surfohio

I agree mostly with this. The best idea imho is for Forest City to literally "think outside the box" and focus on connecting the indoor mall with new retail and enhanced recreation along the riverfront. I beat this idea to death on UO but a boardwalk is what this city needs. Desperately. The concept is a time tested one, and it would be truly unique to the region as there is nothing else like it. Think about it, there is no single "It" place where everyone goes. This would be it. Proximity to the Casinos I and II, Tribe, Q, RTA and Flats...it's a no-brainer; the "something for everybody" spot that dwirthwein mentions above.

I dont know if i agree with that. Hopefully the stadium would be down Lorain a bit and it could further expand the district. thousands and thousands of people go to st. ignatius games, many live in the suburbs. I think that helps alot of businesses out. This may be a long shot, but I hope to God that the new sports facility proposal can lead to tearing down the clunky additions to the school. These are the boxy buildings adjacent to the current athletic field. It mars the views of the school. The main building, well, it's really such a beautiful structure that they should never have compromised it in that way. edit: here it is...

Huh. Whatever happened to the concept that had Sam McNulty worried? Am I mixed up with another project?

Okay. You've just ruined this project for me! Club Cleveland if you haven't seen it is an all time architectural low point. The purple brick is tacky beyond belief.

Haw yeah!!!

HOB and Toby Keith have corporate backing. I'm not saying corporations are bad, but this isn't even close to a level playing field. The Beachland and Happy Dog do not have the same resources; they're vastly different kinds of places. Here's hoping that something acceptable can be worked out!

Well that's an excellent point. I suppose you have to temper expectations of what even a well-done ad campaign is capable of accomplishing. There's one value, however, that should count for something and it isn't measured by numbers of visitors. It's that an ad campaign can enhance perception and help to restore pride. I do feel like there is a prevalent inferiority complex here that's ingrained. NYC always ran great commercials of Mayor Koch/Giuliani/etc. walking through the best neighborhoods and extolling the virtues of the city. These were times where the perception of NYC was very much maligned. I think a similar campaign would be a great benefit to improve the perceptions of Ohio among Ohioans. You could start with the good list Hts. provided. Plus, I can't say enough how sooo many famous people are from here and would be glad to rep this state. Obviously not a magic bullet; but it should be an ingredient in a successful recipe for better growth.

The strength of the Pure Michigan campaign is that it has successfully addressed an otherwise little known fact: Michigan has some of the most scenic beaches and rivers in America. It's a coastal state that happens to be inland. It plays up a wonderful asset, the Great Lakes. It's a good template for playing on your strengths. No we don't have world class beaches in Ohio. But we have other amazing qualities that are worth advertising.

^ IMHO it's not east of W. 25th, but the north end of W. 25th that has the uphill climb. From what I understand the towers are comprised mostly of elderly residents, and not harboring a criminal element. While they are nothing to brag about architecturally, in big cities buildings like this are everywhere. If there were other large residential buildings around - and there SHOULD be - they wouldn't stand out so much. Also it's not out of the question that the towers could get a facelift, or even better, get a redesign to better front W. 25th to allow for more retail. Same can be said for the hospital across the street...these are the pedestrian dead zones. Now the projects on the north end, well they look terrible. And just north there are the really ill-sited lakefront projects. In comparison, east of W.25th toward the LC Bridge has much much more potential. Parking will remain a sensitive issue, but there are ambitious plans floating around with large garages that would accommodate that.

I saw a Hell's Angel checking out the Leather Store at Gordon Square last week. Good to know he'll have more options next time he's in town ha ha.

This guy loves CLE!! Stan Austin went from New Jersey to big western parks to the Cuyahoga Valley: My Cleveland By Grant Segall Stan Austin, superintendent of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park since 2010, likes Ohio's wild turkeys and its stuffed ones, too. Does it feel strange running a national park in the middle of suburbia? It's a very complex park here. This is a free national park. We're in the top 10 in visits: more than 2 million a year. We have many congressional districts and municipalities and working farms. It's a lot of connections and meetings. The urban parks were all created to bring parks to the people. They're kind of a gateway. I started out at Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey. For an African-American boy growing up in Newark, N.J., imagine working at Yosemite. How's the Cuyahoga Valley compare? It's exceptional. There's no other urban area where people have such proximity to natural resources. People love this park. We have several thousand volunteers. We have development pressures, but people understand they have to protect this treasure, because it adds to their economic values, their real estate values. Many businesspeople say they use this park as a selling point. You can go skiing or biking after work in a national park. Surprises here? The surprises continue. There's 33,000 acres. There's more than 125 miles of trails. Every time I turn, it's a new place. Blue Hen Falls surprised me. The Ledges blew me away. Just a buckeye: they're fascinating in bloom. The deer. The blue herons. The wild turkeys running across the road. http://www.cleveland.com/mycleveland/index.ssf/2012/07/stan_austin_went_from_new_jers.html

WIcker Park looks to have super personality. Thanks for posting!!

Super! What town?

Virtually every person I know from out of state has moved here either because of their job, or because they had familial support here. I know very few, if met anyone really, who moved here out of the blue. I will try, but I cannot recall anyone ever telling me they moved here because of public transit, the music scene, the four seasons, beaches, etc. As far as I know the state is not luring people based solely on the adventure of living here (as in NYC). \ On a bright note, everyone I know from out of state likes it here. :| Of course that's why they moved here. Don't you get it?!?! If we're not growing that fast, and the only reason some people are moving is because their job brought them, then don't you think we need to do a little something different to get people to WANT to move here regardless of the job?? Then if you get an educated base, you will get those jobs following. When companies are looking to move or expand somewhere, they're not looking to bring all their employees with them - they need a pool of people they can choose from. -edit maybe I should revise this. If the only people we're trying to attract are people looking for a low cost of living, then I guess we can just let the area rot and we can attract a bunch of low cost of living people! Or if we're looking for absolute high growth, then we can be like texas and arizona and let a lot of immigrants move in, documented or not (which I'm actually completely for). Or we can get a bunch of low wage jobs by giving super tax breaks to big boxes and build a bunch of low income housing sprawled out everywhere and have unskilled jobs and workers beaucoup. Or we can make our cities gems of medium growth, medium sized, interconnected hubs of education, arts, research and wellness. That only comes with doing things differently than we have thus far and making people actually want to come here. And it would snowball. Get the people coming, get the jobs following and reap the rewards. That might be a bit simplistic, but all this other stuff I've seen on here is just short sighted. I'm going to stop talking now - I'm not really trying to argue, and apologies if I offended. I'm not educated in this, so I could well be talking out of other places of my body... But it seems logical, and I'm going to stick with what makes sense. I'm not offended, but I think you're reading disagreement into my statement that really isn't there. Yes - I wholeheartedly agree the state needs to do more to bring people here.

Nothing public. The guy I talked to is extremely confident that the builder, Marous, will complete this project.

Sherman if you haven't been there already, I have to recommend Rehobeth Beach, DE. It's like a classic, West Coast beach town. Lots to do, a nice place to spend a day. Much different and much better layout than 99 percent of other East Coast communities. The water is pristine and boardwalk is immaculate.

Aghh, sounds like they're going to ruin it lol!! I like it the way it is. But it actually does sound promising. Just p l e a s e if you're going to play music, make sure it's new music.

Biggest local scandal of our lifetimes... bigger than Jimmy Dimora IMO. Agreed.

I've dreamed of this. 87.7 FM. Here is a radio station that plays "Indians Fever: Be a Believer!" and Michael Stanley's "This Town" back to back to back to back......

Hate to be the bearer of bad news. Financing fell through on Westin. However, I understand that Marous has invested so much on this project, that there is no way they're going to just let it go.

Just look at what's going on in California. Growers and sellers operate under State law. Then the DEA shows up and kicks their doors down. DEA Raids Medical Marijuana Operation The raid was part of a sting operation that included 11 other facilities and homes in North County San Diego. http://lakeelsinore-wildomar.patch.com/articles/dea-raids-wildomar-medical-marijuana-operation

\ Obama would have the Feds in here in no time flat. But yeah, that would be interesting.

All right then, Party at your place! The Lake Erie Islands, despite their popularity locally, still manage to be something of a secret. I travel full time for a living. It is amazing how many people have heard of the Flats in Cleveland, but not the islands. They generally shake their heads in disbelief when I tell them the Flats no longer exist. That was Cleveland's big chance to become a tourist destination. The casino and hotels should of went up in about 1992, along with a huge police presence. Woulda coulda shoulda....time marches on. Even just recently I've had friends or relatives get into town and say "lets go to the Flats!" Awkward.

All right then, Party at your place! The Lake Erie Islands, despite their popularity locally, still manage to be something of a secret.

Strictly speaking on the effectiveness of the ad campaign. Ohio has nothing similar. I think we should, and we have something like 900 different celebrities who could narrate!