Luke_S

From my understanding of what was reported, as much of the building will be demolished as is needed to complete the stabilization work while allowing the billboard to remain on the site. Once the stabilization work is completed the remaining structure will be demolished and a new building will be build, the article stated a 3,000 sqft building with a 17,000 sqft patio. And a new billboard will be erected.

Crains has more details of the deal with the Georges: "The Georges under the agreement will grant a temporary construction easement to the port, immediately allowing for the demolition of “a portion of the building located on the property,” according to the resolution voted on by board members. The front wall of the building and the billboard will remain until the sign is replaced by three smaller billboards in other locations. The port will contribute $360,000 to an agreed-upon $1.25 million total settlement payment. That money already is in escrow as part of the eminent domain case. The remaining $890,000 will be come from “project partners” unnamed in the resolution. The particulars of that part of the agreement are “still in discussion,” said Maria Bocadnegra, chief legal officer for the port. Under the settlement, the Georges ultimately will donate the real estate to an affiliate of West Creek Conservancy. They’ll be the operators, but not the owners, of a new restaurant on the corner built by “one or more project partners,” according to the agreement." https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/port-cleveland-board-oks-deal-bobby-tony-george

For those who maybe don't know the industry as well, what are your thoughts on this hire?

Signal Cleveland with a look at Cleveland's employment recovery from the pandemic. We had been trending very well until January, hopefully that is just an aberration and not a reversal of our strong recovery. The Land takes a look at an effort for Cleveland to be more accommodating to entrepreneurs who do not yet have citizenship. This is what Greater Cleveland’s economy looks like during the pandemic recovery The metro area’s unemployment rate has sometimes been lower than that of Ohio and the U.S., and the racial unemployment gap has narrowed. by Olivera Perkins and April Urban https://signalcleveland.org/this-is-what-greater-clevelands-economy-looks-like-during-the-pandemic-recovery/ Welcome to Cleveland: a new path for international entrepreneurs to build businesses here BY MANDY KRAYNAK https://thelandcle.org/stories/welcome-to-cleveland-a-new-path-for-international-entrepreneurs-to-build-businesses-here/

Not that I like these lots being underutilized, but the owners may have better reason to think the value of these lots do increase in the near-term between the completion of Irishtown Bend and the planned redesign of W25th here. If the value increases enough maybe the Clinic would be willing to lease the air rights over their lot for development so they can retain their parking and we can get some density.

The Smith Group, who ran the meeting and will be designing the improvements, admitted as much in the planning meeting that the coastal conditions make certain designs impractical. Also in the meeting they said the pictures weren't for direct inspiration, but more for the community to begin thinking about the different options available and what may be possible. What they hoped to take away from the survey are styles and designs that were popular to pull together a proposal. They said an email would be sent to participants in about 6 weeks for the next in person meeting where some more designs specific to Lakewood Park would be presented. I can update with that detail once that email comes through.

Survey for Lakewood Park lake access planning: Here Survey will be open for about 2 weeks.

From the article it sounds like the plans will include, at least, a pier. It would be nice to have a place to fish in Lakewood, but it sounds like they are entertaining a more expansive plan. The city will be holding information sessions, the first on Wednesday, March 22, at 6pm via teams--Information Sessions Details Lakewood examining Lake Erie accessibility with feasibility study Published: Mar. 20, 2023, 7:59 a.m. By John Benson, special to cleveland.com https://www.cleveland.com/community/2023/03/lakewood-examining-lake-erie-accessibility-with-feasibility-study.html

Seems like a win-win. Decreases the city's obligations and allows Metroparks to create a more coherent park with better access for the community here. Cleveland looks to lease rest of Gordon Park to Metroparks Published: Mar. 10, 2023, 4:06 p.m. By Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com "CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city of Cleveland will consider adding the portion of Gordon Park that’s south of the Shoreway to the city’s long-term lakefront lease with the Cleveland Metroparks. ... Under proposed changes to that 2013 lease agreement, Mayor Justin Bibb is looking to allow the Metroparks to operate the remainder of Gordon Park, which is about 48 acres and runs between East 72nd Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The move would essentially double the Metroparks’ presence in that part of the city, as the East 55th Street Marina and the northern portion of Gordon Park, both covered under the existing lease, comprise about 49 acres." https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2023/03/cleveland-looks-to-lease-rest-of-gordon-park-to-metroparks.html

For anyone interested, West Creek Conservancy is partnering with Bike Cleveland for a 15 mile / 2 hour tour of Mill Creek on June 3 at Garfield Reservation. Tickets are free, but you need to reserve a spot. You can get your tickets and more details on the ride here. If you're interested in more of these tours West Creek has a whole hike tour series this summer (full listing here).

Irishtown Bend construction could begin this summer as Port of Cleveland hires firm to oversee project "The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s board approved a $3.6 million contract Thursday morning with civil engineering firm Wade Trim, Inc., to oversee the project. The port will go out to bid in April for a construction team, according to Linda Sternheimer, the agency’s director of urban planning and engagement. ... The port has warned that the unstable hillside could pose a danger to people and shipping traffic on the river. The agency has spent years raising money for the $54 million project, which will steady the hillside and turn the land into a public park. ... Meanwhile, the port and Metroparks together have spent at least $1.6 million in a lengthy court battle with businessman Tony George over a piece of land atop the hill. George and his son Bobby own a vacant building and large billboard at West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue." https://signalcleveland.org/irishtown-bend-construction-could-begin-this-summer-as-port-of-cleveland-hires-firm-to-oversee-project/

Yes, Householder was corrupt, its why First Energy colluded with him on this entire bribery scheme. I am not conflating two disparate issues, they are directly linked as evidenced by the conviction of Householder today. HB6 got First Energy their $1B bailout which is what they spend the $60M in bribes on. Sure, Democrats could have, and probably should have, not voted for a speaker and let Republicans eat themselves, but it was only a small majority of Republicans that didn't want Householder (34-26), and its not like he won with more Democratic support than Republican support (26). Also, and again, First Energy's entire effort was to get Householder elected speaker. Given the pressure campaigns they conducted against the repeal efforts they likely would have twisted some Republican arms, or paid off more Republicans than they already had, to get their guy in the Speaker's chair. Yes, he had due process rights... in court. The House can choose to expel members as they see fit. I would think the largest bribery scheme in the state's history would fit... If he was as unpopular as you say I would have thought the other Republicans in the House would have jumped at a legitimate opportunity to be rid of him. It is just not a fact that he "never would have been there" if Democrats didn't vote for him. You might believe that to be true, but it does not make it so.

I'm not sure I see the relevance here. First Energy didn't spend $60M to not get Householder elected Speaker.... Householder is the one who took the bribe and got other Republicans elected. It was Republicans that were in the majority that passed HB6. It continues to be Republicans that are in the majority that refuse to repeal the corrupt bill. And it took Republicans almost a year after the indictment to expel Householder from the House... The Ohio Democratic party has its own faults, but these are the kind of problems you get with single party rule. This would have happened, with or without Democratic participation.

Could make a nice extension of the Acacia Reservation... and also be a strategic acquisition to position for the absorption of the Mayfield Sand Ridge golf club if that was ever to fold.

Last I saw news on it was December of 2021, supposed to open some time in 2022. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cleveland.com/community/2021/12/cleveland-bagel-co-announces-new-lakewood-location-on-detroit-avenue.html%3foutputType=amp

Since we're on the topic of delayed Lakewood projects, anyone have an update on Cleveland Bagel's Lakewood location?

Akron receives $960,000 Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program grant to transform Innerbelt Published: Mar. 06, 2023, 2:49 p.m. By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2023/03/akron-receives-960000-reconnecting-communities-pilot-program-grant-to-transform-innerbelt.html

From someone who turned 18 immediately following the 2010 elections, this is spiteful. I had no say in what went on at that time and I continue to have no say in the state government due to anti-democratic policies. Democrats were wrong to oppose anti-gerrymandering laws then. How does it make it okay for Republicans to oppose those same efforts now?

FWIW Akron MRTA owns some of the rail right of ways that run through the city. Importantly, Akron owns the line that runs between Akron and Canton (that passes CAK Airport) and a portion north of Akron towards Hudson. According to the maps Ken included it appears to be a lower quality rail line that would require significant improvements before it could accommodate passenger rail. But city ownership of the line should make prioritization of passenger rail easier, right? Rail right-of-way map with good detail of ownership and number of trains/day: https://ohiodot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=82f597df8411453cafb18d62c371bc47

@Dino, thanks for the detailed breakdown. I guess I just don't quite agree that the momentum was driven primarily by Haslam and the Browns. I know his plan seemed to reignited the discussions of redevelopment here, but at the time that the lakefront studies on the Shoreway, land-bridge, and Burke were announced there seemed to be broader support from the business community. And as @CleveFan points out, there should be infrastructure money available for at least some parts of these projects. If the multimodal Amtrak station is part of the land-bridge we should be able to leverage financing for that. There are also funds available for the removal of urban highways which could probably be taken advantage of for the Shoreway realignment. You're probably right that the city would be more willing to take on these infrastructure improvements if a developer was ready to begin development as soon as those improvements were done. But I think the city can be relatively secure in thinking that with improved access this will be pretty quickly developed. And I'm not sure why Haslam would walk away from it just because the stadium isn't there, he stands to make money either way.

That's fair, my assumption (maybe a big assumption) was that the surrounding area would see an influx of development that would clear out those other buildings in the process.

I don't understand the pretty consistent refrain here that if the stadium is moved off the lakefront then developing that area is, at least, significantly delayed. The stadiums presence hasn't spurred any development, and sure the absence of the stadium wont do anything to incentivize development either, but the rerouting of the Shoreway and construction of the land-bridge are city lead have backers beyond the Haslam's and the Browns. Those two developments are what will get the lake front developed. Removing the stadium just gives a developer a totally blank slate to work with and ~20 extra acres to get a return on their investment. As far as new locations for a stadium; I'm not a big fan of Lakeside Ave. There are a lot of cool old warehouses that should be redeveloped for reuse, I don't see a stadium supporting that sort of organic growth and worry that a lot would be torn down to build up some new hotels. I prefer the old post office location. And if Jimmy is worried about how disconnected it is from the city I know one obstacle that could be removed to improve connectivity... (kidding, kind of, don't want to derail this thread).

Top Trumps to release a Cleveland edition of Monopoly. They are looking for suggestions from Clevelanders on which locations they should include. I can't think of a better qualified group. You can email suggestions to the following email address [email protected] Do not pass Go: Cleveland themed Monopoly game on the board for this fall FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2023 https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/street-level/ClevelandMonopoly022423.aspx

The concerns may be legitimate, and that may be a reason the Superior Midway project should be reworked. That does not mean the State should block all center-lane bike infrastructure in the three Cs. Its a bad policy Patton is proposing and his rational is worse.

Beyond the blatant disregard of home rule, Patton's position just doesn't make any sense. It sounds like he wants City Councils to be more responsive to their constituents, but if this is put in place and the constituents do want this bike infrastructure, the city wont be able to. Can someone help me make this make sense? Its also rich that Patton uses a project not in his district (not even an adjacent district) as a problem in search of a solution. Then there's Edwards' comments... I'm not arguing that the rural areas shouldn't get any funding, but there's a reason the three C's get the bulk of ODOT funding--most of the tax revenue comes from these areas and the infrastructure is, by definition, more dense here. I'll take his word that 90% of the state is rural, but what percentage of the state lives there? What is the per capita cost of these rural highways going to be and what will the ROI be? My guess is high and low, which makes for not a great use of public tax dollars. Not that there aren't other potential benefits that could make these projects worth it, just not sure those would necessarily require their own special fund.