coneflower

In my old neighborhood in D.C., Chipotle renovated a space similar to this. After many years it closed but a couple of really good local restaurants took over the space, including the current one my old neighbors tell me is doing really well. This seems like good news for Ohio City to me. Let Chipotle invest and make the space over and if they don't make it, someone else could take over without the huge renovation costs!

Also have to think of Lakewood as a destination that draws visitors from outside the city. I have a similar experience having lived there until 2010 then moving away. When I came back years later, I was surprised by the number of new restaurants and shops. It's worth coming across town to visit and stay awhile. I chose Lakewood as a young 20-something because it was "happening" and affordable (I couldnt swing downtown or Ohio City) and to me it feels even more lively. It's got something for every generation. When I moved back, I actually thought I'd buy there but all the available options at the time were way too big. I also think prices have gone up a lot.

If there was more new development or redevelopment in Lakewood it would sell like crazy.

Maybe I'm a homer, but this has to be one of the most exciting properties available in the U.S. right now, right? Huge, lakefront, is basically ready to build on (right?). I just hope someone doesn't buy it and put a big Amazon warehouse on it.

Are they drawing inspiration from the US Navy Memorial where the original statue is located in DC? It reminds me of that but on a much smaller scale.

I am surprised this hasn’t generated more attention locally. Or a public response from the city? Maybe people in general see locating in Cleveland vs. suburbs as basically interchangeable..

I wrote them an email, I’m not sure if it makes a difference. I love Great Lakes but I have always bought it no matter where I lived in the USA because it is made in Cleveland.

It’s the loss of jobs I worry about. And where do they locate the HQ? If the Ohio City location becomes just a bar/restaurant that would seem to be a big drop in city/county tax revenue?

Well, this stinks.

Since the building is so massive, could they renovate just a portion like the lower levels and do the rest later as demand warrants and funding becomes available?

KJP's article said their HQ has 800 employees. They have thousands of union workers in the state. The concern from the PA senators is that Nippon won't be a good partner with the union and those jobs could be at risk in the future or benefits could be eroded.

Based on public/political reaction, I think there is going to need to be a strong binding assurances from Nippon/U.S. Steel to give Biden cover to let the deal go through. I don't think our fond relations with Japan mean much to the voters Biden can't lose next year. And with both of PA's Democratic senators being strongly opposed, he doesn't have much wiggle room. I bet new national security, labor pieces will be introduced by the time this finishes. Flip side, if it really drags on his numbers I could see Biden pushing to reject it, even though that would be unprecedented. I saw the CEO of Cliffs on CNBC the other day, and he made the point that even though they lost, this discussion is good for their industry because it gets investors and others thinking more about manufacturing as opposed to fixating on tech/AI, etc. It's notable this company many say is vital to our national security sold for far less than Twitter.

I like the black. 🤷‍♂️

I wasn't sure where to put this but an awesome feature in the Washington Post today on downtown Cleveland's reinvention of downtown as a place to live https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2023/cleveland-downtown-empty-offices-transform/?itid=hp_opinions_p003_f001&fbclid=IwAR08tbvmsj3FQvQOMYhJj9cWiQoxXju2G7d2Jkxe6Fqp_EsuL0RfA2xg3ZA

I don't know anything about the steel industry. Where does Cliffs go next for growth?

Union comes out swinging. I expect Vance, Sherrod Brown and others will join the fray. USW Slams Nippon Plan to Acquire USS United Steelworkers (USW) 18 Dec, 2023, 09:40 ET PITTSBURGH, Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall today issued the following statement slamming an announced deal in which Japan's Nippon Steel will purchase U.S. Steel: "To say we're disappointed in the announced deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon is an understatement, as it demonstrates the same greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long. "We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated workforce and sell to a foreign-owned company. "Neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon reached out to our union regarding the deal, which is in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires U.S. Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions. "Based on this alone, the USW does not believe that Nippon understands the full breadth of the obligations of all our agreements and we do not know whether it has the capacity to live up to our existing contract. This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry. "Our union intends to exercise the full measure of our agreements to ensure that whatever happens next with U.S. Steel, we protect the good, family-sustaining jobs we bargained. We also will strongly urge government regulators to carefully scrutinize this acquisition and determine if the proposed transaction serves the national security interests of the United States and benefits workers. "No union has actively engaged in more acquisitions in its core industries than the USW, and rest assured, our union will hold management at U.S. Steel accountable to every letter of our collective bargaining and other existing agreements." The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations. CONTACT: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, [email protected]

It's a compelling deal financially, from what I've understand, but a lot of big deals have fallen apart before even getting to the regulators in recent years. Cliffs needs a graceful way to exit this scene since there is nothing they can do now. You'll note the statement says "foreign," though, and "American champion." I'm curious to see where the union comes out but I think Republicans will use this to clobber Biden, who has made protecting our industrial base and union jobs central to his message. I don't think a foreign company saying, "trust us, we love American unions!" is that compelling.

I'm not saying the deal is likely to be blocked but we haven't seen the reaction yet. "Under my opponent's watch, U.S. Steel was taken by Japan!" could be a potent message in 2024. The company is trying to cover all their bases, talking about the union agreements and "it's good for America." I'm not saying the deal won't go through but I'm curious to see the reaction from the union, Vance, etc. They say they'll honor their union's agreements. But when those agreements expire?

JD Vance has been very opposed to a foreign buyer as a national security threat and there are other members of Congress have said they oppose it for various reasons. But I don’t know that they could really do anything. Curious to hear what the union says. The companies say they will respect the union agreements but the union isn’t quoted directly.

5 days a week is draconian. I’ve worked for employers since 2012 that allowed at least one day a week WFH. Zooming in people to meetings is here to stay. People stay home and work when they have colds or have family obligations. Before it was just on a telephone conference call and those are way worse because the person not in the room can’t tell what’s happening at all. I don’t know what the sweet spot is by 5 required in person days a week is like requiring people to wear suits and ties now

I can’t find any polling on this, so I have no idea what the average person thinks. But I will say again that I do not believe it is good for our local economy to have jobs spread all over the place with no rhyme or reason to where they locate besides cheap land and free parking. Maybe people think they don’t want to work downtown, but they also likely don’t think about how their economic options are limited by where the jobs are located. If you live in Avon Lake and need a new job, you might find a good one in Mayfield but that would be almost 90 miles of driving a day. That sounds like hell. Sure, they could move, but if you are changing jobs every 4 years like the average American, that would be a real burden. So, your option is to stick with your job near your home and or only apply for jobs that are close to you. That can work in DC or NYC which are bigger and have more jobs and job creation. For us, I’d argue it’s a productivity killer and probably suppressing wages because employers know workers don’t have many options, unless you work in a truly in demand field.

I stick with this. Downtown is 30 minutes from Mayfield and Westlake and they are 27ish to 77/480, which to me is a wash. I grew up in the northern Summit suburbs and there is no way the population density to the south equals the suburbs to the west and east of downtown. I think what has happened is companies located where they want for whatever reasons and then expect their workers to move to be close. Have a good job on the far east or west side? Well, you’ll move to be close. I don’t know this for a fact but I have a strong suspicion that workers in Northeast Ohio also have much lower attrition than other cities partly because of this, which I think is a drag on the economy. Employers have smaller talent pools because they are recruiting from a smaller worker population near where they located, meanwhile workers because of where they live have fewer options to advance in new jobs. Put more jobs in a central location and it’d create more dynamism for companies and workers. But they may have to pay for parking. This is my hypothesis at least.

I know I'm posting into the void but it seems nuts to me that more local companies aren't looking downtown. Just practically speaking it's central to everyone in the region. If I live in Westlake, I'd rather drive downtown than to Mayfield or Mentor. It seems really short-sighted and it limits their talent pool, which is already tough in a smaller region like ours. I experienced something similar in DC where a lot of jobs were locating further away from the city, and it was annoying not being able to apply for things that looked cool but I didn't want to drive or sit on the Metro for an hour+ each way. Business leaders of greater Cleveland, you should rethink this!

What happens if they don't go with Cliffs and the union holds firm? They go to court to decide if the union can decide who buys the company?

I'm not hand-wringing, I just posted an article that is relevant to what is happening here. Why is it crazy to imagine the Haslam's also keeping an eye on this, too? The point about the TIF debate is fair and I'll be honest I still don't totally understand how that works, but does it address the fact that they also want land around the stadium to develop? The city's lakefront plan is a big park around Browns stadium with a little development. That seems like a philosophical conflict based on what I've read of the two sides' positions. Factor that in with the idea that they want more money from the city, I don't think it outlandish to consider what their other options might be.