Oldmanladyluck

^Not just throwing up my arms- but this definitely DOES suck, and there's no two ways about it. My question was more-so dealing with how can this region finally turn things around for itself when it comes to job creation and retention of businesses here. Sure, downtown, the inner east and west-side neighborhoods are growing even if it means a short term loss of residents with lower incomes. But I still will bet a gazillion dollars that the city (and region) loses population by the next census. It all comes back to jobs- and again, the region will remain frozen in job growth without giving our workforce the skills it needs to take the thousands of open jobs which remain unfilled.

^Truth. This region is frozen when it comes to jobs being generated here. Many regions have already come back from the recession and are now growing in jobs when comparing pre-recession levels. It will take Cleveland YEARS at the current growth rate to get back to where we were in 2006. And don't be surprised when the next census shows yet another population loss for the region. No more of this "we're stagnate" talk- this region is in decline The jobs just aren't coming. And if the job's aren't coming, the people ain't either. They're going to Columbus and Cincinnati, where the jobs ARE coming. I swear, I don't know what it is with this region when it comes to growth. There is no amount of urban planning which can truly turn things around (and my degree was in Urban Studies). I don't care if it's urban farming, wind turbines, bike lanes, mixed-use neighborhoods, or anything else which may be hot right now in urban planning circles. What will turn this region around is making it the best region in Ohio (and the Midwest) when it comes to job attraction and creation. What will finally bring businesses back to Cleveland? What can we do to further foster entrepreneurial growth? When will our local leaders finally begin to push for education in fields which are hiring and remain unfilled due to the lack of an educated workforce? Just venting... I love Cleveland, and have lived here my whole life- I just want to see this region succeed.

^I believe the magic number is 10% vacancy or below to justify new construction. Downtown has a lot of momentum- I don't think there are too many people who could predict the path downtown is on now just a few years ago during the financial crisis. I hope it continues!

I don't see the need to rush into demolishing the center- not when there's plenty of vacant lots for CSU to build on which CSU currently owns. A student conference center could fit into one of the surface lots along Payne- behind the newly built Langston townhomes and apartments. Urban planning is all about connecting existing assets; though the center is a liability for CSU, the physical building itself could be considered an underused asset in the center of town. We've had success stories regarding the reuse of existing assets... not just with apartment rehabs but with other venues as well (not to compare the two, but Playhouse Square was once itself an underused asset in the center of town, slated for demo). Regarding CSU's uses of the Center (the basket ball team probably being the entity using the center the most), I believe CSU's basketball team would be more popular if CSU had a larger on-campus student population; CSU won't have a larger student population without building more dorms (along with greater marketing of the university). That and actually marketing the team to the neighborhoods around, including downtown, could increase the amount of people who actually come to see the game. How often have we heard of CSU playing a basketball game at the Wolstein Center, along with how much ticket prices are? If people knew how cheap tickets can be to purchase- to watch a good college basketball game close to where they live- I think more people might take advantage. How often do the Lake Erie Monsters fill The Q? The Wolstein Center might be a better fit for the team. Besides- CSU has plenty left to tear down along Euclid! Bwahahahaha....

^And yet, at least according to Fitzgerald, there was not one developer who was willing to build a hotel on the site of the County Admin building. I remember reading that he said a parking garage was proposed on the site, and that a parking garage would not be "the highest and best use" of the site. Regarding that, I absolutely agree with him.

Cleaning is now visible from the west, looking east at the building. The upper most four floors are being cleaned. I'll have to agree that the cleaning is making a difference in the appearance of the building.

Didn't downtown have close to 150,000 ten years ago? I think I remember reading that somewhere, and that downtown was in the top 10 nationwide regarding downtown's workday population. Nevertheless, I'm sure 120,000 now is the beginning of a turnaround for downtown!

Fitzgerald is running for governor. In order to help his credentials, I'm sure whatever is in the works is good for the city.

Why are GCRTA's costs for operating rail higher than the national average? What contributes to this?

Does Akron U have a green ribbon? How about Cincy? Not to put them in the same league, but does OSU have a green ribbon? These are all colleges in urban areas. Why does CSU insist on this as something which will draw in students? How does a green ribbon add to campus life? How much programming is done on the added green space (when I was at Urban Affairs, there wasn't much done at all on the lawn fronting E. 17th). How does this help CSU compete with other colleges around the state for students? Because as a planning element, I'm sorry- but this seems to go against what the College of Urban Affairs teaches within it's own walls.

Apartments right across from Tower City/ Casino? I think there will be plenty of folks who would take that.

OUTSTANDING pics MayDay! What an asset we have with our Cultural Gardens- I like that the One World Festival brings attention to what we have here.

^Understandable, but is a large box on Cleveland's lakefront the highest and best use of the property? On the other hand, what about lakefront retail during the fall and winter months (50 mph winds off the lake in cold weather is none too pleasant)? I could see housing or office uses on the lakefront, but I have trouble seeing too many uses which could survive year round.

Though the news of 1000 jobs being lost in the region is bad, looking at the BLS it looks like we're close to having 1 million folks employed in the region- the last time that happened was in 2008. No where close to where we were at the height of 08... but hey- glass half full.

Oh that's just f-ing great. Just great. I would hope that none of the other banks with a large presence (or even larger) follow suit.

When will the madness cease...

I think we'll all have the same reaction! That building is gonna look great when it's done!

Are they funding it? And who do you think carries the most influence with high-ranking government officials. I highly doubt the opinions of those who do not own cars weigh too much on their minds. My main problem is that ERocc keeps pounding home the "different ideas on how people should live" comment, without realizing that many people view suburbanites' way of living as just another "different idea on how people should live" as well. It's a two way street. I believe at one point he even went as far as to equate those who support urban development with radical Muslims. Do I even need to go into how ridiculous that is? But seriously- I wonder of ODOT has even been through the neighborhood; or knows what shape the neighborhood is in; to know that putting sound walls along this route is a BAD idea. Guaranteed the walls will be tagged with graffiti within a week of the walls being installed. The sound walls helped push my opinion towards being against the build out of this new road. I know of the current status of the route through some neighborhoods (the E. 79th looks very much like a poor rural area versus being in the center of a major city which speaks volumes for the area)- however, holding the initial public meeting at the Plain Dealer and not beginning the discussion in the neighborhoods affected also pushed my opinion to being against it as well. This road was NOT proposed in order to benefit the neighborhoods through which the road is being built; any benefit appears to be an afterthought versus one which is planned.

^^I would beg to differ that the borrowers were not harmed by mortgage lender fraud. Borrowing money is one thing; borrowing money based on fraudulent sub-prime mortgages which were marketed door-to-door in lower-income neighborhoods is completely another. This type of fraud has resulted in the destruction of once-stable neighborhoods throughout Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs which are much worse off now than they were before the housing crisis. Any outrage against the banks which perpetrated mortgage fraud is warranted and justified, IMO. And any windfall which would be given to the borrowers would be justified as well.

Talk about a really cool idea!! Skylift definitely deserves its own thread.

Rock Ohio has already invested over $300 mil in the Higbee building. I find it amazing that even more mony could be invested in it which could bring even more folks in. And I agree- Thistledown is definitely dragging on downtown's numbers. Since Gilbert bought the land behind Tower City for $85 mil, I think we can all agree that something someday will get built there. But it will be great to see what they come up with for the remaining floor space available in the Higbee.

I might be there...

As if the graffiti taggers ran out of spaces to tag along the way... yeah let's just put up "sound walls" which are brand-new blank canvases along the corridor! Brilliant!!

I wonder what the Kinsman property is being demolished for surface parking for... the stretch of Kinsman east of MLK has plenty of gaps now due to many demolitions over the past few years. The single mixed-use buildings which used to line the street are now gone- especially east of E. 130th. There will be little to redevelop IF a market for redevelopment of that stretch of Kinsman actually ever takes hold. As an example, there are a total of TWO restaurants left between E. 93rd (not including McDonalds) and the triangle at E. 140th, Kinsman, and Union. The rest of the remaining storefronts along that stretch are mostly storefront churches. All of the now empty lots along Kinsman will have to be new-build; and without government backed Hope VI type of projects, I don't see that happening in Mt Pleasant for the next 20+ years. Not everything along our main streets should be multi-unit housing, same as not everything should have surface-parking in front of a new build commercial build. Unfortunately, the city's planning efforts (at least at certain CDCs which are "supposed" to include neighborhood input in the planning process but often do not, especially on that side of town), have conceded that we now live in an automobile age even if the city's existing structure (or what's left of it) is what younger people are looking for. Bottom line- there should be NO REASON why Kinsman Rd. should have surface parking. My uninformed guess would be that the parking is either for an existing church, or for a dollar store. This part of the city needs more help than most would even know.

Seems as though the company is trying to get around the union...