Oldmanladyluck

The huge majority of houses- new builds or rehabs in most of Cleveland’s neighborhoods don’t even come close to $350,000, even in this market. Glenville; Mt. Pleasant; St. Clair; Euclid Green; Union Miles; Buckeye; Kinsman; Central; Lee-Harvard; Even the Cleveland side of Shaker Square, and that’s only east of the river. That number makes sense for the majority of the city- especially when we can expect housing prices to decline in the next year or so.

A contribution from Friday…

I believe UC actually has a benefit over downtown when it comes to building high-rises, in that the bedrock is only 50' below ground, no? Not that we'll see more high rises one day in UC than in Downtown, but it would be less expensive to build in UC when compared to downtown.

Right. Fuggetaboutit.

Lake Mead running dry is not enough of a reason to move Great Lakes water to the desert so the desert communities could benefit off of Great Lakes water. Even if it was only a foot taken off of the total. They made the decision to grow metropolitan areas in the desert. They could choose to move to areas with water when they run out of theirs. Or not. Either way, them not having water is their problem, not ours. I’d be more for a federal intervention moving people out of the desert who don’t have the means to do so on their own (mentally, physically, or financially) than moving water from the Great Lakes to the desert. There is no reason for this region to supplement another, in the desert, to their benefit with a resource which humans should move to.

We’re on the same page with that, 100%. I feel however that the region (and the state) should scream out that we have access to one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world while saying at the same time that our cost of living is low and we’re open for business. If the trends hold true out west and in other parts of the world as well, the Water Belt should not hold back in promoting itself. If you want readily available water, relocate here. But don’t even think about finding a way around the Great Lakes Compact and piping our water to the desert… that could literally be worth going to war over. Moving there was their choice- now they can live with it or move somewhere that has water, like here.

How many years are you willing to wait for that to happen? How long has the site been dormant before this development? Just because the area may be hot right now doesn’t mean that a developer with deep pockets will automatically come in. The reworked design of the building may not look like something designed by I.M. Pei, but it’s something different in a changing neighborhood.

Would it be bad for another region of the country which has dealt with its own decline over the years, many reasons for which were legitimately out of its own control, to start marketing to these soon to be less fortunate areas of the country that it is open for business and is a great place to live? Just sayin. We’re not running out of water anytime soon and I just can’t find myself to feel bad for people who chose to move to the desert and expect to always have water. I just can’t.

University Heights is planning a Juneteenth Celebration on June 19th at Walter Stinson Park. Performers at the inaugural University Heights Juneteenth Celebration will include the All City Choir, DJ Marcus Alan Ward, local poets including Raja Belle Freeman, dancers, and a concert from Forecast. Local Black fraternities and sororities will participate. The emcee for the event will be Kierra Cotton from WKYC.

@KJPDo you think this will help push the old-money family property owners on Scranton Peninsula to sell? The peninsula itself is gonna look kind of weird with all the development taking place around it and it just sitting there waiting on God only knows.

I met Deborah Gray over ten years ago and know she does care about her community and that her heart is in the right place; but I don’t know how many people would jump at her demand for development in Ward 4 just yet. There’s a lot which has to happen over there still just to get the existing housing stock up to code, much more if you include demos. I visited an old friend on E.134 and Kinsman last week and was kind of saddened by the never ending decline of the neighborhood. It’s been a long time but the neighborhood has been in constant decline for decades now- not just population wise, but in the quality of the existing housing and commercial building stock as well. There is no magic fix for the decline. Demanding development won’t bring developers to the neighborhood either. I don’t believe there is enough urban planning in the world to change the trajectory of a neighborhood in perpetual decline besides if and when “the market” says it’s ready to reinvest. Streetscapes (Kinsman got a new streetscape under Zach Reed and that’s done zero to stop the decline); bicycle lanes; single lot demolitions; citations and court cases; “investors”; paint programs; grants for home repair; low-interest loans… nothing has worked to turn the tide for the neighborhood as a whole. And the housing stock which is being lost on that side of town was built to last; those Cleveland Doubles are actually pretty big on the inside. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Edit- I realize that most of my rant is about Ward 4, and not Shaker Square specifically; however, the grand apartments that line S. Moreland have been in decline for years now as well. That corridor connects Shaker Square directly to Mt. Pleasant to the south.

What an OUTSTANDING problem to have!!

From the ground, it looks like the area is approaching full build-out. Amazing what a transformation this has been!

^I dunno... E. 260 which turns into Richmond Road had three malls all within a couple miles of each other- Euclid Square, Richmond, and Beachwood. In the 70s when Euclid Square was built, the county had above 1.7 million people and Euclid had a population of over 70,000 by itself (both declining in population at that point). With a declining population, one or more of the malls were bound to die off even if the St. Clair bus stopped at the mall. St. Clair actually begins at Babbit Road in Euclid so there was no way that the bus stop couldn't have been there. Richmond Mall (#94 bus) and Beachwood (#94 bus) both lie along Richmond Road, which runs from E. 260th in Euclid all the way through Tri-C East. I think population loss along with an overbuilt retail environment had more to do with killing off the malls than transit, but that's just my opinion.

I remember those row houses when they were occupied over 20 years ago (there used to be a small neighborhood bar/club right across the street called the Togo) and I think even then they were starting to need some tlc. I think they’ve been vacant for over a few years now. I can agree with you regarding the continued loss and neglect of the city’s historic apartment stock on the east-side… the city is continuing to lose its potential human density through the neglect of its current built environment. Hopefully the city isn’t too far away from ground-zero when it comes to what needs to be demolished. There will come a point where the private sector can step in and rehab instead, and that may already be happening increasingly. But to get back on topic, my view this project is definitely a win. The city is losing six row houses which have been in bad shape for a while and the site will become 255 apartments. 🙂 That’s a great outcome. I wish there was a market for this in other parts of the East-side that have seen disinvestment and neglect.

I hope I’m not the only one with the opinion that many of the people who live there, moved there by choice. For those that did, looks like they made the wrong choice to move to the desert and expect water to always be plentiful. I’m not speaking of those who live in poverty or may have mental health issues who live there and may not have a way to leave if the region actually runs dry. It’s always the least of us who suffer the most- and for them, who knows what the larger society or the government will agree to do. I’m sure there will be those who throw up their hands and say, “Tough luck”…

There are areas in the city and the county where the housing market is still hot beyond belief. I would doubt that there was that much of a loss in Cuyahoga County. I’d also bet a billion dollars that 2020 will be the last year statistically that the city of Cleveland loses population. Manufacturing is now the fourth largest sector in the region, with eds and meds being the largest. When Cleveland grows, the county won’t be too far behind.

ESPN just put out that there will be no additional charges. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33585725/second-grand-jury-mulls-another-charge-cleveland-browns-qb-deshaun-watson

HA!!! Thanks! That makes things a WHOLE lot better. Still not much of a fan of that much surface parking- this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an urban neighborhood from scratch. Surface parking should be kept to a minimum, IMO.

Can't say I'm a fan of all of that parking along the river's edge, but nice work on the plan.

^Doesn't matter regarding what condition OBJ is in now... IF he was actually running the right routes, and IF Baker was deciding to not throw him the ball ON PURPOSE because of some "chemistry" issue between them, then that's just Baker's immaturity showing. And regardless of if he's the number two option in LA, he was one of this teams potential weapons and underutilized at best. The video which led to his leaving only highlighted that in an uncomfortable way. If the fan who was wondering why Baker wasn't throwing the ball to OBJ never put the video out and OBJ was still on the team, how many more receptions would OBJ have had? Probably not that many, regardless of how many times he would be open. And again, IF he was actually running the right routes, who does the blame fall on? We're left to guess on who to believe- either the people who back Baker or OBJ, on if the right routes were ran or not. That is unless someone in the public has access to the Brown's playbook and could confirm if the right routes were being ran by OBJ or not. If not, that's completely on Baker. I don't care about "chemistry"- I care about winning. And if there's an open receiver who isn't getting the ball game after game, that falls on Baker especially of it's play-action pass.

The letter shows Baker’s emotional fragility. I’ve said the same about Mayfield during the season- we had to make the choice to believe that OBJ was running the wrong routes or that he wasn’t. If he wasn’t, and Baker was choosing to not throw him the ball because of “chemistry”, then that’s just immaturity if OBJ was one of the teams potent weapons. Let’s say we keep Baker and he has “chemistry” issues all over again with our new pricey WR? The team should just move on.

I'm for it- the diagram in the article showed the existing building was to be repurposed, so at least the gem stays.

It's coming along, no doubt. Peter B. Lewis would be proud- it seemed like University Circle's emergence was something he truly wanted to see.

I'll have to check that spot out this summer when I head down to Mt. Vernon! Thanks