KJP

At the topping-off ceremony for Stokes West/Skyline on Stokes yesterday, I spoke with the owner who also bought Skyline 776. Among the things we discussed were the exterior panels near the top of the building. He said it was due to a supplier issue and that we probably won't see the remaining panels installed for at least a month.

Are they local or out-of-town business leaders? Either way, it could also be about securing private equity funding for Brook Park. The Haslams are allowed to secure anywhere from a 3-10 percent equity stake. Based on the Browns being valued at $6 billion, that's anywhere from $180 million to $600 million.

GCRTA's new railcars start production By Ken Prendergast / October 22, 2024 Manufacturing work has begun this month on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) new railcars, said members of the authority’s management team overseeing the replacement of its aging railcar fleet. But until enough railcars are delivered, which won’t happen until 2027, the public will still be riding the oldest trains among any transit authority in the nation. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/10/22/gcrtas-new-railcars-start-production/

That sounds VERY familiar. I think that might've been it.

Done

I recall that the HRV undercarriages were corroding faster but I don't remember why. I found this older post in which a knowledgeable poster noted: This is due to RTA not having enough operational single unit HRV's to provide off-peak service (when new, 20 of the HRV's were single units and 40 were intended to run in a minimum of 2-car trains as they have operators' cabs on one end).

Thanks Marky Mark. Say hi to the Funky Bunch for me.

Bibb says they are developing the plans. If they want federal funds for any part of it, they have to release them prior to making a decision to move forward with them. Besides, if there's a will, there's a way of getting copies of plans. 😉

Cleveland Vibrator to be razed for apartments By Ken Prendergast / October 20, 2024 In the coming weeks, demolition crews are due to level the fabled Cleveland Vibrator machine shop, 2828 Clinton Ave., in the Hingetown section of Ohio City for a large apartment complex. Site preparations for two new apartment buildings will take place over the winter with construction work to follow, said Jon Pinney, managing partner at the project’s developer TurnDev. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/10/20/cleveland-vibrator-to-be-razed-for-apartments/

I hadn't reported on it since the start of this year. But at the time, 34 of the 261 units were available, or 87 percent leased. https://neo-trans.blog/2024/01/04/cleveland-development-what-to-look-for-2024-university-circle/ Their website says they have eight units immediately available but it's probably just a sample.

Finally, a brave Republican who cares more about country over party... Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican: “I believe Ohioans very much need a highly effective, experienced advocate in the U.S. Senate – someone who is squarely focused on both Ohio’s and America’s needs. This is the kind of leader Sherrod Brown has been.” https://www.daytondailynews.com/ideas-voices/voices-one-vote-for-sherrod-brown/FCBQW3SBFVCFXBRJK5LWTMN4SA/

George swooped in and bought the land in 2018 while the city and other public entities were amassing properties for the park. George didn't put up the billboards. According to Google historical imagery, those billboards have been there since at least 1994.

Yes, and there's another use! We're already getting the cruise ships without the terminal. We might get more with one, or even a regular ferry to Canada. A decade ago when I was with All Aboard Ohio, I lobbied Interlake Steamship and even went to Canada to promote the idea for a high-speed ferry to Port Stanley or to Erieau to meet a high-speed train to Toronto via London. The trip time would be at least 30 minutes faster than driving (and faster if there was a backup at the border or heavy traffic on the QEW into Toronto). In Interlake's opinion, the high-speed ferry would likely require a subsidy but we never sat down and figured out how much. To me, I think it would be worth it.

No? We have a fresh example of it. It's why Tony George was able to grab the land at West 25th and Detroit-Superior Bridge before the city could for Irishtown Bend Park. We need some honest, wealthy people in Cleveland to be on the lookout for a vulnerable parcels like this citywide, grab them before the vultures and captors do, and take a tax write-off when they donate them to the city/county/port/metroparks or at least sell them below market value.

I think it's even more urgent. Without it, there's less of a instigator to repurpose the stadium. Private capital often follows public capital. And any large-scale year-round uses built could generate more visits than the paltry 600,000 to 650,000 visits the stadium generates each year. Prior to expansion, the Rock Hall generates more than 600,000 visits per year. The Great Lakes Science Center gets 300,000 visits per year. The Mather Steamship Museum gets 30,000 visits per year. A modest expectation is to gain five apartment buildings with 150 units each or 750 total apartments. Downtown Cleveland averages 1.75 persons per household (per DCI). That represents about 1,300 new residents. If each of those persons comes and goes from their home just once a day, that's 474,500 people traveling to and from the lakefront per year (almost as much traffic as what the stadium generates). Add in a 100-200 room hotel, a bunch of lakefront events on the newly repurposed land north of the stadium, a multimodal transportation center and you've more than made up for the stadium but without having to provide tens of thousands of parking spaces to handle a few huge crush crowds a year. I will gladly take this.

Very nice, @Geowizical. Would you also be able to put a building or two at the West 3rd side of the stadium site that are both approximately the same height as the stadium? Point is, I'm trying to get a sense of what's possible height-wise (feet high and, from that info, stories high), Technically, that could also be done at the east end of the stadium site as well, since the stadium is already there and FAA somehow manages not to have an aneurysm. But they'd have less of a reason to freak out if the stadium-high buildings were farther from Burke.

Insurance Fraud Attempt Captured In Broad Daylight Should Be All The Motivation You Need To Finally Pick Up A Dash Cam You can literally see the moment one of the scammers realized they're being recorded https://jalopnik.com/insurance-fraud-attempt-captured-in-broad-daylight-shou-1851676431

Actually, transportation planners came up with the dull name University Circle Access Boulevard. It was the Cleveland Clinic that came up with the marketing name Opportunity Corridor to sell the idea that this was about developing opportunities in the neighborhoods where the road would be built.

The city of Cleveland has a $20 million reserve in sin tax funds. It can be used to demolish the stadium. But I expect the city will invoke the Modell Law to try to extract demolition funds from the Browns as a condition of letting them go without further legal battles.

I agree. And I think they should let me break that news for them. 💣

Downtown may shift from football to futbol By Ken Prendergast / October 18, 2024 The rumor mill of Cleveland sports is always turning. And lately it’s been turning out rumors that Cleveland has won the 16th franchise of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Others are dropping hints of this possibility while at the same time managing expectations. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/10/18/downtown-may-shift-from-football-to-futbol/

Aaron Boone is now on my sh!t list.

Twenty years ago, I had to go to the third floor at CPD HQ every Monday morning to pick up the first and second district police report summaries from the prior week. The hallways, elevators and offices were a dismal mess. Duct tape was a common fix, stained ceiling tiles drooped and looked ready to fall, many of the lights didn't work, if there was more than one elevator working it was a good day, there were often buckets to catch overhead leaks and "slippery floor" folding signs set up nearby, and it was hot in summer and even hotter in winter except near the leaky windows. Again, that was 20 years ago. You have my sympathies @KFM44107.

Ironic since it's the same developer.

@MVH There is a hook-up to a public sewer. The George family was not involved in the Art Craft building. They do own several neighboring buildings.