redbrick

^^same suburban shopping mall concept? What about the two attached hotels and thousands of office workers that don't even have to go outside to shop there. I'm guessing that the office workers in TC/Landmark complex will spend more money at SYC on their drive home than they ever spent at Higbee's/Dilliards or the Gap, etc. I'm not saying I like it, it's just reality.

Of course us urban purists would love to see "good urban design" and only that in all new developments in the city. Let's be realistic, good design is certainly important, but it's going to take a whole lot more than that to reverse the outmigration trend of the last 5 decades. I am no fan of big box shopping centers and I haven't set foot in a mall of any sort for at least 5 years now, maybe longer. When I hear downtown workers (suburbanites or exurbanites who probably have never spent any meaningful retail dollars in Cleveland proper) talking over their cubicle walls about the easiest way to get to SYC, I say the good of this development outweighs the bad. You can change the policies, the zoning that has hurt our cities. How do you change the perception to get people to look inward again? I would argue that development on the scale of SYC, on a highly visable brownfield site, will help change perception more than a well designed effort in downtown proper, at this point in time anyway.

SYC will not only keep Cleveland retail dollars in Cleveland, but will attract new retail dollars from suburbanites on their way to, from and through downtown. Would I rather see a retail rebirth in downtown proper - of course! But at least this is getting people who for a generation have only known the drive out to the suburban fringe to the the latest big box/strip/life style center to see there are other options. It's a step in the process and better that the "no-build" option for sure.

There were some unexpected site/soil conditions that had to be addressed that are at least partially responsible.

I just stopped by the sales office at lunch to check out the maps and renderings -- if that's the first building, which I think it is, it is the NE corner of 12th and St. Clair, directly across from the Galleria's back entrance.

Or that his successor's hair caught on fire (smoldered is more like it, but it was still pretty funny -- Perk was as corrupt as they come). Hope I don't get in trouble for this... Just realized I should have read the part about how to post images first. Oh well.

I recall seeing a survey taker on a train leaving TC, I think it was back in May. It was pre-afternoon rush, around 3:45 PM or so. She was counting people as they boarded the train and then as they exited as far as I could tell. So RTA or someone is tracking this it would seem, I'd sure like to see the numbers.

A quick observation on multi-car trains -- on my trip this morning from Triskett RTS to Tower City I observed all 2-car trains operating. The one eastbound that I just missed, the eastbound I caught and 4 westbound. The timeframe was ~10:25 to 11:00 AM. I saw the 4th 2-car westbound leaving TC as we pulled in. I ride everyday and this was certainly unusual, normally just see the occasional 2-car off peak. Now if they are starting to run 2-cars outside rush hour, because the single cars can indeed get crowded, lets fill those additional seats!!!