Luke_S

Cleveland Soccer Group seeking $90 million in public money for proposed downtown stadium May 16, 2024 JOE SCALZO https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/cleveland-soccer-group-seeks-90-million-downtown-stadium

Cleveland’s population finally flattens out, new census estimates say May. 16, 2024 By Zachary Smith, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland’s population has flattened out after years of decline, new estimates released Thursday by the Census Bureau show. ... Technically, this was down a little - 150 people - from the newly revised total for July 2022 but, in the scope of estimates, the update shows that Cleveland’s population was essentially unchanged. ... The trend toward a flattening population as been building in recent years following decades of big declines, with growth largely fueled by areas like Tremont, Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and University Circle. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/05/clevelands-population-finally-flattens-out-new-census-estimates-say.html

EPA to host public meeting on efforts to remove contaminated sediment in Cuyahoga River Old Channel Ideastream Public Media | By Zaria Johnson Published May 15, 2024 A public meeting in Cleveland Wednesday evening will provide residents with an update on cleanup efforts soon to be underway in the Cuyahoga River Old Channel. The project, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aims to remove 100,000 cubic yards of sediment in the Old Channel — which diverges from the main river just before it empties into the lake — contaminated with oil, grease, metals and toxic chemicals like PCBs. ... The project to clean up the contamination will kick off in 2025, Denis said. The sediment will be removed from the channel and transferred to the storage facility during phase two. Phase three will be focused on removing contaminated sediment from the shoreline and capping contaminated areas where removing the sediment would create structural concerns. https://www.ideastream.org/environment-energy/2024-05-15/epa-to-host-public-meeting-on-efforts-to-remove-contaminated-sediment-in-cuyahoga-river-old-channel

Sorry, I have other plans tonight. I'll try to make it to one of these!

RTA considers spending $1.2 million to continue EZfare mobile ticketing by Anastazia Vanisko and Cleveland Documenters May 14, 2024 https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-rta-considers-spending-1-2-million-to-continue-ezfare-mobile-ticketing/

https://cleparksrecplan.com/ Cleveland seeks feedback on draft parks and recreation master plan Ideastream Public Media | By Zaria Johnson Published May 13, 2024 Cleveland kicks off open houses Tuesday for community input on needed park and recreation investments. During the open house, attendees can view the city's draft parks and recreation master plan, which aims to put facilities within a 20-minute walk of homes, according to Jay Rauschenbach, parks and recreation planning manager. ... The city hosts six open houses through May 20 along with an online survey open until the end of the month for those who can't attend an in-person open house. https://www.ideastream.org/environment-energy/2024-05-13/cleveland-seeks-feedback-on-draft-parks-and-recreation-master-plan

Do we even know how realistic the Haslam proposal was? We know this land is back fill so I would assume that's going to either limit the size of any new construction or increase the cost to get supports down to bed rock. And that's even assuming he would be able to build what he wants since the reclaimed land is state owned. Emotions may be running high over which proposal is better when realistically a park with some public access buildings is one of but a few options.

Given Brighline's model of developing real estate to support its rail lines it would be a little disappointing if they terminated their line at Hopkins instead of extending to downtown. Though, assuming their station would either be on the lake front or Union Terminal, it seems they wouldn't have the same development opportunities. Do we know the extent to which Brightline would share infrastructure with Amtrak? Would Brightline lease stations and rail right-of-ways to Amtrak to use (and vise versa to the extent that Amtrak owns lines outside of the northeast)? Less concerned about duplication of the infrastructure and more thinking that if Amtrak can piggyback on Brightline it may reduce their startup costs in Ohio maybe making supporting Amtrak expansion in the state more palatable to state legislators.

This is too bad. I love Salt+ and we went to Poppy for the first time last night and it was unsurprisingly delicious. I'm sure this concept would have been just as stellar. The Salt Team Is Moving On from Its Evelyn Tapas Project By Douglas Trattner Two years ago, partners Jill Vedaa and Jessica Parkison announced that they were taking over the former Spice Kitchen property at the corner of Detroit and West 58th Street in Gordon Square. A few months later they had a name and concept for the property: Evelyn, named after Vedaa's mother, would offer an "elevated tapas" experience. Today, the Salt owners have announced publicly for the first time that the project is dead. ... Reached for additional comment, Vedda added, "Ultimately, it was an incredibly hard decision, but in order for Salt and Poppy to continue to do well we had to make this sacrifice. It's heartbreaking because we had such amazing plans for the space. We definitely wanted to sell to someone that understood the legacy and beauty of the build and I think we accomplished that." https://clevelandmagazine.com/food-drink/articles/the-salt-team-is-moving-on-from-its-evelyn-tapas-project

I'm not sure how many people are actually paying attention yet. I think it's interesting that Bibb and other Cleveland officials have remained so quite on this and Haslam requesting a 50/50 split whether the stadium is built on the lakefront or Brook Park actually gives Cleveland quite a bit of leverage. I don't know that Cuyahoga County undercuts Cleveland by providing financial support to a Brook Park stadium. Brook Park can't provide as much financial support as Cleveland. Without local matching funds I'm not sure the State steps in to provide financial support. On top of all of that, if the state were to step in to cover the full 50% financing without local support for the Brook Park development I think there would be outrage once the reporting comes out that the State paid more than double what they other wise would have to help move the stadium to Brook Park. Not to take this off topic and make it political, but maybe those considerations don't matter given the gerrymandering in the state and the representatives safe seats.

The stadium dome design looks like it is *almost* paying tribute to Cleveland's industrial past with the triangle roofline, but I think it would have been better executed if they went with a sawtooth roof.

Here are a few older posts related to Akron's appeal to amend the EPA consent decree. At the time I think I was in favor, but given that large rain events are becoming more common I think the justification for the EHRT increases. I'm not certain, but I assume, Mayor Horrigan's 2-3 times a year is based on an average of historic rain fall, not projected. With the health of a river, remediation efforts need to be thought of in terms of "and" and not "or". The merit of Akron installing the EHRT system needs to be considered by the benefits of that system's effect on the health of the river alone and not whether we could capture an equivalent amount of waste through other remediation efforts-i.e. installing a sewer system in Peninsula. That said, Akron has take some other positive efforts to mitigate the effects of storm water run off.

Akron loses federal appeal on final phase of sewer project — water, sewer rates could rise by 23% by Doug Brown May 1, 2024 The City of Akron lost a costly ruling in federal court that it says will mean an immediate 23% increase in water and sewer bills. Unless the city is successful in its appeal, the March 1 decision will force the completion of the final phase of the Akron sewer project, known as Akron Waterways Renewed!, at a cost of $209 million for a wastewater treatment facility it has fought against having to build. U.S. District Court Judge John Adams sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on March 1, ruling the City of Akron has no legal basis to amend its federal consent decree. Now, the city must build the enhanced high-rate treatment facility (EHRT), which would be added on to Akron’s wastewater treatment facility, to treat wastewater overflows into the Cuyahoga River, he said. https://signalakron.org/akron-loses-federal-appeal-on-final-phase-of-sewer-project-water-sewer-rates-could-rise-by-23/

David Blitzer's Unrivaled Sports plans to make Hall of Fame Village 'epicenter for flag football' Joe Scalzo April 30th 2024 Unrivaled Sports has acquired Under the Lights Powered by Under Armour, the second-largest youth flag football operator in the U.S., the company announced Tuesday, April 30. ... [Unrivaled Sports] is the parent company of their 15 youth sports properties, which includes the ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton. “We plan to establish Canton as the epicenter for flag football through the incredible ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village,” Amanda Shank, Unrivaled Sports’ EVP of business development, said. https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/unrivaled-sports-acquires-under-lights-powered-under-armour

Ryan Homes plans 422 townhouses in Elyria mixed-use project STAN BULLARD April 29, 2024 https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/ryan-homes-dbrl-realty-plan-422-townhouses-retail-elyria-site

Akron a finalist to receive funding for a polymer industry cluster and now Canton a finalist for a workforce development fund, and only city selected in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, and Western PA. Hopefully we're seeing positive investments in both cities in the near future. Canton hopes to launch $100 million-plus workforce development effort DAN SHINGLER April 30, 2024 https://www.crainscleveland.com/economy/grant-could-launch-cantons-100-million-plus-workforce-effort

Team Wendy expansion plan includes 200 new jobs KIM PALMER April 29, 2024 https://www.crainscleveland.com/manufacturing/team-wendy-expansion-plans-will-double-current-cleveland-workforce

X-posting from the Metroparks thread: Since it's more relevant to this thread I'll add it here; Metroparks keeps providing multi-use spines at different points through the Cleveland, the city really needs to step up and provide the network of bike lanes throughout the city that will extend these connections so much further.

Independent of the CHEERS plans, this trail will have a huge impact on east-side neighborhoods. And putting the infrastructure in place before CHEERS is realized will only extend that park's reach when it's realized. New multipurpose trail to connect Cleveland's near East Side to lakefront, Downtown Ideastream Public Media | By Zaria Johnson Published April 29, 2024 A new multi-use lakefront trail will soon allow walkers and bikers to easily get from Cleveland’s St. Clair Superior and Glenville neighborhoods on the East Side to Downtown. The North Marginal trail will extend from East 9th Street to East 55th Street running adjacent to the Lake Erie shoreline along North Marginal Road, connecting features like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Gordon Park and the Harrison Dillard bikeway. ... The two-mile trail will improve access to the lakefront to neighborhoods that currently lack it, said Nichole English, planning and programming administrator for Cuyahoga County Public Works. https://www.ideastream.org/environment-energy/2024-04-29/new-multipurpose-trail-to-connect-clevelands-near-east-side-to-lakefront-downtown

Small projects that aren't all that flashy can still have a huge impact. This connector is only 1/3 of a mile but will give residents of Fairview Park safe pedestrian access to Rocky River Reservation. CLEVELAND METROPARKS UNVEILS MASTICK ROAD CONNECTOR TRAIL Posted: April 25, 2024 https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/news-press/2024/april-2024/cleveland-metroparks-unveils-mastick-road-connecto

Are we to assume this money for station upgrades will be going to go towards the current lakefront station?

I haven't seen any reporting elsewhere that the City of Akron or Summit County have any of their own initiatives to restore the tree canopy, so hopefully they step up to support the effort by Keep Akron Beautiful. I would think Summit County Metro Parks and the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District would also be natural partners too. Akron nonprofit initiates campaign to restore city's tree canopy Ideastream Public Media | By Jenna Bal Published April 25, 2024 https://www.ideastream.org/environment-energy/2024-04-25/akron-nonprofit-initiates-campaign-to-restore-citys-tree-canopy

Cuyahoga Valley National Park commissioning mural art near bridge Ideastream Public Media | By Kabir Bhatia Published April 24, 2024 An abutment to what was once called the “crybaby bridge” in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is now crying out for a new coat of paint. The bridge near the corner of Riverview and Boston Mills roads got its eerie nickname from howling winds and ghost stories. Today, it greets kayakers along the Cuyahoga River, near the Boston Mills Visitor Center. Down below, layers of graffiti cover the concrete abutment, about the size of two garage doors. ... The park service is working with the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park to commission a mural for the abutment. Ohio artists can submit a narrative of their qualifications, ideas and interest by May 6. A selection committee will announce finalists in July, with work slated to begin in September. https://www.ideastream.org/arts-culture/2024-04-24/cuyahoga-valley-national-park-commissioning-mural-art-near-bridge

Wild card submission: Mustard Seed

Ohio City is a good example of this, the Ohio City flag is peppered throughout the neighborhood. I'm not sure I've seen the Cleveland flag flying in any other neighborhoods in the same way.