Htsguy

Somebody a few weeks back reflected that, given the height of the building and the fact it was on lower ground it would not even be seen on the skyline to any great extent. I repied by indicating that I could see the top of the crane at night and during the day from various far off vantage points including both directions on 90 from the far east and west, including the inner belt bridge (and of course the shoreway). Want to add I-77 to that. I was coming from the south a few days ago on 77 and the crane was pretty prominent on the skyline. Of course one of the reasons for that is that there is nothing tall in the general vicinity.

^I find that somewhat strange...unless I was getting a fantastic lease rate and the landlord paid for my build out, I would never sign a lease for just one year.

^^^Not to go off topic...but what stores are at Crocker Park that do not exist on the east side? I cannot think of anything major that somebody would travel 50 miles for.

^Even if this is true, what percentage of these people are interested in shopping? Don't know...just asking.

I use to shop at Tower City for 50-60% of my purchases in the first 7-8 years it was open. My Christmas shopping was always exclusively downtown at that time. Currently, I would say it has been 7-8 years since I bought anything at Tower City (other than the food court) and that was probably a card at a card shop. I do not have to see Fendi, Gucci or Calvin Kein reopening to shop their again. Just some middle of the road stores that you find at Beachwood Place since I would rather shop downtown than in the burbs. A handful of nice independents would be great since I tend to patronize local, but I don't see that happening.

^I don't have this Gucci view of the typical casino patron...more cargo short, baseball caps and little old ladies in Sears pant suits.

^the middle to high left...that is why Forest City was left chasing these types of stores

^Interesting...although I cannot see Gap expanding ANYWHERE right now let alone TC

^Read this thread for the answer to that.

Does not look like they will be expanding the Ritz but using the lower floors for casino administrative offices and support space.

^So do you also tease all your women like that. :-D

^I love Cincinnati's street car project and wish it the best of luck (and wish we had some similar projects going forward in Cleveland). I really think it will be a boon for city. That said...do you really think that the type of demographic that can afford downtown living rents is going to stand and wait in the bitter cold in January for a street car to do grocery shopping (both ways) and then lug multiple bags on the street car and then carry them from the stop to their apartment? I see this demographic hoping in their heated car and driving to the store in half the time and pulling in to their garage closer to the apartment. Many people have to out of necessity, but I don't see this as a choice from this demographic. I can actually speak from personal experience in this regard. I am a big advocate of public transportation and when I lived in the Height for years I would take the rapid downtown almost every day I did not need my car for a business meeting out of downtown. I did this even though it usually meant walking more than several blocks to my office. I then moved downtown to a building in the warehouse district with a heated garage 15 feet from the front door of my apartment. I worked on Playhouse Square, about a 10 minute bus ride (with traffic, red lights and stops for passengers) from the warehouse district. My firm offered free parking in a garage attached to the building. When I moved in I had every intention of walking to work in the summer (maybe a 15 minute walk) and take the bus in the winter. Well...I ended up driving (about 5 minutes) every day. Waiting 10 minutes or so for the bus in the cold (with another 10 minutes for the ride) got old when I could get to the office in 5 minutes by car. In the summer, even on a nice 70 degree day with a breeze, by the time I walked to the office in a suit carry a briefcase (and I was in very good shape), I was sweating like a...well you know what. Again, this is the experience of a embarrassed transit rider. Anyway, just saying..

About 12-14 years ago there was a Burrows (remember those) in the old NCB Building, right across the street from you. Isn't there an office supply store at Steelyard? (Although still not a quick walk like a imagine you are looking for). My guess is that an Office Max place does not believe they would do well downtown given the nature of the beast. The "store" version of Office Max, Staples etc tend to cater to the small business owner and home office worker who tend to be more in the burbs. Downtown is primarily big business who have their supplies delivered, often by companies that don't even have a brick and mortar retail outlets. Indeed, even when I worked at smaller law firms we had our supplies delivered. If downtown had a larger residential population (which would probably mean a greater number of people working out of their apartments) you might see a smaller office supply store pop up, but that could be said for any type of retail downtown, which is of course lacking in many categories.

Fantastic and a no brainer in my opinion for Am Trust....I would imagine, given the nature of the business, that a large percentage of their work force is young and they don't relish being stuck out in Seven Hills.

^As you describe West 3rd, I perceive some definite safety issues. That is a long curb cut watching for bus and auto traffic (and in connection with the parking garage, both in and out). I would avoid that sidewalk if I could (and I am not the type to walk down the street on talking on a cell phone or texting which is common place today). I don't know what the creative solution is here. Maybe a second floor balcony/walkway along the facing of the garage. But that does not seem practical. Who is going to climb up and down stairs just to walk a half a city block?

I am still not thrilled how this concept turns Superior into a dead zone, but I guess there is not much happening on the street any way from the bridge to pass Public Square, so it is not like it is going to destroy the urban fabric....the fact that Superior is so wide does not help the situation much either.

14 years is a significant amount of time in the restaurant business, especially an independent. Pure speculation on my part but maybe it was not the restaurant "running out of steam" (especially with the casino opening in two months) but the owner himself "running out of steam". It can get old after a while if you don't have a great support staff.

^Asbestos strikes again....I wonder if anybody had done a study how much this product has cost the US economy the past 30 years (judicial remedies, bankrupt companies, abatement in buildings to renovate or simply before they could be torn down, health costs just to name a few examples)....resources that could have been better spent I am sure (just think if all that $$$ had been applied to the US infrastructure)...not to get off topic.

I can see the top of the tower crane from various vantage points as I drive around town (eastbound on the shoreway, driving over the inner belt bridge, of course driving west on the shoreway) so I imagine it will be prominent, especially since it will be the only tall building in that area.

^You are 100% right...there is nothing that business wants that Kasich won't give them...my God the chamber of commerce and other corporate groups don't even have to waste money lobbying him (in my day that was called being in the pocket of...) I guess you think this is good on all fronts...I guess I will have to respectfully disagree. By the way, exactly how many governors does Ohio have (bright or otherwise)?

327...think about it...anybody young on a Friday at 12;30 was at work...the time frame was geared to an older demographic. And "orchestra donors" are not from the hinterlands but usually the Hts.

^Actually I think his "job" should be to be creative and find a way to come up with funding, or at least do his best.

I had dinner last night at Crop for the first time at its new Ohio City location (previously only had experienced it 3-4 time for lunch in the Warehouse District). Definitely give it thumbs up. I have to echo what has been stated previously concerning the noise level. The place was about 50% full and it hit us the minute we walked in. Makes sense giving the space and all the hard surfaces. However, I did not think it was a problem once you were at your table (or at least the table we were at-a two top against a wall). We were able to converse normally with no problem which is not the case at other restaurant's which have "noise issues" (such as Dantes in my experience). Maybe it is more of a problem if you have a table in the middle of the room or if it is totally full but again, it was not a problem for us. The food was great. Two apps, foie gras and a cheese plate and two entrees, short rib and Chipolte ribs were all super...no complaints with anything including sides. Portions are significant without being "stupid" (I heard the portions were nice sized so I didn't bother with a salad which I usually do). The dessert we got (flourless chocolate cake with a spicy ice cream) was just OK. In my opinion, for being a slightly higher end restaurant, service could have been a little more polished. It was not "bad" but there were minor lapses (from the host stand to the table) which started to add up a bit. Our server was very friendly...again she could have just been a bit more polished. The wine list is pretty extensive...while I did not study it, I would have liked to seen 7-8 more wines in the $40 price range. They're are many excellent wines in that range out there. They do seem to sell a lot of wine. We had a pretty good Pinot Noir which I had never tried before...unfortunately the server was not very helpful with the selection (again...the polish thing). All in all....will reccommend to all looking for good food. Now for my pet peeve rant....and this will of course show my age. I know dining out has become more casual the past 20 years, even at pricier restaurants. In my experience, this is not a Cleveland thing, but the trend nationwide. I have accepted it despite the fact I don't necessary agree and I go with the flow. If I am not already in a suit, I will simply wear a nice pair of slacks and dresser shirt at a place like Crop. I would prefer that there were places where you "dressed up" for dinner, but again those days are long gone. However, while a coat and tie is not the norm anymore, do try a bit. Now we are sitting in a nice space that is not particularly cheap (our bill for two with tip came to $170.00). Next to us were clearly two business dinners (2 five tops...all guys) and the guys were wearing suits or jackets without ties. Throughout the restaurant people were "generally" well dressed. Even if guys were wearing jeans, they were nice ones with stylish tops. However at the 2 top behind was "Dexter"...he was wearing a plaid flannel shirt with a thermal undershirt, the arms of the underwear exposed, torn jeans and tennis shoes. Kinda like the outfit I was wearing earlier in the day when I was cleaning out my gutters. A couple of backwards baseball caps at the bar did not add to the atmosphere either. I am glad my dad made an effort in the "old days" to teach me what was appropriate to wear at certain times and places. I don't know if those lessons are being taught these days. Okay, end of rant from the old guy.

^Many posters in this thread (including myself I am embarrased to say) have simply stated that Sears is a dying brand without elaborating or giving facts, just implying this is true based on perception. Your excellent post spells out why this is the case and makes total sense.

^Good post....odds are, in Cleveland, they would end up next door to Eaton on a hilltop looking at downtown in the far distance. :wink: