CityLiving

Hey Everyone- recalling the original topic of this thread being promoting living in Cleveland to people from NY, I would like to ask you to check out the blog at http://blog.cleveland.com/cityliving/ and comment from time to time. Your opinions and comments are very helpful in shaping the work of our company, Cleveland City Living. It's hard for me to scan all of these blogs to get everyone's opinions, so if you have something to say/suggest regarding city living, I'd appreciate you hitting me up. Thanks!

I promise this is my last time posting this. I just want to make sure that people with intelligent questions come to this event and take an opportunity to ask Chip Marous about things such as the lakefront development involving Route 2, the success of brownfield development, energy efficiency in his future construction per city ordinance, etc. It's really important we get these guys on the record for things like this so that we can hold them accountable as they build our future neighborhoods. We've all talked to Nate, Bob, Doug, Scott, etc... now it's time to talk to Chip about the future of our Edgewater neighborhood. oh yeah... it'll be fun too. RSVP to [email protected] so they can accomodate with food/beverages

Ohio City (from a downtowners point of view) is consistent of W. 25th St. and Fulton Ave. When I'm in Ohio City its for Great Lakes Beer (aka God's Brew) or to visit Bier Market or the West Side Market. While I'll be out of downtown in less than a week and headed to Battery Park, I still believe that downtown is the best place to be. Waterstreet Apartments is very affordable, segregated from the noise, and still walkable. They have 1 Bedrooms available for $650-$725 that you can put a "rent-to-own" possibility on. Bingham is a GREAT place, but over 70% of their units look just like the model. The vacancy is presently less than 10% which is great, but with over 340 units, that means they have a lot to offer still. I am biased, as we all are, but if you're new to the area, I'd still live downtown first before you try to find that appreciation for the neighborhoods. I love Battery Park, but would have never chosen to live there had I not gone downtown for 2 years first. This is of course in my humble opinion :-) Check out http://www.clevelandcityliving.com as well for more info.

This post was from forever ago, but to answer the question... The crime is indeed mostly local kids messing with drugs/vandalism. I would not and did not say that it isn't "safe." I have NEVER felt threatened in the area. I have, however, watched a business owner get punched in the face by a local teenager when he refused to take down an Albanian flag. I've also witnessed numerous fireworks being lit outside our patio wall amidst Saturday business. I've also been held at knife-point by a drug-induced member of "the neighborhood" saying that the firing of one of his relatives was unjust. I don't think any of these things should necessarily deter people from living there, but they're mentioned just to make sure people are aware that there is issues in that neighborhood.

Thanks for posting this... I was wasting my time in the Cleveland.com forums. Please have everyone: RSVP to: [email protected] so that we can plan on your attendance. THIS IS THE CHANCE TO ASK CHIP MAROUS the questions we all spend time posting on here. I'm really looking forward to it! Join us for "Champagne in the Park" and tour Cleveland's newest town homes in a lavish urban setting. Meet visionary and developer Chip Marous, of Battery Park, Cleveland's newest lakefront urban development. *Guests will also have a chance to mingle with Football player Jason Wright* Join us Saturday June 9th from 1-4:30 P.M. in Battery Park located between W73rd and W76th Street just north of Detroit Road **Purchase a new home before June 30th and receive $10,000 down payment assistance from the builder** RSVP for the event at [email protected]

You met Dan (7408 Goodwalt) who already lives there... I am moving into the only one without siding STILL (though I saw that I have a yard now.) At any rate... Phase 1 has changed. It will be: ALL the Chicago Styles, ALL 3 Loft Buildings, the LAKEVIEWS (over by the powerplant) AND BOTH of the Gateway Townhomes (since they're selling to YPs like hotcakes) Just met a few more future neighbors today and am heading to a meeting there as we speak. Peace out.

Map Boy- I think that young couple was my fiancee and I... we apparently bought a home next door to Jim S. (we are the second from the end of those that are presently constructed.) We move in on May 31 and are also bringing my fiancee's present roommate with us to help us "adjust" to a larger monthly payment. BP is going to be awesome! I suggest that JMJR buy NOW before they jack prices up. BP is one of my biggest clients and some insider info: Phase 2 townhomes START at 400,000+... Waiting is not an option unless you make some serious $$$.

I think the biggest point about HOA's though is that you have to SIGN UP to be a part of one. That being said, you are making a conscious decision to enter into an agreement to keep your shutters a certain color and keep your fence a certain height. In reality, its just a group of people thinking of their neighborhood as "bigger" than any one person's individual whims. I bought a house last month and move in on 5/31 in an HOA. My exterior has been decided by the developer. I'm buying a fence for my little back yard, however, and he challenged me. I came up with a logical reason, gave him rational conversation that it would be in good taste for the neighborhood, and everyone approved. It's not like a fascist government. It's just a group of homeowners that get together and try to think of something as a group. In my mind, its the most simple form of democracy and I think its great for our nation as a whole to have people who care enough to volunteer for something like this. I know that I'll attend our meetings.

Shaker is a microcosm of other suburbs though... Even places like Mayfield Hts. are suffering... I add to the take that I grew up in the suburbs and would not go back (personally.) I don't think this article is highlighting THAT concept, but I think that young, college-educated people are not looking to reinvent their parent's wheels and buying homes in Shaker when they could buy a home in Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, etc. I'm not speaking from an educational research perspective, but from my own personal situation. I wonder how many out there have that same mind-set..

Thanks! Actually, I just bought a home, so the advice is not for me. I'm more concerned with the people BUILDING these properties. It would really suck if Stonebridge built 1000 more condos and the market was demanding walk-up townhomes. I work in the field and consult with them and I'm curious for opinioins. In MY opinion, I like the idea of having multiple floors a nice patio, and no neighbors above me. I like being able to get out of my car and walk to my door, but still live in an urban atmosphere (not to sound cliche.) My opinion, however, could be totally off the wall, so I always like to see what people think. I guess the big question is this: If you were living in Ohio City and all money was equal... (meaning both units were the same price) Would you want a condo or a town-home???

I'm on the committee that the GCP (actually the GCMA... same people) recruited to create feedback on this stuff... Its a lot of young professionals with regional diversity, but no racial/ethnic/sexual diversity. Mostly white males varying in age from around the region as a whole. To credit it, however, there has been a terrific amount of feedback and I think the message will support the tone and attitude that we're talking about in this forum. I am pretty certain you'll be proud of the work when it comes out. It may take a little time to "catch on" (i didn't care for it at first either), but its a pretty neat concept. I wish I could say more, but we're not unveiling anything else until 4/26/07... I know I don't post very often, but I'll be sure to print out some of the things you guys have written in here and take it to our meeting tonight with the GCP/GCMA... It's in 45 minutes actually... gotta run.

If you're presently a resident of downtown Cleveland, you're realistically paying around $800 a month to rent and park. If you are living without a roommate, you're probably paying more (as I am.) My question is: if you were to BUY "urban" (meaning somewhere in or adjacent to downtown, such as Ohio City) what would you pay $200,000 for? Would you rather have a NEW, tax-abated and mortgage discounted, 3rd floor 1290 square foot condo such as Stonebridge? a 1450 square foot RENOVATED condo on the top floor of Waterstreet condos with no tax abatement but still a discounted mortgage? or a new attached 3-story TOWNHOME such as Battery Park with both mortgage discounts and abatement? Perhaps something else?? I know that there are probably tons of other options, but I'm curious as to what you would be willing to take out a $200,000 mortgage for... I ask specifically for a $200,000 price range because it is a possibility for YPs to afford that... I look forward to your responses.

My family owns Guarino's Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in the city of Cleveland. None of my family lives in Cleveland proper, however, except me (downtown presently.) It may not be bad to make the area a little more "yuppy" oriented on one hand because there are some serious crime/drug issues there. But on the other (more obvious hand) you don't want to destroy the character of a bunch of century old businesses just to attract more people who are afraid to venture into something as awesome as our historic Little Italy. There is a lot of retail vacancy though and something does need to spur more development. Across the street from us looks really dead (empty storefronts, a closed night club, etc.)

Yes, the tours will continue for companies hiring and courting new employees. In two weeks, one of my co-workers at the DCA and I will be leading potential new-hires from Progressive Insurance around Downtown Cleveland. We're only given two hours to show off the city, but this is well needed considering 17/22 of their job offers from the last similar tour chose to go elsewhere. Our goal is to make Cleveland seem so great that they can't afford NOT to be here. We'll make it happen. Diversity among tour guides was relatively non-existant. Any "visible" diversity was not present at all. That is something we'll have to consider as things evolve. We are a rather diverse city and it would be nice to represent that. Good suggestion! The magazine is out in 2.5 weeks- www.clevelandcityliving.com -YPs requested certain content and YPs wrote the editorials. This should be one of the best pieces we'll have to sell Cleveland. We'll be looking for help pretty soon for the September Issue. We'll keep you posted!

Greetings Friends, I (like MapBoy) was responsible for leading these tours. The Crocker Park (AND LAKEWOOD) concepts were eliminated from the tours at the last minute on our second and third familiarization tour. The City of Cleveland and the HR Department from the company came up with the idea of showing the Minneapolis people who were on the first tour, the suburb of Westlake (to make it seem like St. Paul.) Not having visited their region of the US ever, I could not object to their idea, but ruled out showing housing there. I will say that of the 21 people who have decided to come to Cleveland permanently, 17 have made the move to DOWNTOWN Cleveland. A few DID decide to move to Crocker Park actually, with a couple others choosing a home in Lakewood. Those who chose Crocker Park were all single females who felt unsafe downtown. Unfortunately, a shift manager from the company had been jumped near his downtown apartment and that gossip scared a few young ladies from moving downtown. They also offered free parking to their employees which made the deal sweeter. That being said, we still did a very good job (i believe) of getting them into our city. Two more are still deciding. Feel free to check the press releases on www.clevelandcityliving.com as we'll keep updated as the final people make their decisions. And to answer an earlier post on their salaries, they KEPT their salaries from their previous NY, DC, and Minneapolis jobs. So I am assuming they're pretty well compensated just based on on cost of living change. CCL