develop a site. Cleveland's affordable real estate and strong health-care industry make it an attractive location for the venture, he says. It isn't just Cleveland's bargain prices that are attracting investors. Last year, for the first time in five years, downtown Cleveland saw the total amount of net office space leased in the top two levels of office buildings rise rather than fall, says David Browning, managing director of real-estate services firm CB Richard Ellis in Cleveland. That trend has continued this year and brought office vacancies in the city's top buildings down to about 11% in the third quarter from a high of 18% in 2004. That has even led some brokers to speculate that new downtown office buildings might be constructed in the near future.

Even though many here may not like the design that much, it will assuredly bring architecture students/buffs to Cleveland to check out these projects and the city in general, and who knows, maybe a few of them will stay for good.

I think it's going to be a great project. Winy Maas has been known to make simple little moves that can create dynamic public and private spaces, and this looks like one of his more simplistic moves to date. From what I've heard the interior spaces will be defined by terracing studio spaces (probably around the ramping parts of the structure). Hopefully this level of transparency will be able to become a reality because this will really be a great thing to look at during the evening. If everyone thinks it resembles a parking deck, maybe it starts a conversation on how to retrofit those structures into other programs if that ever becomes an opportunity in the city (imagine what could be done with the one adjacent to the May Company Building at Prospect and Ontario). Combine this with MOCA, which should have renderings coming out in the next few weeks... Office dA doing the residential and retail part of this, Gehry and Vinoly (not really a fan, but world known nontheless) down the street, and this will be a reference point in world architecture for this time period, no doubt about it.

It could be that Timmy is seeing his political career flash before his eyes.

Can't wait for the BRT's to start their runs, taking the place of the #6. I rode it from Mayfield/Euclid Ave to E9th yesterday around 3:00 and it was one of the most ridiculously packed bus I've ever seen (and I've riden NYC, Florence, Paris, Rome bus systems during rush hour). Standing room only the whole time with an average of probably 75 people on it for the duration. 45 minutes for a 5 mile trek is a bit much.

Bell tower is still there. I think they tore down that Rally's.

"Frankly, the juvenile court building is a dump. No reasonable person would object to its disappearance." That's quite a bold statement.

I guess the entry way could be rebuilt, but what a mistake right off the bat by the idiotic commissioners. A condo in the Breuer Tower, damn that would be sweet.

C'mon KJP, Stonebridge developers.

I wouldn't really call it an odd building "style" because it doesn't abide by a style. Formally it may be unconventional in relation to the typical skyscraper, but from the little I've seen and heard, it's detailing may be pretty simple.

^In relation to today's avant garde, it could be taken that way.

"It's awkward design was constructed out of randomly placed foam blocks..." "Block" placement was determined by site lines deemed important (river view, existing context, etc.) as well as other parameters if I'm not mistaken. Not sure if anyone has posted this on the thread, but this is a very interesting lecture by Joshua Ramus (no "Prince" anymore because he got divorced) about Seattle Public Library, Museum Plaza, and a Dallas Performing Arts Center.

The whole Navy Pier thing may attract families to downtown for a day, but I hardly think it would have any role in attracting top talent to Cleveland. Aside from the fact that it's a pretty chessy, we should be figuring what can make the best "Cleveland," not copying what makes up part of another city, especially one that is relatively close. If we talk about copying other cities, it should be about emulating high density, transit and pedestrian oriented development in the urban core, not singular objects like a ferris wheel or video games. Just my opinion.

Surprised anybody has.

Unfortunately they removed the sign outside a while ago, wish that could have been reused. It was pretty sweet.

^Tim Hagan, back to work doing whatever it is you do.

Pretty sure I prefaced the fact that I knew what they were trying to do. It's a tired cliche. Anyways, are there new images on their website? I didn't see any.

Maybe some appreciate preserving historical structures regardless of time period in a city that has already demolished so much. Why continue making mistakes? Many structures in the Warehouse District sat vacant for decades, contained asbestos, had small floor plates, and were viewed as ugly by uninterested eyes, and now the ones that survived the rape between the 60's and 80's may serve as the ignition of a billion dollars of residential, retail, and office development. Demolition of significant structures obviously takes away the chance of reusing the past for possibly better future uses. Not sure how you fail to see that.

"Maybe he heard us griping? I'm going to live delusionally and say we are a secret public policy/developmental power." If that's the case: Props on the boldness and god hoping this thing gets going, and I know they are just trying to give a reference to the goal of the density, street life, etc, but I've heard enough of the "SOHO of the Midwest." It just seems so cliche and really doesn't make any sense. The South Of HOuston of the Midwest? Otherwise, put me down for a condo with a Terminal Tower view.

"Selling the property would allow commissioners to postpone plans for a headquarters and look elsewhere for a site. Dimora suggested buying downtown's Halle Building as an option." Are they sure that the Halle Building complies with the neccessary earthquake levels? Because if it doesn't they should just tear it down. Also of amusement is now that the money isn't really there for the project, they are tightening the plans. Why the hell wasn't financial efficiency part of the original process? Hagan and Dimora have to go.