sky

This constitutional amendment says that the ONLY place in Cleveland that a casino could be built is on Forest City's property !!!!!!! http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/IssueProcBallotBd/BallotBoard.aspx Holy crap, they are trying to pull another one on us.

Bernie Madoff, Cleveland Film Office, Nehst Studios, Forest City, and the State of Ohio http://clevelandindependent.com/The_Independent/Arts_%26_Film/Entries/2009/9/7_Nehst_of_Vultures.html http://online-newyork.blogspot.com/2009/08/bernie-madoffs-son-is-being-sued-for-53.html . wow

Despite the massive recession, there are BIG projects about to happen Downtown - Flats East Bank - Convention Center / Medical Mart - 668 Euclid - a possible full service casino by 2011 - new CSU developments Downtown Cleveland is on its way up!!

Improv would be great. For a major coup, they should try to get Second City back.

MyTwoSense ... please spell it out. Which medical community is vastly superior, Cleveland or Nashville? Why?

Nice work doctabroccoli. I hope the City comes down hard on the owners.

About 3 years ago, I heard from a very strong source that Playhouse Square planned to clean the exterior of the Bulkley Building as soon as the Euclid Corridor Project was complete. That was so they could clean the exterior without worrying about new construction dust/debris getting it dirty again. We are so used to seeing it in a filthy state, that we have gotten used to it. Maybe someone can contact PlayhouseSquare District Development to ask for their plans.

I like the idea ... its fun and exciting (especially for Cleveland)

The answer is that everyone with the City and Theater District Devel Corp have been ignoring this issue. The scaffolding has been just sitting there for YEARS!! Work is not getting done and has not been getting done. The scaffolding is ugly!! The building owners should be given 30 days to finish the job and get that eyesore out of the sidewalk. Earth to Tom Einhouse or Art Falco or anyone in the building department or council: please get that scaffolding removed !

I generally like them. But I also think that City Council should NOT legislate rules on this. Let the real estate owners and the Community Development Groups decide what's best for their specific areas.

Very true, KLP. I hate to say it, but Cleveland is politically corrupt and controlled by the "old boys club". Forest City has done incredible damage. It's a part of the reason for the continual 'brain drain" ... young people with fresh ideas are ignored by the Ratners and their interests. Anyway, the County HASTILY scheduled the press conference tomorrow for 1 reason: nip this in the bud & SQUASH this Flats idea.

Retail is very difficult to effectuate. Look at how long the brand new retail space in the new garage at East 6th & Euclid has sat vacant! I think the City, County and/or foundations should come up with a economic incentive for retail, possibly in conjunction with the "Design District".

With the announcement that Stark is pulling out of the Warehouse District, I wonder if this is still being worked on (see article from 2007 below). West Side Sun News Feb. 22, 2007 Gray's Green project revised By Ken Prendergast Staff Writer Article Removed Anyone know what is going on with: * the piles of dirt next to Peterson Nut on East 9th & Carnegie * the old Goodyear Tire on East 14th & Prospect (there have been contractors going in and out during the past week)

2 ideas: * it could be in reference to plans to develop the surface lot East 17th & Euclid * it could be in reference to add condo units to the roof of the Hanna Building annex

In an time of constant bad economic news, this project is a real bright spot.

The City Planning Commission might be able to tell you something (216) 664-2210. Or maybe Building & Housing Dept. It looks like crap.

This article appeared in the Cleveland Free Times. http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/70/whos-really-killing-toros Who's Really Killing Toros? Cleveland Film Commission Still Better At Hype Than Help Published September 8th, 2008 Cleveland Film Commission President Ivan Schwarz took a cue from his predecessor last week by making a bunch of noise to get his name in the paper. A Plain Dealer story by Sam Fulwood claimed that a movie based on Brian Michael Bendis' graphic novel about the Torso murders was going to film in Michigan if Ohio Republican legislators didn't quickly pass tax incentives for filmmakers. But the real story was about politics and Schwarz's turf wars with the newly reformed Ohio Film Office. In the '90s, the Ohio Film Office was a one-stop shop for producers who wanted to shoot in our state. It was a direct line to the governor that allowed quick access to locations, permits and monetary incentives. Then a special assistant to mayor Mike White, named Chris Carmody, created his own film commission in Cleveland. One of the first things he did was to lobby then-Governor Bob Taft to shutter the Ohio Film Office, which he apparently viewed as competition. Taft liked the idea so much that he canceled state funding to Carmody's commission as well.

The rumor I hear is that the execs at Medical Mart from Chicago are quite pissed off at the Greater Cleveland Partnership's "recommendation" in that it does not take into consideration their specific needs for the site and in that the numbers are substantially flawed.

I think that's improbable ... the fire happened at 2:30 AM ... I doubt that the IRS/FBI were able to get 200 plus people (some from out of state) to perfectly execute this raid at 9 AM simultaneously at various locations.

Very exciting!! Are there any conceptual sketches of this 12 story addition? Has anyone from Playhouse Square commented on this or released anything about this?

Adding retail to the corner of the Osborn Building and to 1014 Prospect would make a huge different. Anyone hear anything about Playhouse Square's plans (touted a few years ago) to develop a new condo building at the South West corner of East 17th and Euclid? Now that East 17th Street is finished, the time is right.

Any news on this?

Community Core by Bob Stark The Community Core The Community Core is a dense, vertically integrated mixed use neighborhood (or district) with a mission. Why vertically integrated? Because stacking residential, office, academic, entertainment, fitness and other uses on top of an aesthetically enriching and socially interactive streetscape of shops, eateries, and other commercial businesses establishes density and the perception of substance. A lot of people in the same place at the same time doing different things generates energy, and creates a dynamic, constantly changing environment. The Community Core must be located at the epicenter of the local community (at the proverbial intersection of “Main and Main”), AND it must have immediate access to primary regional connectors, e.g. light rail and/or freeways. As such, the Community Core serves simultaneously to define the heart and identity of the local community and to define the logical hub of the surrounding region. As hub of the region, the Community Core connects the various and otherwise disparate assets of a region, natural and cultural, to a common (and shared) point, maximizing efficiencies and strengthening synergies, i.e. actualizing the potentials of regionalization. The Community Core’s mission is not merely physical or commercial but, most importantly, cultural. Its agendas are quality of life in the 21st century and how to be competitive in the global economy. Both agendas are dependent upon a walkable lifestyle that delivers mixed use density interwoven with health and wellness, higher education/research, and the arts. Such rarified, and “green” environments will attract and keep the best and the brightest, which enables a community to be globally competitive. This principle applies to and is necessary for urban centers, inner ring suburbs, bedroom community exurbs, and major university campus neighborhoods to position themselves in the global community. Interestingly, the most desirable lifestyle of every era seems to emanate from a place of gathering characterized by an eclectic mix of commercial, social, scientific and artistic offerings. In ancient times, the core was found at the city gate where trade routes provided these things. The often employed central piazza flanked by the palace, the parliament, the great museum, the opera house, the public bathhouse, the academy and the cathedral served as the community core for centuries. Today, the Community Core requires a grid of streets that creates a neighborhood of short walkable city blocks. At a minimum, three north-south streets should intersect four east-west streets to create a district of six city blocks. Critical mass is vital to the credibility of context. There is magic in the grid. Each city block provides a four-sided opportunity to create a unique pedestrian rhythm of interactivity with a variety of storefronts and experiences. Here, retail serves a higher purpose, to adorn and to activate the streetscape, to define place, and to create experience. Here, people are empowered by the sense of community (belonging to something greater). The experience of the Community Core is one of splendor, honor, and pure enjoyment.

I would love to see E & Y stay where they are at (Huntington Building) and instead see Stark, Price, and Wolstein pick up users from outside Downtown. And I'd really really love to see a large user from outside the region move into Downtown.

Aside from Gateway, is this the the biggest development project in Cleveland's history??