Oldmanladyluck

^That's IF Miami can get a ring within the next two years- which means they'll have to get past a few of the normal names that pop up around the playoffs- LA (doubt they'll get past LA next year IF they even get that far), Orlando (will remain a strong team) and Boston (think they're getting old? They went the distance against the Lakers). And who knows which moves Cleveland might be able to make within that same time period, without the Drama Queen on board?

Two things I took from the article: The article mentioned a developer proposing to demolish the 12 story 1010 Euclid building for... a 6 story structure to be built in it's place? As if some type of adaptive reuse wouldn't work. The article also mentioned that the floor space is too small for efficient offices, but the county has shed 1,000 positions since the purchase of the building and "no longer needs as much space"? I'm glad the county didn't tear down this structure, but the reasoning behind not using it doesn't make too much sense. Nonetheless, I'm glad they didn't move into the building as we may get some type of residential development in the future.

Go Gilbert!! Go Cavs!! That letter was just what many, many fans needed in both Cleveland AND Akron. Many were questioning how Bron's "legacy" would shape out to be if he left town with unfinished business. Well... he's basically kissed being a Jordan or even a Kobe goodbye, IMO, while vilifying himself to millions. "The Decision" is now in the past (thank God). And we have an owner who wants nothing more than to win a championship. It almost feels as if a weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. Losing Lebron will definitely not be such a bad thing. Gilbert is committed to this team, and will do whatever it takes to get a roster together that can go all the way. He's already demonstrated that he's been willing to do so for the last 7 years with Lebron. I have no doubt that he will put a championship-calibur team together without Drama Queen James. Keep your head up Cleveland! This isn't all that bad.

"The Decision". That's just great. I think ESPN purposely named this "The Decision" based on Cleveland's sports history. We all know them- no need to name them off. They can then be the first to do a "Woe to Cleveland" sports story based on "The Decision" IF Bron chooses to leave. But again, we won't know till after 9:00. The PD said that ESPN wants the decision to be named by 9:10. That'll save us some grief, but not by much. This whole ordeal is BS.

More hype from "sources". We'll have to wait until 9:57 tonight for his decision (which is a farce to begin with- it doesn't take an hour to say "I'm gonna go to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. I don't know if all will be forgiven with the local public if he stays... that is of course unless he actually is able to win a championship). I can't remember a sports icon in this city who is as revered as Bron. If he DOES decide to go to Miami, with his I'm-oh-so-important hour long special on ESPN, it will definitely put him up there with Modell.

DAMMIT I hate that we're being put through this. This whole ordeal has been really, REALLY irritating for me as a Cavs fan. As loyal as the fans of the Cavaliers have been to Lebron, this hype ordeal has been a really sh!tty thing to put the fans through. Rant over. Anyone know the amount of cap space the Heat will have left over if they sign Dwade, Bosh and LBJ to max contracts? I don't even know if that would be possible. Even if it were, who the heck else do you sign to play on the team? It isn't like they can pick a Rondo off of a tree...

Who knows WHAT Lebron will do... but IMO Miami may be where he bolts to (if he does leave). He's said repeatedly that "it's not about the money", and that he "wants to win". Pat Riley, Dwade, and Bosh- that might be a little too hard to turn down. We're Clevelanders- we should know by now to hope for the best, but expect the worst when it comes to sports in this town.

I would think that the bigger news story should be that he was ONLY 107 petitions SHORT. Someone obviously still believes in him...

I'll say it- growth in the suburbs is *partially* (with emphasis on partially) fueled by fear. I'll point to the accelerated white flight which has occurred in Euclid over the past 5 years. 5 years ago, the city had a relatively stable white middle class... that ended when the foreclosure crisis hit. Around 2006, you would be hard pressed to not find a residential street in this city without 2 to 3 homes with for-sale signs in the front yard, and this doesn't even account for the homes which were being foreclosed on. As the white middle class moved out, "investors" bought up the properties and rented many of them out to anyone and everyone, with many going through Section 8. Afterwards, many white homeowners began to sell not just because of depreciating housing values due to the glut of available homes on the market, but also because of the fear of living in a neighborhood which had a growing black population. The cycle has continued until this day, and I would not be surprised to see the City of Euclid actually have a black majority with this next census (though the city council and school district still do not reflect this). Edit: Many of the former residents of Euclid have moved further east to areas such as Mentor with it's "new" housing stock. It is amazing to me to see home values in cities bordering Euclid such as Wickliffe and Eastlake remain relatively stable, along with a low foreclosure rate. Of course, I'm well aware that certain areas of the county were TARGETED by the banks regarding sub-prime loans... sort of a legal red-lining tactic. I just don't understand why they targeted stable eastern neighborhoods (like North Collinwood) and eastern suburbs such as Euclid and Maple Heights- of course that's another topic.

^I know, and thanks for pointing that out. I forgot to put a "sarcastic" face on that post!

And the case for BRT was...?

^There HAS to be a hotel which a developer is planning to coincide with the opening of the convention center. It just makes no sense for there not to be. And yes, Cleveland is an attractive enough city to host an event such as this... but the lack of hotel space will have the site selection pass over us.

^Thanks for the clear-up mayor.

OK. So my shock at seeing Holmgren and Dolan on this New Group Plan Board is over. The people on the board are: -Dan Gilbert-Cavs owner and developer of Cleveland's casino which should integrate well with the existing structures (funding/design) -Al Ratner (developer) -Ronn Richard from the Cleveland Foundation (grants/funding) -Jen Coleman on the Cleveland Design Review committee (design) -Paul Clark from PNC (funding) -Paul Dolan (WHAT place does he serve on this board) -Mike Holmgren (WHAT place does he serve on this board) -Eugine Sanders (Education) -Kathryn Lincoln from the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy in Cambridge, Mass (design, GREAT person to have on the board) -Henry Meyer III with Keycorp (funding) -Don Misheff from Ernst and Young (legal) -Douglas Miller with Jacobs Real Estate Services (developer) -Felton Thomas with the Cleveland Public Library (education). I was speechless when seeing two of these names. Unless the mall is designed to serve some type of sports function, why the FRACK are Holmgren and Dolan on this board? What purpose do they serve? Holmgren just came to town not too long ago... and knows what it takes to get a team a Superbowl championship. That's great. But WHAT does he know about urban design? Dolan- WHAT does he know about ANYTHING?...... (Just kidding) Dan Gilbert- well, he might not be versed in urban design, but I can see why he would be on this board. His initiative brought casinos to this state, along with a potential funding mechanism to fund the redesign of the mall. Along with what we've heard about the design of the casino, which sounds like it should be well integrated with the existing infrastructure. OK. I feel better now. Whooosaaaaa

I'm speechless when looking at the list of people on the panel. And not speechless in a good way.

^Agreed. The current building at 12th and St Clair was built as condos, and should remain condos. But as we have found, there is a market for new construction of apartments downtown which has not been met. Here is a project which could meet that demand with the construction of the new buildings; not the already built condo tower.

Now if only people could get loans for condos......... (or the developer goes for apartments instead... not that they wouldn't do well with apartments being 90% leased downtown).

^Thanks for that info. An additional 8 mil visitors a year would put Cleveland above 20 mil residents annually. Along with the new convention center... there will definitely be a market for new hotels (which is GREAT... we've discussed the need for more hotel space downtown). I can't wait to see how this building turns out!

HA! That was me!!

WHOA. GREAT VIEWS!!!!

Grumpy- I guess I'll know what you look like the next time there's a UO Happy Hour event I can actually make it to! Yep. He said the Union Building got funded as well (WHOHOO :) ), along with a building in Berea. 12 buildings renovated in Cleveland with the tax credits thus far, with most of them being on the Euclid Corridor. Edit: I ended up leaving after the governor was done speaking as well... perfect day to walk back to E. 18th from there (where I was parked, I work on E. 36th and Perkins).

I'll try to sneak down there... if anyone sees a tall guy with his hair pulled back, white t-shirt and blue shorts, that's me!

WOW... I wonder how many projects could have been built in this city with this type of foreign investment incentive. If only they knew. This is GREAT news! Hopefully Wolstein will be able to secure financing for the first phase of the project soon. I know that it is almost impossible to get financing for a condo right now, so I wonder if the plans for the condo tower in phase two will ever come to pass. Maybe it could be an apartment tower instead... it's not as if the demand for apartments downtown is low at 90%+ occupancy rates.

^I'm still expecting one to be built on the lot owned by Jacobs- it makes TOO much sense to have a hotel there since Gilbert won't build one for 5 years.

EXCALIBUR PHOTOS!! Thanks! Edgewater would be my neighborhood of preference if I were planning on moving to the west side!