KJP

I don't think I'd ever heard an explanation for that. But knowing ODOT, my guess is they were afraid of eastbound rush hour traffic backing up on the Interstate system. I say that because of what I'd heard from ODOT about the design of the Inner Belt in Downtown Cleveland. Those "Inner Belt neighborhood designs" I'd suggested and posted in the "What if" development thread from 20 years ago were shot down because ODOT didn't want short ramps downtown. Instead, they wanted the rush-hour traffic to stack up on the ramps so that it wouldn't back up onto the Interstates. Look at the EB Ontario ramp, for example. It's 3,000 feet long before it hits the first traffic light at Carnegie. The East 9th ramp is even longer at 3,600 feet, starting from midway across the Inner Belt bridge to Carnegie. Perhaps ODOT views the Opportunity Corridor as a really long exit ramp into University Circle?

I went to Coyoacan's soft opening on June 10. So many people showed up that they had to restrict the number of people going into the restaurant to five at a time to keep from overwhelming the newbie servers. It's a fast-casual, Chipotle-style restaurant where you order and get your food prepared from a counter. My son wanted to go with his friends, one of whom his parents own the Cosumel's chain and they just opened a new restaurant, Fiesta Acapulco, in Wadsworth. So with the line outside Coyoacan and my son's pressure, we went to Wadsworth. Glad I did. It was the best Mexican food I'd ever had. Looking forward to trying Coyoacan someday.

I responded here to keep this thread on-topic....

Redirect, your honor.... The point of the Opportunity Corridor was its original name -- the "University Circle Access Boulevard." It was seen by many as paving over poor neighborhoods (where at least half of all households didn't have a car) so wealthy doctors and others could get from the suburbs to their jobs quicker. So it was dressed up with a new name and got a bunch of low-cost add-ons like the OC trail, an expanded East 105th-Quincy train station, and job training and offering of road construction jobs to neighborhood residents. The road was also designed to hit at least the corners of every major EPA Superfund site along the way so that the sites could be cleaned up. Twenty years ago, nowhere in Ohio were there more Superfund sites than along the railroad/Rapid tracks from East 55th to 105th. There are a myriad of parcels that were acquired by ODOT, including some larger parcels whose boundaries extend well beyond the road's right of way which ODOT considers to be 70 feet from the OC's centerline. Beyond that, the city has been trying to get those parcels transferred from ODOT to the city's land bank for almost two years. To manage this large process, the OC has been broken up into numbered zones with each zone tackled one at a time. Let's compare the Opportunity Corridor with the area around the newly expanded interchange of I-77 and Miller Road (including Valor Acres). First, the OC..... Then, the I-77/Miller interchange in Brecksville, at the same altitude/scale. What difference do you notice (to nothing of each property's liens and pollutants that you can't see). I post this because is a small example of what the OC is competing against to land new employers.... And look at this behemoth-sized land to be developed across SR 21 from Valor Acres. And this is nothing compared to the bigger farms and wooded parcels in Central Ohio that are being targeted for development.....

Midtown Lofts advances with support, concernsBy Ken Prendergast / June 13, 2025 Asiatown was a neighborhood that was on the upswing 20 years ago. There were new restaurants, shopping venues like Asia Plaza, Tyler Village and other commercial developments, multiple new housing offerings such as the Asian Evergreen and Body Block Arcade apartments, plus several longstanding grocers including Dave’s Market, 3301 Payne Ave., had renovated their properties. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/13/midtown-lofts-advances-with-support-concerns/

On March 5, 1940, CSRC route 19 curved side car No. 2402 is on the Western Hills Viaduct approaching Spring Grove Avenue. This picture was taken from the steps to the upper deck of the viaduct. (Pat Carmody — Clifford R. Scholes collection)

It's in neither. It's actually in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, but I created this thread as a carve-out because it's kind of in a no-man's land in between three neighborhoods -- Clark-Fulton, Ohio City and Tremont.

Where is 185 acres of clean, contiguous land owned by willing sellers in Cleveland? The Site Readiness Fund is just getting going thanks to a rare $50 million shot in the arm from the feds. Yes, this should have happened sooner but better late than never. And even then, stitching together and cleaning up 36 acres of land like the National Acme site (one of the largest, if not the largest redevelopment sites in the city of Cleveland) is going to cost nearly $20 million. By contrast, DiGeronimo paid the city of Brecksville $5 million for 102 acres of the former VA Hospital site. And many large cornfields go for much less than that. Very hard for the city of Cleveland to compete with that, but at least they're finally trying.

Maybe the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad extension?

Port OK’s $92M for Cleveland, Brecksville projectsBy Ken Prendergast / June 12, 2025 A trio of projects — two in Cleveland and one in Brecksville — got a total of $92 million in financing approved by the Port of Cleveland to help get them closer to construction. Two are mixed-use housing developments in Cleveland totaling 355 residential units. The third is a new, 136-room AC Marriott hotel at Valor Acres, the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital site in Brecksville. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/12/port-oks-92m-for-cleveland-brecksville-projects/

I figured I'd better post this before this thread gets locked.... 😉 Port OK’s $92M for Cleveland, Brecksville projectsBy Ken Prendergast / June 12, 2025 A trio of projects — two in Cleveland and one in Brecksville — got a total of $92 million in financing approved by the Port of Cleveland to help get them closer to construction. Two are mixed-use housing developments in Cleveland totaling 355 residential units. The third is a new, 136-room AC Marriott hotel at Valor Acres, the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital site in Brecksville. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/12/port-oks-92m-for-cleveland-brecksville-projects/

Port OK’s $92M for Cleveland, Brecksville projectsBy Ken Prendergast / June 12, 2025 A trio of projects — two in Cleveland and one in Brecksville — got a total of $92 million in financing approved by the Port of Cleveland to help get them closer to construction. Two are mixed-use housing developments in Cleveland totaling 355 residential units. The third is a new, 136-room AC Marriott hotel at Valor Acres, the former Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital site in Brecksville. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/12/port-oks-92m-for-cleveland-brecksville-projects/

Capitol Theatre may need a new plot writtenBy Ken Prendergast / June 11, 2025 It's a tough time for the film industry, and an even tougher time for historic theaters like the Capitol Theatre, 1390 W. 65th St., trying to pay its bills. The 104-year-old venue in Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District has an uncertain future regardless of its owner trying to spin the creation of a Capitol Theatre Stewardship Board as "an exciting new chapter" in a press release issued today. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/11/capitol-theatre-may-need-a-new-plot-written/

@sonisharri Yep, November.... https://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/W117

So I was digging around trying to find the Hopkins expansion plan from 25 years ago that involved the demolition of the I-X Center and I found these dreamschemes of mine from 20 years ago.....

Industrial user lined up for Highland Hills siteBy Ken Prendergast / June 10, 2025 NEOtrans has learned that the developer of a 30-acre spread of land in suburban Highland Hills isn’t marketing the assembled parcels to a new, job-rich end-user. The reason is that the developer already has one lined up for the land, located in the 22700 block of Millcreek Blvd. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/10/industrial-user-lined-up-for-highland-hills-site/

Bedrock to add steam plant site to Riverfront plansBy Ken Prendergast / June 9, 2025 If you like what Bedrock Real Estate has planned for its huge Riverfront Development in Downtown Cleveland, expect more of it at the site currently occupied by closed Cleveland Thermal steam heating plant, 2274 Canal Rd. That’s what public records reveal in the application for Ohio Brownfields Program funding that was awarded last week. But not all of the steam plant may be affected. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/09/bedrock-to-add-steam-plant-site-to-riverfront-plans/

Maybe someday they'll reopen the West 117th station. It looks like they've removed the work area speed limit from the station, as I saw a Red Line train sail across the bridge over West 117th at about 55 mph. I hope the homeless don't come back to the station, whenever it reopens.

Cross-posted from the CVSR thread.....

CVSR pursues Downtown Cleveland link with CSXBy Ken Prendergast / June 8, 2025 On March 16, family, friends and colleagues of Thomas V. Chema received horrible news. The 78-year-old leader of civic causes and institutions died suddenly at his home in Downtown Cleveland. Chema was in the midst of excitedly pursuing his latest civic endeavor — the extension of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad trains into downtown. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/06/08/cvsr-pursues-downtown-cleveland-link-with-csx/

It looks like A Place For Us-Clark Ave. But seriously, where the heck did this come from? Last time I went by there a few days ago (or so it seemed), this was just a hole in the ground.

The data for your math problem is here: https://www.apartments.com/the-collins-cleveland-oh/3y2pvje/

Site Readiness For Good Jobs Fund. A horrible name for a wonderful intention.

Why not the Opportunity Corridor in the East Side food district? I mean, beer is food -- isn't it??