It is not possible to keep the current design and simply put it above ground. That would increase the construction costs and put it about 50% over budget. At the public meeting, the attendees resoundingly supported the moving the park inland a 100 ft or so and maintaining the original design. This now also allows the metroparks to add green space,  continued trail and seating at the river's edge.

^Sounds like it might actually be an improvement! That extra greenspace and the extra seating sound great.

^Sounds like it might actually be an improvement! That extra greenspace and the extra seating sound great.

 

I love this project. Now if/when it's connected to other riverside attractions I will be ecstatic. Isolated pockets of greenspace or activity alone aren't going to cut it. We need bike and ped connections for this to be transformative.

^Sounds like it might actually be an improvement! That extra greenspace and the extra seating sound great.

 

I love this project. Now if/when it's connected to other riverside attractions I will be ecstatic. Isolated pockets of greenspace or activity alone aren't going to cut it. We need bike and ped connections for this to be transformative.

 

True. If they can get the trail through there, that connectivity will create an energy that spreads.

^Sounds like it might actually be an improvement! That extra greenspace and the extra seating sound great.

 

I love this project. Now if/when it's connected to other riverside attractions I will be ecstatic. Isolated pockets of greenspace or activity alone aren't going to cut it. We need bike and ped connections for this to be transformative.

 

True. If they can get the trail through there, that connectivity will create an energy that spreads.

 

I wish I had more time I'd delve into who owns all the adjacent properties. Or at least study the master planning for the area. There's so much potential. In my imagination this area is the catalyst for a real and vibrant waterfront that we are sorely lacking. Developing the riverside, even with the hurdles is a good investment.

 

Re: plans for this area, what I've seen in passing (and can recall) it is very impressive, but like all of us on here, I've learned to temper my enthusiasm for pretty pictures. Nor can we trust that the decision-makers "get it" when it comes to good planning.

My impression is that the city and LAND Studio are doing some very solid planning work here and that we'll see some real results.  Not sure if RiverGate and the skate park will tie directly into the main trails, but worst case, it and Hart Crane park will be just across the Columbus Rd. Bridge from the Lake Link Trail (which itself ties into the Towpath trail), so there should be pretty good connectivity.

My impression is that the city and LAND Studio are doing some very solid planning work here and that we'll see some real results.  Not sure if RiverGate and the skate park will tie directly into the main trails, but worst case, it and Hart Crane park will be just across the Columbus Rd. Bridge from the Lake Link Trail (which itself ties into the Towpath trail), so there should be pretty good connectivity.

 

Great to hear! I believe I actually got some long lost friends with Land...should contact them.

^You've probably seen it, but as a refresher, check out their project page for the trail: http://www.land-studio.org/our-work/lake-link-trail  If you scroll right on the photo lineup, you'll see a map image. Assuming a hillside collapse doesn't wipe it out, the eventual trail along the old Riverbed Street (on an old RR ROW) should be awesome.

This is most likely NOT the appropriate thread,  But I remember reading up thread  in one of the Stonebridge threads about all of the poor construction. Now this in today's PD. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/08/stonebridge_towers_lawsuit_rai.html

Couple plans Music Box Supper Club in former Cleveland nightspot in the Flats (slideshow)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former Flats nightclub where a multi-colored waterfall once flowed and Vanilla Ice took the stage will offer something a bit different in its next life: Dinner, drinks and grown-up entertainment.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/couple_plans_music_box_supper.html#incart_river_default

 

Couple plans Music Box Supper Club in former Cleveland nightspot in the Flats (slideshow)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former Flats nightclub where a multi-colored waterfall once flowed and Vanilla Ice took the stage will offer something a bit different in its next life: Dinner, drinks and grown-up entertainment.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/couple_plans_music_box_supper.html#incart_river_default

 

 

This is great news. Seems like the perfect couple meeting the perfect location. This has been a dead stretch of waterfront for years.

hello, cleveland: couple's dream music club taking shape in the flats

Lee Chilcote | Thursday, August 22, 2013

 

 

Imagine seeing Lucinda Williams, Jeff Tweedy or Aimee Mann in an intimate, 300-seat venue overlooking downtown Cleveland. You’ve paid top dollar for tickets, but you’ve got a comfortable table, a nice bottle of wine, and your loved one by your side. You sit back and enjoy, reveling in being close enough to see the artist’s face while hearing every note.

 

If one couple has their way, this image might soon be reality.

 

That couple is Mike and Colleen Miller, marketing and concert industry veterans who lived in Chicago before moving back to Cleveland three years ago. They've already signed a lease with the Jacobs Group to launch The Music Box, a supper club with two stages, windows that overlook downtown, ample parking, and a concept that’s already been successful in other cities.

 

The new music hall will be located in a 15,000-square-foot, two-story building on the Flats West Bank, in the former Club Coconuts space adjacent to Shooters and the Improv. The venue will feature outdoor dining both along the riverfront as well as on a second-level deck offering great views. While there's plenty of entertainment just watching the powerboats, jet-skis, and freighters as big as city blocks, the real shows will be taking place inside.

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/themusicbox082213.aspx

"...and developers are trying to revive the water taxi that once ferried bar-hoppers across the Cuyahoga River."

 

First I've heard of that.

I can't figure how you could have musical entertainment indoors right next to whatever they are calling Nautica these days, and have the music actually be heard. Are they going to soundproof it or something?

Nautica is 1,100 feet away and The Music Box will be indoors.  I don't think it will be an issue.

 

Sucha a welcome change, now Scranton Rd just needs repaved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent!

A cool video update they do each month:

The project rep for this is a great great guy! I also think he owes me money for something somewhere.....

 

City Planning Commission

Agenda for February 21, 2014

 

DOWNTOWN/FLATS DESIGN REVIEW

 

3. DF2013-2012-111 - Cleveland Skate Park Revised Proposal

Project Address: 1806 Merwin Avenue

Project Representative: Joel Wimbiscus, LAND Studio

 

 

 

 

 

^ Finally.  Another feather in Cleveland's cap.

A cool video update they do each month:

 

And here's Dec 2013:

 

RiverGate new Boathouse concept.

YES!!!  I've been so hoping to see some kind of audacious boathouse proposal for RiverGate.  As everyone probably knows, there's a fantastic boathouse architectural legacy on the East Coast (especially Philly and Boston) and I find it impossible not to have that in the back of my mind whenever I see the drab, utilitarian facilities in RiverGate now.  If designed right, it could also be a great opportunity for RiverGate to generate revenue through special event rental.

where did you find this? It looks great.

How new is this rendering?

I pulled the image from this powerpoint.

 

Here it tis:

 

http://www.clevelandrows.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014-Annual-Meeting.pdf

 

Good rendering from an artistic point of view.  Love the project and concept, and can't disagree with any of the comments.  The artist did a great job with the contrast in color, architectural scale and backdrop to make a small project look, well, quite large.  Essentially a $750k job just looking at the drawing. 

Very interesting -- thanks!

 

I'm curious if CWRU, CSU, and St Ignatius are fundraising for the new boat house?

YES!!!  I've been so hoping to see some kind of audacious boathouse proposal for RiverGate.  As everyone probably knows, there's a fantastic boathouse architectural legacy on the East Coast (especially Philly and Boston) and I find it impossible not to have that in the back of my mind whenever I see the drab, utilitarian facilities in RiverGate now.  If designed right, it could also be a great opportunity for RiverGate to generate revenue through special event rental.

 

you can see the boathouses around the country they have been looking at for inspiration on the last page of the pdf. this looks better than any of those! i guess its just a matter of raising money now. i see they also want to aquire more adjacent land owned by norfolk-southern and to add a skatepark. synergy with the skaters? all in all these are reasonable plans, yet still pretty fantastic. i'll take it for now until scranton can be redeveloped too as it gives people reason to go down there and to get a taste of the potential of that area - ha.

 

Critical mass in progress!!!

 

i see they also want to aquire more adjacent land owned by norfolk-southern and to add a skatepark. synergy with the skaters? all in all these are reasonable plans, yet still pretty fantastic. i'll take it for now until scranton can be redeveloped too as it gives people reason to go down there and to get a taste of the potential of that area - ha.

 

The skate park is totally separate from the Rowing Foundation's plans. It is going to be built by the City starting in April or May. It was given final approval by CPC on Feb 21.

music box supper club in the flats set to break ground, open in august

 

The development partnership behind the Music Box, a forthcoming supper club on the west bank of the Flats that will offer live music on two stages, will break ground this week. A demolition permit has been issued by the city, and the club will hold a soft opening in August and have a full concert lineup by September.

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/themusicbox031014.aspx

What are they demolishing? And why are they demolishing, what with the unsightly, underutilized swaths of windswept parking lots on the Flats West Bank?

Article says the former site of Club Coconut. That was before I moved here, so I have no idea if it's a good thing or not.

It sounds to me like it is an interior demolition permit.  The article notes a build-out which would mean an empty shell that they are rebuilding interior walls to create the space.

It's already being marketed as an event space. Here is the brochure.

 

http://eventplannersexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/MUSIC-BOX-Brochure.pdf

Long-dormant flats water taxi could be revived by summer 2015, says metroparks ceo

 

The Flats water taxi of the '80s and '90s that ferried riders from the east bank of the Cuyahoga River to the west bank could be reborn as soon as summer of 2015 -- and in its new incarnation, it will connect not only spots in the Flats but also places along the river and lakefront.

 

Imagine biking or taking the RTA to the new Flats East project, having a beer by the boardwalk, then hopping a water taxi to Nautica or Rivergate Park – bike in tow -- and you're starting to see the full picture. Eventually, organizers say, you'll be able to take a boat from the Flats to Voinovich Park, enjoying the splendor of Lake Erie and a vista of downtown along the way.

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/flatswatertaxi031314.aspx

^ just took a survey about this. Would love if they came to Edgewater, I would bike down there every morning and take the Water Taxi downtown.  That would be my commute.  i would still bike on days i felt i needed the exercise

The water taxi was awesome. There was always a long waiting line to ride it, and as you crossed the river below the Main Avenue bridge, all of the lights and the din of sounds from all of the clubs from both sides of the river was just a tangle that you couldn't separate in your mind. Maybe it was the alcohol, but it was an awesome experience to me. I think it was one of the experiences that turned me into an advocate for cities in general and Cleveland and particular.

 

I hope it comes back.

Newer more updated website  www.flatsforward.org

 

Also:

New Historic District in the Flats Neighborhood

 

Cleveland has added a new National Register Historic District to its inventory of recognized historic and significant places. The Columbus Centre Historic District provides economic incentives by the Federal and State Government to 38 additional contributing buildings on the Columbus Road Peninsula and nearby surroundings. The designation is complementary to current plans by the Cleveland Metroparks at Rivergate, the development of the Towpath Trail and Canal Basin Park.

Downtown Cleveland has a tremendous track record in achieving historic tax credits both federal and state and this designation helps to advance these opportunities!

Awesome, that's one of my favorite parts of town.

This used to be the Rivergate Cafe at RiverGate Park. It is being transformed by the MetroParks into Merwin's Warf Bistro described as more upscale with an outdoor patio and fireplace by the river. Looks like they have added garage doors for the summer months. Can't find any final rendering for it. This is all I see. Opening this summer.

These are renderings for the Music Box Supper Club located in the Suger Warehouse next to Shooters. Set to open this August.

I am very excited for the music box!  The more live music venues the merrier (I am).

 

Not sure if this is the best place to post: The Columbus Ave bridge was scheduled to open this month, been pushed back to October.

http://publicworks.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/ColumburRd-LiftBrdg-1007.aspx

HT to freethink for posting this article in another thread: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20140622/SUB1/306229973?template=mobile&X-IgnoreUserAgent=1#ATHS, which included a paragraph about some investors purchasing a 19th century building on the Columbus Peninsula (so across the bridge from Hooples, close to downtown).

 

Cleveland architect Brian Fabo, who has designed retail complexes and Tremont houses, through Fabco Flats LLC recently bought the three-story Ohio Burial Case Co. building at 1720 Columbus for $237,500. Fabo refused to discuss what the investor group he leads plans to do with the building, which dates from 1880 and is one of the largest, most architecturally distinct building in the area.

 

However, the Italianate building is one only a visionary could love. Most of its windows have been bricked in. Flaking paint covers much of the exterior. However, ornate cornices typical of the Victorian era are in place. The windows have views of the river.

 

The building is #5 from this photo tour: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=26297.msg577510#msg577510

 

Would be excellent to see Columbus Road turned into a nifty mixed use corridor, as long as it isn't loved to death in the process.

This used to be the Rivergate Cafe at RiverGate Park. It is being transformed by the MetroParks into Merwin's Warf Bistro described as more upscale with an outdoor patio and fireplace by the river. Looks like they have added garage doors for the summer months. Can't find any final rendering for it. This is all I see. Opening this summer.

 

Cool.  I like both the river and under-the-Rapid setting, though I can't quite picture the location.  Is it near the new rowing boathouse?

Cleveland Metroparks to open its first full-service restaurant in the Flats

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/06/cleveland_metroparks_to_open_i.html#incart_m-rpt-1

I think this is a great way to get people to spend more time in the area, especially suburbanites exploring the towpath for the first time. I also think it's a good way to lure people in the surrounding neighborhoods down there to see the progress.

 

Have to say I'm a little puzzled about the Metroparks actually operating this thing, but it's not a huge concern. The setting should be the #1 part of the experience in this location.

I think this is a great way to get people to spend more time in the area, especially suburbanites exploring the towpath for the first time. I also think it's a good way to lure people in the surrounding neighborhoods down there to see the progress.

 

Have to say I'm a little puzzled about the Metroparks actually operating this thing, but it's not a huge concern. The setting should be the #1 part of the experience in this location.

 

My thoughts exactly.