ohiocitybob

I'm glad to see questions and comments like these. Attendees at the community meeting appeared more concerned about the target demographic being served. The proposed density was considered by some to be excessive. Not much came up about the proposed design of the townhomes. The density issue had me perplexed, as there was once density in this immediate area that was lost to urban decay (and I-90, going way back). Ohio City once had a population of around 24K, and we are now closer to 10K. We need increased density, but I hope that the design will take some of these posted points into consideration.

There is a pdf on the following link where you can view the very preliminary site plan and elevation: http://www.ocnw.org/index.cgi?id=130&p=6431

I do have a preliminary site plan and elevation in a pdf format from NRP. I don't know how to post these files here though. I could post them on our website and include a link to that web page though. I wanted to add that I walked home from the public meeting at Urban Community School Wednesday evening, and I was stunned how run down and unsafe this stretch of Lorain felt (I never walk there at night). It is a real dead zone, and I don't see anyone else clamoring to build something there, unless one finds value in used car lots.

Wow, I am surprised that this NRP proposal has been equated to Section 8 housing. It is interesting to me that my income level would be within range of the income guideline proposed by NRP. I guess working class people like me are an undesirable element to some people in Ohio City. But I already live in subsidized housing. The $130K renovation to my home is a tax abated improvement. The only reason I could afford this is that my home was paid off years ago. Once again, I must be an undesirable element here. Notes from the 2/11/09 Community Meeting: Summary of the NRP Proposal for W.47th Street • 35 townhomes proposed for 3 sites on W.47th, south of Lorain • All units to be rentals, with on-site management provided by NRP • Rental range is estimated to be between $400 to $675 per month • Income limits estimated to be between $20K to $37 K per year • Target demographic is small, working class families • To be a mix of 2BR and 3 BR units, from 1400 to 1700 square feet • Six units will be handicapped accessible • Each unit will have a attached garage and brick front façade • Ornamental iron fencing will surround the well landscaped property • 1 large playground and 3 small green space play areas proposed • Units will not be HUD subsidized, but use Housing Trust Funds • Considering lease/purchase options with home ownership in 15 years • Targeting groundbreaking in 1 year, with project completion in 2011

I have some historic postcard photos on the OCNW website, so please check this out if you want to see what the Forest City Savings and Trust building once looked like: http://www.ocnw.org/index.cgi?id=130&p=3678

Kingwood Center, that's it! I would recommend to anyone within 100 miles of Mansfield to visit this place. It is one of those little known gems to most people outside of Mansfield. Couple the trip with a visit to the historic Mansfield Reformatory, and you have a day well spent.

Wow, there are some truly spectacular homes in Mansfield, but the "remuddled" jobs are a real shame. This pictorial essay is a study in the "do's and don'ts" of home renovation. All in all, Mansfield appears quite charming. I visited the beautiful estate with the sprawling gardens near downtown a few years ago (I don't recall the name), which made the trip from Cleveland to Mansfield worthwhile.

Sorry for my abbreviation, TS = Transitional Housing. I ride my bicycle often on Riverbed Street, the closed street at the bottom of the Franklin hill (right by the Columbus St. lift bridge) that ends by Stonebridge. There are numerous fissures in the center line of this road. One half of Riverbed drops off over 5' at one point, right at the center line. It is a striking visual that the hill is sliding toward the river.

Those apartment buildings to the north of the Riverview Towers are known as the "Big 8" by CMHA. These are "family" units, and Director George Phillips advised me that there is a "contingency plan" in place for those units, as they are not on stable ground. I interpreted that to mean that CMHA is aware of the problem, but will act on it sometime between now and the end of time. I agree with the comments on Transitional Housing. The women there are an asset to the community. They are quietly trying to get their shattered lives back together with the help of TS. I heard that the TS Board is interested in acquiring the Exhibit Builders building to develop apartments for the women moving up and out of Transitional Housing. I don't know if they will be able to find the funding, but the plan would be to use the shell of the Ex. Builders building.

Oh man! You beat me by less that one minute. I think you really enjoy scooping others ;->

I think many people are missing the point about the old Moda site. We are mostly concerned about the Rialto Building owners, who allowed Moda to ravage our community without stepping in to help abate the complaints, as a responsible landlord would. We can never trust the Rialto owners to do the right thing for the community. We didn't vote against Jason Beudert, we voted against the Rialto owners. Also, I don't think it is healthy for W.25th Street to have an over saturation of liquor establishments. We also have a fair number of gay clubs: Bounce, The Shed, Man's World and Argos. To suggest that Ohio City excludes a demographic that patronizes gay clubs is inaccurate. I am also glad that Joe Cimperman "gets it" and listens to his ward constituents. The residents of W.25th and the surrounding neighborhood do not want another large nightclub on W.25th. The area is just too residential for that.

Outstanding KJP! I am so glad that you got the scoop on this story. The will of the people prevailed, and I will always be an advocate for our Ohio City community.

I wanted to state for the record that Jason Beudert advised me personally that he represented Vista Hospitality and Logistics Group in this nightclub endeavor. I told him that I needed this information in order to notify the local block club about the meeting. I believe that at the time he wanted to use Vista HLG as a way to establish his credentials. He "back peddled" once he found out that Vista HLG did not want him using their name. Next, the community will NEVER support any nightclub going into the Rialto as long as the current owners are involved. These guys remained silent while Moda ravaged our neighborhood, and completely ignored our requests for their intervention on their tenant. We will NEVER trust them again. NEVER EVER! Most of us don't care if it would be a proposed Buddhist Monk nightclub, the community will NOT support another nightclub there. Numerous members of the gay community have come to me to express their opposition to this proposed gay nightclub. This is a very gay friendly community. The opposition has only just begun. The nightclub variance at the Rialto is now void, since it went unused for over two years. This was confirmed by Rick Riccardi, Assistant Commissioner and Zoning Administrator at City Hall. It is very unlikely that BOZA will support another nightclub variance there. I have heard from numerous nearby residents and stakeholders, including the resident leaders at Riverview Towers, that they will fight this to the end. I will assist them in this effort. Lastly, bravo to the moderator for banning Eparabola. One of the aspects of this forum that I admire is the sense of decorum here. That threat should not be taken idly. In spite of Joe Cimperman being homeless, he has been calling me to offer his support of the nightclub opposition. The bulk of his ward constituents do not want this, and he listens to us. I greatly respect that.

This has been great reading KJP! You have tied together some of the corruption that I have observed over the last few years (I won't go into any details here). Suffice to say, we have all seen just the tip of the iceberg. I do hope that justice prevails, but I am not sure this is possible in Cleveland. It gives me much comfort that there are reporters that are willing to stick their necks out to expose the corruption in this city.

For those that are interested, Franklin Lofts has sold six units so far, which is not bad considering the market. I hear that Ari Maron is definitely moving forward with the United Bank Building and Tom Gillespie is also moving forward with the Detroit Superior Lofts (W.28th & Detroit). I'm sure that both of these development projects have a very long way to go. I plan on finding out what is up with 3000 Bridge when I get back to Cleveland next week.

Carole, are you talking about 3000 Bridge (the old West Side Community House)? If so, there is nothing to show yet. Those guys are sort of "re-tooling", due to the soft market. Let me know if you think it is a project on Franklin.

I heard Heartland Developers closed its doors for good. That is the final nail in the coffin for the Jay Lofts......for now. I hope some other developer with less exposure picks this up. Maybe a smaller developer that is not over extended could have success with this project. James Sosan is having some limited success with the Franklin Lofts (the old YMCA), although the sales activity is likely much slower than what he was hoping for.

In response to "X", I lived in the Tremont area almost 30 years ago, and remember when there were solid homes where those new townhomes are sitting. I will yield to the fact that fire damaged many beyond repair, but that was also happening in Ohio City when I moved here in 1982. Many homes were lost, but many more have been restored.

Andrew captured what is the true defining quality of the Flats, and my most favorite feature: the bridges! I wish there was more adaptive reuse of the old buildings for residential living, especially on the West Bank of the Flats, but Stonebridge does look impressive. If we didn't live in Ohio City, we would likely live somewhere in the Flats.

We are fortunate in Ohio City to have a rigorous historic preservation system in place. A developer cannot tear down any structure within the Historic District without the approval of the Ohio City Design Review Committee. Thus, we have more historic architecture intact than any other neighborhood in Cleveland. Tremont went for new development at the expense of the historic integrity of that neighborhood. Check out our Victorian-era mansions on Franklin Blvd. and Clinton Avenue, which was the west side version of Euclid Avenue's Millionaires Row. I live in a simple but noble worker's cottage, built in 1860 and the backbone of our housing stock, but these are as important to us to preserve as the 1880's mansions. If you want to see some of these homes, check out the Ohio City Home Tour on Sunday 5/18. One of the photos above is of a home that will be on the tour. Visit www.ohiocity.com for more information on this. I just love my neighborhood, and hope that some of you will come for a visit.

I met with some CMHA/HOPE VI people on Tuesday that told me that the W.28th and Church buildings will remain vacant and eventually be sold by CMHA in the open market. Everything went scattered sites in the replacement 81 units with HOPE VI. Map Boy is on the right track concerning the status of the Exhibit Builders building, but I don't know if I am allowed to say anything else about this yet. I'd be happy to provide an update once more details are ready to be released.

Very funny KJP! I was sorry to see that a certain local newspaper was scooped by the Pee Dee. The McIntyre piece was minimal coverage though. Many of us are wondering how much more there is to this story. Could it be the very tip of the iceberg?

Did anyone read the attached? From Mike McIntyre's Tipoff Monday, January 28, 2008 Michael K. McIntyre Plain Dealer Columnist Happy memories?: In the back yard of the home where Cleveland City Councilman Joe Santiago lives stands a weathered statue that might give some of his constituents bad memories: It's one of the two statues that used to mark the entrance of the thorn-in-the-neighborhood night spot known as Moda. Santiago apparently never paid attention to the statues that flanked the entry - one barely covered man and one nude woman. He said the statue in his back yard definitely did not come from Moda, which closed when its liquor license was revoked and whose manager, a drug dealer, was sent to the slammer for laundering drug money. The place was plagued by fights, gunshots and all kinds of undesirable behavior. "It was a gift from my dad," Santiago said of the statue. But examining a picture of the Moda statue leaves no doubt that the one in Santiago's back yard is one and the same. How can the councilman be so confused? Tipoff called him back. "I don't know where my dad got it," said Santiago, who said he never thought to ask where it came from. "He said, 'This is for you' and I said, 'Thanks.' " http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1201512804151390.xml&coll=2&thispage=3

Someone was asking about Hope VI and the CMHA property at W.28th & Church. I just came from a CMHA meeting where I was advised that this property will remain vacant, and will likely be sold off in the open market. Like I stated before, CMHA went with the scattered sites for the replacement 81 units. That leaves nothing for Ohio City. I really thought the RTA site proposal was a winner for the community, especially with the transit-oriented housing potential. A very vocal minority of Duck Island residents shouted this proposal off of the drawing board. I like how "X" caught my "best" bank error. This may now be true, since the Division of Liquor Control has decided to revoke the liquor license renewal for the Mirage. They may still file an appeal, but their days are numbered. Maybe this would be a good location for Hush Nightclub.

Thanks for the clarification. Indeed, this is an interesting perception of Ohio City residents. There was no incentive for CMHA to present the instability issue to the community, as CMHA wanted to build on their vacant land behind the towers, as this is property owned by CMHA. The proposal for the Hick's lot was a secondary proposal, as the lot is owned by the City of Cleveland. When that was shot down by the West Side Market Tenants Association, CMHA proposed the RTA site by Duck Island. When those residents shot down that proposal, CMHA gave up on anything in Ohio City. I have mixed feelings about all this. We should be watching the Tremont Pointe Hope VI development to see how well the concept works in the community. The argument that any of the Hope VI proposals in Ohio City were too dense seemed like a weak argument to me. We need density in our neighborhoods that have lost significant population. Whether this density can be successful through the mixed income proposed by Hope VI is another interesting subject. Time will tell at Tremont Pointe. The quality of construction might be another factor to consider.