8ShadesofGray

I had an opportunity to attend this planning conference, and it was one of the most inspiring events I've taken part in in my professional life ... a room of 50 young progressive leaders who love industrial cities, each sharing about the innovative things going on their respective cities. It gave me chills just to think about the potential this group could have in addressing policy issues and in changing the image people have of the industrial Midwest. I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the group's temporary website at http://gluespace.wordpress.com/.

Young adults work to polish cities' Rust Belt image Posted by Tom Breckenridge February 01, 2008 17:55PM A core of Web-savvy city dwellers want to be agents of change in the struggling Great Lakes region. About 50 young adults gathered this week in Buffalo for the fledgling Great Lakes Urban Exchange -- a movement to polish the rusty image of 21 Midwestern cities and to push an agenda for urban revival. Among them was Seth Beattie, 27, who heard first-hand that segregated neighborhoods, urban sprawl and a Rust Belt image are not unique to Cleveland ... "There's common problems, but common opportunities as well," said Beattie ... ... For more information, please visit http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/02/young_adults_work_to_polish_ci.html

Focus on future of Great Lakes Regional Institute joins effort to revitalize region’s economy By RACHEL M. TEAMAN Reporter Contributor The Regional Institute is partnering in an effort led by the Brookings Institution and the John R. Oishei Foundation to convene young leaders from the Great Lakes region, including Buffalo, to develop and implement strategies for the region’s economic future. The Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) organizing meeting, to be held in Buffalo Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo and Asbury Hall in Babeville, will promote conversation on such topics as revitalization of the Great Lakes region, leadership, regional identity, the use of new media tools and peer-to-peer education and networking ... ... For more information, please visit http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol39/vol39n18/articles/RI_GLUE.html

I'm preparing for the Great Lakes Urban Exchange planning conference, and one of the things I wanted to address was the perceptions that the local media perpetuates through the negative tone of its news coverage. Just to show the tip of the iceberg, I did a search on Urban Ohio for "poorest cities" and looked for Plain Dealer articles where the term came up. I left out articles that related directly to poverty, shrinkage and crime, and I didn't include any editorial articles. What I did come up with, however, was a number of alleged "news" stories, often toting positive developments in the community, that threw in "poorest cities" in what I perceive to be pretty tangential and blatantly editorial ways. Here's what I found. Enjoy! Rep. Tubbs Jones takes up hospitals' cause on IRS form on charity care. Friday, December 7, 2007 Sarah Jane Tribble "The region's economy has struggled and Cleveland is ranked as one of America's poorest cities." Cleveland neighborhood revival plan focuses on achor projects Plans build on anchor projects in 6 parts of city Sunday, November 25, 2007 Tom Breckenridge "The goal is to seed sustained community growth in one of America's poorest big cities. Too many neighborhoods sag under the scourge of blight and fast population decline." Greater Cleveland still ranks as a world-class economic engine Tuesday, November 6, 2007 Elizabeth Auster "Cleveland might rank as one of the nation's poorest big cities. It might be bleeding people as well as jobs. But don't despair. The big picture isn't quite so dreary." University Circle developers announce a high quality short list of architects for the Triangle September 21, 2007 Steven Litt "Zaremba said Cleveland - widely known as one of the poorest cities in the nation - is still a highly attractive place to live and is ready for luxury condominiums priced as high as the seven figures." Intel imagines wireless Cleveland Chip maker offers its help in creating a cutting-edge regional network Thursday, April 7, 2005 Henry J. Gomez "It gives the region a chance to increase its 'cool' factor with young professionals. For Intel, it's a chance to drive computer and mobile sales - the company's chips are inside many models - in the nation's poorest city."

The guy who owns those Dorn Lofts buildings has been working on that concept for some time now ... glad to see it's off the ground. He also has some interest in the old American Greetings Creative Studios and manages a number of artist facilities in that complex. All in all, it's poised to be a grrrrrrreat arts stretch. As for the corner of Detroit and Lake, isn't Detroit Shoreway already planning on doing some community planning about how to improve that corner as a gateway to the neighborhood?

New Tally, per my shoddy math: 1. Gateway (70) 2. Euclid Corridor (50) 3. Federal Court House (20) 4. Rock Hall (19) 5. University Circle (16) 6. Stonebridge (13) 7. Lola moves downtown (10) 8. Lolita opens in Tremont (5) 8. Wind Turbine & Solar Panels (5) 10. Artist Live/Work (3) 10. Avenue District (3) 10. Battery Park (3) 10. Browns Stadium (3) 10. East 4th (3) 10. Grand Arcade (3) 10. Market Cafe (3) 75% of the developments receiving points are downtown (excludes Flats West Bank); the remaining 25% are all in the city of Cleveland, and one each is in Ohio City (arguable ... again, Flats West Bank), Detroit Shoreway, Tremont and University Circle). No votes for suburban projects as of yet.

Check my math, but the early list: 1. Euclid Corridor (40) 2. Gateway (30) 3. Federal Court House (20) 4. Rock Hall (16) 5. Lola moves downtown (10) 5. University Circle (10) 7. Stonebridge (8 ) 8. Lolita opens in Tremont (5) 8. Wind Turbine & Solar Panels (5) 10. Artist Live/Work (3) 10. Avenue District (3) 10. Battery Park (3) 10. East 4th (3) 10. Market Cafe (3)

Does anyone know what the price points are for Prospect Place? Didn't see anything on the site? If not, anyone planning on attending the grand opening?

http://www.tiferetvillage.org/ Okay, it's in Cleveland Heights, not Cleveland, but I get really jazzed about co-housing concepts and what they could mean in terms of unique community development opportunities in the city. Plus, this project rocks and so does Rabbi Travis.

1. Euclid Corridor Project 2. Wind Turbine and Solar Pavilion at the Great Lakes Science Center 3. Tower Press Building & subsequent conversions of Near East warehouses as live/work spaces for artists Honorable Mentions: Tiferet Village (not developed yet) and other rumblings about co-housing strategies in greater Cleveland; establishment of Visitor's Center and cheeky Cleveland tourism displays in the Higbee Building; EcoVillage and environmentally-friendly redevelopment of W 65th Rapid Station; additions to Towpath Trail and feeder trails

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. has released their latest national risk index assessment, a measure of the probability that house prices in various MSAs will be lower in two years than they are today. Despite sluggish real estate markets, Ohio remains a bastion of low risk of falling prices. Keep in mind that this is at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level, so it doesn't reflect risks of depreciation at a municipal level (e.g. escalating exurban prices could mask falling prices in central cities, or vice versa), but the news is generally good. Toledo had the highest risk indicator, with a 3% probability that home prices will be lower in two years. Lima came in at 2%. Most Ohio MSAs came in at 1% or less than !%. Compare this with Riverside, CA, with a risk of 94%, Las Vegas at 89% and Phoenix at 83%. While most of the risk fell in the Sun Belt, the Rust Belt didn't escape some levels of moderate risk, such as Detroit at 17%. http://www.pmi-us.com/media/pdf/products_services/eret/pmi_eret08v1s.pdf http://www.pmi-us.com/media/pdf/products_services/eret/pmi_eretappndx_08v1.pdf

North of St. Clair is pretty remote from residential, but there are few vacancies, as most of the buildings there are functioning industrial spaces. On St. Clair, you're directly buttressing a residential neighborhood. And as a resident of said neighborhood, I no more want a potential trouble spot around the corner than do the people living in proximity to the Moda space. There is already a bar scene brewing up, arguably with a trouble spot in the Baby Grand (where a homicide occurred last year), and further agglomerating bars along St. Clair seems like it would raise the chance of incidental crimes ... in the neighborhood with the lowest incidence of violent crime in city limits. Frankly, I don't think changing the location of a potentially trouble-inducing club has much benefit ... it just shifts the trouble to another population.

Wonderful set, MayDay ... definitely inspiring me to get back into photography. I especially like the alleyway shot ... looks like something very old-world / turn-of-the-century. Beautiful. Meanwhile, you managed to capture an ex in one of your Pride shots :-o

So I was strolling through Borders the other day and happened across ONE remaining copy of Three Days of Rain, which was apparently finally released on DVD. Since I've been looking for it for over a year, it goes without saying that I jumped on it. Overall, it was decent. A little dark and dreary (what with the, you know, three days of rain), but some interesting storylines. It had some nice shots of Cleveland and was definitely Cleveland-oriented, but very little of it was actually shot here. Most was shot in LA and Long Beach ... I guess payback was in order for Mortal Kombat. Worth checking out ... it's definitely not a love note to Cleveland like the Oh in Ohio or 30Rock, but it isn't exactly a Welcome to Collinwood, either.

Or it could all be a show (with the county in on the tactic) to negotiate a better deal from Forest City.

Required viewing for your dilemma. If you have not seen it, you and Ryan are the couple clutching each other with fear, and Pete is the maniacal Michael Keaton. But all three characters have some great ideas for getting people to leave the house. If I learned anything from this movie, it's that nail guns will be involved in your forced eviction of Pete. Also check out Single White Female. Apparently, the early 90s were a time when cinema was apparently wary of bad roommates.

We had a similar roommate-type in our house (sans WoW but with loud drum-playing in its place). Did he sign a sub-lease? If not, he has no rights. If he did, check out the lease and sub-lease for terms of termination. It helps if you can get your landlord on board ... definitely, you need Ryan on board. It might also help to have a replacement roommate lined up. Overall, it's not a pleasant experience getting rid of someone; my roommate definitely took the lead on that one (and props to him for that!) ... sounds like you would have to as well. When all else fails, just try to make the living environment as uncomfortable for him as possible, without (overtly) breaking the law. Lacing the items you know he will steal and eat with laxatives seems a good initial ploy.

I certainly wouldn't. And I don't think the people currently living at Crocker Park would, either. But I don't think that means there isn't a niche that would. How large that niche is, how easily developers could reach them and whether together these factors would result in enough pre-sells to make such a project viable. I would also note that, outside of the large anchor tenants, other spots in the commons could draw more upscale tenants, depending on the demographics of the people being drawn in and their buying history over a period of years. Moreover, the proximity to the steel mills is not all that greater than those living on the hill up in Tremont. And since I would guess that most of the pollutant particles rise considerably before settling, I would anticipate that the hills are subject to similar contamination to this site.

Judging from their success in securing tenants, I'd say it's either doing very well, or they're making a strong case that it will do very well. There are only two retail spots left in Phase 1 ... one just south of Target and one in an outlot on the north end of the development, next to TMobile. By my count, that's 34 of 36 spots filled in Phase 1. Wonder how they're doing on leasing in Phase 2? Assuming the retail demand is as strong as we think, and assuming that the Towpath gets connected to the Harvard terminus and the Scenic Railway comes north, wonder what the likelihood is that Steelyard could eventually get a mixed-use lifestyle center facelift? I remember discussions early in this thread about it being unfit as a residential environment due to pollution concerns (although I don't recall how much of that was personal opinion and how much was fact), but with the environmental remediation of the site, I wonder if that scenario is different now. And I wonder how the market would respond to residential components in the shadows of the steel mills, compared to in the faux downtown of Cracker Park.

Someone got a touch of sun on that trip ... of course, I won't tease about skin tones too much, lest pictures of 8SoG fake tanned as Purple Rain Prince mysteriously surface :wink:

Yeah, and they're not even spread out "in the Commons". One is at Target and the other is at an outlot cattycorner from Target ... a whopping 0.15 miles apart.

Town Uglification Committee Approves New Pile Of Garbage Bags December 14, 2007 | Issue 43•50 LOUDONVILLE, OH—As part of ongoing efforts to maintain the town's unplesasant appearance, members of the Loudonville Uglification Committee unanimously approved a measure Tuesday to preserve the 16 overflowing garbage bags filled with old newspapers, beer bottles, and decaying food in the middle of the Cedar Street sidewalk. "We're going to do all we can to make sure these new piles of trash are in full view of anyone who comes to visit our little town, as well as those who call Loudonville home," said chairwoman Karen Spalding, who oversees all of the town's upkeep, including planting weeds in parks, spray-painting profanities on the walls of the public library, and smearing dog feces at prominent intersections. "It's important that our work properly reflects the type of people who live here." Spalding added that she was confident this latest initiative would attract businesses interested in dumping their waste products directly into the Mohican River. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/town_uglification_committee

Ouch, Blinker beat me. Hates it.

That's the Intermuseum Conservation Association, located at 2915 Detroit. They were the nation's first nonprofit regional art conservation center (founded in 1952). Today, they serve 90 member institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rock Hall and the Progressive Art Collection. From their website, regarding the renovation: "In 2003, staff and operations relocated to a newly renovated facility in Cleveland's West Side. The historic structure is fitted with conservation laboratories, a climate-controlled art storage facility, and a large space fronting Detroit Avenue that will soon be renovated for use as a public meeting area and educational classroom. With this new urban location, and a corresponding expansion of staff and membership, the ICA has been able to redefine its role and seek out the general public and cultural institutions that are typically underserved." http://www.ica-artconservation.org/about/history.htm

Pope, you stole my idea!!! Nah, what I'm doing won't be THAT, I promise. I'll update once we've selected a site, etc. Thanks everyone for your recommendations ... many are the same ones I was thinking. The biggest dilemma, out of that list of characteristics, is finding something that out-of-towners without cars can find easily. These people would be traveling from downtown, so having access to frequent fast bus routes departing from or near Public Square, or near rail, would be really helpful.