KJP

In addition to the Parma Sun Post, it ran in the West Side Sun News, Brooklyn Sun Journal and Lakewood Sun Post. It ran in those papers because they had room between the ads to fit it. But, even then, half of the photos and graphics were never published for lack of space. If you subscribe to the Brooklyn, Parma or Lakewood papers, you never saw the street grid map that conveys Stark's plan. And the Parma paper didn't have room for any of the renderings. None of the papers from our east-side office (including the Sun Scoop Journal for Collinwood) had the article. The East Side office rarely publishes our stuff. I guess they don't think we write anything that their readers would find interesting...

The suggestion from the analysis was mine. I think we're looking at $70 sometime between April and June, and $80 by late summer. And since changes in the per-barrel price of oil doesn't correspond evenly with changes in gas prices at the pump, it's hard to say what the retail price of gas will be. Remember the day that Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, oil sold at $70. But a couple months after the price of oil fell, gasoline was still selling for around $3 per gallon because the refineries were off-line or damaged. Perhaps a better measurement is what was the case just prior to Katrina. Oil was selling at about $65-67 per barrel and gasoline at about $2.50-$2.75 per gallon. But, then, oil now is selling for $63-65 and gasoline for $2.20 to 2.30. So the correllation still doesn't work well. Suffice it to say, we're probably looking at a per-gallon price of gasoline of $2.50 to $2.75 by June and possibly back up to $3 by September. If the UN puts sanctions on Iran, or we have another bad hurricane season, $3 will seem like the "good ol' days."

Yep, I know that trail and rail line well. In 1982, I climbed on the locomotive of the special B&O train that was pulling up the ties, rails and track hardware behind it. The train's crews had finished their work for the day and parked the train near Middlefield's "downtown" area. My mother was heading over to Middlefield for some errand (we lived in Geauga County back then). I'd heard the line was being abandoned and since I was a year from being able to get my own driver's license, I wanted to ride along with her to see if the B&O tracks were still there. Little did I know I was going to be "on board" the last train that line would ever see.

http://321energy.com/editorials/maund/maund011606.html The article and graphics at the above link are a fascinating look at trends in the oil market over the last three years, which have seen prices trending upward consistently, with seasonal variations occurring with almost clockwork regularity (the second chart is quite telling). The analysis suggests a $70/barrel oil price sometime during the regular spring peak (between April and June) and possibly $80 in the late-summer peak (August-September). Additional factors, such as the Iran situation and mother nature (how the rest of winter and this year's hurricane season plays out), could greatly affect actual prices -- of course! But the second chart is something to behold....

Partly. It could even mean that new or extended fixed guideways which have a strong TOD component are more likely to receive funding. Those lacking TOD components could receive less, or no funding. But for agencies like GCRTA, which have no new fixed guideway projects in the planning pipeline, it won't light a fire under them to put more of their budget into TOD activities. The federal policy doesn't do anything for existing fixed guideway transit.

MGD, thanks for the map!

My favorite is the Rocky River reservation. It's about six or seven miles long, in a valley with long, high bridges (several are very nice multiple-arched spans -- Brookpark, Lorain and Hilliard roads) and surrounded by developed areas that can't be seen very easily.

^ One would hope! If they don't, then maybe the city or the port authority should consider creating such an entity.

Part of my thinking with the public entity is that it could offer bonds at a below-market interest rate, can engage in TIF financing for rail or BRT projects, and can otherwise plow real estate leases and other revenues back into funding in transit facilities.

I still need to cite some examples of how this might work.

Since RTA has no staff dedicated to TOD and their planning department's continued budget/employment levels aren't tied to their success of implementing TOD, there is little staff time or motivation to make it more of a priority. Hence, my NEO-TOD Inc. proposal.

Great name for a mixed-ethnic neighborhood: The United Nations!

MGD has read my suggested slogan elsewhere, but I thought I'd post it here: "Come Home to Cleveland" It can be construed as an invitation to those in the suburbs and elsewhere in the nation who have entertained thoughts of coming back but just need a little prodding. Believing in Cleveland doesn't necessarily create economic development. Moving back to the city does.

j73, thanks for your post and welcome aboard! He didn't specifically mention any plans or desire to prod FCE or other developers. He has met with numerous developers about his "Y-Cleveland" vision and most likely listed Scranton Peninsula as an area of concern/opportunity. I believe Stark's criticism is directed more at the "lack of scale" of various proposed developments. I suspect a number of these developers have larger ideas in mind of what they want to do in the long term, but have let on only what they want to do next, such as one building at a time. Certainly, K&D Group has longer-term visions for the Flats' West Bank, as their architect Bob Corna said to me in December, noting a desire to build on the parking lots near the Powerhouse and Shooters. But K&D has kept that pretty close to the vest, staing publicly only their desire to finish the next residential tower and renovation of the former Cantina Del Rio. Stark wants developers to dream big like him and articulate it publicly. Possibly. It depends on how much the fill has decayed over the decades. Much of that fill (especially west of the stadium) dates from before the stadium's 1932 construction. A lot of the surface has been exposed to the elements since most of it isn't paved. The port hasn't done an environmental study, including a soil sample analysis, for that area but will have to prior to either selling or leasing properties for public usage. Often when a print media outlet gets scooped, they wait a few months before covering the story, and look for a new angle to develop so they can present new information. I know, I've been there myself, as has every other reporter. A couple of years ago, my predecessor in Sun's Cleveland City Hall beat scooped the PD on a "green building" story about environmentally friendly building standards. The PD picked up on the story about eight months later. The delay was so long that even our executive editor had forgotten about Sun's scoop, and called my predecessor's editor to complain about us not having the story. She reminded him we had the story eight months earlier. That's exactly what the PD was hoping for from the general public too -- that the delay had caused them to forget about Sun's scoop. My series was published during the holidays for two reasons -- 1. it's when there is scant other hard news so the papers could fit the large articles, and 2. during the holidays, most of the people interviewed for the story are out of the office on vacation and many head out of town, thereby making it tough for other media to reach them. It took me more than a month to do all the research for this series, and much of it was predicated on the schedules of the people I needed to interview. For example, when I first called Bob Stark about the story (right after Thanksgiving), the earliest I could sit down with him for the interview was more than two weeks off. I had already heard in September about the Warehouse District development and had spent a couple of weeks researching that, but was unaware of Stark's involvement in it until I interviewed him. So I had a bit of a jump on the research anyway. In other words, the PD and Crain's have a lot of catching up to do. I suspect their article(s) will probably take a more critical angle than I had in my articles, since mine were more of a presentation of Stark's vision. A more critical look is needed. Since there are so many issues and side-issues involved with Stark's overall vision, the PD and Crain's have a lot of phone calls to make and interviews to conduct before they can even start writing their stories. Of course, that's assuming the PD and Crain's reporters have even read the four Sun papers (out of 26) that ran the series. And, many of their reporters were on vacation during the holidays, too!

Where is the West Creek and Washington reservations?

No one is suggesting RTA would operate without subsidy. That is not the point of my suggestion. And to suggest there is no hope of creating density is to say that there is no hope for cities. For an urbanist to believe that is to concede defeat; it is to believe there is no hope for civilization; and it is to convey the appearance that the fire in your soul has burnt out. I hope I am wrong in my assessment of you. Cleveland has achieved baby steps toward success, even with a half-hearted effort by RTA and others, to create density around transit stations. And, in other cities where populations have stagnated, density has increased near stations (St. Louis and Baltimore, to name two). Plus, look at the demographic changes in the housing market -- younger people who want exciting 24-hour mixed use neighborhoods, an the aging Baby Boomers who will need better treatment than their parents who too often became shut ins and were artificially and prematurely removed as productive citizens from the economy. We can do better, but we need the development mechanisms to create the opportunities. I suspect RTA feels it can handle the dual mission, but I don't believe they are up to the task. If RTA is honest with itself and can recognize its own limitations, then something like this NEO-TOD organization can and should happen.

Gee, I thought you were a guy?! :oops:

Musky, welcome aboard!

OK, hear me out on this one. I know it's long, but I needed to get this in print and let the chips fall where they may... Introduction The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) faces a tightening budget situation, yet there are calls from the community for improved transit service including commuter rail, light-rail, bus rapid transit, transit centers and the like. At the same time, there is rising interest in Greater Cleveland for mixed-use, higher-density, transit-oriented developments (TOD) around stations, transit centers and busy transit intersections. TOD accommodates accessible housing, employment, retail, basic services, recreation and other uses for empty nesters, students, low-income citizens, an increasingly older population and many other groups. These factors, combined with a desire to repopulate the city, counter urban sprawl, bring jobs to more accessible locations, provide healthier, less energy-intensive lifestyles and boost the taxbase of Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs, point to an increasing need and desire for development patterns that encourage transit use and promote greater investment in transit infrastructure. Background While GCRTA has made TOD one of its mission priorities, it appears that the transit agency is not in the most advantageous position of bearing the leadership role for this economic development responsibility. This is true from an institutional perspective as well as a practical one. Since RTA began in 1975, there has been an intermittent debate over whether RTA should be a "safety net" social service for people whose mobillity is impaired by financial or physical constraints. Or, should it be a broad-based transportation service to build fixed-guideway (rail, BRT) transit that encourages people who can afford to drive to choose transit, and stimulates high-density development near stations. While it is true that GCRTA does both, providing a "safety net" and economic development functions, it is clear that GCRTA is operated more of a social service. It's lack of economic development activity can be best shown in that GCRTA has no full-time staff people dedicated solely to TOD responsibilities. Two staff planners, in conjunction with a staff architect, do undertake TOD activities, but do so only as a part of other service planning and facility architectural work. In reality, for some organizations like GCRTA, the social service and economic development components don't mix well under the same roof. A social service organization is typically an unassertive, process-oriented, non-innovative, bureacratic entity, which does not seek "customers"; it's customers usually come to it. While some economic development organizations also have those features, the most successful examples are more nimble, aggressive and opportunistic. Often, the differentiating factor is how they are funded. If the organization's growth or survival depends on generating revenue from its own activities, it is more likely to be opportunistic. The latter has not been the case with GCRTA, which is funded primarily by a one percent Cuyahoga County sales tax. Only 16 percent of its revenue is internally generated. However, as costs rise faster than the growth in sales tax receipts, GCRTA is coming to grips with a future where it may have to become more aggressive and opportunistic in generating more of its own revenues. Since additional operating funding is unlikely to be provided through new local taxes, nor does it appear that additional state funding is forthcoming in the foreseeable future, internally generated revenues appear to be only recourse to ensuring the stability of the transit system. Two other basic alternatives -- reducing staffing and/or services to cut costs or increasing fares to raise revenues threaten the system's stability. But is GCRTA up to the task of pursuing economic development to generate revenue? Can a bureaucratic, process-oriented organization become nimble, aggressive and opportunistic? It might, but could take years if not decades to change the corporate culture within GCRTA. Even then, GCRTA still must provide an essential social service function to the community. The dual mission -- social service and economic development -- can be at odds with each other and risks creating an institutional culture clash that could still take an extended period of time to sort out. Another alternative is proposed herein. Northeast Ohio Transit Oriented Development Corp. Proposed is a new, nonprofit community development corporation that would not be neighborhood-specific. Indeed, its operating area would be the whole of Cuyahoga County, and possibly extend beyond to adjacent counties. For discussion purposes here, the new operation is called the Northeast Ohio Transit Oriented Development Corp. (NEO-TOD). Having NEO-TOD backed by a consistent stream of tax revenue is essential to support its development activities, namely for issuing low-interest loans, tax-exempt bonds and appropriating property by eminent domain where necessary. However, passage of a new tax levy may be difficult for such an endeavor without a track record and little local awareness of TOD and its benefits. It can also be argued that some local entities already possess the potential economic development abilities of NEO-TOD, but lack the will, organizational structure, mission and strategy to carry out TOD activities. Structure Thus, NEO-TOD is proposed as a "bridge organization" in that it would be a joint endeavor between GCRTA and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. GCRTA's specialty is operating transportation services and, to a lesser extent, building transportation facilities. The port authority also constructs transportation facilities, but has become primarily an economic development entity, and seeks to increase those activities. Both entities are supported by local tax revenues as well as internally generated revenues. As already noted, GCRTA is supported by a permanent 1-percent sale tax on all goods purchased in Cuyahoga County, generating between $160 million to $170 million per year. The port authority is funded by a 0.13-mill county-wide property tax levy which generates about $3.2 million per year. It must be renewed every five years, and was last renewed in 2002. Its Development Finance Group has assisted about $1 billion in economic development initiatives since 1993. A board of trustees should ovesee NEO-TOD, possibly with two members appointed by GCRTA's board and two appointed by the port authority's board. One additional member could be appointed by the mayor of Cleveland, one by the Cuyahoga County Commissioners and one by the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association. Terms could be for two years, with three members' terms expiring in odd-numbered years and four in even-numbered years. The NEO-TOD board of trustees would designate a board president, establish committees comprised of board, staff and persons not affiliated with NEO-TOD. The board would hire an executive director under a renewable contract. The executive director would hire staff. Funding A consistent, base-level budget for NEO-TOD would be provided from GCRTA's capital budget and the port authority's Development Finance Group. The GCRTA contribution would be to fund the construction of passenger facilities (although GCRTA would continue to fund the construction of maintenance and heavy overhaul facilities, fleet and equipment storage centers, administrative offices and other fixed assets necessary for operational management). The port authority contribution would be to fund economic development activities, including basic staffing, property acquisitions and debt retirement. Proposed is a GCRTA contribution of $5 million per year and a port authority contribution of $2 million per year. Mission, duties, goals NEO-TOD's proposed mission would be "to promote transit-supportive land uses to encourage transit ridership, smart-growth patterns, job creation and community accessibility by assisting development opportunities, the revenues from which shall sustain the corporation." Its duties and responsibilities could include: > Creating and updating a publicly accessible inventory of properties, owners, existing uses, conditions, zoning, etc. along current and proposed transit routes serving Cuyahoga County; > Establishing manuals of TOD design criteria and standards for different scales of buildings and districts, model zoning/overlay language options for municipalities to adopt, and samples of best practices of actual TOD projects locally and around the world; > Creating and updating a development masterplan for current and future principal transit corridors to maximize the utility of the transit service, promote linkages with other modes of transport, enhance employment opportunities, foster sustainability and promote innovation; > Offering regular TOD seminars locally and "best practices" tours of TOD projects within and beyond Northeast Ohio for local elected leaders, community development officials, developers and the public; > Purchasing, appropriating or otherwise acquiring properties for renovation or demolition to enable development for another end user(s), or to clear for a transit right of way; > Marketing NEO-TOD owned properties to end users, using advertising, an internet-based inventory and user incentives (such as SmartCommute Plus mortgages, low-interest loans and bonds, off-balance-sheet debt shown as leases and others); > Coordinating with municipalities for tax-increment financing districts; > Issuing debt instruments for economic development and transportation facility construction projects; > Providing operating subsidy support to transit services; > Leveraging grants from local, state and federal sources; > Awarding contracts to private firms for management, engineering and construction services. Goals include increasing the density and diversity of development along transit corridors, enhancing property values near transit services, increasing transit ridership, and using real estate revenues to facilitate construction and operation of fixed-route transit services. All of these will be geared to reinvesting in existing neighborhoods and communities, providing a powerful counter-force to urban sprawl.

^ Gee, that's actually plausible. How about a marketing campaign that says "Come Home to Cleveland" rather than "Believe in Cleveland"? Believing in Cleveland doesn't necessarily expand the tax base. Coming home to Cleveland (from the suburbs or other cities) does.

It's not a done deal. Lake Shore Electric still has to raise enough funds for the $2 million car barn. They aren't going to have the funding in hand in time, so they need their lease extended at their current location in Olmsted Falls. While they're getting a $1 lease for the East 26th Street location, their current lease in Olmsted Falls is $5,000 per month and they don't have the funding for that. They still have a lot to do and the original article didn't convey that. The new article will.

I edited my earlier message to note that, in addition to Albanians, the other ethnic group was Croation, not just Slavic.

The mindset of the homeless is quite strange. I knew a guy who was living out of his car and I asked him why he didn't get a job at Burger King or something while he was looking for a decent job. He said he "could never work at a Burger King" suggesting it was below his level. Excuse me? And what level are you at by living out of your car??? It seems to me that some homeless are of the same mindset. They would rather sleep anonymously on the street than be seen at a homeless shelter. If I was confident I wouldn't get stabbed, I'd tell each and every bum who asks me for money to either jump off a bridge or get some help for themselves rather than stay the human equivalent of a mosquito.

The last few times I've been by Pinnacle in the evening or at night, I've noticed a couple of the units have lights on inside and appear to be "finished." There appeared to be furniture, light fixtures etc. in at least one of the units. Perhaps it is a model unit. Anyone know? Also, any word on unit sales?

Interestingly, there's a Little Albania district just east of Chinatown, near East 55th and St. Clair, that saw a boost in ethnic population during and after the 1990s war in what was Yugoslavia. I suspect the ethnic population there has leveled off, but it could be nurtured further by drawing to it more Slavics, Croations and Albanians that are already in country. Imagine just east of downtown, an expanding Chinatown, followed by and abutting an expanding Little Albania. I think that promoting both would be a great way to re-establish some of Cleveland's ethnic neighborhoods.