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Htsguy

Jeddah Tower 3,281'

Everything posted by Htsguy

  1. Glad to see that others on this board had the same reaction this article that I did. I was this close to sending e mails to the PD to tell them what a bs article it was (still might). The headline refers to "critics" and the article mentions "observers" (what sort of bs journalism is that) without mentioning any names. The people they quote (who don't have any interest in the eminent domain lawsuit) were probably contacted for the article so if they are critical (and the alledged criticism was really muted in my opinion) is was just because they were solicited not because there is a ground swell. Is the PD reporting news or creating news. If you read the FRONT PAGE headline you would have thought the public was massing at the Port Authority headquarters throwing rocks.
  2. Well put KJP. Agree with everything you noted.
  3. Htsguy replied to a post in a topic in Completed Projects
    ^I second the motion. Their furniture looks like it will fall apart in a gentle breeze.
  4. Htsguy replied to a post in a topic in Completed Projects
    I agree that the second level over Whole Food appears to be parking as I think there is a ramp in the back near the Boston Market. I also agree with J73 that the south side of Center Cedar does not look too promising so far. Not horrible but certainly not exciting and much less than I expected. It does seem there will not be an entrance to the Whole Foods (or only a small one) on Cedar or Warrensville despite all the windows. Developers continue to pay homage to the mighty auto even in areas where public transportation and pedestrian traffic is relatively strong like the intersection of Cedar and Warrensville. Also not thrilled with the pedestrians amenities of the center to date. Maybe things will be added in the spring but not expecting much. Have never really been impressed with anything Coral has done. I am very concerned that they are apparently interested in pursuing the project on the South Euclid side of Cedar.
  5. Htsguy replied to a post in a topic in Completed Projects
    May Day, I think we are on the same page. I agree with your analysis of vertical retail, especially on tight sites (have always been a big fan of Water Tower Place in Chicago). But if you are going to do it right you have to make it easy and enjoyable to get from floor to floor (both from a physical standpoint and visually) and I think (like all retail) you have to have a strong street presence. I was at first very excited when I saw University Square going up and saw how close it was to the street (Cedar Rd.) with generally no parking in front. As time went on I was then shocked to see that there we no entrances to the stores on Cedar and the only windows were bad display cases so you could not even see into the stores from Cedar. The building is just hulking as well and probably should have been designed with some sort of step back at higher levels or some other type of design element to break up the mass. Finally, the parking garage just kills me. It is so depressing and it is brand new (and getting from level to level in the garage is almost exhausting). UH really lost a great opportunity to do something great at that corner. I certainly hope for more vertical shopping in Cleveland, especially downtown. In fact I am sort of disappointed that the Avenue District did not decide to go with two levels of retail. I think it would have been cool to have some sort of centerpiece "staircase-elevator" at the corner of St. Clair and E. 12th with a covered second story promenade on 12th.
  6. Htsguy replied to a post in a topic in Completed Projects
    University Square is a mess and I cannot believe any one on this board embraces it. It is amazing University Hts allowed it to be built. The city must have absolutely no design review or was just desperate for new development. It is massive, ignores the street and pedestrians (no street entrances, you must enter stores from a dark, ugly and poorly built parking garage that clearly is not going to age well, and the vertical concept was poorly executed as it is hard to get from level to level. I am not surprised it still has such a high vacancy rate.
  7. Interesting that Stark and Wolstein are both going after Baker. You would think that Stark would have the advantage given the proximity of his site to the Justice Center and Federal Courthouse and other law firms (seems strange that a law firm would want to locate in the Flats so far away from the central business district and other large law firms and banks). However Wolstein is obviously much further along with his plans (even given the lawsuit) so he may have an advantage if Baker needs new digs by 2009. While Stark states he wants to start "something" in 2007, I find that hard to believe given all the work he probably has to do to get city approvals and just have construction drawings prepared which take quite some time. I not sure he even has a concrete concept yet (what goes where) let along drawings upon which a contractor can bid the work and start digging and nailing.
  8. I am interested in seeing what type of legal challenges the property owners can bring to contest the demolition permit approved by the Planning Commission. Also, I recently checked the court docket (I believe the hearing is now scheduled for sometime in mid Jan. after the December continuance) and observed from court filings that there have been numerous discovery battles. Without reading the briefs I really cannot determine what they are all about. The docket reveals that the Probate Court has mostly ruled in favor of the property owners in connection with the various motions. Don't believe this is a sign of what will happen on the merits. The lawyers are getting rich though. God Bless America.
  9. If Coral is doing Hazel Drive I hope there is significant over sight by UCI. Nothing they have done to date that I am aware of makes much of an impression on me and they are slow (actually, propably just cautious, which makes sense for a development firm).
  10. ^Yes. Tesco constructed Phase 1 (my Phase). The developer used a different builder (better price) for Phase 2 and I believe is going to use a third builder for Phase 3 which is currently scheduled to break ground in the spring.
  11. I believe Mueller Condos is (or was) a Tesco Builders project. They built my townhouse development in Cleveland Hts which has had continuing problems for 5 years. To their credit they have stepped up to the plate and tried to correct the problems (costing them well over $100,000.00). However, I met with a principle of the company in October and at that time he indicated they were in dire financial straits (and the compnay was down to 2 employees including himself). He indicated he was getting significant pressure from his bank and it was not being very cooperative. I imagine the costs they incurred on our project was a contributing factor to the company's downfall. I would not be surprised if they are completely out of business by now or at least do not have the ability to complete a massive project like Mueller.
  12. Probate Court docket reflects that the "preliminary hearing" scheduled for December 12, 2006 has been continued. No new date given.
  13. I wonder what the article's author's definition of "underway" is? The majority of the projects listed toward the end of the article are just pretty pictures.
  14. ^Well Litt's PD article specifically states that "Cosgrove doesn't see the Clinic following suit [like John Hopkins] by investing in development around its boundaries", so to answer the question it does not appear the Clinic has any plans at this time to "move this direction as a developer" or to even partner with anyone.
  15. Wow, all those pictures were included in the Times article? What section of the paper? It seems like a lot.
  16. ^the building you are thinking of is a couple of blocks west of this site.
  17. ^So much for all you posters who clamor for historic preservation. That "thing" has been on Euclid Avenue since the early 1800's when the street was nothing more than a dirt road (and probably not called Euclid) and the area around it was nothing more than farm land. It was a well know stage coach stop and is one of the oldest (if not oldest...I am not sure) buildings in Cleveland and an important part of our heritage (unlike the hulk next to it). Simply unbelievable.
  18. I am in no way sad to see this building go. It looms over Dunham Tavern like a menace and certainly does not have any architectural character (although the vast amount of graffiti it attracts is very pretty). If anything, its original construction (its looks like a former warehouse or light industrial facility) reveals the state of Cleveland zoning (or lack thereof) when it was first built (maybe in the twenties...just a guess). Mid town Euclid Avenue should have stayed residential and retail. Instead the city allowed industry to slowly creep in so you ended up having warehouses next to apartment buildings, houses, churches and retail. I am sure, (among other things) this destroyed the last vestiges of residential living, proably starting shortly after the war. Cleveland has tons of similar buildings that need renovation in more appropriate locations. Given that this is an RTA project I guess my new question is whether they are go to demolition it all the way or just the section closest to Euclid. I really would like to see the land given to Dunham (of course can't happen if a public agency like RTA owns it).
  19. I am a happy camper. Was driving down Euclid and noticed that they are beginning the demolition of that hulking (it has to be at least seven stories and takes up half the block) long abandoned warehouse next door to the Dunham Tavern Museum (across the street from Galluccis). Don't know the circumstances behind the demolition but have always thought the entire block should be incorporated into the museum, although I doubt they are behind it unless they received a huge bequest. The demolition itself must be costing well into seven figures, not to mention purchase of the land. Anybody have any idea what is going on here? Can't imagine it was bought by RTA as part of Euclid Corridor Project as the street is pretty wide at that point.
  20. ^While I tended to disagree with him, my father used to say (now deceased for some time) "Cleveland moves at two speeds, slow and stop".
  21. I was in San Francisco Center a couple of summers ago while the expansion was still underconstruction (I did note it was a Forest City project). I was not shopping, I was actually just looking for a bathroom. While the old portion was generally a nice "mall", I remembered thinking to myself that here I was in the middle of one of America's great and unique urban centers and if you had kidnapped and blindfolded me, put me in the center of the place not knowing where I was, I could not tell you what city I was in. All the stores were the same you would find in any city (including suburb) in America. Nothing local to identify the place or make for a unique shopping experience. Maybe the new addition is more unique. I cannot see how it will be "a retail destination, a place for shoppers tired of the same old suburban mall experience" unless they have added some local flavor including shops (unlike Gap, J Crew, Banana Republic, Chicos etc.) where you can find something different. By the way, I have no problem with vertical shopping. Really like Water Tower Place in Chicago which is vertical
  22. While I am not an expert on eminent domain cases, many of the factors mentioned above really don't have much relevance in the actual proceeding. There are generally two primary issues, one: should there be a "governmental taking" of private property (and with the recent Ohio Supreme Court decision this is much more complex than in the past....although in my opinion it clearly is not a bar to a taking as the properly owners attorneys are clearly asserting) and two: if a taking is in order, what is the value of the property (experts are used to establish value and it can become pretty complex).
  23. I passed by the site yesterday and noticed some new and significant activity. To my untrained eye it looked as if they were performing environmental clean up on the portion of the site where the old service station was located. Hopefully this is a sign that more is to come in the near future. Perhaps a proposed design by the end of the year and maybe construction in the spring (at least on the garage).
  24. I lived next door to Tom Brown in Clawson our sophomore year. He was (and I am sure still is) a great guy and pretty modest despite all he had going for him. He has done very well and I am not at all surprised how generous he has been to Miami.
  25. According to the PD discovery is to be completed by November 24 with a trial now slated to start in December. Now that the judge has ordered all eight cases consolidated (as requested by the Port Authority and opposed by the property owners) it will be interesting to see if any of the remaining owners settle between now and trial. I doubt that consolidation will trigger settlement but maybe information that comes out during the discovery phase (although I cannot imagine what that might be) might encourage at least a couple of owners to relent. It appears however that a most of the owners have really dug in their heels and a trial is in the cards. Appeals are likely too. This could drag on for quite some time.