jonmoxon

That's interesting; when/where is the public hearing?

^I don't have any family in Conneaut--my parents live in Pierpont, just south of there; my 2 best friends are from there and their families still live there, not to mention my brothers' friends. I still keep up with a lot of people there. I went to St Frances Cabrini grade school in town, which closed several years ago due to declining enrollment. When there once used to be 2 Catholic parishes with their own schools as recently as the late 70's, now the parishes have merged and both schools are gone. It's the same sad story in little towns like this all over the country.

I thought it was the County's position that a new CC is not worth the expense if there is no MM attached. ^That's exactly what I was thinking; the article only mentioned SMG's interest in running a new convention center. Did they mean a 'Medical Mart'/CC? The article was not clear. Anyone have further info?

^The Harbor and downtown grew up seperately, although they were in the same municipality; AH developed around the shipping industry and the sailors who came in--Bridge St was a very rough 'hood at the turn of the century (brothels, saloons, etc) the neighborhoods around the Harbor were heavily Finnish (Conneaut & Fairport also have sizable Finnish population's) and Italian (dockworkers) while downtown Bula developed along a more traditional 'Main St USA' pattern. Imagine Fairport Harbor and downtown Painesville; an almost identical geographic and economic layout/history, except FH has remained a village unto itself. As for the remaining HS's, now that the new 'Lakeside' high and jr high have been built out in Saybrook township, the old Harbor hs and Bula hs are empty. Harbor was serving as the 9th grade bldg and Bula was 'Lakeside' high. Last I heard, some developer had expressed interest in the old Harbor bldg, otherwise it was slated for demo. I don't know what's going on with the old Bula high. Right now, St John is the only hs left in the city of Ashtabula. I'm actually headed back to Pierpont & Conneaut tonight; if I had a digital camera I'd take some shots and post 'em. :-(

For you history buffs out there, Ashtabula was once the largest coal-handling port in the world and Conneaut was once the largest iron-ore receiving port in the world. Ashtabula still ships a lot of coal, but Conneaut only does a fraction of the ore it used to since most of Pittsburgh's mills closed.

If my memory serves, Green Bay is the smallest market in all of professional sports (at least the Big 4). The city is just a little bigger than Erie, PA. :-o

Would SMG operate a "Medical Mart" or are they just interested in running the new CC? The article wasn't clear on that.

I grew up in Pierpont, (only those of you familiar with AC know where that's at) went to grade school in Conneaut for 8 yrs and went to HS in Ashtabula (jam40jeff and I have discussed this on the sports thread). I have a lot of friends from those 2 towns and those of us that have moved away still have a hard time seeing what's become of them in our lifetimes. I'm 31 and I can remember the Carlisle's on Main in Bula and all the different shops and whatnot. Same deal in Conneaut; I can remember my dad taking my bro's and I up there when we were really little to watch the Huletts' in action. It's been a love-affair with heavy industry and waterfronts ever since. :-)The closest malls were in Erie, Mentor, or Niles; at least 45 minutes away. The 'Bula mall didn't open til 92/93, I believe, sucking a lot of the life that was left out of both of those downtowns. Today, Conneaut doesn't have the business or population that Bula has, but it's currently much safer. Bula has gotten so much rougher in the last 10 yrs or so, it's amazing to me. Both of those towns still have some pretty decent neighborhoods up by their waterfronts; and if you ask me, any hopes of a Bula rennaissance will happen in the harbor, near the water, not on Main ave. My folks still live in Pierpont, and my best friends still get together in Conneaut over the holidays and whatnot, but the only time I ever get back to Bula is for a St John event; there's just no reason for me to go there. And it's depressing to see what it's become. I hope someday it can find it's economic niche, but there are hundreds of Ashtabula's all over the country.

^Back in the 70's and early 80's, ASJ's enrollment was well over 500 (I know, wow) compare that to the 120 in my grad year of 95 (co-ed) and it's been hovering around 100-120 ever since. It's no surprise that the athletics have struggled big-time as a whole (girls volleyball and boys baseball have been consistent exceptions). Sts John & Paul (as its known now) is still one of the smallest schools in the state that plays football. When I played there, Painesville Riverside and Madison were both still on the schedule (NEC) and they were D1 with 100+ kids on the roster while we suited up 35 (including freshmen). We could hang with those guys for a half or 3 qtrs or so, but eventually get worn down. We had some really talented baseball teams that could play with anybody. In the end, Ashtabula has fallen victim to the same economic forces that have swept the rest of the country; good blue-collar jobs moving overseas or just eliminated, leaving families to relocate or take lesser-paying jobs that make it very difficult to afford Catholic-school tuition. Just curious, what's your fiance's dad's name?

4 years of varsity football and baseball at Ashtabula St. John. (same hs as Urban Meyer, but grad 13 yrs after him) QB'd a kick-ass intramural fb team at JCU for 4 yrs.

Gildone, I agree with everything you said; my point is we are thisclose to war with Iran, and it has nothing to do with their nuclear program; just like our invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with wmd's...Saddam had started to do the exact same thing and wouldn't back down. Now he's gone. The Saudi's know if they try this, we will remove them too (this was covered in Confessions of an Economic Hitman) I'm just trying to expose this to those of us on the forum who don't necessarily follow geo-politics as closely as some of us; and that this relates to the people running for president and their policy positions. Again, I'll reiterate: If you want 'more wars' (McCain) and endless occupations overseas, and the financial ruin that is quickly approaching because of it....vote for McCain, Huckabee, Clinton, or Obama. They are all in the same boat on these issues. If you oppose more war and the continuing depreciation of the dollar, vote for Ron Paul. There really aren't any issues that are more important or pertinent to this nation right now than these 2, and we need to approach this election accordingly. Inform yourselves, and spread the word.

Those of you who follow the world-wide geo-political and oil situations may already be aware of this, but Iran has declared their intentions of pricing their oil in non-dollar currencies starting as soon as this feb 11th (the anniversary of their revolution); but due to the numerous (5) underseas internet cables being cut (coincidence?) over the last week that has left most of the middle east in the dark (except for Israel and Iraq) it has been extended to the 16th. This "Iranian Oil Bourse" threatens the very core of our American economic empire; if countries are no longer required to pay for oil in dollars (the sole remaining reason why the dollar is the world's reserve currency) our currency will simply collapse and the Great Depression will look like a fender-bender compared to what's in store for us. Our govt will not allow this, just like they didn't allow Saddam Hussein to do this (6 mos before we invaded Iraq). If other oil-producing countries were to see the Iranians get away with this, they would follow suit quickly, as they would be quick to dispense (dump?) depreciating US dollars in exchange for Euros/yen/etc. If you still think we're going to bomb/invade Iran because they're 'developing nuclear weapons', think again. This is all about preserving US economic dominance by any means necessary; If you like the current wars and want more of them, you're not going to be dissappointed. If you oppose this nonsense and the economic peril these people are about to bring us, I strongly suggest checking out Ron Paul and what he stands for. Expect to see action taken sooner rather than later. And buckle up. www.energybulletin.net/12125.html

^Yes, it's for the workers (weather protection), but it's primarily used as a kind of weather barrier to allow mortar to set up on masonry buildings. I'm pretty sure from the renderings that this bldg will have some manner of stone/masonry facade, and behind that barrier will be large torpedo heaters to bring up the temperature so the mortar joining the stone together will set up and cure properly; it can't in extremely cold weather. Just a little construction FYI :-)

I'm wracking my brain to remember a story I read a few years' back about a mid-sized company here in Ohio, instead of building a brand-new stand alone hq building on the outskirts of town ( I can't remember the town's name either), they bought several historic commercial bldgs in that towns CBD and rehabbed the upper floors for their offices and connected these to the other bldgs (these bldgs were next to each other; no skywalks). They then rehabbed the street-level storefronts in these bldgs and sought out retailers and the like for them. I'll be damned if I can remember the company or the town, but I vividly recall the CEO being quoted to the effect, 'we wanted to do something to preserve these historic bldgs and the life of downtown'. Did I jog anyone's memory with this? I would think this would be an example of a "campus" we could all live with, albeit on a much larger scale. :clap:

^Um, I wasn't aware that "bumrush" was a double entendre, or is it something else entirely?? :wtf:

^ +1

If Eaton is set on building inside the RTA loop north of the RR tracks, how will it connect to the rest of the FEB (besides RTA)? Will grade crossings be built or something else? It just seems to me that although it will be in the FEB, it will be pretty much cut-off from anything else built down there. I'm just dying to see some updated renderings, just like the rest of you. :wtf:

Did anyone else see the History Channel's Mega-disasters "Peak Oil" program last night? Has that been on before? All I can say is wow, I couldn't believe I was hearing and seeing a balanced, informative look at Peak Oil, what it is, and what it could mean for society if it is not seriously addressed. Bonus points for having Matthew Simmons on it as well.

^No formal announcement has been made; however, (I posted this info several weeks ago) a member of the port authority board (who has been working very closely with the Wolstein project) announced to us that Eaton had signed on with Wolstein's project. This man is informed. Look for an announcement soon.

Eaton has been confirmed as Wolstein's big tenant.

It will always be "the Jake" to me

^Anything new to report?? :-D

^I've read stuff along these same lines; I can remember one of the commissioners saying (Crain's article?) that IF the MM & CC are built in/near UC, and the Med Mart's business model doesn't work/fails....the County will still be on the hook for a new CC in UC that is disconnected from downtown hotels/attractions/etc. That is not an option and I'm 100% in agreement with them on this. It HAS to go downtown. Even if this entire project comes to fruition and the Med Mart does fail (hope not) we've still got a new, updated CC downtown that could hopefully complement the rest of the projects going on down there, i.e. Wolstein, Stark, etc. All that aside, I really hope that these MM people HAVE done their homework and this DOES prove to be a successful, profitable enterprise; for them and us.

^ Yeah dude, I remember my dad taking my brothers and I up to Conneaut and we'd swing by the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Co. office parking lot to see those (there were 4) in action at night. This was the late 80's and there was still 1 freighter on the lakes that hadn't been converted to a self-unloader, so the Hulett's were still required to unload this 1 ship. They were torn down along with the towering ore bridge in the late 80's/early 90's. Conneaut was once the largest ore-receiving port in the world and now they just do a trickle of what they once did ore-wise; it is still a busy coal-shipping port. Those things were awesome to see at night....I remember George Condon describing the ones on Whiskey Island as 'giant mechanical grasshoppers' or something to that effect. Spot on. I hope these can be preserved somehow.

Punch, As intriguing as that idea (Scranton Pen) is, I'd still rather have the MM occupy the old Higbee or May Co bldgs before building something new. I would prefer to leave the SP for future mixed-use/residential, especially having all that river frontage. Put the CC behind TC, expand and upgrade TC, put the MM in the May Co bldg, and renovate the Higbee bldg into an upscale hotel. At least that's how I would like to see it play out.