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Cleveland Foundation breaks ground on MidTown Collaboration Center Ideastream Public Media | By Gabriel Kramer Published May 18, 2023 "The Cleveland Foundation broke ground Thursday on its MidTown Collaboration Center, which will serve as an innovation-focused community center and potentially a boost of economic development in the city’s predominately-Black Hough neighborhood. The 95,000-square-foot building will sit across the street from the foundation’s new offices on E. 66th St. and Euclid Ave. Completion is expected in late 2024. It will feature office space, research centers, training centers, a media lab and an innovation hall that will host public community programming. The foundation said the space will house organizations that will launch job creation programs." https://www.ideastream.org/economy/2023-05-18/cleveland-foundation-breaks-ground-on-midtown-collaboration-center

Warren Morgan’s 100 day plan for Cleveland Schools by Paul Rochford "Cleveland Schools’ next CEO, Warren Morgan, came to his job interviews prepared. Most notably, he brought a plan for his first 100 days on the job. Now that he’s in, Signal Cleveland asked for a copy. In a series of PowerPoint slides, Morgan outlines his ideas for a district-wide listening tour and “culture audit” of each district school. Morgan’s first 100 days officially begin July 1. Morgan shared his leadership philosophy during his first news conference last week. It centers around what he calls the “three L’s,” listening, learning and leading. The slides structure his first 100 days into four phases, a pre-entry phase, and one for each “L.”" https://signalcleveland.org/warren-morgan-100-day-plan/

According to Jeff Epstein the plan is to have the North Coast Connector and the Lakefront Master Plans completed and handed over to the development Corp by year-end so they can begin their work. Officials look to create North Coast Development Corp. to direct city's lakefront plan Kim Palmer | May 19th 2023 "Cleveland City Council on Tuesday, May 16, heard the proposal that would commit an initial $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding over three years to the new waterfront development authority. The NCDC would be responsible for the planning, implementation and management of Cleveland’s large-scale lakefront projects. ... The Bibb administration is looking to create a nonprofit authority board of trustees to set up the NCDC, which would be able to raise revenue similar to a special investment district. It also could levy bonds like a port authority, and it could obtain grants, loans and other forms of capital from government or private philanthropic and banking sources. The NCDC’s jurisdiction, as dictated by legislation introduced in April, will comprise North Coast Harbor, which consists of the more than 70-acre area that runs from Lakeside Avenue to the waterfront and includes Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame." https://www.crainscleveland.com/government/plans-north-coast-development-corp-move-forward

Though the specifics aren't finalized, Malik would like to revisit and refine Akron's abatement program, looking to change the abatement period and percentage in different areas to help balance out development and promote infill in under invested areas. He has been in contact with at least one developer (Welty Building Co. CEO Don Taylor) and the Akron Chamber of Commerce about actions the city can take to spur development. This included supporting UoA and the polymer industry that remains in Akron. Fresh off the news of FirstEnergy leaving downtown, Malik is also prioritizing office-to-residential conversions and bringing a grocer to downtown in an effort to bolster the downtown population. Akron's next mayor will likely seek changes on abatements Dan Shingler | May 19th 2023 "For one thing, the city’s 15-year, 100% abatement on all residential development and home improvements is likely to become more targeted toward areas that need help with infill development and less used in places where developers likely don’t need an extra incentive to build, said the likely incoming mayor, Shammas Malik. ... Malik said he’s looking at ways to spur more office building conversions to residential use, and on getting a grocery store downtown — something Taylor and nearly all other downtown advocates have been hoping for. ... But Malik also insists that the core platforms of his candidacy and incoming administration are all pro-business issues, whether it’s improving schools in Akron, expanding access to health and child care, or giving people more transportation options. Those issues are important not just to the city’s neighborhoods, but to downtown businesses as well, he contends, and all will need to be addressed." https://www.crainscleveland.com/government/akrons-next-mayor-will-likely-seek-changes-abatements

Lakewood is looking input from families on Madison Park and what they would like to see in the future. You can take a survey here. More information on the masterplan for the park can be found here.

Cross-posting from the Lakefront thread since this will be connecting a couple Metropark properties

Euclid Beach Trail Connector, an 'Edgewater-like park,' one step closer to becoming reality https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/euclid-beach-trail-connector-becoming-reality/95-d1ff5d52-854a-4960-ae88-50c9b17332be

According to Clevelanders for Public Transit, closing the central Square section of Superior and routing buses around the square would require buses to make an additional 1.2 million turns every year. Apparently turns are when most bus accidents happen so increasing the number of turns is not ideal. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2016/12/woman_critically_injured_by_bu.html I think Public Square should be closed to all personal traffic, so I don't know if the safety concerns would persist if buses weren't competing with cars.

Not sure how this squares with Ken's earlier reporting that Cleveland continues to lose its non-college educated population. Having a relatively low cost of living and a surplus of job openings would make me think we are at least retaining this demographic if not attracting it. The article suggests there's disconnect between the job openings and awareness that these jobs exist. Taken one step further, there is a lack of understanding of what modern manufacturing jobs actually look like. The article didn't mention this aspect, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if transit accessibility was a major cause for this employment gap with manufacturers spread around the fringes if the city. Cleveland manufacturers can’t find employees, so nonprofits step in to boost training and internships BY TOM BRECKENRIDGE MAY 18, 2023 "Lamar got her job through a program developed by business and community leaders — with help from philanthropy — to match people of color, women, and formerly incarcerated people with manufacturing jobs. Manufacturers in Cleveland and other cities, including Buffalo, Chicago, and Milwaukee, are dealing with a retiring work force that’s left thousands of jobs unfilled. Nationally, the industry’s job gap is projected to hit 2 million by 2030, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. The Cleveland region has an estimated 10,000 manufacturing job openings. By diversifying their job ranks, Cleveland-area manufacturers also hope to improve communities left behind as plants closed or moved to the suburbs. And now with $5 million in federal stimulus money, they expect to help create thousands of new manufacturing jobs over the next few years. ... Manufacturing remains an economic pillar in Northeast Ohio, despite a half century of plant closings and layoffs. The industry still employs more than 270,000 workers in a 21-county region, but it struggles to find enough workers. Most job openings are entry-level, but others are in engineering, computing, and data analysis." https://thelandcle.org/stories/cleveland-manufacturers-cant-find-employees-so-nonprofits-step-in-to-boost-training-and-internships/

Nick Castele and Cleveland Signal with a detailed breakdown of the costs-to-date of the current stadium, including the share of the cost taken by the city and the team. The public cost of Cleveland Browns stadium: hundreds of millions and counting Since 1998, the city has been on the hook for roughly $350 million to build and repair the NFL stadium on the Lake Erie shore, a Signal Cleveland analysis found.

Part of the reason for the drop in support for the e-scooter program cited in the survey results was scooters being operated and left on sidewalks. Lakewood could certainly be better about creating spaces to park vehicles other than cars, but if there were consistent and connected bike lanes throughout the city maybe people wouldn't be using the scooters on so many sidewalks. On a related note, and maybe ironically, Lakewood is also considering requiring permits for businesses that take up street parking spaces (Cleveland.com: Already a premium in Lakewood, parking by automobile-related businesses is an issue). Lakewood City Council is holding a hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday (May 22) regarding the proposed permit ordinance. Back on topic, it does sound like this is just a pause as Lakewood completes its transit feasibility study and the active transportation plan. Quotes from Dave Baas, Lakewood Planning & Development Assistant Director, suggest that they are conducting these studies with e-scooter use in mind. Lakewood pauses e-scooter program; unsure of future Published: May. 17, 2023, 7:07 a.m. By John Benson, special to cleveland.com https://www.cleveland.com/community/2023/05/lakewood-pauses-e-scooter-program-unsure-of-future.html

The Market is being handed over to a non-profit. Ideastream: New nonprofit board will manage, revitalize the West Side Market

Fence is down and the PVC looks new

An argument for keeping the IX center is that there are larger conventions that can't be held at the convention center--the boat show, auto show, ect--I know we wont be able to build a stadium that is integrated into the convention center, but if we had a domed stadium would we be able to hold the events there so we can keep all conventions downtown and close the IX center to give Hopkins flexibility for whatever expansions it wants? Or would the footprint of usable event space still be too small in a football stadium. Also, I still think we should try to combine a new football stadium with a new soccer stadium; making it so the upper bowl is easily closed for smaller events.

GCP report takes a deep dive into Northeast Ohio's R&D ecosystem KIM PALMER May 15, 2023 09:00 AM https://www.crainscleveland.com/government/greater-cleveland-reported-nearly-4-billion-rd-activity

An interesting perspective from Mark Rosentraub who was a professor and dean at Cleveland State University's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and helping to rewrite the leases for the Cavaliers and Indians when he sat on the Gateway Economic Redevelopment Corp and is currently a professor of sports management and director of the Center for Sports Venues & Real Estate Development at the University of Michigan. Stadium development expert: Cleveland Browns Stadium should be replaced, not renovated JOE SCALZO May 15, 2023 05:45 AM First question and Mark's response https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-business/mark-rosentraub-cleveland-browns-stadium-should-be-replaced

Looked like some work was done on the site at the southeast corner of Madison and Marlow. Looked like the soil was just turned over, so not sure if it was just done to keep it from becoming over grown. But anyone know if there is a project moving forward there? I think townhomes were supposed to be going in there.

Euclid Beach Pier Revived "It’s been said that history is carved in stone, but at the newly opened Euclid Beach Pier, it’s made from ironwork. Local artist Brinsley Tyrrell depicts three different eras of Euclid Beach Park across a trio of arches dotting the 315-foot pier: the original dance hall, the iconic amusement park and an homage to the park’s natural beauty with birds, butterflies and people fishing. Since opening at the end of May, the $2.5-million project has become a popular spot thanks to its spectacular lakefront views, a selfie-worthy Destination Cleveland sign and relaxing swimming area. “[The pier] is an amenity that had been in the park and fallen into disrepair,” says Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman. “And it’s a unique chance for Clevelanders, young and old, to connect with their past and really think to the future of the park.”" https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/euclid-beach-pier-revived

I found this map on the Summit Memory site. From that site, Description: A map of central Akron circa 1960s showing the area of the city that was removed for the Innerbelt with overlays of the Innerbelt roadway, urban renewal areas and current day buildings. Creator: City of Akron Contributor: Akron-Summit County Public Library

@Ethan here are the posts from yanni I was referring to.

I think the problem is the former innerbelt land is more than a couple feet below grade of the streets you've identified. @yanni_gogolak mentioned in another thread the height difference that we would have to work with. I agree with you though, rethinking the street design makes sense to maximize the land use here. Anyone have any maps or picture of this area before the innerbelt went in?

Ken identified 5605 and 5484 Broadway Ave, can you tell us the other 2 slated for demo?

Building off what I was saying above, Litt included this mockup of a central Square redesign I really like this design as it alludes to what I think should be the other area of focus of the Square's redesign. Litt talks about BBC's successful efforts to revitalize Larchmere just to the north and how they are now turning their attention to the Buckeye Rd business corridor just to the south. The multi-use trail would create a north-south connection between these three areas. Ideally the trail would connect to the Shaker Parklands.

I found this section interesting; The Square basically functions like a traffic circle, right? I don't understand how interrupting the flow around the circle to allow the thru traffic on Shake Blvd would cause gridlock or confusion... I would also think removing the central sections of Shaker Blvd would make it safer for pedestrians to navigate, especially during events in the central square. Which, speaking of, you would have 2 larger green spaces to work with instead of 4 smaller ones giving you more flexibility with what you can do there.

I posted a couple days ago in the general Akron development thread that Jason Segedy was leaving his position as Planning and Urban Development Director to be replaced by Thomas Tatum, this is what Segedy left to do. The Knight foundation has donated $20M towards the total $42M project, leaving $22M for the University of Akron to raise to begin the project. Jason Segedy leaves Akron city government to focus on UofA's Polsky Building DAN SHINGLER May 04, 2023 04:04 PM https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/akrons-planning-director-leaves-join-citys-university