KJP

Amtrak is ordering a lot of new single-level equipment for short- and long-distance trains. They aren't ordering anything for the western long-hauls which all operate with Superliners. So redirecting Superliners from the Capitol Limited to the western long-hauls will help boost those trains without having to order more equipment (although I wish they would) and I've often thought the Capitol Limited should be operated with tilt trains (ie single-level cars) to cut the travel time to DC.

Not the site unless things fall through with the favored site. Like the Artcraft Building and the CPD HQ, they'll do an RFP to comply with the law. But they know what they want.

CVSR trains run pull-pull with locos at either end, so backing up isn't an issue. The Lakefront is great for scaling up. But at some point of that scaling up, the effort and resources you're going to put into accommodating a mini-hub on the lakefront will be similar to putting one at Tower City. And if Superliners prevent running Amtrak through Tower City, replace the Superliners on the only train (Capitol Limited) that uses them with single-level equipment. It's ridiculous to have one train block access for all others to a sound investment for our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren...

There's a reason why fewer than 20 million people rode GCRTA last year. It's slow, infrequent, unreliable, uncomfortable, unfriendly and only 17 percent of land within a comfortable walk of stops on high-frequency bus/rail transit routes has buildings on it.

I don't have an opinion on the Astro Restaurant theme, but I do find it interesting the name and theme they chose for it considering the fact that Bedrock asked them to put a restaurant there. It's right across the street from where the office tower would go, presumably for ROCKET Mortgage.

Astro to launch from a Hard Rock By Ken Prendergast / June 12, 2023 After sitting empty for seven years, the space at Tower City Center that housed Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Cleveland finally will have a new restaurant with a new theme, possibly as early as this September. But it took an invitation from Bedrock Cleveland to consider the site at 230 W. Huron Rd. before the new restaurant’s partners decided to splashdown there. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/06/12/astro-to-launch-from-a-hard-rock/

The plan is to speed up the route between Indianapolis and Dyer, IN, per Amtrak's latest FRA grant request. There's also a way Amtrak could cut the Cincy-Indy travel time in half, but would probably cost $500 million or more.

I think the court should order a fact-finding commission be formed and study recommendations for improved wording for the August ballot issue, with delivery to the court no sooner than Dec. 1, 2023.

If I was going to marry for sources, it wouldn't be the USCRI I would be marrying into! And she's worked multiple jobs here before landing this one. But I will thank her for you.

Hopefully this will impact inflation and add liquidity to the market, especially construction Transportation prices fall at fastest-ever pace in May 6.5-year-old supply chain activity index sees contraction for first time https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-prices-fall-at-fastest-ever-pace-in-may/amp

Yes, it's them.

And of course it's the second-to-last post on the page...

Way to go, Conor

These are the kinds of stories we're going to hear more of. Cleveland is becoming a city of refuge, and it's only going to increase as climate change creates more refugees from destructive weather and wars over water and other resources. My wife says Greater Cleveland is becoming the favored location for secondary migration of Ukrainians. She notes that some sections of Parma and especially large apartment complexes like Midtown are becoming so populated with Ukrainians it's like Brighton Beach in Brooklyn where there's no reason to learn English because everyone speaks Ukrainian.

Ken S is no imposter. Far from it. He led the Healthline planning as well as the Red Line/Healthline extension study, among many others.

Last year, the state began accepting applications for the TMUD program on May 20 with a deadline of July 8 and revealed which applications it received July 28. The award winners were announced Sept. 22. As lucrative as the TMUD program is, it's "only" $80 million divided among Ohio's largest metro areas. Last fall, Greater Cleveland alone won $80 million in federal New Market tax credits for development projects. Combined, both programs can be very potent in helping downtown development projects move forward.

So Ken S has not considered any alternatives other than the switcback route that B&O used to access CUT? This isn't 1964 anymore (the last time B&O ran passenger trains into Cleveland). We don't have to build around buildings and infrastructure in the Flats that aren't there anymore. It's time to start building for the Cleveland of the future, not the one of the distant past.

Welcome to the neighborhood @Paul in Cleveland!

A dozen high-rises in the works downtown By Ken Prendergast / June 10, 2023 Last week, NEOtrans wrote about three high-rises in a single development — the first phase of Bedrock’s riverfront site — that could see construction start by this time next year. But that is by no means the only downtown high-rise development in the works. NEOtrans is aware of a dozen potential high-rise projects of 10 stories or more in various stages of development, not including those already under construction downtown. This inventory includes only potential new-construction high-rises that could see a groundbreaking in the next couple of years, not major renovation projects like The Centennial, redevelopment of the Rose Building and others. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/06/10/a-dozen-high-rises-in-the-works-downtown/

I have a NEOtrans video in the works about Scranton Peninsula. We hired V1 Drone Media to do some overhead video of the development sites. I learned a lot about the work they're doing, including a new retaining wall along the NRP site and the curving portion of the railroad tracks as well as a bulkhead to support Carter Road, between the road and Silverhills' site. It's very cool and I can't wait to see the final video once it all gets stitched together. It will be posted on our YouTube channel. Subscriptions are welcome! https://www.youtube.com/@NEOtransblog

The building to the right/east of Stokes, on Huron, is shown as office in Bedrock’s masterplan.

Where do you get this stuff from ?? 😬

BofA: they’re coming to Cleveland By Ken Prendergast / June 8, 2023 Another leading indicator of potential population growth in Greater Cleveland was published this week by Bank of America (BofA), one of the nation’s Big Four banking institutions, serving more than 10 percent of all bank deposits of the United States. In a BofA June report, it put Greater Cleveland among the top metro areas benefitting from pandemic-instigated domestic migration trends, with its positive inflow-over-outflow rate ranking up there with the likes of Austin, Tampa, Orlando and Dallas. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/06/08/bofa-theyre-coming-to-cleveland/

Surprisingly, the first proposed change actually helps Ohio's largest urbanized areas. The second does not. This is from Greater Ohio..... Senate Budget Bill Could Have Adverse Impact on Brownfields Program, Residential Tax Abatement: Contact Your State Senator Today Dear friends and supporters of Greater Ohio Policy Center, Earlier this week, the Ohio Senate introduced its substitute budget bill. It makes changes to the Ohio Brownfield Remediation and Building Demolition & Site Revitalization Programs, and how communities may use residential tax abatement in the future. These changes will make it more difficult to undertake redevelopment projects in Ohio. Changes to Brownfield Remediation + Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Programs The Senate changed the brownfields grant program so that only county commissioners can submit project applications. Under the program that has operated since 2021, anyone could apply to the program, as long as they had a county cooperative agreement. This shift to designating counties as the only eligible applicants will create burdens on county staff and disadvantage rural and smaller counties with limited staff. The other significant change to the program is that private sector entities are not named in a newly established list of eligible sub-recipients. GOPC interprets this omission as meaning private sector-led projects will need to create an agreement with a eligible sub-recipient first, before the application then goes to the commissioners. These changes create inefficiencies and introduce unnecessary risk. The net result will likely be fewer brownfield redevelopment projects. Here are talking points you can use when you call your Senator to express your concerns. Changes to Residential Tax Abatement The Senate has specified that *newly created* Community Reinvestment Areas, Urban Renewal Areas, and TIF districts, cannot offer “tax incentives” (e.g. abatements) to residential rental projects for the next five years. Nor can rental projects in Opportunity Zones apply for the state Opportunity Zone tax credit until 2028. New rental housing in converted buildings or new builds on vacant lots has led the successful revitalization of most downtowns and neighborhoods in Ohio. Tax abatement has been the only way these projects “pencil out” in untested or modest markets. The Senate’s changes will significantly slow efforts to reinvent Ohio’s communities and put further pressure on already tight local housing markets by reducing the production of new housing. We encourage you to tell your Senator how these changes will negatively impact needed and desired development in your community. The Time to Call your Senator is NOW Please call your senator and senators you have relationships on Thursday or Friday (6/8-6/9/23). The next version of the budget, the Senate’s omnibus bill, will come out early next week and be voted on by the end of the week. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about these proposed changes. Please consider using the above talking points as part of any messages you share with your elected officials in Columbus when contacting them about these changes.