MidwestChamp

I do get monthly emails from Cleveland's casino with $10 to $15 a week offers for free slot plays. I've been getting these weekly offers since July and I'm a local in Cleveland. I'm not much of a gambler though and when I've gone to take advantage of this the money is quickly gone...the slots are very tight.

SMG named to manage the Convention Center complex. SMG tapped as likely manager of Cleveland Convention Center complex, replacing MMPI Print Michelle Jarboe McFee, The Plain Dealer By Michelle Jarboe McFee, The Plain Dealer Email the author | Follow on Twitter on October 06, 2013 at 7:40 AM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The biggest player in the convention center management business will take over the new Cleveland Convention Center complex next month, through a hand-off orchestrated by public officials and the real estate company that developed the $465 million project. SMG, the new manager, is the nation's largest operator of convention centers. The 36-year-old company, based in suburban Philadelphia, oversees more than 200 meeting facilities, arenas and entertainment venues. By November 15th, SMG will add Cleveland's to that list, in a transaction that industry experts say will bring the city much more clout and many connections on the convention circuit. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/smg_tapped_as_likely_manager_o.html#incart_river_default#incart_2box

The 9...I HATE this branding

^Also we're down several hundred hotel rooms with the former Crown Plaza / new Westin's room out of the count as well as the permanent removal of the Embassy Suites. With the staggered opening of the new hotels I think the market will absorb well. Edit: Sorry I should have did a refresh before posting, I see this was already addressed.

Good point. Maybe someone on UO has some knowledge of those other places.

Question: How do other cities make it work with both a college arena and a pro arena? Several mid-sized cities have both. Why can't CSU make it work? Two hours away in Pittsburgh and Columbus both cities have college arenas and pro arenas (in Pittsburgh's case both are new)...what situation exists that allow two arenas to work in these other similar sized cities and not here?

That's definitely a negative development. I can say that the feeling of the CDC and the design review board was not at all supportive of demo, and they are trying to work with the owner to find alternatives. That said the building has been vacant for over 30 years and is in pretty sad shape inside. Stay tuned...

Lafont I think you're actually referencing two different processes - the Superior Avenue TLCI Plan and the AsiaTown Master Plan Process. St. Clair Superior Development completed the Superior TLCI in 2011 and a majority of that plan is being implemented as Superior is being reconstructed. Paved treelawns have been greened, pulling parking off the sidewalks and placing it onto the street, bike lanes will be installed on each side of the street, speeds will be reduced from 35 to 25MPH. This work wraps up on Superior through AsiaTown this fall. Separately, using the TLCI as a starting point, in 2012 St. Clair Superior Development started a much broader AsiaTown Master Plan process. The AsiaTown Master Plan is not complete, but should wrap up by the end of the year. Phase one of this plan was completed last fall and focused on existing conditions survey and future land use visioning. The final phase of the plan will wrap up this fall and focuses on design elements, public spaces, green spaces, traffic and pedestrian flow, etc. This plan not only speaks to Superior, but also Payne, East 30th and East 40th streets, as well as offers development recommendations for the residential, commercial and public areas of the district. It's in this plan that more aggressive treatments like signage, Chinese gateways, crosswalk enhancements, public art, greenspace creation and improvements, pedestrian amenities along major corridors like seating, lighting and shade trees, cultural markings and other recommendations are made. A public meeting attended by over 100 residents was held in September to introduce a draft of the plan to the community, which was translated into 3 languages and was well received by the folks who attended. Once finalized the plan should be adopted by city planning by the end of the year. Now the really hard work begins for the community to raise money to implement the plan improvements throughout AsiaTown.

St. Clair Superior is really making headways in revitalizing the St. Clair neighborhood! I'm loving their energy and creativity with programs like Urban Upcycle, Retail Ready, The Cleveland Flea (now attracting 5,000 people each month to St. Clair) Urban Grazing, new public art, loft homes, etc. They are really pushing to make this area the next to "pop" in cleveland. I'm going to echo 8shades and again say this neighborhood needs it's own thread. I'm thinking a St. Clair Superior/AsiaTown thread. Just sayin... :-) Anyway here's an in-depth look at their efforts by Steven Litt from today's PD: St. Clair Avenue is poised for revival as Cleveland's next example of "creative placemaking" Michael Fleming, director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corp., is leading a new vision for the neighborhood. Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer Print Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer Follow on Twitter on October 01, 2013 at 8:40 AM, updated October 01, 2013 at 8:45 AM To the casual eye, the battered commercial strip along St. Clair Avenue east of East 55th Street in Cleveland would look bleak, unwelcoming and rundown. Michael Fleming, director of the St. Clair Superior Community Development Corp. sees something else: a street of hidden treasures and rich potential. Since taking his post in 2010, he’s devised a turnaround plan that could make St. Clair the city’s next hot neighborhood, based on its location just off I-90, its record as a busy local commuter route and its deep history as a stronghold of the city’s Slovenian immigrant community. The hook is to build on existing businesses and augment the neighborhood’s identity by turning into a regional center for upcycling - the art and craft of repurposing throwaway items and discarded construction materials to make something new, useful and beautiful. The movement is growing in Cleveland, and Fleming wants to make St. Clair its regional headquarters. “We’re pretty stoked,” Fleming said in one of several interviews about the neighborhood over the summer. “We’re calling this Upcycle St. Clair.” Fleming’s vision has attracted a prestigious $375,000 grant from ArtPlace, a private-sector spinoff of the National Endowment for the Arts. Other grants came from Charter One Bank and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the county’s public arts fund. http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/10/st_clair_avenue_is_poised_for.html#incart_river_default#incart_m-rpt-2

This sounds like a reasonable starting point for a conversation like this to happen. Of course the large lot owners will howl, but they've had a couple decades time to bank soaring profits off these lots with no valuable return for the city.

With residential moving into the PS area in large waves plus new restaurants and public gathering spaces I'm excited to see the greater streetlife it will generate. Outside of showtime I've always felt the place felt vibrant and empty at the same time...flashing lights with few people. These improvements will change that in a big way!

^I like that idea. An upscale pool hall goes well with the vibe of East 4th and the Corner Ally...which I don't think has pool tables...something that usually accompanies bowling allys. :drunk: Pool hall and gambling on Public Square...10 years ago this would sound like a seedy plan...but now its a driver of development...how times and perceptions change!

People have already said it but this is going to be one RIDICULOUSLY beautiful building when it's done. Glad to add a pop of color on this corner too. (and boy that section of Euclid sure looks better now than in 1995!)

I don't think that's purposefully misleading. As someone mentioned earlier there was a lot of work done to Euclid unrelated to the installation of BRT. For instance whenever the city reconstructs a street the major utilities jump in and rebuild the lines there because it makes sense to do so while the street is open. You cannot include those costs as part of this comparison. From the article: "That’s based on a $50 million price tag for the HealthLine, or strictly the costs of the transit components -- its customized articulated buses, stations and signage – and a calculation that the project leveraged $5.8 billion in transit-oriented development. Local planners say the Euclid Avenue bus system, which takes passengers from Public Square through University Circle to East Cleveland, had another $150 million in curb and sidewalk work, sewer and water line replacements, and landscaping that involved planting 1,500 trees, among other features. It opened in October 2008." http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/09/clevelands_healthline_gives_mo.html To me it sounds like the $50M was just for the transit costs...busses and dedicated stations. That's all you need to run a bus line. Landscaping is a choice (a good one) but not a necessity, and i'm sure there are BRT lines that are just busses and stations. RTA and the city (rightfully) chose to go further and complete unrelated sidewalk and curb work, install landscaping, and work with utilities to replace water and sewer lines. There may be a question of if $50M is all that was spent on the busses and stations...that seems a little low (but I also do not really have knowledge from which to base this feeling), but I do not at all question the rationale of leaving the other expenses out.

^and management of the "mart" is different from management of the convention center. While these were build jointly and have always been viewed as complimentary, they are in fact different businesses with different business models and needs. I think for both to be successful you need experienced leadership handling the sales and marketing of the convention center, and a different team that handles the management and marketing of the mart. The medical mart concept is so new I don't want it's potential missteps as a new concept finding its marketplace to drag down the convention center, which is an established, and frankly crowded and fiercely competitive market. Again MMPI should stay in the picture and run the mart...while an experienced leader should be brought in to run the convention center. We know the ladder is happening, hopefully MMPI is not bowing out completely...that would make me worried for the mart.

I believe in one of the articles covering MMPI's exit strategy said it's more like they are contracting out the convention center portion of the business. Also there's this from the PD article: "Dave Johnson, an MMPI spokesman, said in a prepared statement that the company is looking to hire a convention center management company "to strengthen and enhance its expertise in convention center operations." http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2013/09/ed_fitzgerald_mmpi_to_be_out.html#incart_river_default#incart_m-rpt-2 So I think the best case scenario is MMPI will still be involved in running the "mart," a business concept they pioneered, while a group like SMG or Global Spectrum would manage the CC side of things, bringing in expertise that MMPI lacks. Is there any reason to think this would not be the final outcome? To me this is a win-win.

THANK YOU Heinens!!! This move will push the other Eucild projects forward for sure and boom...Euclid is a complete street from Public Square to Playhouse Square to CSU!! I am so happy I'm crying!! :-D :cry: :-D

^There's also Ohio Savings Tower at 9th and Chester.

No...I've really only seen renderings showing the unbuilt 2nd tower. I'll have to check them out and see. Is the Cleveland Memory Project a good place to start for old Ameritrust pics? Ever see historic pics of the building? Really cool looking. In fact, seeing those original images got me to really like the building a lot more.

Driving up 77 the other day it's crazy to see the impact this cleaning has. That building has a big impact on the skyline, but the dark stone plus black dirt made it fade away somehow. But it definitely pops out now...brightens up that whole section of the skyline. I'm hoping for some cool lighting effects in those honeycomb windows so that there's a similar impact at night. Plus the skyline could use some more dramatic lighting.

Wow, thanks KJP. That sounds like an unfortunate situation.

KJP do you have any insights into why these costs are higher here and what can be done to correct this imbalance?

My point exactly. CLE is surrounded by airports that have made larger terminal investments within the past 2 decades than we have, a fact that shows to both airlines and the traveling public. Sadly I don't think a meaningful large scale redevelopment or replacement of our passenger facilities is even being discussed, which I think is a mistake moving forward. I was surprised to read above that our gates and jetways are too close together to even accommodate larger planes for long haul flights. That's just not acceptable for a city like Cleveland in the global economy. I appreciate the improvements they've made to the existing facility, but at this point I think we've taken the current terminal as far as we can with updates without a major rebuild or complete replacement, and that's just to maintain adequate facilities for not only airlines but for the traveling public.

I know, and that why I wonder if its at least worth a study. Certainly they built to a capacity that no longer exists, but my understanding is the new terminal at Indy is right-sized for their current level of air service, with room to expand if ever needed. I wonder if we can build in the same fashion. A new terminal may even be smaller than the current one, but designed more efficiently and with modern amenities.

This debate regarding international flights to/from CLE to me brought out interesting points about our facilities. I think PIT and Cincy have maintained a small number of international flights because of their more modern facilities. Their business communities and populations are about the same as NEO. These are airports that have lost their hubs and many flights, but they also offer more modern facilities than Hopkins can provide. With that said I'm less concerned about us getting one flight to Europe as I am the condition of our facilities. With so many major airports nearby CLE we're in competition for flights and services, and CLE is probably the airport with the oldest passenger facilities of similar size within several hundred miles. Upgrades have been made over the years to the terminal, but at the end of the day we have a very old passenger facilities(except concourse d) that to me feels like it's nearing the end of its functional life. With that said what needs to happen to get a new terminal built? If Indy can get this done I am sure we can make the case to the federal govt that our aging facilities need replaced and not continual band-aids. I know this would be extremely difficult with such a tight footprint at Hopkins, to say nothing of costs, but I just don't see how the current terminal can continue on for another 20, 30, 40 years or more. Knowing that a new terminal will take at least 10 years to plan and several more for construction, my thought is this is a serious discussion that needs to begin now to begin now.