8ShadesofGray

My biggest frustration is that after seeing about three or four retoolings of this site, I don't think it's becoming either more aesthetically pleasing or meanginful different in its architecture. I just kind of marvel at how much money must be getting spent on all of this rebranding. I just can't imagine pixelated-edged pictures of guitars and spaghetti would motivate ONE SINGLE tourist or convention planner to choose Cleveland as a destination ... no matter how positive we might be.

Yep. Or let a Positively Cleveland design consultant do the same.

If the main justification for building a skyscraper is fulfilling some phallic pride in the residents of greater Cleveland, then I cannot imagine how that could possibly be a good idea. Downtown's main aesthetic challenge, in my opinion, is missing teeth, not height. We're already home to Ohio's largest skyscraper, also one of the 20 tallest in the country and 100 in the world. Something along the scale of FEB or Pesht makes more sense, particularly because it's in a mixed-use context. Building a neighborhood that can serve as a magnet for a dense pool of knowledge workers seems more likely to attract businesses to the CBD than would a monolithic single use office tower.

45% :oops:

^That's some REALLY crappy clipping path action ... but it seems like they rebrand the site every three months or so, so I guess we just need to wait for them to get tired of it.

My understanding, and I could be totally wrong here but I don't think I am, is that they're expanding to have a more cafe-oriented setting, not unlike Presti's.

:x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x It's bad enough that we would demo a structurally sound, historically significant building for a new county admin center ... but to destroy it so that someone MIGHT eventually construct something on it, when there are plentiful empty lots and surface parking lots in relative proximity to this site is LUDICROUS. If we're speculating about who might buy the site and for what purpose, wouldn't it make more sense to leave the building intact, since, I don't know, someone might want to renovate it?! I say remove the asbestos and then leave it the eff alone!

^ That's great news. I can't wait to see the plan. Am I correct in my understanding that Zaremba and Maron are only working on the Triangle piece? How are plans proceeding on the north side of Euclid? Does UCI own that parcel or have development rights there? I can't remember the details for how quickly planning was going on for that parcel, other than recalling that the Hessler folks were (as always) not supportive of the idea of development there.

I almost forgot the magic that was the Bozo Show. I just knew I could make it into Bucket 6 if given the opportunity.

It's a little strange to me that the GCP is choosing who serves on these committees and that these committees are then making recommendations regarding where the facilities would be located and how. It seems like GCP would have some conflicts of interest given their membership base and their real estate work. More importantly, I believe the Facilities Authority would be required to abide by sunshine laws, while groups like the GCP, unless formally empowered by the commissioners, wouldn't. I could be wrong here, but that seems like an attempt to keep the decision-making process out of the public eye.

I certainly hope they're not waiting to get 100 apps before doing anything. As of last count, even with a pretty substantial new project in Cincy taking up 10 spots, there are only 84 apps. An article written by KJP noted that "The Capitol Theater renovation ranked 26th out of the first 100 projects statewide to be funded by the new program. But since it is a new program, it isn't yet known what the total amount of tax credits will be available. The two state agencies jointly administering the program, the Ohio Department of Development and State Historic Preservation Office, are working out the details, Ramsey said. Given those uncertainties, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization could hear from the state between now and June 30 on whether it will be awarded the tax credits." (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2873.msg223136#msg223136). I would take this to mean that no decision-making process has been publicly announced, and the only assurety we have is that the credits will be distributed by the close of fiscal year at the end of June 2008.

I'm pretty sure Tyler village is actually toward the upper left/middle of your shot (with a little piece of Josaphat Arts Hall sticking up fuzzily in its foreground) I believe that's probably the ArtCraft Building at Superior and E. 25th-ish in the upper right.

FirstEnergy CEO throws down on electric plan Posted by John Funk October 04, 2007 12:30PM The gloves will come off today when FirstEnergy Corp. chief executive Anthony Alexander tells Ohio lawmakers how wrong he thinks Gov. Ted Strickland's electricity restructuring bill would be for the state. Strickland's bill - creating a comprehensive energy policy undoing deregulation, encouraging conservation and mandating renewable energy -- would certainly be wrong for the Akron-based utility ... ... More at http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2007/10/firstenergy_ceo_throws_down_on.html

^ It only supplies a small amount of the power at the Center; if memory serves me correctly, it's about 8% of the overall power consumption at the Center. Given the sheer size of the building and the number of electricity-required exhibits, not to mention a big ol' Omnimax theater, that's still nothing to sneeze at. Equally important, I think it's meant to serve as visual evidence of Cleveland's interest in sustainable energy strategies, both for people out-of-town and to increase consciousness of our locals. The Great Lakes Science Center also uses it as an educational opportunity; they have several exhibits about both the wind turbine and their solar pavilion that teach kids about the concepts of alternative energy and that measure energy production at the present and in months and years past.

^ I'm inclined to agree. As a minor example (I wouldn't say this is necessarily on par with the operations of a professional newsroom), when I was features editor for my college newspaper, we ran two stories side-by-side one issue - one recounting an individual's experience in a concentration camp during the Holocaust and the other examining how the Holocaust continues to impact contemporary German society. A front page designer quickly reviewed our page and did a teaser that indicated we were telling "both sides of the story of Nazi Germany". Needless to say, that teaser ended up sparking quite a controversy, as many people rightly pointed out its lack of sensitivity to people of the Jewish faith. If you looked at the actual features page, you saw that it was actually a pretty thoughtful analysis of how the evils of Naziism continue to have a profound impact on the people who lived through it, as well as on the social structure of the country where it took place. But lack of careful reading by another staff member made it seem like I was anti-Semitic.

Cartoons were never really my fare ... although I did love the Smurfs, the Snorks and, above all, Thundercats. Most of my television watching was sitcoms ... Family Ties (a personal fave), Webster, Head of the Class, Gimme a Break, Silver Spoons, Growing Pains, My Two Dads, Out of This World. Game shows were a big hit for me too ... particularly Press Your Luck, Rodeo Drive and Shop 'til You Drop (see? Gay people really ARE born). Kid game shows were good too, particularly Funhouse and Double Dare. I also watched some very STRANGE shows ... anyone remember Today's Special, where a mannequin comes to life? And let's not forget the cinematic masterpiece that was Alf. I also totally got into the early years of Nick at Nite ... The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, Dobie Gillis, Patty Duke, Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore (jeez ... every show has a person's name in it). Everyone loved the Muppets and Sesame Street, but I had this strange affinity for Zoobilee Zoo ... anyone remember that (see below)? The Fraggles rocked my world, and I also watched Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, but it was my introduction to the concept of channel surfing ... I would flip through to see if he was in the Land of Make Believe or in his boring-ass real life. I loved Lady Elaine (the villainess of the Land of Make Believe). Again, gay people are born ...

I appreciate the cam being operational, but I can't figure out why the image is so dark. It's semi-cloudy and bright at my office on E. 21st, but 12 blocks over, it perpetually looks like a tornado's about to touch down :-)

Ahhh ... and the infamous Wright Center, too. Is that a wind spiral in the center? :-)

But the gist is a new street that looks like it will spill out at about E. 19th on Euclid and across from the Wolstein Center on Prospect, with a reconfigured Swingos Court running the length from E. 18th to E. 21st, right?

Yeah, it seems unusual to me, too, but the sheer scope of Block 1, particularly with units fronting all four sides, seems too large to gel with their descriptions to date. From a Zaremba press release in December 2006: "The first phase includes the construction of 50 elegant lofts, eight penthouses, and 15 townhomes, with master plans calling for 426 upscale housing units in a wide range of size and price options." So the first phase is for 73 units, of a potential 426. I can't imagine that 73 units would take up much more space than the tower section of the building, particularly as some of those units are the townhouses over on Superior (so we're talking more in the, what, 58-63 range).

Nice! Thanks!

Jeez, Musky ... you sure are doing a lot of posting today in other threads ... today being Wednesday ... Wednesday being the day you were going to give more info on College Town. Ahem. :wink:

LOVES IT! Can't find any specifics on the program methodology, but still great to hear! Similar programs at Fifteen in London and the Bread and Butter Cafe in Savannah have been really well received.

I was under the impression that only the southwest component of the complex was going up right now, not the whole block. According to language from Zaremba that MrNYC posted quite a while back, Block One was to be completed over a series of four phases (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2525.msg79635#msg79635).