ITakeTheRapid

I never really understood the midtown site for such a big, new construction project. It seems occupancy and room rates have rebounded post covid. I think Cleveland’s definitely in need for some fresh hotel options. I recently stayed in a newer hotel in Detroit’s Corktown (a trendy neighborhood next to downtown) and it was nice but I just thought about Cleveland’s near west side has so much more to offer. It seems like nothing can get off the ground here. Voss hotel plans are off, Westinghouse, Hulett, Bridgeworks all seem paused. Heck I’d argue you could make Intro phase2 a premium hotel and it’d be filled.

There are suburban stadiums all over the country where these deals get figured out. I don’t see any reason why the state and county wouldn’t support Brookpark. Rumor is that Jimmy could put up half. Brookpark might not have money but they can still offer all kinds of incentives. I think if things are really moving in this direction and Bibb is getting cut off he should make the case that Jimmy has turned his back on Cleveland. Cleveland has a ton to lose. Make him Modell 2.0. Make the case they would now be the Brookpark Browns.

I’ve been taking in a lot of local media today and am in the same boat as you. It’s infuriating. It’s also obvious that the people speaking (both local media members and callers) have very little knowledge of downtown Cleveland. And a lot of the people don’t seem like regular attendees. It’s also clear the majority of our region is suburb-based. These people feel more comfortable walking through a huge parking lot and sitting in their car for 90 mins than they do walking a few blocks downtown. One host said “think, you really can’t get a good meal near the current stadium. When they build out Brookpark there will be nice restaurants all over”. Jimmy is already selling crack to addicts, now he will control the whole supply chain.

I can’t imagine a more depressing setting for a gameday.

I think you’re spot on. I remember coming home from college with friends and Melt was the place to hit. Great craft beer selection during that explosion, fun bar food, and they really repped Cleveland. It’s really suburban based concept though and I’m not sure if they had a better direction to take for growth/sustainability. It’s sad to see a proud local business struggle but I think they’ve outlived anything you could hope for a suburban sports bar type place. It’s exciting to see more sushi, Chinese hot pot, and kbbq pop up in the burbs these days. I can’t explain how Outback and Texas Roadhouse are still packed. The city’s food scene has definitely changed but to me it seems we’ve really fallen behind peer cities with current trends. I’m hopeful that there will be boomerangs coming back from big cities and young chefs with unique backgrounds willing to take a shot. It seems that’s what drives the scenes in other cities.

With the way things are trending it seems like extreme heat is more of a threat than cold. In baseball the situation is obviously much worse. When all of our pro sports are played on artificial grass under artificial lights I think we’ve lost something. The NFL isn’t mandating domes at this point though. Jimmy can spend whatever he wants but I’m really just concerned with what taxpayers get back from their contribution. I’m all for fans being more comfortable but I have a feeling even a dome would be rarely used.

I get Choolah somewhat regularly and it’s usually empty. I don’t know how they pay the rent. Between OHC and Tremont we will have OCB, Chipotle, Condado, Momocho, Avo, Clandestina, Barrio, and Cilantro as “Mexican” options. So many dining trends missing. And I don’t understand how Ginko and Dave’s are the only sushi options. I’m happy that Chipotle is investing in the neighborhood but it seems most new restaurants are chains. I’d love to support more local.

I would really love to see accurate street-level renderings of the different Shoreway options. I’ve heard things like “extend the street grid” and “crosswalks” and I’m really struggling to picture how much of an improvement it would be with the rail tracks and grade change. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I don’t think major changes to the Shoreway will be worth the cost or effort. I think it would be far harder than the west side of the Shoreway and look at what we got.

I really think the stadium’s presence on the lakefront helps the odds of development including the land bridge. If downtown is thriving in 20-30 years and it’s beneficial to move it and develop the site I’ll be all for it. Would a dome be nice? Of course but I doubt the willpower or return on investment is there now. I fail to see what would be gained by building new outside of downtown at this point. I guess Jimmy makes out because he’d own all the parking and bars. For the average fan or out-of-towner that experience would suck.

Thanks for the update! These have been fantastic to see where we’re at. It’s exciting we still have 50-60ft more to the highest point! Does anyone know if the 36th floor will have outdoor access on that cut out area to the north? It seems like it would otherwise make sense to extend office space to that corner for the views. I believe Key uses the top 2 floors for executive offices/meeting space.

I’m all for driving traffic downtown. These chain immersive experiences and “museums” opening in every city are a sad money grab when we have such fantastic institutions in the city already though.

Im really interested to see how SHW plans the rest of the site. If tower 2 is on w6 and has decent sized floorplates I fear the buildings will look crowded. At least the architects seemed to value skyline balance when they proposed phase 1. If the buildings are that close I’d imagine they considered some kind of connection/play between them but the original massing doesn’t inspire much. The parking garage under construction seems like such a mistake. Too much area and too few spots. As much as I love transit, forcing employees to take it does not help SHW. They will need a lot more parking and it’s going to be sad if it’s along the perimeter of this project. In my experience with Key it seems post covid more people are choosing Tiedeman over the tower if given the choice. It’s sad but driving to a suburban parking lot fits into the lifestyle of most workers a lot easier than going downtown.

I’ve been really impressed with the Autograph Hotels we’ve stayed at so far. Spent a staycation night at the Renaissance in January and it was pretty rough. If the floorplans of the rooms remain the same (I can’t see them changing) there are some real challenges with room size and the atrium rooms. We really have a fantastic selection of hotels in converted historic buildings though. I’m hopeful that we can get a 4+ star new build soon. Despite the good number of rooms downtown it seems occupancy and rates are high lately compared to other cities we’ve traveled.

Here are a few distance pics from my current walk. Metroparks has the trails in impressive shape today!

As someone who lives 2 blocks away and walks this part of Abbey multiple times each week I’m really suspicious if this would be worth it. I’m all for cleaning up/updating the station though.

There’s no doubt the trend is toward domes. They allow for a much more consistent game and fan experience. In my experience domes often feel depressing and stale. On a beautiful fall day I don’t want to sit inside with a strong echo and the overpowering smell of concessions. Seeing the game played outside, on natural grass is special and becoming rare. Plenty of “good weather” cities are too hot to play outside. In theory a retractable roof fixes a lot of these issues. The crazy cost probably kills the option though. In reality these roofs are almost always closed for games and the shadows are brutal. They ending up feeling like a rarely used sunroof. With the growing number of domes I wouldn’t predict a massive influx of events either. There’s a lot of competition and the list of shows for a 60k crowd is short. I think the most important aspect of a new stadium is that it remains walkable to the downtown core. We already have parking, public transportation, and a fantastic selection of bars, restaurants, and hotels. The NFL is bigger than ever and even though the number of games is limited each one is an enormous event. All the energy and money that trickles through downtown on a game weekend is important. After traveling a good amount I’d argue that our gameday experience is even great now. I don’t understand some people’s hope for a palace in a suburban parking lot.

I lived in the Short North for 4 years and really thought of it as more of a street than a neighborhood. The development has been impressive in that stretch but I think it has come at a cost to downtown Columbus. The location and walkability to campus and downtown is great though (but crowded on the narrow sidewalks). I’m most concerned with the build quality of Bridgeworks. I can’t see these 4 story wood framed buildings holding up well long term not even considering the sound insulation. I think Ohio City would be a fantastic site for a trendy hotel (as the Short North has become) but I’m surprised that the latest design is even workable. My personal dream would be something like a Thompson going in at Intro2 or maybe a 21c at Voss. I think options like those would book up fast even at the higher price point.

I’m happy that attendance is up and I wouldn’t be surprised if Blitzer helped with the promotions. I think the trends are a lot more complex though. High expectations going into the season, good weather, and new rules and pacing all played a part as well. That being said this was a terribly disappointing season and, as someone who always attends a lot of games, I’d say the gameday experience has stagnated in the last few years. I’m really skeptical of a ballpark village. I don’t feel we need another entertainment district between E4th and the Gateway District. I can’t see a large amount of fans coming down on non game-days. Hopefully a good number of residential units and possibly a hotel could be viable. I’m afraid activating the street would be challenging though.

It’ll be interesting to see how Condado does in the neighborhood. Chains seem to have trouble in Ohio City and plenty of the population is Barrio-ed out. Anyone have info on Dave’s Hot Chicken? It looks like construction has really slowed/stopped.