Oldmanladyluck

^With UH adding 550 jobs on top of DFAS adding 500 jobs downtown, and the Clinic adding 1800 jobs next year in University Circle, seems like we're doing good!!

Great photos of a great neighborhood!

Great News!! And I agree with willyboy- I think we all hope and expect more businesses to invest in the city.

^I can't say that I feel sorry for NYC...

^The recent 2009 3Q downtown market analysis from CBRE shows that currently downtown office prices are around $17.00 per sqft, which is actually LOWER than some suburban locations. I agree tough that the reason why we are seeing these proposals along this stretch and not Cedar is because of deals made with current property owners. I'm going to try and find Midtown's masterplan online... I think it's recently been updated.

With these type of uses in mind, I don't think that Midtown would have much potential for mixed-uses. When I think of 1 story buildings mixed in with multi-story mixed use structures, East 185th comes to mind. The street is walkable, and offers a mix of uses which are mostly built up to the public right-of-way. The difference is that most, if not all of the uses are retail, and not manufacturing. Having large manufacturing facilities either built up to the public right-of-way or setback with a parking lot in front will not foster the type of walkable neighborhood some (including myself) would like to see, and would actually create pedestrian "dead zones" as the large buildings would not cater to residents (think of the Clinic, for example). We will have to sacrifice one to get the other; at this point, it seems that the potential for more tertiary jobs could win out.

In my opinion, we're still going in circles even with the tax, though I agree that we could very well be stuck at the beginning of this process without dedicated funding. My point is that if PA indeed has as many problems as claimed and will cost $90 million to renovate, why is this just being revealed when MMPI has had this much time to analyze the site? We might not even be "first to market"... part of the main reason why the PA was included in the site plan to begin with. Do we lose our competitive advantage if this project does not occur first? Will we get a world class facility built on Mall C, which the city would deserve, and should expect and demand for such a site? In my opinion, I just don't see $425 million being able to fund such a site along with the construction of the convention center. And at this point, I don't expect much from the county commish's in regards to restructuring the deal (if at all possible).

^WOW.

It is frustrating to me that after 5 YEARS of discussion regarding the convention center, this latest plan is what we could end up with. Is this the best we can do? Public Hall MUST be included. Public Hall was part of the main reason why the current site was superior to the site behind TC- that we could be first to market with the MM. Reportedly, this isn't going to be the case anymore. How does this happen after 5 years of discussions, negotiations, planning, etc.?

I believe there are a few establishments left on the Rockwell stretch, but as mentioned, it is pretty much deserted. Great pics!

This building is coming along nicer than I expected! Mayday- that angle facing Terminal Tower will be BEAUTIFUL when all the scaffolding is removed. Thanks for the updated pics!

^The county announced months ago that it was looking to lease space in the downtown core, though they own both the building in discussion and also the Breuer tower. As the county put out an RFP for office space, I could only assume that the funds are there to rent out this much office space. And I will have to correct myself- it was actually 350,000 sf of space. Even the cost of this move would be less than spending $24 million on two properties to be acquired for the Mart. I don't see how developing these properties into a hotel in the future would be a bad idea. Again, these are the current property owners of the site- and as they are "required" for the MM proposal, they can ask for whatever dollar amount they want for their properties. If a hotel developer were to come with more money than what is being offered by MMPI- I'm sure they wouldn't mind selling. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/cuyahoga_county_launches_searc.html Cuyahoga County launches search for new office space By Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer July 16, 2009, 5:50PM CLEVELAND -- Cuyahoga County has begun a formal search for new office space, hedging against the prospect that its administration building could be knocked down for the medical mart project. The county began soliciting pitches this week from downtown property owners who can house roughly 1,100 workers in a single building or two adjacent buildings. According to a request for proposals, the county wants 350,000 square feet of contiguous office space that is available within 18 months.

I'm beginning to dislike public/private partnerships in this town! LOL If something is not planned soon which will truly benefit the city, maybe it's best that one of the two parties walk away from the deal. All of these stories about the proposed Mall C site leave out the county- who was recently looking throughout downtown for 250,000 sf of available office space in case the hold-out property owners wouldn't budge. Well, they're not budging- and they, from their standpoint, shouldn't. Though this is holding up the process, when it comes to land acquisition this is the name of the game. We all don't like it (I sure as hell don't), but they own the property and are in a position to demand more for it. How long would it take for the county to vacate it's current space and have the building torn down? We've seen some pretty fast demolitions in this town, which seems to be getting better and better at demolitions. I'm for tearing the county building down and getting started on that land. It sure as hell would be cheaper than purchasing the property from the hold-outs, and I don't think too many people would complain over the loss of this particular building. And what of the PA? Would the county be able to restructure and extend the tax for, say, another 5 years so that the PA could be completely renovated? If it is going to cost $90 million to do it the right way, we should have it done now so that new life can be given to that beautiful space sooner rather than yeeears down the road.

Opposition was bound to occur. Some just don't understand why they have "growth" now, which could very well change in the future. It is unfortunate that there will be many who are just too used to the status quo.

Virgo. And according to my fiance, I act just like one.

That image makes me queezy That's horrible. Just horrible. I was on Prospect Saturday night after the game, and this building looks great at night! I should have taken some pics (yeah, I know), but I'm sure some will be up soon.

This seems much more likely, and at this point they have nothing to lose as this is a county deal.

All the more reason why it must be audited.

^And it was MMPI who was to cover any cost overruns, right?

^My response would be- Mr. Developer, if you want to make money on a deal that you put together which will create jobs and tax revenue for the city, that's fine. In fact, it's great that this project will eventually bring more tax revenue into the city. However, this is, THE CITY, not Solon, Brunswick, etc., and there's certain design guidelines the city has developments adhere by. If you want to build here- you have to meet our design standards. Problem is- this city's design standards are always skipped over when it comes to developments in city wards with few, if any, developments. Midtown- sorry to say, is currently one of these wards. I won't be surprised if this actually gets built as described, with mixed use zoning in place currently or not. I hate to be a debbie downer, but with what's been proposed in this district up till this point, I feel like we can kiss design standards goodbye. I hope I'm wrong.

How bout the Midtown CDC? It is their neighborhood which will be affected by this decision. Also, the councilman of the ward would need to be present and give his or her ok for any zoning change.

^Outmigration along with the Great Recession. Great. The more Cuyahoga County loses in population, the more we can expect our public transportation system to suffer. Density is key, and we've been losing density for years.

^And at this point, their properties would be worth the amount they are asking for. There's no way around it, and this should have been expected.

^You better believe it! Lol. Just to skim over Hagan's comments regarding the MM, when he says it takes forever to get something done in this town... if he or the mayor actually showed some backbone after the site was chosen by MMPI, MONTHS could have been shaved off of this project. Allowing every developer and their mama to come up with their own place where the MM would go- and actually giving them a CHANCE to argue their point (Wolstein, Gilbert, Forest City, PLJ, The PD's editorial staff) is what slowed down the process. No one showed leadership, including Hagan, which makes him part of the reason why things move "so slow" in this town. OK, I'm done ranting about that. The use of ED would completely slow down this already slow process. We've learned this lesson locally already- remember the FEB? If eminent domain was not used, Wolstein could have shaved 6 months off the timeline of the project, and received financing BEFORE the credit market froze. In real estate developments requiring land acquisition, you should ALWAYS expect to have a hold out property owner. They have a ton of leverage when it comes to what their land is worth the closer you get to having all of the parcels acquired. Regarding the MM- this particular property owner is sitting pretty. We're talking about a parking garage downtown, right? That's a money maker, and I wouldn't be surprised if the asking price for this parcel is part of the reason why the PA is now being pushed to the side.

Now THAT would be great. I'm all for that as well! But what to do with Public Auditorium? If the MM could complete (finally) Burnham's vision, I would still like to see the Auditorium get some type of new life.