dwirthwein

Isn't it about time for Steven Litt over at the PD to start wondering aloud (via his column) about what the mall could/should be? That STL project kind of sets the bar - and a proactive PD shaming of the city might get something moving.

As for mall landscaping... read about this place in downtown STL awhile back... and sounded like the kind of thing that would make the mall a hit from day one... Sculptures, fountains, walkways, grassy areas, ponds, little pockets of pleasantry here and there... http://www.citygardenstl.org/

I've been to SOHO twice - and so wish them well. They are now 5 or so months in - so shoudl be humming... But sort of like the Hodge's thoughts above, they're not quite there yet... My takeaway is that the space is nice and they have really good, personable and attentive service - nice people/family spirit in running the place. But the food is simply lacking. No way around it. Food temp (including should-be-hot biscuits) way off on everything I've tried. Tepid. Not appealing. Very controlled portions on the (all $17) entrees - would prefer they charge more and give a more OR amp up the flavor/seasonings to give them a bolder presence - and add a more substantial side to entree. (Bar Cento, across the street, gives a $5 side with similarly priced entree vs extra at SOHO....) Was expecting/hoping for over-the-top Southern tastes - and these are way too understated for my tastes. With that said, the cocktails are super, that Edwards Bros ham is to die for (on the really good Fixins appetizer) and the sugary pecan pie I had is about the best ever.

Was on E 4th last night with out of towners and there was a good/lively vibe before, during and after Cavs game. Nice to look down Prospect and see that casino garage is surprisingly good looking and a decent-sized, but graceful enough structure. Titlted Kilt had activity inside - adding to corner activity on Prospect. (wonde what will go in bottom corner of parking garage... Should have been the B Spot slated for inside casino...). And amber-lighted windows of casino glowed beautifully. Can't wait until mid-May.

If "autocentric" is an issue, then the autocentric, vibe-killing strip mall at SE corner of W25th and Lorain should be Ohio City's #1 focus. I also agree that CLE often goes out of its way to serve the have nots to the detriment of the haves and progress. Why subsidized housing has the best view of downtown in the city, I can't fathom. Right across the street from that high rise I saw a gun-drawn drug deal a few years back - thankfully my one and only - and still continue to exercise great caution in the area as a result, regardless of the area's relative safety.

Sounds to me like it's time for Peter B to make a re-appearance and put (more) money where mouth was...

Speaking of Harvard/271- the last restaurant pad in retail center with Bed Bath & Beyond, DSW - is announced - a (yuck) Buffalo Wild Wings... Unfortunate, as a Roy's was originally announced for that spot pre-9/11, Fingers crossed for an REI in old Filene's Bsmnt.

Richmond/Severance - interesting in that the rest of the shopping/dining focus on the east side is focused quite a bit S/SE of those - in movieless void. Megaplex at Harvard/271 was rumored.. I'd take it..

A megaplex has its kind of movies and its kind of customers and the Cedar-Lee has theirs. The kind of upscale 5-6 screen theaters w/food delivered to seats, etc... - showing popular films - not generally the Cedar Lee variety film - is something missing here, but doing well elsewhere. Why not one on the east side. Not sure why the east side can't have its version of Crocker Park or Valley View theaters - to see The Avengers, Batman, etc... (not Cedar Lee type movies) in stadium seating/comfort. On the east side,we're stuck with blah old-fashioned (not in a good or historic way) theaters - most owned by the Cedar-Lee folks (Cleveland Cinemas) like ours here in Chagrin Falls, or Solon, or the Phoenix on the back side of Eastgate, etc... Yuck.

I should have said left with "home goods/furniture, middle aged womens' fashions and restaurant destinaton now"... - Legacy...

MyTwoSense... just wanted to make sure you knew that I knew that... (me, too)

Old Thyme Herbs was a natural fragrance/soap type store - not Penzey's/cooking type store... Legacy's issue has been that, with Beachwood Place nearby, many of the big draws - like abercrombie, J Crew, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn, W=S. etc were already across the street - and secondary retailers, retailers with many locations (Jos Bank) - or upscale retailers with strong followers, but limited interest from most consumers -(( Lilly Pulitzer) were the ones left. This was never going to be a draw like Crocker is to the west side. Couple that with all the closings noted due to chains going out of biz or closing large groupings of stores - and you're left with basically a home goods/furniture and restaurant destination now. This does not bring browsing crowds or hang out crowds like Crocker Park. But with so many retailer skipping NEO - as I outlined last week - it would seem there are many opportunities. Just needs to happen before more retailers go... I think I can guess which ones are next. Always thought Legacy would be perfect place for an upscale (Cine Arts, etc...) movie theater... as there is no east burbs cineplex of note at this point (like Valley View or Crocker Park)... Great combo with the many restaurants - they'd feed off each other. don't know what they do now... They'll say they are 90% leased, etc.. - but that's total space, not storefronts... Empty storefronts hurt/deter...

MyTwoSense - you are right about those stores currently operating in some cases - but I did note some chains closed "large chunks of stores" - with Legacy being part of that... (not just Legacy-specific)... Here's some background: - Z Gallerie closed all 4 Ohio stores (along with 21 others, 1/3 of their total stores at time) in Feb 2009 - Sept 2008 - Norwalk closed all company-owned stores - and then new owner came in and took over.Tthere are now some Norwalk stores open again. - Oshkosh - all non-outlet "lifestyle" stores like those at Legacy were announced to close by end of 2005 when new owner Carter's took over and these didn't fit with their mix. There may now be Oshkosh stores again. - Ritz Camera - 300 of 700 stors nationwise were close April 2009 - including Legacy and I forgot Joseph-Beth... 5(?) of 8 J-B stores were closed in 2010 and 2011 when company went bankrupt (Charlotte and Nashville have already been turned into Container Stores, FYI - Conatiner Store originally announced for Legacy but never built - and Legacy Joseph-Beth remains vacant) -

Other than their cooking school, Viking Store is very gadget, cookware and small appliance focused, like nearby Williams-Sonoma. That I am sure made it tough to compete. Though they do show Viking appliances, and I think now sell them, for the first several years there, they I believe couldn't sell them, just show them and refer consumers to a distributor. Legacy Village has had it tough... at least 1 space has never been occupied in the nearly 9 years since opening, others have taken years, including the 3+ years vacant Talbots Men's space and very visible 1.5 yr old Joseph-Beth space.. Much turnover.... However, not all has to do with Legacy-specific results. At one time several years ago, I do remember counting that something 12-15 original or not long after opening tenants had corporately gone out of business, shut all stores or shut huge chunks of stores. EXPO, Old Thyme Herbs, Galyans, Z Galleries, Bombay, Bombay Kids, Talbots Men's, Talbots Kids, Norwalk, Acorn,Sigrid Olsen, Oshkosh, Ritz Camera, etc.... are all examples...

Noodlecat just announced on Facebook that they will open a west side market location in April. No more details given about whether counter or other...

I found an LLC for "Piada South Euclid" was set up earlier this year - so that appears to be the first one slated for this area.

Potbelly on SOM Center in Mayfield-whichever is still on track - signs in windows announcing it and saying "soonish" or something like that. New DiBella's being built just south - with Jimmy John's sandwiched, er, located - in between. Sandwichapalooza in that stretch.

I'd argue that what's going on in other similiar Midwest cities has EVERYTHING to do with Cleveland retail, as it relates to this board... It defines what's in play for us in future developments - or should, at least... If what's going on in other cities isn't revelant on UO, then kiss all the "Miegs Field" and "Navy Pier" references goodbye on the Lakefront Developmentt thread...

in the Horseshoe Casino thread, I posted about the updated website, which hints at a pizza place as 3rd food court option, describes the buffet a bit and notes restaurant hours - and that there will be preferred outside restaurant partners.

Noticed that the Horseshoe site is now a bit updated - and includes info about the 3 food court restaurants with a hint that the 3rd restaurant might be a local pizza place, in addition to Corky & Lenny's and B-Spot... "Our grab-and-go food court offers three distinct local flavors and will please the palette whether you are in the mood for a heaping sandwich, American fare or a piping hot slice of pizza." There is also info about the buffet - and hours for food court and buffet. "Restaurant partners" not yet announced - but hotel partners are... (Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Marriott) There's also info on the parking (free for certain folks) and gambling part, including the all-important words "due to Ohio alcohol laws, alcoholic drinks are not complimentary"

The things that shocks me most about the retail/restaurant list isn't what bigger metros than #16 NEO have - but that the average metro area ranking 17th to 40th has, on average, 14 of these stores/restaurants - even though the average population of that 17th to 40th list is about 1.1MM fewer than NEO... (the average top 20 metro, other than NEO, has 25 or so of these... the 5 closest in size have 20 of these, on average...) It's also interesting to remind all where NEO ranks vs. the rest of the largest metros... This is still a significantly large area - despite the doom-and-gloom spin. It would take some of the fairly fast growing metros 100 years to get close to our population... Look who ranks below - if not WELL below (I'm talking to you "largest city in Ohio" CMH - and you even needed hour-south Chillicothe to magically appear in your metro #s to help boost your population to 2MM. Oh, but wait, Columbus does have 14 of these key retailers that NEO doesn't... Oh well...)

the attachment is there at bottom of my 10:30ish post last night.... or at least i can still see it... (small paper clip icon)

The stores I/you want and the ones NEO should already have are two different things. My list just notes what we need to even partially catch up with a city anywhere near our size. The dream list comes after.

MyTwoSense - I send the virtual love right back - you know your stuff! I think the fact that I cared enough about these missing retailers/restaurants to compile the list in the first place might answer your question... Bring 'em on! There's a secondary list in my head, also, of the next tier of retailers/restaurants (think Roy's, etc...) that aren't quite "everywhere" enough to be clearly dissing NEO - but when they build a few more locations without hitting NEO, they will be... I've done what I could to share the list with Stark and the other key local players and have tried to get it print media folks hand to get them to delve further into the "why won't these retailers come to NEO" question. It's hard to look at this list and not see we're almost intentionally being overlooked here - with public enemy #1 and #2 being Tiffany (where I'm a very good customer, despite the distance) and IKEA... (FYI - Free People and Allen Edmonds were recently on this list - and formerly, Orvis - but those retailers have all ended up at Eton... so I was able to cross a few off, thankfully...)

Today's Crain's hard copy edition (don't see it online) has a story about two potential hotel properties noted on UO --- the potential Le Meridien at 1001 Euclid (Le Meridien "has not committed to a Cleveland project" per spokesman) - which would be a $55MM/200 room hotel, once the owners get financing. Also noted is the $50MM/161-room Kimpton-managed Schofield Building hotel. Though Kimpton is quoted as saying downtown is ready for such a boutique hotel, the developers are said to still be continuing to pursue financing and hope to "have news soon" about "beginning construction" on the hotel. That answers why no recent activity, I guess...