redbrick

^ I'm not laughing either but c'mon, the national, even international media has anointed Cleveland the "epicenter" of this crisis. No doubt the foreclosure numbers in Cuyahoga county stand out for now, but in the end I think Cleveland will be seen as more of a bellweather than the center of it all. There were an awful lot of $400,000+ starter homes built on the coasts during this run up. Plus vast swaths of cheaply constructed, vinyl sided boxes in subdivisions across this great land. Many with two incomes to qualify, 0 down, interest only loans too. When this all finally shakes out, I think Cleveland as the epicenter may just be an afterthought...

If there's a city that can get blamed for "...slowing down the entire North American economy?" what city would that be? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080118.wcover19/BNStory/robNews/?pageRequested=1

Just IMHO, it's what surrounds the area, not the park itself that makes the public space. There has to be a reason for people to be there, not just a plaza or park for the sake of one. So adjacent uses that draw pedestrians in or at least through the area. Mixed uses nearby, by both time and type so it's not desolate after business hours for instance. I believe Jane Jacobs wrote about this quite a bit in her criticisms of certain urban renewal projects of the 60's - locally think Erieview plaza before the Galleria or Capitol South in Columbus before City Center.

"That you want to... explore. search. probe. experience." World class verbiage :-D

KJP -- you deserve a raise!

Stumbled upon this recently: http://www.tradeshowweek.com/article/CA6504441.html Not really anything groundbreaking in this but it does say "All parties interested in the answer to that question – the CVB, local officials and Merchandise Mart – agree that whatever is built will include a medical mart, 500,000 sq. ft. of permanent show space modeled after Chicago's Merchandise Mart" It goes on the say the rest of the convention center would be 300,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and 200,000 for meeting space. So 500,000 for the medical mart? -- seems that's way more square footage than I've seen mentioned anywhere else. Could be a mistake...

I noticed major elevator work was underway there earlier this year, not sure if it was related to this proposal or would allow it to proceed...

^ Isn't it common knowledge that the bestest cities have the cheapest parking??? :wink:

If it's 12/28, I'm in... It would be my first time :-D

If this link has been posted before, my apologies -- they are demographic/income numbers the developer is using to pitch the project: http://www.steelyardcommons.com/demo.asp

well at least it would be a change of scenery for these "campers" -- steel mills vs. corn fields...

Avon is not paying for this interchange if it does go in -- it will be paid for by developers who stand to profit. The better question is who will pay for the "real" cost of the interchange when all the roads that lead to it have to be widened or when yet another lane is "needed" on I-90. The answer -- not Avon and its 15,000 residents. Sprawl has been made possible/subsidized by urban counties for decades and yet when we finally see some pushback (albeit weak) we get these crazy arguments from exurban leaders. When exurban communities lure residents for decades with the low-tax carrot and then say they need to increase their tax base to provide basic services for their residents, you don't see an issue with that. It's a ponzi scheme that has to collapse at some point -- some may say it is already happening. Then we all pay as a region with higher taxes, stagnant population and less opportunity for all.

From the PD: Mayors, Cuyahoga issue ultimatum on proposed I-90 interchange Share taxes or we'll vote no, say mayors, county Monday, October 08, 2007 Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporter The Cleveland area's top elected leaders say they will vote to block a proposed Interstate 90 link in Avon unless the region's fastest-growing suburb agrees to share income taxes from development at the site. Mayor Frank Jackson and Cuyahoga County commissioners say they are ready to take a dramatic stand against the on-off ramps proposed at Nagel Road, a project they say typifies the sprawl that has sucked wealth from Cleveland and its suburbs. "We agree that approval of this project must be contingent upon a revenue sharing plan that addresses the negative economic impacts on surrounding communities," read a statement released Friday by Jackson, Cuyahoga County Commissioners President Tim Hagan and Bay Village Mayor Deborah Sutherland, president of the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association. More at cleveland.com

Drove by this the other day and had to return with camera in hand: The "points" were added within the last week or so: The responsible parties: Begs the question, should there be such a thing as "architectural malpractice"...

Some Video shot right after the APTA Award Ceremony at Euclid and E. 40th Quick walk through the BRT vehicle (before all the officials wandered over from across the street) Quicktime, high-res Windows Media, high-res ECP Jaywalker caught on tape :-D Quicktime, high-res Windows Media, high-res E. 40th Eastbound Platform/BRT Vehicle Quicktime, high-res Windows Media, high-res

Here's a link to video of the festivities at Euclid and E. 40th this morning -- WARNING, it's 41+ minutes, raw footage, lots of "official" speeches Quicktime, low-res Windows Media, high-res/broadband I moved the rest of the ECP videos here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2840.msg223871#msg223871

From The Plain Dealer: Continental gets direct flight to Shanghai from Newark Posted by kturner September 25, 2007 17:53PM It should get easier to get to China for Ohio business and vacation travelers. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced Tuesday that several airlines, including Continental with a major hub in Cleveland, have been tentatively awarded rights to fly directly from Newark to Shanghai, China, starting in 2009. Barring an unexpected change in final approval, Continental will join Northwest in Detroit, American in Chicago, Delta in Atlanta and USAirways in Philadelphia as carriers to China. A Continental spokeswoman said the airline will establish through-service from Cleveland to Newark to make a convenient link to Shanghai. Details of the Cleveland-Newark- Shanghai service will be announced when the approval is final.

Elyria City Council considers opposing planned I-90, Nagel Road interchange ALEX M. PARKER , Morning Journal Writer ELYRIA -- When Elyria City Council meets Oct. 1 it will consider a resolution opposing the planned Interstate 90 interchange at Nagel Road in Avon. Councilman Eddie Mitchell, D-6, who is chairman of the Rules Committee, said his committee would consider the resolution before council's next meeting. The resolution was referred to council by Mayor Bill Grace, an outspoken critic of the project who also sits on the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency -- the public body which will ultimately vote on the project. http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18827441&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

Maybe this can be the impetus to kill the debacle that is ODOTs plan for rebuilding the interbelt through downtown Cleve. Reroute the I-90 across and through an improved I-490 bridge/I-77 interchange as KJP suggested and be done with it.

That's a nice sewer cover -- too bad it's going to be surrounded by busted up concrete curbs 3 or 4 years from now. Is value engineering out the granite curbs really a value in the long run?

The main building was never finished as originally envisioned -- the tower was to have been at the center of two identical wings, the never built mirror image of the north wing would have fronted on Lorain.

My day yesterday: Arrived at Hopkins at 6:30 AM for 7:25 AM flight to Chicago (ORD) Plane left gate on time and parked on apron for ~50 minutes (ATC ground stop for ORD) After about 90 minutes in the air, landed at DTW (Detroit) after being diverted from ORD Caught the first flight back to CLE from DTW, arrived at 2:30 PM Spent 8 hours of my life in planes and airports, missed my Chicago meeting, got very little work done, have to do it all again some other day... Definitely something wrong with this picture!!!

I lived in Columbus during the time the I-670/High Street cap was fought for and won. I attended most of meetings, especially those held in Victorian Village. My memory is a bit fuzzy (it was 15 or so years ago) but I do recall that ODOT held to the party line -- "cap too expensive", "would delay project", blah, blah, blah... for quite a while. That was until federal lawsuits were threatened and some consultant or lawyer from The National Trust for Historic Preservation got involved. Then ODOT started to soften on the "no cap" stance and other design changes. Of course it took very engaged and vocal community groups as well.

If the idea of an Urban Ohio "news bureau" should take off, I'd be happy to help on the video production side with time and equipment (HDV cam, lights, sound, editing, etc.) I think it would be a worthwhile feature to add to the forum -- some short video segments on new projects, interviews, meeting highlights, etc. I may do it anyway and stick in on youtube if no one here is up for it. I just figure some collaboration among the members here could lead to some nice video pieces with a positive urban slant.

I'm thinking of the more general "reality" that the majority of people in the US prefer (or at least are conditioned) to shop at auto-centric, open air shopping centers these days. As for SYC in particular, I'm sure there was much less guessing and much more hard market and demographic stats that convinced all the big boxes to sign on. Slightly OT, but if Stark or Wolstein peg their projects' success on "destination retail" I would predict the same fate for them as Tower City. That being said, I think (and hope) they know better.