The whole west bank is parking lots!

That's pretty bad.

Seriously. There is absolutely no excuse to be tearing down any buildings in that area. Why don't they just build their new building on other side of the viaduct, across from the new condos?

Sorry to sound like an ignoramus but which one is the Left Bank building?

What address can I type into Google Maps?

Thanks!!!

^It's kind of hard to see from streetview because of the camera angle, but it's the one at the far northern end of Riverbed Street, on the left: http://g.co/maps/hsbdh

 

From across the river: http://g.co/maps/5ha3p

 

Here's a photo from an older real estate listing: http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/15580560/1250-Riverbed-Rd-Cleveland-OH/

 

It's an awesome old industrial building with cool wrought iron balconies attached later in its life.

 

 

Sorry to sound like an ignoramus but which one is the Left Bank building?

What address can I type into Google Maps?

Thanks!!!

 

1250 Riverbed Street

Seriously. There is absolutely no excuse to be tearing down any buildings in that area. Why don't they just build their new building on other side of the viaduct, across from the new condos?

 

Not that I don't like your idea.... but you can't build anything on land you don't own.

That is a cool space!

Thanks for the information.

I'm in town next week for a few nights and planned on driving down to the Flats to check out the aquarium site and FEB...I'll try and check this one out as well.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/02/condo_lawsuit_chronicles_water.html

 

Whether the problem is isolated to that one building or not, this can't be good for the whoe area.

As much as I appreciate what K&D does, they're not all about quality.  They actually knew this was going to happen.  A construction company told them a couple of years ago what needed to be done and quick fixes would not help.  They didn't want to pay to fix it and ended up stiffing the company for the work they did as well.  It went to court as I'm sure this will also.

Although not surprising with their record and history of low construction standards (lets just add this to the list).  Thats why I always have mixed feelings when they announce a new residencial project/conversion downtown when K&D is the developer. 

 

Id like to think that they are learning and getting better at this as they go along, but their attitude in the article tells me something different. 

I also have mixed feeling with K & D. I actually currently live at 668 and while it is nice and the location is unbeatable, the walls are very thin and there are some problems with the plumbing and electricity. Nothing major, but it is not as nice as they'd lead you to believe.

I don't know much about K & D and certainly am not an apologist for them (and certainly not if they failed to recognize and fix the problems after being made aware of them as suggested above), but these water issues are not uncommon throughout Northeast Ohio.  i know that Crittenton Court had similar problems which resulted in significant litigation and cost millions to fix.  I am also aware of similar problems in many of the new town home developments popping up all over town including, unfortunately, my own.

It is not uncommon, but it is not something that can be overlooked.  When people think about water infiltration, the normal concern is mold.  What people often don't consider is contamination of the electrical system and the fire hazard posed when you mix water and electricity.  This is especially true in typical new construction with open-truss floor/ceiling system in which poor wiring practices are more common.

Somewhat related ... I work in the Stonebridge building at 2019 Center St. (the one with the Cuyahoga County Engineers office and the Viaduct Lounge—formerly Ponte Vecchio) and we had a huge water leak on the 5th floor of the building two days in a row about 2 weeks ago. Water was pouring down our brick walls on the 3rd floor. Not saying it was K&D's fault—no clue what led to it—but really just a bizarre situation.

I don't know how significant this is, but isn't Bob Corna both the architect of these buildings and a K&D partner?  Just seems like that could introduce all kinds of conflicts.  Can you imagine if K&D sues the architect?  Very awkward around the water cooler.

You're assuming K&D is the owner and not "Viaduct Ventureship Holdings L.P." or some other corporate shell

^I don't think the ownership structure really matters.  The possible conflict is between Corna's equity stake in the economics of the project and his role as professional designer.  One could imagine the incentives being at odds  in ways that a typical fee for service architect might not feel.  And I wonder if there's any reluctance of K&D to drag "the architect" (really the architect's liability insurer) into the case, which I think is pretty common in these circumstances. 

^In this type of litigation there tends to be 8-10 defendants (if not more...the cross claims, counterclaims and third party complaints fly)  and everybody points the finger at everybody else.  A deposition of one person can last days and the documents could fill a large walk in closet.  The cost of such litigation is incredible (especially the experts who also cannot agree on the cause) and it usually spawns other lawsuits (usually involving insurance and coverage).

Copied from my post in Ohio & Erie canal topic:

I'm a member of the Friends of Canal Basin Park and we had a meeting last night and got some good info!!  The Scranton Road portion of Towpath will break ground in June!!  $11 million is already secured and $45 million will still be needed for the final stages of the trail. They are in the early phases of designing "Canal Basin Park" which is a huge combo of the parks existing along the river already and future additions and programming to the park to truly bring people down and make it a well used park.  There will be a Riversweep (mass clean-up) on Saturday, May 12 from 9am-noon and if anyone is interested...info is at http://ohiocanal.org/riversweep.htm  Great things are going to be happening here and is mostly being led by people in the downtown communities.

Is the outdated or old news restated?  The Metroparks involvement caught my eye.

 

Cleveland Metroparks announces acquisition and plans for Rivergate

Mark Horning

 

As kayakers, a stand-up paddle boarder and a single rower scull glided in the background, Cleveland Metroparks Executive director Brian Zimmerman announced the acquisition of a new 2.8 acre parcel of land on the Cuyahoga River in the Flats to be known as Rivergate.  Also on hand at the press conference was  Bruce Rinker, member of Board of Park Commissioners [vice president], Theresa Gang, executive director of Cleveland Rowing Foundation, John Cardwell, Sr. landscape architect, Cleveland Metroparks. This project is the first step in developing a Cleveland Metroparks presence on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland.

 

Plans for the site include a nearby linking of a multi-use trail that will connect to the Tow-Path Trail which is to be part of the larger 300 mile Ohio River to Lake Erie Trail system that is at this time 240 miles complete.  When completed, the Tow-Path trail will start at Lake Erie, run along the river across from Rivergate all the way to the Ohio River.

 

There are also exciting plans for a new Skate Park that will be adjacent to Rivergate and will be funded in part from a $25,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation who was made aware of the need because of the impressive involvement and vision of the local skateboarding community.

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/cleveland-metroparks-announces-acquisition-and-plans-for-rivergate

 

SLIDESHOW: http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/cleveland-metroparks-announces-acquisition-and-plans-for-rivergate#slide=47047621

This is all still moving forward...they are working on the funding and moving toward designing the entire canal basin area as separate "parks" but to work together.

bicentennial project to light Flats bridges: Whatever happened to ...?

Monday, June 25, 2012

By Tom Feran, The Plain Dealer

 

"Whatever happened to . . .?" is a weekly series updating some of the most newsworthy and interesting local stories covered in The Plain Dealer. Have a suggestion on a story we should update? Send it to John C. Kuehner, or call 216-999-5325.

 

Today, we answer this question:

 

Whatever happened to the Cleveland bicentennial project to light the bridges in the Flats?

 

Jason Wood, chief of public affairs for Cleveland's Public Utilities, said the question is a timely one: The city is preparing to bid out the contract for maintenance work needed to fully restore the red, blue, purple, orange and green lighting on eight bridges spanning the Cuyahoga River ...

 

... More available at http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/clevelands_bicentennial_projec.html

 

 

More color!!! Love it!

I used to love those bridge lights and I'm glad they're coming back.  Even if other cities light their bridges (I don't know), our arrangement is utterly unique.

I remember when the city did this in 1996...

Visually amazing.  Good to see it hopefully coming back!

I hope they go with a similar scheme to that which was just recently used to relight Millennium Force and Power Tower at Cedar Point brighter than ever. They are LEDs (from what I recall) and are absolutely stunning and can be seen vividly for miles. Something similar on the bridges is what I'm hoping is the plan.

^ There were also comments opposite the PD article that they should be using LED, as it would be more environmentally friendly and would also last a great deal longer than traditional lighting sources, so we don't run back into these problems in a decade. Sounds very sensible to me.

River gate will be discussed on NPR tomorrow at 9 am.

 

http://www.ideastream.org/soi/entry/48516

Any more updates on the relighting of the bridges in the flats? Thanks!

New event aims to put flats' rivergate on map as a recreation destination

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/forgood/rollinontheriver092012.aspx

 

Mention Rivergate Park in the Flats in conversation and you'll likely be met with blank looks. Yet an eclectic alliance of skateboarders, cyclists and urban recreation groups are trying to change that with Rollin' on the River, an event that aims to put Rivergate on the map as a recreation destination.

 

Rollin' on the River, which takes place Saturday, September 29th at 1785 Merwin Avenue, will bring together skateboarding, cycling and music for an afternoon of fun

Cleveland contracts designer, builder for new skatepark in the Flats

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland is rolling its way toward a new skatepark in the Flats.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/09/cleveland_contracts_designer_b.html#incart_river_default

Ok I need a map.  We have the Rivergate park and the Crooked River Skate Park I assume will be either next to it or on that land. Where exactly is the Cleveland Rowing Assoc. I always thought the skate park  is going next to them. http://fox8.com/2012/09/29/cleveland-to-build-skate-park-in-the-flats/

The skate park will be built on the empty land immediately between Hart Crane Park and Rivergate Park. The Rowing Association is just adding a building to Rivergate Park.

Nice turnout at the first Rollin on the River event Saturday. My gf's daughter won skate boarding lessons, so that was a nice bonus. I have no doubt this will be one of those annual events that will be big in the near future.

 

http://www.rollinontherivergate.com/

 

 

View of the trail work from Lorain-Carnegie.

 

That is an AWESOME photo!

 

But I'm surprised at how small the tugboats are getting these days....  :P

That is a great photo--it looks as though they are narrowing the channel and adding a new retaining wall?  Or was that the old location?  I am new to this developement so wasn't sure of the details.

^It's actually the same old bulkhead, but they cut away the river bank behind it to install a reconstructed river bank habitat and cut a bunch of holes in the bulkhead above the riverbed to allow aquatic life to move in and out. Looks awesome. I can't wait to jog on this thing when it's finished.

That is an AWESOME photo!

 

But I'm surprised at how small the tugboats are getting these days....  :P

 

 

THAT. is. funny

Cleveland contracts designer, builder for new skatepark in the Flats

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland is rolling its way toward a new skatepark in the Flats.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/09/cleveland_contracts_designer_b.html#incart_river_default

 

What's the status of this?  Article says construction to start Spring 2013, which didn't happen, so...?

I bet this project won't happen. "Crooked River Skate Park hitting snags underground" http://members.publicsquaregroup.org/news?mode=PostView&bmi=1311075

I bet this project won't happen. "Crooked River Skate Park hitting snags underground" http://members.publicsquaregroup.org/news?mode=PostView&bmi=1311075

 

That sucks. I wonder if this will become more of a problem if any other part of the more industrial flats gets developed.

All we can do is guess, but snags in brownfield redevelopment are pretty common.  This case is extra challenging because it's not just a brownfield but also an active shipping channel.

^That post doesn't mention any contamination issues-- just unmapped utilities and bulkhead supports.  I guess it never occurred to me a skate park would require so much digging.

^That post doesn't mention any contamination issues

 

Brownfields can present a variety of underground surprises, chemical or otherwise.  I'm not sure why they'd have to dig that deep for a skate park though.  It may have just been exploratory, to find anything that needs dealt with before it's all covered in concrete.

^That post doesn't mention any contamination issues

 

Brownfields can present a variety of underground surprises, chemical or otherwise.  I'm not sure why they'd have to dig that deep for a skate park though.  It may have just been exploratory, to find anything that needs dealt with before it's all covered in concrete.

 

How deep would those things be? This is a below grade cement skatepark which probably also requires drainage.

FYI........

 

http://urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1375.msg664034.html#msg664034

Public Meeting for the Skate Park

6:30 PM Wednesday July 24th, 2013

Rivergate Cafe at Rivergate Park

1785 Merwin Ave

Cleveland, OH

 

The Crooked River Skate Park has run into problems with underground structures on the site. The current snake run design cannot be built as conceived on the site and the City and Grindline have prepared some options that can allow the park to move forward. 

One option is moving the park away from the waterfront to an area with less water table issues and no underground structures. The other is to redesign the park to be more above ground and keep it at the original site.

 

http://www.publicsquaregroup.org/events-calendar?eventId=721552&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Public Meeting for the Skate Park

6:30 PM Wednesday July 24th, 2013

Rivergate Cafe at Rivergate Park

1785 Merwin Ave

Cleveland, OH

 

The Crooked River Skate Park has run into problems with underground structures on the site. The current snake run design cannot be built as conceived on the site and the City and Grindline have prepared some options that can allow the park to move forward. 

One option is moving the park away from the waterfront to an area with less water table issues and no underground structures. The other is to redesign the park to be more above ground and keep it at the original site.

 

http://www.publicsquaregroup.org/events-calendar?eventId=721552&EventViewMode=EventDetails

I think they should keep the design and make it above ground I think this would be fantastic around the water because it would create more activity (if up kept) but would be blah and average away from the water. I will hold final judgements after I see updated renderings.