3 Dog Pat

An editorial from the PD : The road back A design whose time has come Thursday, February 01, 2007 Greater Cleveland includes many con sumer products companies whose suc cess depends on industrial design. Think of kitchen and bathroom faucet maker Moen, headquartered in North Olmsted. Its slogan is "Buy it for looks. Buy it for life." Then there's Saeco USA, based in Glenwillow. The company doesn't just sell sleek coffee makers, but "Ideas with Passion."... more at: http://www.cleveland.com

From wcpn http://www.wcpn.org/mc/vault/radio_features/0201design.html Cleveland Design District Has Momentum February 1, 2007 on 90.3 The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Downtown Alliance and local real estate executives are meeting tomorrow to work out a strategic plan for what they hope will be the next big thing for Cleveland. Leaders behind a proposal to build a Design District in downtown say they are stunned by its momentum. ideastream's Mark Urycki has the story. Venture capitalist Bill Grimberg remembers the last time city leaders suddenly realized a special talent existed in the area. It was medicine and biotechnology. Grimberg told a conference at Cleveland State University that that discussion was in 1988. Bill Grimberg: Well, I submit to you, déjà vu all over again, we have the same opportunity here. The opportunity revolves around consumer product design - the artistic side of manufacturing that has long been taken for granted in Northeast Ohio. Two men came up with an idea to exploit the talent that is already here. One is Cleveland State's Vice President of Economic Development, Ned Hill. Ned Hill: This talent is the tip of the spear that is going to support tens of thousands of jobs in this region, and its really not only going to be that entire supply chain that is a jobs generator, but more importantly, it's going to be generating income and wealth which is sustainable. Hill and professor Daniel Cuffaro of the Cleveland Institute of Art came up with the idea. Cuffaro says Northeast Ohio has the assets to make it work - the history of the first Industrial design program, started at the CIA by Viktor Shreckengost. The talent and the expertise are all here - half of all the Industrial Design programs are within 300 miles, plus there all the product manufactures like Moen and Hoover and Step 2. Daniel Cuffaro: Consumers are paying for better design. And companies are beginning to respond, not only manufacturers but retailers, are beginning to see the value of design and investing in it. Just ask Northeast Ohio's Royal Appliance. They chose celebrity designer Karim Rashid to create their unusual hand vac the Dirt Devil Kone. Cuffarro and Hill say they want to make Cleveland the capital of consumer product development in the U.S.; they say, "the Milan of the Midwest." They started with goals related mostly to education but the one getting the most attention is to establish a design district around Euclid ave in downtown Cleveland. There are already design firms in that area so it makes sense to the city's economic development director, Brian Reilly. Brian Reilly: I think what it shows is you grow what you got. Who would have known that we are a center of excellence for American consumer product design? Well we are. In the district alone there are 100 companies, 1,400 employees. Let's find ways to build on that. The design district would be a cluster of companies that wholesalers or even retail customers could visit to see the latest ideas. Professor Hill says eight American cities have such districts but few are at street level for walk-in customers and no one focuses on consumer products. Cuffaro says it gives local companies an advantage. Daniel Cuffaro: Rather than a buyer flying into town, driving to an off-ramp in an anonymous suburb, they'll have a 15-minute drive to downtown Cleveland where they can one-stop shop for next year's product line. At the podium is Edward "Ned" Hill, Ph.D., Vice President for Economic Development, Cleveland State University. Panelists include: Ron Swinton, design student at The Cleveland Institute of Art; Daniel Cuffaro, Chair, Department of Industrial Design, The Cleveland Institute of Art; William Grimberg, Managing Partner, Consumer Innovation Partners; Laura Marshall, Director, Business Initiatives, ASM International; Brian A. Reilly, Director, Economic Development, City of Cleveland. That's why the CEO of Saeco USA, the Italian maker of espresso and coffee machines, says there in. John McCann says their American headquarters will remain in Glenwillow, near Solon, but Saeco needs a showroom for the many clients who fly in from other states and countries. John McCann: They'll see me, they might go down to Hoover, they'll go to Royal. Then they go across town because Calphalon is still in Toledo and All-Clad, a great company, is right outside of Pittsburgh and the president of All-Clad and myself are pretty good friends and we try to share those synergies. Well, this is an opportunity for me to say 'Why don't you put your showroom next to mine?' We can do some joint synergies that way too so, it's pretty exciting. McCann says a downtown location with other design firms is not only good for their clients, it allows them to test market to walk-in customers or to teach classes on making cappuccino, or even to repair their coffee machines. Saeco doesn't have a location yet but one organization has already moved in. ASM International is a professional and technical organization, once called the American Society of Metals. It's headquartered in a geodesic dome in Russel Township. But they wanted a location downtown so they could be a centralized resource for designers to learn about the latest materials. Laura Marshall of ASM says they already held one national conference at their new office - which happens to be upstairs from WCPN in the Idea Center at Playhouse Square. Laura Marshall: We bring a way to get the materials people to participate in the showroom concept, to participate in the design district. And then the educational outreach which allows designers to come to this region to learn about materials as well as the other services that Dan and Ned are talking about. Education is part of the idea. Hill and Cuffaro want engineering people from Case and Tri-C involved, they want the University of Akron's polymer connected involved, and they want Kent State's urban designers and fashion designers tied in. The CIA's Dan Cufarro said they trotted out the idea to companies talking about improving sales but instead, the business people immediately seized on the creative advantages. No one involved talks very long without using the word "synergy." Once the strategic plan for the design district is finalized , it'll be up to the design firms and real estate market to it a make it a reality. The CIA's Dan Cufarro believes it's getting grass root support. Daniel Cuffaro: There was a design-related biz located in the district was considering moving, there was a commercial real estate broker who said 'Hold on. You might not want to do that yet.' Some of Cuffaros's students at the Cleveland Institute of Art, two brothers just won a national design award from the American House-wares Association. They are now considering staying in Cleveland to set up shop in the district. Resources The District of Design, Cleveland

Glenn has a new master plan. A team of Glenn employees representing several directorates has been working to envision the future of the center. New office buildings, an auditorium and conference area and a public outreach district are included in a draft Center Master Plan to ensure that Lewis Field and Plum Brook Station (PBS) facilities align with the center's mission. "We need to create sustainable, affordable facilities that will enable us to transition for the Vision for Space Exploration while building on our aeronautics heritage," explained Joseph Morris, chief architect, Facilities Division. "The Center Master Planning process aligns our facilities and land to promote and fully utilize our resources." Preliminary Lewis Field and Plum Brook Station concept plans may be viewed on the Facilities Division web site at http://fd.grc.nasa.gov/masterplan.cfm

Anyone know how many homes were constructed in Cleveland for 2006? Where can I find this info? Just curious. Thanks

Well, this is not even LaTourette's district, it's Tubbs-Jones's. Maybe she traded the DFAS jobs for her Ethics committee chairmanship. Is that an example of irony?

Where is Tubbs-Jones? I thought she was a big wheel

I grew up in Euclid, and while I probably only stay there about 10 days a year, Euclid on the whole is just about the same as it used to be. Growing up there, there was always fear about what would happen one "the blacks move in" People were always worried that it would turn into another East Cleveland. But it didn't. Lots of people did move to Mentor in the 80's, but there was not a great deal of white flight. People are very passionate about Euclid, believe it or not. I agree that the area around Miller and E. 200th along with the entire stretch along Euclid Ave is tough. But is it worse than it was in the 80's? That area used to be all project housing, now most of that is the home depot and the Rick Case Honda. Euclid is going to struggle as many inner ring suburbs do. The housing stock is not the best, but it does have a lot of assets. The lake and believe it or not, the freeway access can work in its favor. The area directly south of the interstate is primed to reemerge as an industrial corridor. BTW, I don't read anything from the Scene, so I passed on reading the article

I wonder if those rumored "big plans" were used to lure those stores to the mall.

The city of Cleveland wants to turn an old KMart into a rec center in Collinwood

So, what are the odds that FCE and Frank Jackson are working on a knock your socks off development proposal for the new medical mart/convention center. Something that would also develop Scranton Penn and the west side of Ontario. I am feeling old when I do the math, but soon it will be 20 years since the FCE redeveloped Terminal Tower and maybe they are ready to make another big proposal. Now if that actually follow up on the proposal.....

the tax abatement thread got me thinking about this discusstion. "bump"

Remember, this was voted into law by the citizens of Cleveland. It wasn't a mayor or council give away.

This may deserve its own thread. There are lots of little nuggets in there, for instance, over $500 million for port operations. How much of this is for the port of Cleveland, and how much for the airports?

^was it generic housing, office, industrial, mixed use....a gift from FCE of a park to the city :) or was it so generic that you could not tell?

Well, as someone who just returned from Phoenix (per the buckeyes)Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe were, well, boring. Make sure your group schedules a bunch of activities and parties for the members.

So, I went to the game, wouldn't spend the $1500 to get a ticket, but I was there with 10,000 fans across the street with warm bud light............it still hurts

Didn't FCE buy some more property along the river? I still think Higbees is a good candidate for the medical mart

Any new rumors or actual news?

I wonder if Wal-Mart is the angle. The nearby WM on Vine Street is not a supercenter.

Will the new condo's sport a Public Square address?

It might be in the picture thread, but someone had mentioned that 75 Public Square might go condo. IF this happens, and it is greeted with the same enthusiasm as the Park building, THEN, maybe Jacobs Lot on Public Square might look attractive for new housing rather than office space. Maybe

I wonder if it was a speculative buyer?

I e-mailed him challenging him about OSU Campus Partners when he wrote that is something Case could copy. We exchanged a few e-mails, with him highlighting what they do in impoverished areas and I highlighting how they manufactured the blight they point to when justifying bulldozing a neighborhood center.

U-G-L-Y

Well, the tax abatements were put in place after it was voted on by the citizens of Cleveland in the early 90's. They have worked. I'm thinking that it can be scaled back now, but eliminating it would be stupid. Maybe 10 years for new, and 4 for rehabbed.....