8ShadesofGray

Wow ... a horribly large footprint for no more than 2,000 parking spaces.

Thanks ... Happy Birthday, MTS ... It's an Urban Ohio two-fer.

Brilliant ... Report: Nation's Gentrified Neighborhoods Threatened By Aristocratization March 31, 2008 | Issue 44•14 WASHINGTON—According to a report released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, the recent influx of exceedingly affluent powder-wigged aristocrats into the nation's gentrified urban areas is pushing out young white professionals, some of whom have lived in these neighborhoods for as many as seven years. Maureen Kennedy, a housing policy expert and lead author of the report, said that the enormous treasure-based wealth of the aristocracy makes it impossible for those living on modest trust funds to hold onto their co-ops and converted factory loft spaces ... ... For more information, please visit http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_nations_gentrified

However, Cincinnati-Hamilton was a CMSA, which at the time was the most commonly used measure, if a city was in a CMSA. There was not as great a distinction between a CMSA and an MSA as there now is between an MSA and CSA. Does that mean they are not using CMSA designations anymore? The Cleveland CMSA included a much larger swath of land. Even still, Cleveland's CMSA only covers 7 counties, while I think Cincy's covers 13 counties. If we were to expand Cleveland's metropolitan area to include all 13 counties in the Northeast corner of the state (the vast majority of which are rural), the combined population would be around 3.9 million. Even Cuyahoga County and the 6 counties that lie directly adjacent to it have a combined population of over 2.75 million. None of this is to say that Cleveland's metro is in fact bigger than Cincy's ... According to the Census Bureau's definitions, it's apparently not. Just pointing out that it's a bit of an apple-to-orange comparison largely tied to what the federal government believes is functioning as a single economy and what are separate, autonomous economies. According to the Census Bureau's definitions, Cincy is a slightly larger metropolitan area, but Cleveland's metropolitan population is concentrated in a much smaller number of counties (thought this doesn't necessarily mean that the Cleveland metropolitan area is denser; while this is likely the case, this might not be true if the counties in Cincy's metropolitan area were geographically smaller than those in Cleveland's).

Did anyone attend the meeting?

5 Walkable neighborhoods 4 Historic charm 1 Big-box retail shopping within 3 miles 4 Locally owned retail shopping in your community 4 Living in a Lake Erie shore community 3 Having a metropark reservation or National Park in or adjacent to your city 2 Having a public recreation center in your community 5 Population density 1 Large lots 1 Low property taxes 5 Easy access to museums and cultural attractions 5 Easy access to downtown Cleveland 1 A rural feel 5 Access to public transit 2 Access to interstates I'd say Asiatown is pretty close. Not quite as much historic character, pulic transporation or access to culture as I rated important, but still a fair amount of all three. The only thing I really lose out on is walkability; it's easy to walk places but is not really built with pedestrians in mind. And there's excessive access to interstates beyond what I rated in the survey.

Assuming that a bunch of us submit a preference for Cleveland proper, do you think that will earn a mention in the magazine? Not trying to be contrary ... honestly wondering whether the magazine would recognize a swelling interest in NOT living in the suburbs.

Not to try to steer you to any particular place, but while Shaker Square's apartments are typically older, many are pretty nice on the inside ... and my experience in two different apartment complexes over there was that maintenance was very responsive to any of the few problems that did arise for me. I lived in Shaker Town Homes right on the square and enjoyed it immensely. While it was a 1920s building, it was definitely nice; not too fancy, but nice. I don't have any recommendations on where to find newer apartment buildings, but I would echo suggestions to look primarily along the Rapid Line. While it is several blocks off the W. 65th rapid line, you might also check with Detroit Shoreway about availability in the Gordon Square area. The apartments in that stretch are reasonably affordable and all have been renovated in the last few years ... plus there's lots of existing retail and plans to open the "Cedar Lee of the West Side" within the next year. Just a thought. And you'll have to let me know about the scene in Brussels ... I'm moving to Germany in a couple months, and part of the year, I'm likely going to be in the Ruhr Valley ... just a hop, skip and a jump away from Belgium.

Interesting concept. I would love to see the study. While it's a good start to see what retail is underrepresented in our regional market, that underrepresentation does not necessarily translate to consumers' willingness to visit a particular neighborhood to make that kind of purchase. Hopefully, the study also reviewed consumers' interest in visiting such a district, and their interest if the district was in this particular corridor. I don't think it's a bad idea, particularly with the growth of the downtown housing market. But to make it profitable, you would also have to convince a suburban population that has not been overly supportive of downtown retail to come downtown when making home furnishing decisions. Not sure how well this would play out in a downtown environment, but Pittsburgh's Design Zone (http://www.1662designzone.com/), just to the east of its downtown, is based around furniture, home furnishings and home-oriented art, and it seems to do QUITE well ... tons of businesses, both local and national, and lots of street traffic. That being said, it's in a built environment more similar to Asiatown or downtown along St. Clair. It would be interesting to see if similar businesses could withstand the rent requirements of lower Euclid.

^ Arenn, I see your point, but I have to disagree on regionalism. If anything, I think most discussions of regionalism today focus disproportionately on making suburbs and exurbs active partners; central cities are still the "reason to be" for a region ... If Cleveland fails, the ripples in the job market will make it difficult for any exurb to maintain its current quality of life in perpuity on its own. Regardless of whether suburbs are getting their due or not, smart growth strategies are imperative for the region as a whole. Already, we are seeing first- and second-ring suburbs facing many of the same challenges as the central city. Meanwhile, urban sprawl is robbing outlying communities of the authenticity and culture that they once enjoyed. Cities like Bay Village, Eastlake and Medina were not founded to be major population hubs; while sprawl might increase their tax revenues for the time being, it is also causing the development of infrastructure and services that these cities will have to continue to struggle with even if the residential base they're building for moves on to the next city or county out. The end result is that we continue to build more and more that we'll have to pay for ... but we have the same number of people paying for it all.

While our population trends is alarming, I would argue that that change in mindset, from corporate hierarchy (which I think might be an even more imporant legacy in Cleveland than its blue-collar tradition) to inclusive and progressive, is occurring, albeit slower than many of us would like: - Dedicated bike lanes have increased five fold in Cuyahoga County in the last five years. - Land conservation in Northeast Ohio has increased dramatically in the last two years, thanks in part to the merger of several conservation organizations. - There has been a very public dialogue about lakefront access, including creation of an urban nature preserve at Dike 14 and relocation of the Port Authority to aid lakefront development opportunities. - The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is making slow but steady improvements in educational outcomes and has launched a number of interesting new specialty schools to better serve the needs of a variety of different students with different learning needs. - The city has made its top transportation infrastructure priority conversion of a highway into a moderate-speed boulevard. Really, could we look back even 10 years and say that the city would launch a fight with ODOT to decrease highway access into the city? - Connectivity to the lake, the river and the national park are increasingly showing up in the public dialogue. - The Euclid Corridor Project will shortly be the largest bus-rapid transit corridor in the country. - The community development sector is channelling its resources to strategically bring big projects like Gordon Square and St. Lukes online. - Community organizations are working to leverage our city's exceptional fiberoptic network to increase connectivity between nonprofits, government agencies and the people they serve. - We're largely recognized as being leaders in redevelopment, particularly as relates to land banking and brownfield revitalization strategies. - There has been a dramatic increase in public and foundation investments in economic development the last several years, as indicated by the emergence of The Fund for Our Economic Future, TeamNEO, JumpStart and BioEnterprise. - Cleveland is one of the few cities in the country having really robust conversations about creative reuse of surplus and abandoned space. - The county now has the largest per capita public investment in arts and culture in the country. - Civic support of investing in alternative energy is pretty staggering at the moment. - While it's mainly just conversation right now, there are finally discussions about recruiting and retaining immigrants, students and artists. - Again, while we have a long way to go, Cleveland is leading the state in historic preservation efforts ... 20 projects recently approved for preservation tax credits are taking place within the city of Cleveland ... that's more than half of 37 projects approved statewide. - Even the traditional, old guard "silver bullets" are taking on a progressive flavor; in the early 2000s, the corporate leadership pushed a generic convention center, despite evidence that such centers were failing elsewhere. Today, they've repositioned the discussion to link the convention center to our vibrant medical sector and to attract not only conventions but also medical supply companies into the region. Perhaps most importantly, and something that doesn't generally show up in the Plain Dealer's dour coverage of population trends, we've seen an incredible demographic shift downtown and the Near West Side since the 2000 census. Downtown, Tremont and Ohio City, while they still have a ways to go, have seen a sizable in-migration of residents, and arguably this is an in-migration of some of the most highly educated and progressive residents of Northeast Ohio. At the same time, the city has been able to maintain the stability of some of its more established neighborhoods, like Edgewater, Shaker Square and Old Brooklyn, and is seeing increasing opportunities for in-migration in Asiatown, Midtown and University Circle. Don't get me wrong ... there are definitely a lot of negative trends opposite our advancements. But it seems to me strategies to address these challenges have taken on a considerably more progressive flavor even in the short six years that I've lived here. And it seems like the in-migration into the core of the city is really starting to reposition what the city looks like. To jpop's point, we're still doing FAR too little in the promotions department ... I would not anticipate that many people outside of our peers in the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic are very aware of this transition; likely, most people still associate us with gritty industry and stuffy boardrooms. And while I hate to overgeneralize, I think a lot of this shift in strategy is occurring because of a generational shift in leadership. For whatever reason, it seems like the Generation Xers and Yers sticking around in Cleveland are far more concerned about progressive planning, inclusiveness and tolerance, and far more likely to want to live in the city proper (yes, even when they have kids), than are our counterparts among the Baby Boomers.

$15 bus tour gives buyers look at foreclosed properties Posted by Associated Press March 20, 2008 11:54AM A real estate agent is offering a tour of foreclosed homes in suburban Cleveland for $15 and will take bids right on the bus. RE/MAX agent Al Stasek says his goal is to get people into the houses and raise the value of neighborhoods hit hard by the subprime mortgage meltdown ... ... For more information, please visit http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/03/15_bus_tour_gives_buyers_look.html

More than 20 applications were submitted from Cincy. Unfortunately, they were all submitted later on, and a number appear to have been submitted, withdrawn and resubmitted ... must have had some sort of problem with eligibility, application protocol, etc. Only 3 apps were submitted from Columbus; the first app from Columbus is 3 projects down from where they ran out of money ... So none of the Columbus or Cincy projects had the opportunity to be reviewed; ODOD has disbursed all the tax credit funds they had before they even hit applications from Cincy or Columbus. Granted, it was always described as a first-come, first-serve program, but still a shame that funding didn't hit these communities. And pragmatically, I think it will make it more difficult to rally advocates for a later round if the impression is that greater Cleveland gets all the credits.

So, with the pilot program coming to a close, 37 projects received tax credits. By my count, 3 are in Butler County ($1.5 million), 1 in Champaign ($0.8 million), 20 in Cuyahoga ($64.3 million), 1 in Erie ($1.8 million), 2 in Lucas ($3.7 million), 3 in Mahoning ($5.8 million), 1 in Miami ($3.7 million), 1 in Ottawa ($0.6 million), 2 in Stark ($38.4 million), 2 in Summit ($0.9 million) and 1 in Washington ($2.3 million). That's 26 projects in Northeast Ohio ($72.8 million), 3 projects in Southeast Ohio ($40.7 million), 3 in Northwest Ohio ($4.3 million), 2 in Southwest Ohio ($4.5 million) and none in Central Ohio. This estimate is based on many state agencies' tendency to put Stark County in Southeast Ohio. Given its spatial proximity to Akron, Cleveland and Youngstown, I think Canton is arguably more strongly affiliated with Northeast Ohio. In that case, 28 projects were in Northeast Ohio ($111.2 million) and only one project is in Southeast Ohio ($2.3 million). In other words, even discounting Stark County's sizable tax credits, Northeast Ohio had 70.3% of funded projects and 58.8% of total funds. If you add Stark County in, Northeast Ohio had 75.7% of funded projects and 89.8% of funding. While I'm really glad to see so many Cleveland projects moving forward, I think it's a real shame that not a single project from Cincy is receiving a credit, nor any of the small number of proposed projects in Columbus. In fact, while Cleveland has 20 projects moving forward, only 4 other projects statewide are taking place in cities with populations greater than 100,000 ... 2 in Akron and 2 in Toledo.

Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Pilot Program Officially Closed by Staff on Thu 13 Mar 2008 11:56 PM EDT As previously covered by MyHometownOhio, the pilot program of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit was thrown into some question late last year when a press release from the Ohio Department of Development referred to it a “120 million dollar program.” When that happened, several individuals involved in the effort, including legislators, began to discuss the meaning of that phrase, and openly questioned whether or not an announced second round of applications would actually be accepted this Summer. As it turns out, not only will there not be a Round Two, but several pending Round One applications will not be approved. http://myhometownohio.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/13/3579363.html

It always reminded me of House of 1000 Corpses ... which makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little just thinking about it.

Other approved projects include Gospel Press in Tremont, 900 Euclid Avenue and the Exhibit Builders' Building in Ohio City A great deal of applications also appear to have been denied in this latest round. Denied applications in Cleveland included: - Terminal Tower - St. Luke's - Amassa Stone Home - Central National Bank Building - 2010 Euclid Avenue It appears the vast majority of applications have either been accepted or rejected, so if you haven't heard on the status of a project, you probably won't, unless a rejected entry resubmits.

Hanna, Higbee buildings among winners of state historic preservation tax credits Michelle Jarboe March 13, 2008 14:08PM Nine Cleveland-area properties made the cut for the latest round of state tax credits meant to help with renovation of historic buildings. The downtown Higbee and Hanna buildings are among the properties earmarked today by the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, which distributes refundable tax credits to owners of historic buildings who revamp the properties for commercial or residential uses. The former department stores made a list of 15 properties statewide, collectively slated to benefit from an estimated $73.4 million in tax credits. http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/03/hanna_higbee_buildings_among_w.html

Save the date for Pop Up Arts District, Wednesday, May 14th, 6 - 10 p.m., in the Gordon Square Arts District. Artists will be taking over the few vacant storefronts and lots that remain in the corridor for a one-night examination of the role artists play in Rust Belt neighborhoods. Should be a lot of fun and the neighborhood should be even more bumping than usual. Great time to come out and explore one of the Cleve's liveliest neighborhoods. More info at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,15497.0.html.

I heard a rumor this morning ... from a VERY reliable source ... that a restauranteur was thinking of setting up a Vegan restaurant in Gordon Square. I think this is still very speculative, but it sounded promising. That would be a great boon for the neighborhood. Call me the Payne Avenue Pollyanna, but I'm beginning to envision a STRONG potential for a fully built-out, progressive, authentic restaurant and retail corridor running from W. 73rd to E. 40th along Detroit and Superior in the next ten years. With developments in Gordon Square, Ohio City between W. 30th-ish and W. 25th-ish, Pesht, The Avenue District, the loft buildings along Superior in the 20s, Asiatown and Tyler Village, it seems like the only substantial gap to making this a reality is the section between the Bop Stop and W. 54th. Obviously, some of the other projects need some more momentum or are only speculative in nature at this point, but this seems like the only stretch that isn't receiving a lot of attention. Something as simple as increasing the aesthetic appeal of that little park by Bop Stop (read: green strip bordering the highway) with some public art could do a world of good in increasing connectivity. But I digress. Yay Vegan restaurant!

Fitness center and cafe?! You guys are rocking the neighborhood OUT!

'Creative class' group makes economic growth plans By Stephanie Gottschlich, Staff Writer Thursday, March 06, 2008 DAYTON — The 32 local "creative class catalysts," the moniker given to volunteers working to grow a creative class in the Dayton and Springfield areas, announced five initiatives on Thursday, March 6, for spurring the area's economy through developing local creative talent ... For more information, please visit www.daytondailynews.com_n_content_oh_story_news_local_2008_03_06_ddn030708floridaweb.html

And for the record, Clevelanders are much more culturally attuned than we give them credit for. According to our research, the average Northeast Ohioan attends approximately 2 sporting events each year ... and 7 arts and culture events. Far from simply being two-dimensional hot dog eaters in orange and brown, Clevelanders actually are getting out to theatre, museums, galleries, recitals, performances and, yes, our film festival.

Just to weigh in on the critique, we're talking about an organization with a $1.5 million annual budget and four full-time, year-round staff members. That small staff is able to screen hundreds and hundreds of films, coordinate 120 films for viewing in Cleveland, manage a small army of volunteers and consultants, oversee educational programming for several thousand Cleveland students, manage transportation and accommodation for a couple dozen filmmakers, put together a range of panels and workshops about the shown films, market the event extensively locally and heavily in targeted markets like Pittsburgh and Columbus (resulting in annual attendance of more than 50,000 people) and coordinate a range of fundraisers, sponsorships and fundraising to pay for all of this. So while I understand the desire to play armchair quarterback, we should also give the group its props for building one of the largest film festivals in the country, getting national media coverage through Time Magazine, etc. As for the fare, there is a lot of foreign film, but they're not all of the "black and white icicle" variety ... some are quite accessible. They also have a lot of stuff that's in arguably more accessible genres. This year, there are 19 flicks in the American Independents category, 15 in Documentaries, 10 in Oh Canada and 24 in the Standing Up series (films about changing the world through grassroots action). They also do have some local representation ... six films in their Local Heroes series. And for those of you who are in need of Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson and Ray Liotta at this year's film festival, check out Battle in Seattle. :-)

I wouldn't be quite as concerned about this being anything other than an isolated incident ... except it isn't. The entire south side of Ontario collapsed at about E. 17th a couple weeks back. Again, this was a HUGE section of the street that just fell in on itself. It required several weeks of repair along a stretch from E. 17th to about E. 26th.