Dino

It will be nice to have a new glassy tower in Cleveland. I like how they created a vertical setback so that the tower looks like 3 thin towers sandwiched together, instead of one bulky tower.

This is true. The studies I've read that argue FOR subsidies, conclude that this is a direct benefit from having a sports teams. The studies I've read that argue AGAINST subsidies conclude that this is just a redirection of money people would have spent on entertainment no matter what, and not an increase. The fact that there are many academic studies that are drawing opposite conclusions is what I characterize the issue as "murky".

This is a quote I included in an earlier post about subsidized stadiums. I find it interesting that this is the view of someone from within the Browns organization. I'm not saying this does or doesn't make subsidized stadiums worthwhile, but I do think this quote cuts to the core of the issue. This is about more than just a return on investment.

Typically, when considering economic development initiatives, it all comes down to tax revenue. The City/County are likely considering payroll taxes, hotel taxes, sales taxes, etc. There have been many studies that examine the cost/benefit of subsidies to professional sports teams. The conclusions are often murky because they rely on assumptions about the indirect impact of a sports team. Example: is the bar crowd downtown on a Sunday directly related to the Browns, or would just as many people still be going out and watching other teams, or spending money on something else? It's kind of a guessing game.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4084c.pm006872/?r=0.447,0.173,0.501,0.248,0 Here's the website from the 1877 view. You're going to want to go to the website and zoom in. The lakefront back then reminds me of the vision for Irishtown Bend, although it seems access to the water never really existed.

Lakefront 1877. You can see the walking paths, lagoon, and arched bridge from the postcards KJP posted. Also interesting to see the train tracks were there as early as 1877.

Lakefront circa 1950's or 1960's

Lakefront 1970

Lakefront 1936

Here's something that struck me as I read the article above. Between the lakefront and the riverfront, the City/County/State will be asked to raise and contribute tens to hundreds of millions on infrastructure to make these developments feasible. Meanwhile, there is so much flat, empty, readily developable land in the City core (downtown, east and west flats, near east side, midtown), which is used for parking, minimal industry, or nothing at all. I wish they could create some kind of "underused land" tax in the center City that would encourage landowners to make the most of their property, or sell it to someone who will. I would call it a "Use it or Lose It" Tax! Or at the very least, tax parking to the point that it makes surface lots less viable.

1924

More SHW site photos from almost 120 years ago.

Another view from 1905

9th and Euclid looking west in 1905. Sherwin Williams HQ will rise at the center of this vista 120 years later

9th and Euclid looking west. You can see the City Club Apartment site just behind the Schofield on the left.

So here's a thought... Let's say a new stadium costs $1.5B and will be financed over 30 years. I'm not counting interest or anything like that. At 17 games per year (not counting playoffs), that's 510 games over the life of the stadium. That means the stadium costs about $3M per game. I would love an arrangement where the Browns and the City funded the stadium jointly. If the Browns win...BOOM...the City makes a $3M payment. If the Browns lose...Sorry Jimmy...that $3M is coming out of your end. If the net benefit of an NFL team to a City is mostly pride, let's hold them accountable to that. I genuinely have mixed feelings about publicly funded stadiums, but I know I'd vote for a deal like this. I would even be in favor of other incentives for winning seasons, playoffs, etc. Win a Superbowl? Next season's on us! Beat the Steelers? That counts as 2 wins!

I'm not going to argue for or against a new, publicly subsidized stadium, but I've always been curious about the economic returns to a City or region. So I googled, "What is the economic benefit of an NFL team to a city?" and read about a dozen studies, and browsed about another dozen headlines. I focused mostly on studies by economists and college academics. Of course, the results are murky, but I would say at least 75% of the studies concluded that there is little economic benefit to a city that subsidizes an NFL stadium. The articles that seemed to argue for the benefits of an NFL team tended to rely on the "intangibles" to a City. Notably, one article referenced a comment from the Browns in 2015, "Former Browns president Carmen Policy compares the Browns to the Cleveland Orchestra. The latter group brings little economic benefit to the city – only a tiny slice of the population attends classical music concerts – but as one of the United States’ “Big Five” orchestras, it adds a great deal of prestige to the city." Feel free to do your own research and draw your own conclusions.

View from Wendy Park

I understand everyone is anxious but I think there’s a lot of sense in Bedrock’s approach. Teaming with other developers makes public incentives more palatable for politicians because there’s not a perception that you’re benefitting one wealthy landowner, your supporting broader development. Plus, I think teaming with other developers shows that Bedrock does not want to slow roll this. They want to assemble as much capital and public money as possible because they are probably really serious about seeing this gets built. And as far as Nucleus goes, they just bought the property 2-3 months ago…

So the building will stay, or be rebuilt, at the corner of 25th and Detroit?

Plus a webcam only gives you one view, and that just wouldn't be good enough. I like seeing the building from all the different angles, so thanks to everyone that is posting photos!!!

I can’t wait for the colored exterior panels to go up. I never thought the renderings gave a good sense of what the final look would be. The color, texture, pattern, etc will make a big difference on how the building looks. I’m excited to see how that turns out.

^We always need more photos! Can’t get enough!

I'd bet a million dollars SHW made the firm sign a non-disclosure agreement. SHW was very secretive about their plans, so they must have insisted on keeping this off the web. The NDA may be moot by now, but the firm just might not want to push the issue with SHW. Either way, I wouldn't read too much into it.

Time for Morgan Linens to relocate!!! That site is screaming for a large Intro-style development. That would really go a long way in stitching Tremont and Ohio City back together.