Avogadro

Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything

I know of at least one street in Central (E. 35th) where the ginormous city-supplied lift-bins (in black for trash and blue for recycling) have been supplied and used for the last couple of months, and I think that some streets in Archwood Denison have also been piloted.

Sure, punch.

Aye. And if and when <a href="http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=11901.60">Gray's Green</a> comes to fruition, that corner will most definitely hop.

It's still being used, it's owned by Cuyahoga County, there are empty docks. Overall, there ought to be enough capacity among the several marinas in Cuyahoga County to accommodate boaters. The problem is that the fees will be significantly higher, even in the less-pleasant private marinas.

A conversation I had with someone from what was then called the Convention and Visitor's Bureau yielded this nugget: Whenever a large firm (such as Nat City, Key, Eaton) tries to woo a high muckety-muck to come work with them and live in Cleveland, they will of course send a person to meet their target at the airport and host her/him throughout the visit to Cleveland. They just about NEVER have the host be somebody who was born and raised in Cleveland. Instead, they have somebody who moved to Cleveland (out of college or sometime during their adulthood) show off the City's charms. As somebody who was raised in Texas and moved here 13 years ago, I love living in Cleveland, including the effed-up way we put ourselves down.

If I recall, that organization (which was mainly pushed/pulled by Alex Machaskee to do the project) is defunct. I believe that Ohio & Erie Canalway want it as a part of Canal Basin Park, but I too haven't heard anything lately.

Actually, they do- at least they welcome folks who are homeless at their community's Whitman House. Also, they regularly open the Storefront on Lorain near Randall several days a week for meals and shelter. They aren't just providing lip service.

Ach, I neglected to also throw in this link: http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2007/12/developer_starks_deserves_hear.html

If anything, it would be preferable for street life to break up that superblock with another E. 4th-like alley. While the Euclid and Colonial arcades provide cut-throughs, there still is at least 700 feet of unrelieved storefront and parking between E. 9th and E. 4th (the E. 8th "alley" doesn't count). However, if the cut through only served cars with a very, very narrow sidewalk, then I withdraw my support. Is there any preservation case for the Dollar Bank building? Is it particularly unique or representative of its time in a way that other existing buildings (in presumably better condition) aren't?

I have it on good authority that there would be a second tower, with preservation of the existing.

*sniffs* Evidently, I am.

Is that from the quoted "prominent urbanist", or from you? That's some fairly nasty language. Granted, I agree with the staff recommendation, but at least it isn't bilious.

Hm. <a href=" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1221/558563682_e39002eb3c_b.jpg"></a> (I know, Back on Topic Please, but one of my buttons got pushed. Farmland isn't nothing.)

The houseboats (including the red A-frame that's now near Collision Bend) didn't need an agreement from any gummint entities. Scaravelli had a submerged land lease there at Marina Bay. Actually, that's not quite accurate; where the marina exists now was dry land as recently as 1986. Scaravelli subsequently carved out the marina. Now, the navigation channel doesn't actually extend from shoreline to shoreline. There are numerous spots in the Cuyahoga where the river is wide enough that only the section in the middle is dredged to ~23 ft. for lake carriers. Which leads us back to Irishtown Bend; according to the 2005 Corps of Eng. sounding chart, about 20 feet from the current shoreline into the River is not part of the navigation channel, so boats could be docked there. However, you'd still need to get power/sewer/water.

Oddly, this might be the most likely scenario, especially considering the City's interest in industrial development in the I-90 corridor

I agree. One of my favorite places anywhere is the <a href="http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2744681-liberty_bar_san_antonio-i">Liberty Bar</a> in San Antonio, precisely because it is so utterly ramshackle (the entire building leans to the west).

That's right. The City has been fast-tracking the BKL Master Plan. Work was announced last month, and the consultants wanted to have the first phase completed by October 1. http://www.airportsites.net/MasterPlans/BKL-MP-Update/index.htm

This explains so much about their burgers. (Sorry, back on topic)

Boy, it really doesn't. I'm afraid I wasn't privy to much of the goings-on with that one. My understanding is that the final product (if it ever happens) will probably not bear much resemblance to what we've seen. I'm not even sure if there was a RFQ before the RFP. I don't think that there was, however. It's not a method that is used often, but it should be.

One of the things that a public entity can do, under the O.R.C., is to have a two-tiered process with a Request for Qualifications and a subsequent Request for Proposals. In the RFQ, you cast a wide net and set a general set of standards pertinent to the eventual project, without worrying about the eventual cost. That way, the J'sFR&BDCo can get weeded out early. The selected firms then would compete for the RFP, for which cost will be a major criteria, but not the only one. Adding an RFQ generally adds at least three months to the process, but done well, you have a somewhat better chance of getting a competent and imaginative designer. And, if you can get the RFP scoresheet to put more weight on design than cost, then a great designer ought to rise to the top (provided that the contract is under budget). Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure to contain costs, which oftentimes means that design takes a back seat. But, with a more enlightened design culture, even the politicos could loosen the purse strings a bit (while still maintaining the legal nature of the process).

Rent for supermarkets in shopping centers are already consistent with the loss-leader market; if I recall correctly, somewhere in the neighborhood of half the cost per square foot as other stores in the same center. So, it would be pretty much understood that Wolstein would take a loss in rent from Heinen's only to recoup it from the other parts of the development. By the bye, this is also why you hardly ever see new free-standing supermarkets; it's so much cheaper for a chain to lease from a developer.

I like it too, but I'm unable to shake the image of the open back of a hospital gown.

<a href="http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/13/good-things-from-petite-packages">Le Petit Triangle</a>: it's run and owned by the same folks who ran "Take a Bite" by Lincoln Park (which is now occupied by "Dish", which is much like the old TaB). That space is relatively under the radar, and might need some better signage since its Bridge Avenue presence is damn-near non-existent. Is Kimo's still open next door?

Bu...bu... but Grumpy's is <i>just</i> up the hill! And they have the walnut-crusted french toast and sausage gravy and biscuits. Fortunately, MetroHealth is only a five minute drive away. That said, living in Tremont, it is nice to be able to amble down the Valley to Target instead of getting on the freeway. And the retail mix does seem to complement what's available in the adjacent neighborhoods. It would have been nice if Schneider cooperated with a few of us to try to get the stores to put in green roofs. Unlike most other developments, one would actually be able to see the roofs from the access roads and freeways.