Oldmanladyluck

Outstanding photos MayDay!

A butcher shop would be a neighborhood level amenity which downtown is lacking, which speaks for downtown's overall residential growth. Great additions!

^As did Euclid, which cancelled their show at least five years ago. It's not like Euclid didn't have the money to put their fireworks show on- the city is one of the highest taxed in the region.

^Outstanding. Great concept- and I agree 100% that the city should not continue to treat the two districts as separate entities.

This is good news if you look at it from the perspective of manufacturing coming back; however, how many jobs will be produced is the question: Cleveland's manufacturing industry roaring back, expected to surpass national growth rate By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer on February 18, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated February 18, 2013 at 10:19 AM CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Clevelanders don't need a study to tell them that a hard-working region bled manufacturing jobs for the last 20 years. They see the reminders -- the empty factories and the rusty rails -- every time they drive through the old neighborhood. They do need a persuasive argument, maybe, to begin to believe that manufacturing is on the rebound and that making things will again become a regional forte they can bank on. According to an analysis being released today by Team NEO, manufacturing output has returned to something near 1990 levels in Northeast Ohio and is ready to blow past historic markers. By the year 2020, the value of goods made, stamped, soldered or assembled here will have increased by nearly 40 percent, outpacing the national growth rate. More at: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/02/clevelands_manufacturing_indus.html

That's a big deal- I'm hoping that the city by 2016 will have enough hotel rooms for the event.

Sorry to say it, but Cleveland IS NOT healthy. Cleveland's labor force (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics); and yes, the number of people employed in the region did dropped to one of its lowest level in the last 10 years just last month. I know we have to take in account the seasons, but DAMMIT, this ain't good: Cleveland's employment (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics): Over 40,000 less people are employed today in the region than the region had employed in January of 2002. However, not all is bad... the bright side- young people are flocking downtown and to some of the inner neighborhoods of the city. There was a story in the PD recently about the city gaining $50 million in tax revenue due to new jobs being created in the city (which is already mostly accounted for). The perception of Cleveland to young folks is completely different than the generations which came before... some of whom still refer to Cleveland as "The Mistake on the Lake", or who love to bring up the river catching on fire. Yeah... I think they're showing their age. More needs to be done to draw people back to the region, that's for sure. How to do so is the question.

Yep... as the city's population continues to plummet, so will the amount of CDBG funds it receives. Not a good combination, worse yet when paired with the amount of reinvestment which will need to take place in order to make several of the inner east-side (and some west-side) neighborhoods more attractive to home buyers. The CDCs play a major role in that, as they often take vacant housing from either HUD or the Cuyahoga land bank to redevelop. The problem is that a CDC may have received funding which allows for the repair of, say 20 homes, while the neighborhood the CDC is located in may have over 1,000 homes (literally) which are vacant and abandoned. I don't think there is any amount of urban planning which can tackle this issue without a growing population, unless the city concedes and takes on the "shrinking" approach Youngstown has.

It's great to see the expansion of Cleveland Range in the neighborhood. I know someone who runs a part-time shop on E. 185th and recently was hired at Cleveland Range. With the neighborhood commercial districts close by, it's great to see more jobs which benefit the area (North and South Collinwood).

^I think KJP would have the scoop on all of that... he did much of the initial reporting for Pesht. Too bad... personally I would have preferred even a first phase of Pesht over demolishing much of the historic East Bank. And who knows how many years we'll have to wait for the redevelopment of those lots? I guess time (what is it now, four decades and counting since demos began in the WHD for parking for the Justice Center?) will tell. I know I got way off topic but I doubt Westin will redevelop the lot, and if they do, I doubt it's anytime soon.

^I think it shows with the amount of abandonment which runs throughout the east side and into parts of the inner-ring suburbs. Cleveland quickly lost a lot of its urbanity within the past 5 years thanks to the foreclosure crisis. Some neighborhoods have entire streets which are near abandoned with still standing vacant housing structures. E. 113th and Union is a prime example. You may have a total of 10 families left on the street. I think this region must focus on business retention and enticement more. There is no other way to grow the regional tax base than to bring in businesses or train the existing residents on creating businesses. I think Mayor Jackson has done a fine job during the financial crisis. But as one of the region's leaders, what has he along with others done to help bring businesses back to the region? To help grow businesses in the region? What could be done to help foster the growth of businesses, which will lead to a growth in the population of the region (finally) instead of the perpetual stagnation/decline?

The graphs show a huge decline in the labor workforce since 2008; my assumption was that the region was doing better than what the numbers show when it comes to the size of the workforce and employment. Maybe it is some type of glich for the year... at least I hope it is. I think there needs to be more of a concerted effort from our elected officials to help entice businesses to the region.

Cleveland's labor force and employment numbers are the lowest they've been in 10 years. What the frack is going on here? http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LAUMT39174606?data_tool=XGtable

I wonder how many of these break ins happen in already abandoned properties. The stripping of pipes and copper could also be considered a burglary, no?

Um... yeah... since when can elected officials appoint themselves back into the position they effectively resigned from without a vote from the people? This pisses me off and I dont even live in the City.

Houston and Atlanta added over 1 million people to their urbanized areas over the past decade. Dallas-Fort-Worth added close to a million. Miami- close to 600,000. Charlotte and Austin- close to half a mil. Columbus is up by 234,000 and Cincy is up by 121,000. What the FRACK is Cleveland doing wrong? Why the continual decline?

But we gained the Pinnacle! Whohoo!! If the Columbia could have been saved instead of the Stanley, I'm sure there wouldn't be too many folks complaining. The Columbia was the real loss with the new casino opening, IMO. Again, how many preservationsts were screaming for a plan for the Stanley before the casino opened? How many years went by while we watched the building decay?

Agreed. The true tragedy in this case was the deterioration over time of the property. There was no push to save or reuse the building before the casino, and the building was allowed to rot until the casino came around. Where were all the historic preservationists before the casino (and im all about the reuse of historic buildings in our city, so im playing devil's advocate) pushing for a reuse of a building built in 1870 in downtown Cleveland? Why wasnt it deemed important enough to save until 2010?

That street is completely dominated by parking garages. Maybe some outdoor vendors could help... it would be interesting to see what plans could develop from the increase in pedestrians in the area.

^You're not the only one- as far as the potential impact on this area of downtown, I think we could guess that the storefronts around the complex could start to see some filling-in. It would also be GREAT to see the Breuer with a clan facade after all these years.

Like we aren't already short on hotel rooms downtown... That's 232 MORE apartments downtown. Not a bad thing at all! Also from the article, it's great to hear developers know demand is growing for corporate units as "more companies consider moving downtown". Great news! I wonder where the tipping point will be regarding any new construction of apartment units downtown... does anyone know what the cost per sq-ft must be to support new construction? The article mentioned that the rental rates will be higher than in the existing apartment building in Reserve Square, but didn't say how much. The more conversions/rehabs there are, the less available buildings there will be to convert. I know realistically downtown has buildings yet to be converted- but I think developers are missing a segment of the population which would love to move into a new construction downtown.

I'm hoping that this area doesn't stay parking for the long term. Prospect can support more than just surface parking lots- especially with Playhouse Square across the street.

This city would take a HUGE setback IF the CVSR or high-speed rail would not be able to enter Tower City. That needs to be able to happen, and should be a priority for not only the casino, but the residents of Cleveland and the entire region as well. There shouldn't be a question about if they should be at the table- they NEED to be.

^Talk about important to the city! Is the CVSR at the table regarding engineering or the future use of rail to the casino? Or Amtrak for that matter? They NEED to be...

I wonder if he could have done better in a smaller downtown location... I don't think that's the last we'll see of him.