bigriverburning

87.7 Cleveland Sound is now broadcasting from the Agora. Check it out.

Dunham Tavern paints half the building at a time due to budget. They may be doing more this time because they just re-installed the gutter and downspout system. If you are referring to 7000 Euclid Ave., renovations are underway. The envelope should be complete late summer and possible occupancy in late November. The first tenant could be the Space Laboratory Associates (SLA) depending on who NASA awards the ISS research contract to.

We are hoping that this project lands at 7000 Euclid Ave. which would connect one of the gaps between Baker Electric and the MidTown Tech Park. I encourage anyone interested to follow up with a letter to Mr. Bolden.

Freshwater Article on MidTown's annual meeting... midtown leaders say health tech corridor is gaining momentum THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011 When construction finally wrapped up in 2008 on the Euclid Corridor, civic leaders felt triumphant. The $200 million project to redevelop crumbling Euclid Avenue -- once dubbed "Millionaire's Row" for its opulent, turn-of-the-century mansions -- would spur economic development and connect downtown with University Circle, they believed. http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/midtownannualmeeting061611.aspx

ODOT move to close I-90 East link with Carnegie Avenue rankles Cleveland's Midtown officials http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/post_473.html

Sorry that it's been so long since I last updating this thread. I'll try to post additional neighborhood news as it becomes available. In the meantime check out our latest video that debuted at our annual meeting last week.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/man_killed_in_west_side_shooti.html Yup

Help MidTown Cleveland, Inc. save the Carnegie and Prospect Avenue access ramps from closure! The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has proposed a final Cleveland Innerbelt reconstruction plan that will eliminate the Carnegie and Prospect Avenue ramps that provide vital access and connections to the business districts, institutions and neighborhoods they serve. This plan will be discussed at a public hearing on the Cleveland Innerbelt Project on Tuesday, April 21 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 2187 West 14th St., in the Tremont neighborhood. MidTown Cleveland, Inc. supports the use of Federal American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to begin construction of a new Innerbelt bridge, repair of the existing bridge and commence the planning for the Opportunity Corridor linking I-490 with University Circle. However, MidTown Cleveland, Inc. does not support the current ODOT Innerbelt Trench Design Alternative which eliminates the Carnegie and Prospect Avenue ramp system for the following reasons: In November 2007, the Cleveland community, including government, business, community groups, and major institutions reached "complete consensus" in support of maintaining a direct Carnegie Avenue exit ramp from the Innerbelt. This was part of a community compromise and based on the belief that an omission of a Carnegie ramp from the final design would have a significant adverse economic and social impact on the community. This request of the community was rejected earlier this year by ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). We believe the current ODOT Trench plan does not take into consideration the future economic growth of the Central Business District, MidTown Urban District and Greater University Circle Area. Maintaining direct and multiple Innerbelt access points to these primary business districts is vital to the current and future growth of Cleveland and the region. As a result of the planned growth, the elimination of multiple and direct freeway access will place significant burden on the City of Cleveland street system. The ODOT plan does not adequately address how the local city streets will be modified to handle the additional traffic and who will pay for the street improvements necessary to prevent gridlock off the freeway. On Tuesday, April 21, MidTown Cleveland, Inc. will be calling for ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to allow for the Trench segment of the Innerbelt Project to be separated out from the Draft Environmental Impact Study (E.I.S.) approval process. This will allow the priority phases of the reconstruction project, such as the new bridge, to move forward while maintaining the City of Cleveland's economic viability through development of an acceptable Innerbelt Trench design. How you can help: Attend the public hearing on the Cleveland Innerbelt Project on Tuesday, April 21 to let your voice be heard If you cannot make the public hearing, call Jim Haviland at 216-391-5080, ext. 104 to express your thoughts, which can be communicated at the hearing. Write a letter about how you feel this decision would affect you and send it to Craig Hebebrand, the Cleveland Urban Core Projects Manager at the Ohio Department of Transportation, via email, [email protected] Make a comment about the Innerbelt project online by May 21. These comments will then be considered for the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).The proposed plan can also be viewed at MidTown Cleveland, Inc.'s office. Learn more by reading cleveland.com's latest article on the Innerbelt plans and pass it along to friends and colleagues. Thank you for your support. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please call MidTown Cleveland, Inc.'s office at 216-391-5080.

Definitely not a high point. I'd only be speculating as to sticking points because we never received any official feedback. I think that E. 57th is still a little distant from campus at least emotionally. The programming need of the clinic was extremely large. It seemed as if there was some concern about fitting that particular use on the 57th to 61st blocks that may have resulted in a need to relocate an RTA route.

We are having extensive discussion with groups like the Port Authority, BioEnterprise, the Cleveland Foundation, the medical institutions and others in what should be in MidTown and how that can be best accomplished. Challenges range from uses that may not be contributory to the vision of the neighborhood or don't adequately address zoning that is in place to promote TOD. I'm always open to suggestion, so if you've got ideas I'd love to hear from you off-forum.

Advertising... not so much. If you saw our marketing budget you'd understand. We have had ongoing discussion with neighboring organizations regarding increasing ridership on the corridor. In terms of promotion, there isn't a conversation that I have with a prospective business/investor/resident that doesn't start with "MidTown has a brand new 220 million dollar infrastructure investment that connects downtown to UC". Board members and community stakeholders have blogged about the tangible benefits of being on the line. We also contributed information to Steve Litt's article on the line titled "Rebirth". The link to that post appears to be broken currently or I would post it. MidTown has worked and is working with RTA to make sure that the environment surrounding the stations are well maintained. One of the draws of the neighborhood is access to employment base via public transit. We are fairly well serviced by RTA with the main lines being the healthline and the 2 on E. 55th. Other than mass transit, we are fortunate to have the bike lanes on Euclid. A fair number of cyclists take advantage of that but I haven't seen a count. We certainly consider these modes of transit (in addition to walking) in our planning. The hard number is around 15. With only a couple exceptions the projects that have started on Euclid in the past 2 years have at least in part named the HL as a reason for making a location/investment decision. There are 6 biggies currently. 4 commercial, 1 residential/office mixed use and a residential only. I'm interpreting on the board as meaning proposals that have identified locations that are seeking financing not with confirmed starts.

FYI... Help keep MidTown beautiful this spring! Join your MidTown friends and neighbors on Saturday, May 2 for the annual Spring Beautification Day from 9 a.m. to noon. Register as a team or as an individual to hit the streets, enjoy the spring air and help our neighborhood stay clean and safe. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m. with coffee and donuts at MidTown Cleveland's Offices, located at 4019 Prospect Ave. Click here for a registration form or register online. Please return all forms by April 29. For more information, contact Diane Dunleavy at 216-391-5080, extension 101.

The neighborhood has great potential. There are some expansions coming up (hopefully) of some well known neighborhood stakeholders, key pieces of real estate are currently controlled by MidTown or partners, the infrastructure investment on Euclid is complete and running and despite the economy we still receive calls for needed space. It's not all peaches... we're working hard to maintain access to the innerbelt, land prices (contrary to popular belief) are between $350,000 and $500,000 per acre and there are always challenges to the zoning, master plan and stakeholder vision for the area. We'll see...

Some introduction is probably a good idea. I am the assistant director of MidTown Cleveland, Inc. My primary responsibilities include real estate development, planning, visual quality (i.e. design review) and land assembly. MidTown Cleveland was founded in 1983 by the businesses in the area to combat crime and blight as well as market the area as a business district. The neighborhood is generally the area between CSU and the Cleveland Clinic but our service area is defined by the innerbelt on the west, Payne Ave. to E. 55th down to Chester to E. 79th on the north, E. 79th on the east and Cedar Ave. on the south (see attached graphic). We have approximately 650 businesses and institutions with around 18,000 employees in the neighborhood. The organization has 5 major areas of focus: master planning, aesthetics/visual quality, crime/safety, land assembly and marketing/branding. Hopefully this generates some interesting and useful discussion.

I meant to put this under City Discussion. Can one of the moderators help me out?

If I've learned anything about UO it's that the moderators like to keep topics focused and on track. I'm starting this thread in order to more efficiently respond to MidTown neighborhood related questions and to post news and event info. If there are carryover topics from other threads post it here and I'll try to get back to it. Thanks!

I would not rule out buildings on that corner completely but there are some existing conditions that need to be remedied. The sanitary lateral from Cleveland Canvas Goods (neighbor to the north) runs beneath the foundation of the Cobb & Bradley building. Neither this particular decision to demolish nor MidTown's master plan occured in a vacuum. I appreciate your passion for saving historic structures and welcome any ideas to preserve and re-use existing stock. As you know, the challenge in mothballing is maintaining to some acceptable standard that allows for future redevelopment but does not endanger the public. The problem is systemic. As a neighborhood "steward", we work everyday to make the area desirable for existing businesses, attracting new business/development while working with the infrastructure we have. The challenges we face include the perception of dilapidated structures and disinvestment, mass exodous from the urban core, competition with green field development, expensive redevelopment and clean-up. Those realities are compounded by competing interests of RTA, the City, Cuyahoga County, ODOT, the state, neighboring CDC's, philanthropic organizations, neighoborhood businesses and residents. Believe me, I share your pain in lamenting the loss of two great buildings in the place that I work everyday. The sad fact is that until we as a city, region, state and country decide that the advantages of urban investment outweigh sprawl we will continue to lose. There are bright spots in MidTown. The Baker Electric Motor Car and Victory buildings at E. 71st and Euclid, the mansions in the historic Prospect Ave. district, 4415 Euclid Ave., the Center for Families and Children, the Agora and others demonstrate that re-use is possible, even profitable. The vacant land between 55th and 79th is governed by the only form based zoning code in the city. There are density, set back and use requirments that seek to recreate a vibrant urban district. MidTown's local design review has consolidated with University Circle establishing a single design review district between the Inner Belt and eastern edge of the city along the Euclid Corridor. Property values on the corridor are some of the highest in the County. The medical institutions to the east are rapidly exanding and we may soon have a one of a kind facility downtown to further grow the healthcare sector. I can tell you that the developers that were approached about redevelopment here were smaller shops and I'm sure that there was probably a use out there that was not considered that would have worked. Unfortunately, we ran out of time here. The city is conducting the demo based on a 2004 condemnation. Sorry for the rambler. Hope this makes some sense. I'm in between obligations here...

In an effort to open MidTown's community dialogue beyond our stakeholders I'll attempt to take a page out of jmasek's book and address the concerns of UO'ers as a MidTown employee. I can assure you that we made every effort to attract a development partner for the rehabilitation of the Cobb & Bradley building and Euclid Hotel. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons not the least of which is the difficulty in converting those buildings in to marketable space (be it residential, office or otherwise). The bike park concept was the brainchild of an intern that worked here a few years ago. The idea was unique, exciting and was very well received by the cyclist community. Support for the concept was recieved from the MidTown business community as well as the City. The prognosis for this project is not good at the moment. Current conditions and other neighborhood priorities always result in a reexamination of the master plan. This is the beauty behind planning... the plans constantly evolve. The specifics for this site have changed and the precise end use may also but the general theme of public space can be maintained. I will try to answer any questions you all might have regarding this project and any other MidTown related issues. There are some legal concerns surrounding this particular demolition so I may have to defer but will be as open as possible.

Robin Yates owns the Brownstone Inn (B&B on Prospect... see link for contact info). He also owns the Esmond Apartment building next to the Agora on Euclid. I believe that many of those units are furnished if not all. He has plenty of experience working with folks coming from abroad. I recommend giving him a call. He is a great resource for local rentals. http://www.brownstoneinndowntown.com/

My personal favorite soundbite... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs_TgxMlUdA His comments on infrastructure spending start around minute 5. Apologies if already posted elsewhere

The only two places that I'm aware of within 4 hours of Cincy are Perfect North and Mad River Mountain. The best way to get to good skiing in Ohio is to drive straight to CVG and catch a flight west... I'd consider taking up x-country if I were you. If you want to get to decent conditions by car you have to commit to driving to NY, WV, PA or Boyne in MI. My personal fav within driving distance is Canaan Valley and Timberline near Davis, WV. Never lines and decent runs for the Appalachians. Local skiing is done on ice on very short hills with top end vertical at 600 or 700 ft. Our humid climate lends itself to dense wet snow that doesn't fair well in the freeze thaw cycle. Out west elevations go up to 14,000 ft with a few thousand ft of vertical, miles long runs on dry powdery snow. The good news about learning in the east is that any conditions that you encounter out west will be "hero snow" in comparison.

Perhaps the transaction was for the ownership entity of the property and not the land itself. In that case there would be no transfer of title.

I used to work at a drain and gutter place on Indianola in the late 90's that doubled as a wind-surfing shop. There was a great greasy spoon breakfast place next door. Either of those places still there?