Oldmanladyluck

Party People, I had an issue with uploading and addressed it. I recently visited Chicago this past weekend and truly enjoyed myself. The neighborhood I stayed in during my visit was close to the Westridge Nature Preserve. Though the area's architecture was different, it reminded me a bit of Cleveland Heights. The streets were walkable and actually encouraged walking or public transit; in order to park in the area, you would need a sticker in your windshield. Garage access in the area are behind the homes in alleys which were brightly lit at night. Onto the neighborhood... On the way to the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Preston Bradley Hall... And the Hall itself is gorgeous. Afterwards, we took a walk over to Millennium Park. There were people EVERYWHERE downtown; not just because it's Chicago, but it was also one of the same days Lalapalooza was going on. Back to walking downtown... I took this one specifically for KJP! I'm guessing the building under construction in this pic is probably the same height of 515 Euclid. It seemed as though there were hundreds of buildings downtown that were this height. The next day after visiting some other spots we went back downtown. This time, to the John Hancock building. And on up to the 95th floor... Lake Michigan looked beautiful And back down on the ground... And by the river. A couple of things I learned about Chicago: 1) It's a great town and definitely a world-class city. 2) The city has several areas which reminded me of home (Cleveland). 3) It had been a long time since I've been to Chicago, but I'm definitely going back!

In fairness, I bet you will find similar opposition when meetings shift to largely African American neighborhoods from the same age demographic. I've learned that opposition to change grows with age regardless of race or sex. I bet Michelle won't tweet it out though. True. Public meetings on the east-side (specifically southeast) tend to bring the same age range, but also tend to include more women in my experience.

One of Michelle's tweets stated the demographic at the meeting was mostly white male, aged 50-80. That would explain some of the comments. What's undeniably true is that there's been a shift in mindset regarding downtown that many older residents just don't understand. Their memory of downtown differs greatly from what we know as downtown today. Why would people want to live downtown when there's neighborhoods with homes and porches, with front and backyards? Why build on empty lots when those lots are needed for parking? Why bring in those hookah bars when this town needs more factories? This is the older mindset which still calls this town home, and can't just be ignored away. If it was only as simple as bringing factories and thousands of jobs back...

Just so I'm clear, how much does a person who works at Foxconn typically make?

Thanks for the heads up guys... I changed hosting sites, so hopefully everyone can see the pics.

^Some screen grabs from that interview...

Just on KJP's pics alone I decided to go to Edgewater yesterday with the kids. The bathhouse looks great in person- yuuuuge crowd there and at the beach yesterday as well.

^I've watched that building transition over the years. It originally went through an exterior rehab back in maybe 2003-2005 but it wasn't done well and the building began to look worse just a couple years later. If this one comes down, I would hope the corner doesn't have a vacant lot forever. There's been enough that has been torn down on E. 156th that the street doesn't look the same anymore.

Here's the original siteplan from 2005, courtesy of Clevelandskyscrapers.com. Looks like we're still on Site 1 over 10 years later due to the recession and housing crisis. I think we'll have plenty of space to build higher throughout downtown.

A good portion of the Great Pyramid was probably completed within the amount of time it has taken to put glass on this building.

^I think the threshold for new construction is when rents top $2.00/psf. With some construction projects in the city (just none downtown yet), we've passed that mark. I think it's only a matter of time.

^I have to agree; logicaly that's the first thing anyone should think of when considering this park. How many riders will actually tow their bikes/four wheelers to the park, who live nearby? I can't say none, but it's probably close to none. I will say that Jackson was the best mayor the city could have elected during the financial crisis. He managed city funds beautifully. However I think it's time for a change, and there HAVE to be other candidates who are just holding out for whatever reason. The folks who have announced their candidacy can't be all the city has as far as potential mayoral leadership is concerned.

^They should run regardless. If they aren't elected, at least their name is out there and they gave it a shot. I'm still waiting on Chris Ronayne to throw his name in. His contract with UCI should be up soon.

^I still can't say I'm for moving the JC. The market hasn't been strong enough to justify building on the lots in the Parking Lot District for 40 years now; I don't see how opening up another superblock one intersection away will lure developers to build on the site. I think we'll just be looking at another huge hole downtown for years to come- right next to the huge hole in the middle of the Parking Lot District, seemingly created in part for the JC in the first place. I would love to be completely wrong- and hopefully I am. However I just don't see developers tripping over themselves at the chance to build at the site of the current JC if the choice is made to move the JC to Public Square (can't say that's appealing either, especially if the jail is attached).

I don't go to TGI Fridays to begin with- but that design is sure to keep me away.

^What's the total square footage of the Landmark Office Tower? If converted to residential, that would be a nice big chunk off the downtown office market books as well once they move into their new digs.

^Truth be told. The area has been completely wiped out

^That would involve the county foreclosing on the vacant lots for the back property taxes along with the amount of the demo cost which is typically added to the taxes. The problem is that it can take the county forever and a day to even begin a tax foreclosure. Pick any parcel in the area in question and look up how far behind on taxes these parcels are. you'd be surprised to find many lots on the southeast side are $15,000 to $30,000 behind in taxes. The county has in essence given up on the southeast side; which needs the most help to begin with.

So, here we are. Franklin County finally passed Cuyahoga in population. The primary issue at play is jobs, which is simple and not-so-simple. Here's the negative: The Cleveland region lost population, jobs, and income since 2010 with some statistics showing the amount of people in the job market and actually employed matches levels the region had at around 1990. The positive: I think the region truly scrapped rock-bottom when it comes to losses and is positioned to grow in jobs and income.

^Was going to say pretty much the same thing. The move of Kaufmann's from Euclid Square sped that mall downhill. With three anchor tenants gone, I wonder what happens with Richmond in a few years. It seems as though malls are becoming extinct as more and more people shift to online shopping. I can't tell you when the last time was that my fiance went to a mall- and she's one who loves to shop. There isn't a week that goes by without some box laying by her front door from Amazon.

Preliminary numbers are out for January 2017 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics listing 949,068 people employed; the least amount of people since the height of the recession in January of 2010, and the second least amount of people employed since 1990. Now granted, January is the month when the region has the highest amount of people unemployed year after year, so there's no telling how many people are added to the employment numbers later this year. Also, the numbers are preliminary and may change. The unemployment rate of 6.6% is also the highest it's been since March of 2014. https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.oh_cleveland_msa.htm

^Anyone know if it's considered Class B or C office space? 1,000,000 off the books for downtown vacancies pushes rents up for everybody, I would imagine.

^Seems to be good as a lender believes that the developer will be able to close within the near future on the $300 million. Is the 1.3 million square feet of office still "on the books" as far as available downtown office space? As this will be a mixed-use project which will when redeveloped only contain 600,000 square feet of office space, that's a sizable reduction to the overall downtown office market.

It's frustrating that since 2004 when this was originally discussed, not a single wind turbine has been built in Lake Erie. I know, I know... funding.