BuckeyeNative

For those who are "in the know", a question I have on both the Tower City and Riverview developments: Since Bedrock is committed to developing both properties, how do they plan on the two complementing each other? So far, what we've heard from Bedrock is that Riverview will have a retail component to it in addition to the 2,000+ residential units. What type of retail are we expecting this to be, and how will the redevelopment of Tower City's retail presence not be redundant? Here's one idea I had: What if the Riverview development featured the more prominent retail presence while Tower City tailored itself more towards the everyday needs of both downtown Cleveland residents and commuters frequenting the underground station? These offerings could include an urban Target (for groceries and pharmacy needs), grab-and-go convenience stores such as Amazon Go, and retailers that focused on other everyday or travel needs? Ideally, I'm envisioning something that resembles the Union Stations you'd find in Washington D.C. or Kansas City. You could even lure the Downtown Cleveland group into moving their visitors center from East 4th St to Tower City, especially if we ever get the Amtrak or CVSR in there. Would be interested to hear what the rest of the site thought. Edit: or, here's a really radical idea: scrap the majority of the retail from Tower City altogether and reinvent it into an entertainment destination. Bring in a lot of the attractions you'd find at places such as the Mall of America or the American Dream Mall. A few examples could be the return of the movie theater (B&B Theatres is know for its high-end urban theaters), exhibits such as SeaLife or a LEGOLand Discovery Center, and other high-tech attractions like Puttshack, Fly Over America, Activate, or the Paradox Museum. Heck, put a ferris wheel where the fountains are in the main atrium. Get creative with it and build something that would attract people to Tower City both locally and regionally.

Yeah, I like the idea of local businesses/restaurants as opposed to national chains. Ideally, Tower City will return to being the “hub” of downtown Cleveland if/when Amtrak comes into play and anyone coming in from the airport. For many, Tower City is their first impression of Cleveland. In my opinion, better to show of local flairs instead of establishments they’ve seen a thousand times.

I think Cleveland would at least get one. Pretty much every cold weather city that built a dome (Detroit, Indy, Minneapolis) got a “token” Super Bowl. If the Browns and the city could get the NFL to commit to a Super Bowl, I think that’d go a long way towards not only making the new stadium happen, but progressing the lakefront development as well.

Agreed on all points. I particularly liked your comment about connecting downtown- suddenly, the lakefront (plus a potential Burke green space should it close), Cleveland State University, the Gateway District, and the CBD + riverfront are all interconnected. Also, you’d have to think that this would most likely reopen the RTA’s Waterfront Line and perhaps even expedite a potential expansion to CSU.

Also, one question I have that wasn’t necessarily addressed in the article (or perhaps I overlooked it), If the Browns decide to build a new stadium near the area that KJP discussed, what does that mean for the lakefront development? Would Haslam/the city still go through with it?

I think that was someone else riding Ken’s tweet and using it to collect views/attention. I didn’t read anything in his actual Tweets that implied it was negative, although that’s what I inferred based on everything else that was on Twitter.

My guess, based on the tidbits I’ve seen so far: Haslam wants/wanted the the St. Clair Avenue that @KJP alluded to last year in this article. Instead, the city rejected his idea and they’re moving onto Plan B. Is that the Main Post Office? On the lake at the current site? Somewhere completely different? I guess we’ll have to find out! Edit: I could also seen him using the lakefront plans as leverage for a new stadium, as someone mentioned above. That would be disappointing.

Great news! I wish it was planning to use more brick to blend in with the surrounding landscape, but a welcomed development nonetheless.

Agree with this 100%. I think it’d be cool to turn B&O into some sort of historical museum to complement the rail expansion at Tower City, but not sure who would operate/pay for that.

I think it’s something interesting to consider, and perhaps the Riverfront development could complement Tower City. For example, potential retail options on the street-level riverfront vacancies could be tailored to the new apartment residents while Tower City could be a mix of transit-centric retail and high-end retail with the new influx of high-income individuals.

Great post, thanks for sharing. When you see it from this angle, the Bedrock riverfront plan makes the city look MUCH larger, especially with those 500-ft buildings. Great synergy between the east and west ends of downtown. Will be fun to see if/when the lakefront, the former nuCLEus site, and the speculated ballpark village gets developed as well.

If you click on the Cleveland.com story in the quoted message above you, they attached the slides from the presentation to the article.

Is a new RTA transfer hub part of the plan? I’ve only been able to go off the renderings, haven’t seen the full document yet. That would be great!

I like the idea of an amphitheater where the buildings are at near the courthouse. Unlike the others that are directly lined up with the streets, those look a little out of place and, in my opinion, more green space/outdoor activities would be great. Plus, who knows if there will be enough demand for those additional buildings? Also, I agree with you regarding JACK in the Higbee Building. I’d love to see an urban Target or a similar grocery and retailer move in and have the city’s casino help fill in the riverfront development. Just my opinion, though.

I’m still curious as to how they’re going to extend the Plaza from Tower City along Prospect and/or Huron. I thought I read about having to remove or modify part of the mall area… may someone elaborate on this? TIA.

I haven’t followed this development so I apologize if I’m overlooking something, but have there been any plans to redevelop the shopping mall portion of Erieview? It takes up a lot of real estate downtown, but not sure what they could do with it…

I know it's been discussed on here before... but has there ever been discussion on changing the university's name as part of the ongoing changes? I don't have much place to speak since I'm not an alum, but I think something like the University of Cleveland would be nice.

I apologize if this has already been posted elsewhere; mods feel free to remove this if that’s the case. New county executive Chris Ronayne is proposing renovating the lower level of the Veterans Memorial Bridge where street cars used to travel. The idea would be to convert it into a pedestrian/bike-only path (similar to NYC’s High Line) that would help connect Ohio City and the West Side to downtown. This could complement the eventual Irishtown Bend Park quite well since one would lead directly to the other if on foot or bike. Also, attached here is a 2011 study done by the NOACA on essentially the same idea with images on how it would co-exist with the Irishtown Bend Park. They projected it to cost $11.4m at the time, but I’d imagine the cost would be higher today.

According to this article, Kofi Bonner was hopeful Adjaye could have a “preliminary vision” completed within 90-100 days. The interview was done on April 15th, so we could anticipate news in mid-late July. Going off what Bonner said, there’d also be some public meetings held by Bedrock, Adjaye, and Mayor Bibb following that.

It sounds like Kaulig is involved with the investment group to satisfy having a local partner (since Blitzer is not) and he already has a working relationship with the Guardians organization. I’d question what his actual role will be in the group.

Thought this was worth mentioning- the Guardians welcomed Blitzer “and his investment group” today. The official press release did not specifically mention HBSE by name, though. EDIT: local businessman Matt Kaulig is also part of the group. Does anyone know anything on him as it pertains to Cleveland development?

Thanks for the response, this was very helpful!

(Potentially) dumb question: in your opinion, how many more buildings are there downtown that could be converted to housing? Your article about the updates on the latest three conversion projects had me wondering if we’re getting to a point where new construction may be the “only” option. The only “big fish” remaining I can think of is the current Sherwin-Williams HQ in a few years. Maybe some space within the Tower City complex as well?

My (very naive) perspective: I think it’d have the convenience of being on/connected to the lakefront while opening up the entire lakefront for development. It also wouldn’t require the Browns to take away multiple blocks from, say, St. Clair Avenue just to build a stadium.

The other concern I’d have is whether it would eat into the Great Lakes Science Center. It looks like it’d be cutting it close.