surfohio

He arguably has the highest name recognition.

The cynic in me says the right person hasn't shown up with the right suitcase full of the right amount of cash.

Not exactly, I'm talking more like the boardwalks in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, the piers and attractions in Santa Cruz, San Diego and San Francisco California, Navy Pier in Chicago. Or Euclid Beach Park :-( Like this is where I grew up. Cleveland needs places like this:

We simply don't have that "it" place where EVERYONE goes. In virtually every waterfront small town or big city...it's the waterfront. We are an outlier. We got some of the pieces of the puzzle, but other pieces are missing....and the table top is still kinda broken.

It's absolutely uncanny how the hapless Browns 2.0 has mirrored hapless lakefront development haha. But the Browns are good now, so..... Exactly. Has the city shown the ability to accomplish this necessary level of coordination? I'm holding out hope that at least the Rock Hall and Science Center can better integrate with their surroundings. It's not a district as much as a highway exit ramp.

If the stadium cannot or will not be integrated with the convention center or secure more usage, I wholeheartedly agree. I do sincerely hope the talk of moving the stadium doesn't hurt the land bridge momentum. Now the Shoreway Blvd. conversion just makes so much sense and it's kinda sad that, like the bridge, it's a great idea that has languished for so long. Anyhow I don't wanna see the Cleveland Browns become an "indoor team" unless the gameday weather is just absolutely horrific. But a retractable roof venue would be a game changing asset for the region.

Why do I have the feeling that the stadium could become the next Burke, meaning that the mystery and question of its future existence will simply delay development for another generation or so?

Pace had a hand in the development of Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar and Harbor Verandas along the late, and also had the development rights to the 20 acres of property north of FirstEnergy Stadium and was preparing to break ground last year. However, he says, that’s when the mayor had a change of heart. "All that was necessary was a building permit," Pace claimed. "We had the financing, we had the tenants and we were ready to go. It's sad. There's no reason for it to be on hold, other than the mayor doesn't want it to happen right now." Mayor Frank G. Jackson's office didn't respond for comment today, but City Council President Kevin Kelley (himself a candidate for mayor) says the city doesn’t want to rush through the development of one parcel of the land. Instead, they want a master plan for the whole area.

I'd rather have Pace's original vision (below) already started than wait several more years just to hope our "leadership" can get a coherent plan in place. I sometimes wonder if anyone on this forum will even still be alive to see this area properly developed.

it is infuriating.

And back to the future/present! Agree the city did look great last night. When was the last time an international event went down on our lakefront? It's intriguing to wonder what the Haslam's vision and role will be in the near future. As with Burke, I don't think we necessarily need to move the stadium. Let's work with what we have in an attainable time frame. IThe ball appears to be rolling with changes that should have a dramatic and fairly immediate impact: First the programming at the Rock Hall needs to expand. By all accounts that appears to be happening with the outdoor venue. But there needs to be more events, especially outside and later at night. Provide ample reason to be down there after 4pm. Same goes with Voinovich Park and the Science Center...we just need more going on. Second there needs to be a better pedestrian flow. Again, that bridge everyone seems to hate should really help out a lot in that regard. The layout between buildings has always been disjointed and not well-designed from an urban context. Fortunately that's fixable. Above my pay grade for sure, but lets connect those attractions. Third there needs to be more public facilities. I'm thinking especially wrt public restrooms that are safe and well maintained. Can we provide safe and clean public bathrooms in this country? The jury is out on that subject but I'm hopeful. Finally we need a few more restaurants or retail spaces. Nothing near the level of the Flats or anything, but just a few more stakeholders to boost the livelihood and to help connect these dots. We have a Mexican restaurant, and a new cafe coming...that's good but just not enough. These could be integrated with the boat terminal or some well placed grouping toward Voinovich Park. Maybe seasonal. But a little investment in infrastructure would go a long way. Anyhow it feels like there's momentum and this stuff is just fun to talk about when ideas and long-delayed plans are finally getting traction.

Oh wow, that was a wild spot for sure. For a brief time that strip of Old River Road was seriously the place to be.

I have a really hard time figuring out what he means when he talks.

Agree. But prepare for the downvotes hahahaha. But seriously people, I love CLE and realize things do change, not just there but everywhere. And the Flats back then had a nationally famous hiphop dance club called Noisemakers. My friends from NYC would come visit to go there. Then the warehouse district had Spy Bar and its own unique scene with and a few other highly regarded underground spots. We just don't have anything like that now for whatever reason. This is not a knock on Cleveland, it's just different. Many many aspects of the city are far better, as watertiger mentioned Edgewater Park was horrible for so long. And WMMS did in fact turn into an awful radio station. All part of history, and a very very colorful history at that.

Yep haha. I remember. There were a lot of places in the Flats that weren’t really parking lots, but became parking lots...it was very Mad Max. But at the same time the Flats East Bank also had a tourism office.

I'm speaking from more of a lakefront standpoint. Of course development shifted - and got much better! elsewhere as the adjacent neighborhoods got stronger and residential got going. But again, I'm talking about people coming into the lakefront/waterfront areas, which I took liberties including warehouse district. Lol @ Hoobastank

When I first moved to Ohio in 1991 there were always thousands of people making their way down the cliffs to the lakefront every weekend. North Coast Harbor had a stage there on the water with bands hosted by WMMS. It was always pretty crazy. And the Flats were also crazy. The warehouse district had cool club scene too. Then something happened...I'm not sure why, but downtown suddenly got boring, the Flats were uncool, North Coast Harbor died and the crowds stopped coming. Yes, we still have some events and we get glimpses, but things just haven't been the same since.

^ Gave you a thumbs up.....this is not in any way an endorsement of the 80's IROC Z purple!!!

Hilarious....enjoy!! 15 Of The Worst Seaside Towns In Britain By Rachel Ashcroft https://www.eightieskids.com/15-of-the-worst-seaside-towns-in-britain/

Right now I'm trying to figure out which pro athlete this is lol.

Same here. Now I'm getting several texts and calls every week from realtors and realty investor groups.

Stole my thunder. Plus many of those union Dems were DINO's anyhow.

New work of fiction by my good friend and expat Ohioan Mr. Doug Henderson! https://clevelandmagazine.com/entertainment/books/articles/doug-henderson's-debut-novel-explores-friendship-fantasy-and-self-discovery

Do not question the journalistic integrity of Channel 19, sir.