8ShadesofGray

This quote is funny to me on so many different levels.

The Avenue District is a little remote from this project ... its current eastern terminus is at the equivalent of E. 16th, while Tyler Village doesn't pick up until E. 34th. That being said, from E. 19th to E. 26th/the highway, there's a lot of revitalization opportunity and current activity in the live/work warehouses that flank Superior. Then, after the highway, you have a nice corridor of Asiatown businesses going down to Tyler Village, as well as other arts-related spaces at the 1400 Building (E. 30th), Berr Studios (E. 32nd) and Josaphat Arts Hall (E. 33rd). So 10 years down the road ...

Welcome, Gilgi! I would definitely recommend giving Ohio City a thorough look, as it seems to be meet all of your criteria. The neighborhood is on the west side but lies adjacent to downtown. There are a lot of great restaurants, etc. & the neighborhood is pretty bike/train friendly, so it's fairly easy to get to other locations throughout town. As far as historic preservation-type housing goes, it doesn't get better than Ohio City; the neighborhood was recently featured in Cottage Living's 10 best cottage communities for 2007 and described as having a "gracious street layout and fine 19th century homes" (http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/travel/article/0,21135,1632876,00.html). The neighborhood is certainly diverse as well, both economically and racially, and most of the moderate to higher income residents choose to live there for that very reason. As far as your two concerns, safety and resale value, I think both problems were overstated above. Cleveland crime rates have dropped from last year, and Ohio City benefits from having a lot of "eyes on the street" and active neighborhood groups. Housing values have been steadily increasing in the neighborhood, and you won't see as many for-sale signs here as you might elsewhere. The foreclosure crisis that is very real nationwide and certainly in Cleveland tends to affect lower-cost housing more adversely than higher-cost housing (as lower income residents have been victims of predatory lending tactics). That being said, while resale values haven't dipped as considerably as many would believe, houses are sitting on the market citywide longer than they had been, so definitely bear that in mind. OC definitely seems a great choice, but Cleveland is home to a lot of distinct neighborhoods, so I would definitely explore thoroughly before making a commitment to purchase in a particular place; whatever your personality, we have a neighborhood you'll love if you spend a little time looking. On the west side, I would also take a look at Detroit Shoreway (especially the W. 65th area south and north of Detroit and the early W. 70s north of Detroit; substantial efforts to open up accessibility to the Lake and to invest a great deal of money into the burgeoning arts district at W. 65th & Detroit means that housing values will likely increase over the next few years), Edgewater (particularly on and just off of Clifton in the W. 100s to W. 117th) & possibly Old Brooklyn. On the east side, both Little Italy and Shaker Square are very nice and very walkable to conveniences, but as has been noted, this would be a much longer commute for you. I would anticipate that Little Italy housing prices, already relatively high for our market, will escalate over the next few years, as civic leaders work to create an arts and retail district adjacent to the neighborhood. My chief advice would be to get out and explore before making a commitment. You might also seek out the Living in Cleveland Center (http://livingincleveland.nhlink.net/) for additional advice, brochures, etc. And as has been noted, I would consider rental opportunities as well as ownership. Really, barring possibly NYC, Boston and San Fran, I think it would be inadvisable to buy a house anywhere in the country unless you're expecting to live there at least 3-4 years, so that you can recoup the costs of the closing, putting it back on the market, etc.

^ Thanks.

That space rocks. Looking forward to checking out the restaurant, too. What kind of fare will they serve? Also, any news/postcards, etc. about the Arts Walk?

Hand.

Chapstick!

I'm pretty sure the second set of townhomes were always part of this phase, as were a set of homes along the eastern border of the site (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2525.msg125846#msg125846). So I anticipate these are moving forward regardless of the current levels of sales, as they already hit their pre-sell requirements.

Not only would I bump the thread, but I'd also rename it "Prostitution Legalized in All 3 of the Big C's!!!" so you get some more hits.

Noticed that some of the brick facades were going up on the first townhouses when I walked by on Saturday.

Great shots, MayDay! It's always weird when you realize YOUR extended network is in MAYDAY's extended network! Ah, Cleveland! :laugh:

This is such a good point, Inkaelin! A friend and I took the train from Shaker Square to Puritas and then biked the Rocky River Reservation yesterday. It was a great trip, and we very pleased to be able to take a trip that spanned the east and west borders of Cleveland without having to use a car. All was great until we transferred from the Red Line to the Blue/Green Line in Tower City. We were allowed to pay our fare and wheel our bikes through, but then the conductor informed us that we couldn't board our bikes because of Browns' game traffic. The cars were only about half-full, and there were no bikes on board. Ironically, we had to wait half a half hour until 6 p.m. so that we could board, at which time the train cars were much fuller than half an hour earlier. The conductor was also fairly antagonistic to us, and I've heard other stories about personnel being rather rude to people who are trying to board during prohibited times. I understand that this probably slows down their route to have to explain that you can't board, but it doesn't seem like these rules are well-posted in the station, so it's hardly the riders' faults (I knew about the rush hour rule, but not the Browns game rule). Moreover, I've never really understood why there are limitations on bike traffic but seemingly no similar regulation of strollers, carriages, etc. which seem equally if not more unwieldy than my road bike. JMasek, RTA has done an incredible job of encouraging accessibility for cyclists, and I applaud this. But I would definitely welcome: - Drivers who are more polite to those loading bicycles. - Less regulations as to when and how many bikers are allowed to board. If nothing else, it seems more sensible to limit boarding when a certain level of car capacity has been hit, rather than a time period (when cars might or might not be full). - For those regulations that are necessary/retained, clearer postings in the Rapid stations regarding what those rules are. Thank you!

^ Just as a note, KJP took the photos, which are some great pics!

This is such a great event, and the sidewalk sale really seemed to add some additional density to it this year. Seeing someone stencil graffiti Patrick Park lyrics was an especially pleasant surprise ... two loves in one piece of art! Nice pics, MayDay.

It's really tough to tell, too, because Tremont's condensed festival in the park makes attendance look a lot denser there. Superior looked dead, but every studio I was in seemed to be bumping ... it's just so spread out and the buildings so large that you don't see as many people on the street at any given time. To a lesser degree, I think this is also true of Little Italy and even the Galleria somewhat. Meanwhile, the gazebo-looking thing that KJP caught in the front of the Artefino/Tower Press shot is one of the three new public art pieces that was a percent-for-art project of the Superior Ave. Streetscape Improvement. The pieces were dedicated Saturday by Cimperman and Jackson. Drive by at night ... they are lit up by LED lighting and look pretty nice. As I understand it, the LED display is programmable so that the lighting effect will vary from time to time, and artist Stephen Manka (http://www.mankadesignstudio.com/) is planning to add a feature to his website where you can recommend lighting programming.

I would add Donnie Darko. That was a pretty smart reinterpretation of life in the suburbs in 1988 ... and a pretty fascinating, mind-bending film to boot.

From the PD blog today ... and might I note that this entry has led to some of the most ignorant (and borderline racist) reader comments I've ever read on there ... and for the PD comment threads, that's saying a lot. Plain Dealer picketed by group seeking more coverage of black community Donna J. Miller September 14, 2007 11:57AM About 40 people picketed today in front of the Plain Dealer building at 1801 Superior Ave. demanding that the paper do a better job of covering the black community. "All of the black community, not just the Uncle Toms of the establishment," shouted Bert Jennings, who produces the Carl Stokes Forum, a local cable show ... ... More at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/09/plain_dealer_picketted_for_fai.html

Also of note, there are applications submitted for the state tax credit for both 2010 and 2020 Euclid, identified as "staged" renovation projects.

Any news on this? The spreadsheet that presOhio provided a link to (http://net.odod.state.oh.us/ohptc/) shows that there are only a handful of applications still pending initial review, but it doesn't indicate that any of the projects have been approved to proceed. Is there any timeline for when projects will start receiving approval? Are they waiting until all of the current applications have undergone initial review?

^^ Haha ... I knew I'd make you spill it! ^ :-o

Please, oh please, yes ...

Please oh please, no ...

Hmmm ... Interesting. If I understand this location correctly, it is not part of the planned College Town development but is within the boundaries, per the site plan Musky posted at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2289.msg218249#msg218249. Could this be the new Wright Center? I wouldn't guess Musky would describe that as a non-CSU project, and I believe the article described that project as a renovation. So Musky, any idea if we'll literally have to wait until the end of the year to find out what's going on here?

Finished. Interesting project. My eyes hurt.

See dedication ceremony invite below: