jamiec

So, we're all right!

I think a lot of people who don't shop at these places on a regular basis get the feeling that Greater Cleveland is flooded with high-end retail when in fact it's not. Legacy Village lacks solid apparel tenants and Crocker Park's "high-end" clothing is notoriously moderate (H&M). I'd rather see the Galleria reinvented than have the Avenue District try to include too much in the way of clothing and retail. And since low and moderatley priced shopping centers can be found in pretty much every suburb, I think the smartest way to market it would be more upscale shopping in the vein of Beachwood Place. And after testing the waters of high-end retail for a year or so, gradually make it even more upscale. If properly remarketed, it could easily be repopulated with the high-end retail that Greater Cleveland (and Ohio/much of the Midwest in general) has been lacking since the original Tower City tenants (Barney's, Gucci, Fendi) closed. If the Galleria's owners modeled it after places like the King of Prussia mall or Ala Moana in Honolulu, I'm convinced they'd find success. I agree with this. I think we get preoccupied with how bad we're doing in terms of creating jobs, etc, and we forget about all the rich people who live here, rich people who spend a lot of their retail time cloistered in the communities close to wherever they live. I think they would enjoy having a very high end place to shop, hang out, be seen. As LovesIT says, we don't really have a whole lot of "high-end" retail in Northeast Ohio. The Gap, Banana Republic, H&M and even Guess are mid-tier retailers. You pump those downtown, and you'll get shoppers, but it won't have the nessecary cache to keep the buzz, especially because they are nearly everywhere. I have to assume there is a market for high-end retailers here, especially if they are unique retailers that cannot and will not be available anywhere else in the area. In the Detroit suburbs, they have the Somerset Collection, www.somersetcollection.com, which is operated by the people who do Beachwood, I believe. At that mall, they have Armani Exchange, Burberry, Gucci. It's a giant place -- way bigger than the Galleria, I believe. It prospers because it caters to wealthy people of all backgrounds. Oh, I forgot one thing: The only way high-end retail will work is that the setting is kept pristine and the environment calm and non-threatening. I live in Lakewood, and I think it's awesome that teenagers of every type can ride their bikes all over town and hang out at coffee shops and have fun. It is important all different types of people have a place to call their own and enjoy themselves. BUT! A high-end establishment can't be one of those places because that will scare people away. I'm just stating what I believe to be a fact. Everytime people talk about a shopping area they stop patronizinig, they bring these things up. In a perfect world, punks could sit next to the CEO of National City in the food court, but I just don't see it happening.

Yeah, our universities rock! This state has universities that specialize in nearly anything you could possibly want to study. Now, about the cost....

Kent State is in fact the second-largest university. This happened a couple years ago. Kent State has numerous satellite campuses, which adds to its total enrollment. http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1147595654110160.xml&coll=2

The Grog Shop...it's in Cleveland Heights, of course, but it's one of the coolest rock clubs anywhere, in my opinion, and I've been around the block...well, I've lived in Boston and NYC =)

Holy crap, that's awesome! I was down in the WD last night for dinner, and it was cool to see all the people going to the game. It looked like a totally fun time. I did a little research, and I see what you're saying about the scheduling. It looks like MLS soccer goes all the way into November (assuming you play for a championship, but this is Cleveland, so that would never happen :) So, that would hose with the Browns. Bummer. I have to stress that I am completely against creating a professional sports stadium in Nordonia, which I grew up near but have no idea where it's located. Why can't they put this thing in a more central location? Put it on an old brownfield, or something. Call the team the Cleveland Industrialists and make the logo have smokestacks or something. I don't know about this Wolstein guy. He's making me worried.

I hate this idea exactly because it is right on top of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Development around the park is getting insane, and it threatens to ruin it. In order for this area to truly succeed, we need more than an Chili's on every corner. The National Park is a beautiful place, and it's one of the reasons that brought me back home. And who the heck wants to see soccer around here anyway? I don't believe it is a viable idea. Why don't they play at Cleveland Browns Stadium?

This was widely reported but the Akron Beacon Journal debunked it. The Nike contract does not have kickers for playing in a major market (LA, NY, CHI). "Some of his other endorsement deals do, but they represent much, much less than he can get by re-signing for a max contract in Cleveland." sure? i mean abj? no bias there..... I always go to the Beacon for my Cavs info. Windhorst always has the real deal -- perceived bias or not. I don't see any bias, though.

Totally! I suggested that Frank Jackson legalize gay marriage in Cleveland to get our "pro-gay buzz" going. We have this new bathhouse going in downtown! Let's keep going! I'm not even gay, and I think Cleveland should be a lavender city -- or something. As far as the racial stuff goes....What would you suggest? Cleveland doesn't seem to be any different than anywhere else I've ever been. New York has more mingling just because of its population size. The rich white people still segregate themselves.

I love LeBron as much as everyone else, but my Cleveland cynicism is creeping up, and I hope we don't peg our hopes on his back. LeBron is a real civic morale booster, but we need to be able keep pushing toward positive change whether LeBron is in the Q or somewhere else.

I thought the idea was to attract new people to Ohio, not poach residents from other towns.

I don't consider Canton and Akron to be Cleveland sprawl because those are three historically distinct areas. Akron is a product of the Erie Canal and has had its own industry, media and social circles, for example. I don't think it was the classic Manhattan to Brooklyn move. My grandparents came to America via New York and went to Akron not Cleveland, for example. Columbus may be the largest city in Ohio population wise, but I don't really think it's much of a comparison because most of the population is within a gigantic area. You hit "Columbus" in farmland like 30 miles before you hit downtown. I think Columbus is a nice town, but from what I've seen, it seems to be growing in the modern West Coast style like Phoenix -- big area, growth all over the place within that area. I guess I could see that the Akron/Cleveland area is sprawling more than Columbus just because, on the whole, the metro area is bigger with more parts. We have plenty of housing here that has been accumulated over the many years of our history, yet people still want to keep going further out. I don't get it, though. I live in Lakewood, for example, and the houses here are great and they are just as cheap as some piece of junk that pops up on old farmland, yet people still move out. But that's America.

Interestingly enough, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which is even more transit-averse than NOACA, received $100 million of federal money to study and build a commuter transit line between Ann Arbor and Detroit. First-term Sen. Debbie Stabenow secured the funding. Are we to believe northeast Ohio doesn't have Congressional representation at least as powerful and influential as Stabenow? I lived in SE Michigan for a year, and I remember this coming out. It's a really neat idea, and I'd be interested to see what it does economically. Ann Arbor is like a little island in the middle of depressed Detroit. I wonder if it could stimulate a bit of good growth. I think with the cost of real estate in Ann Arbor as high as it is, I think it would be great for lower income people -- plus the college kids who go to UMich but never go to the city.

Thanks for the welcome! I just recently found this message board, and I love it. It's so great to see a little Ohio pride. I love our state! Anyway, thanks for the info regarding the East Bank -- I must have misunderstood what I read when I mentioned putting a casino down there. But here is a question for you all: Do you think all this retail development can be viable downtown? I really, really, really want to see it happen and flourish. One of the big things I think they need to be thinking of is safety. I think Cleveland is a relatively safe city, but in order for them to attract the suburbanites, these projects need to be committed to safety and upkeep for the long haul. I think the minute things start to get just a slight bit seedy, people lose interest and go elsewhere. For example, when I was little, my family used to drive up to Tower City from Cuyahoga Falls on the weekends as our fun family trip. My sister in law has young children, and her family used to do the same thing, but now that many places have left Tower City, they don't do it anymore, which is a shame because coming to Cleveland can really be a fun, special and different experience. Although you can shop at many of the same stores elsewhere, it's just not the same as coming downtown.

That's a pretty arrogant statement, don't you think? Where should these people feed the homeless that would work better for you? How about in DC?

Oh man, this is all very exciting! I am keeping my fingers crossed that it works out, even though I'm not really sure I know what "Pesht" would be like. I can only assume it would be very similar to what Stark has done in the past. I've only been to his recent East Side developments, and I enjoy them. What I think is the promising thing about Stark doing this development is his company's recent ability to design places that are classic yet hip. So, even though I am 24 and my parents are in their 50s, we both enjoy going to Eton Collection (mostly because I know I'm going to get a free dinner out of the deal, score!). But I like the atmosphere. And that is a very small location. It's really just a hyper-glorified strip mall. But, man, having a big two-story Barnes and Noble downtown would be so sweet. I'd be there all the time. As far as the East Bank of the Flats goes, I'm having a hard time envisioning that one, but I still hope it is a big success. I read that they almost want it to be like a Midwestern Vegas. That sounds tacky to me, but, hey, party on. I worked in Port Huron, Mich. (outside of Detroit a bit), and I don't see any big pluses coming from casinos in terms of nightlife. They turn into coffins where no one comes out. And you have no idea what time of day it is inside there. And the Elvis impersonators. Yech. But if someone wants to spend their own money to build one, why not?