May 31, 201213 yr Author jjames0408, thanks for the pics of the huge urban farming structures/greehouses at the tip of the Forgotten Triangle. I could tell from past info I'd posted it was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to be THAT big!! Thanks also for the photos of St. Luke, where my dad was born in 1929. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 31, 201213 yr No problem...I can't wait to get my bike in a couple weeks to do some true exploring...it's difficult to snap quick pics in a car.
May 31, 201213 yr Author No problem...I can't wait to get my bike in a couple weeks to do some true exploring...it's difficult to snap quick pics in a car. I was going to make a joke about "drive-by shootings" with the camera, but residents in that area probably wouldn't find it very funny. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 31, 201213 yr Well if they have snap peas at the urban farm we could call it 'drive by snappings' and be in the clear!
May 31, 201213 yr Author Well if they have snap peas at the urban farm we could call it 'drive by snappings' and be in the clear! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 31, 201213 yr "a retail grocery store is not a permitted use" Why is this ever a zoning rule in the inner city...ever? Gross incompetence, that's why. Cleveland's zoning code represents an overt desire to suburbanize the city. Suburbs don't have stores within neighborhoods, they have supermarkets with large parking lots that most customers are expected to drive to. Increasingly, so does Cleveland.
May 31, 201213 yr "a retail grocery store is not a permitted use" Why is this ever a zoning rule in the inner city...ever? What is the city's definition of a "retail" grocery store. I'm going to assume they are trying to curb building corner stores and bodegas that do not food and veggies but beer, wine, cigs and lotter tickets. You can't write a code that tells the property owner that they can have some very specific type of retail if the land is zoned for retail. The ability to control the selection comes through the discretion inherent in granting variances, which are routinely granted for 'desirable' uses which don't conform strictly to the code and which are routinely denied for 'undesirable' uses. Quite the opposite of incompetence
May 31, 201213 yr In this particular case looks like it's just a crappy bodega begging to reopen after being closed so long that it lost it's right to stay grandfathered in. Whether or not it makes sense to force a retail business to seek zoning approval to operate in an existing retail storefront is an interesting question, but probably best had on the zoning thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25222.msg621126.html#new
May 31, 201213 yr Whether or not it makes sense to force a retail business to seek zoning approval to operate in an existing retail storefront is an interesting question Interesting x10 You can't write a code that tells the property owner that they can have some very specific type of retail if the land is zoned for retail. The ability to control the selection comes through the discretion inherent in granting variances, which are routinely granted for 'desirable' uses which don't conform strictly to the code and which are routinely denied for 'undesirable' uses. Quite the opposite of incompetence As a liberal democrat, I find that approach to be outrageously anti-business. It should end today. Every single store has to beg to city hall for the right to operate? Really? IIRC from the Playhouse Square thread, this also happens whenever someone tries to reopen a shuttered/vacant/decrepit bar or music venue. Textbook example of what's wrong here.
May 31, 201213 yr As a liberal democrat, I find that approach to be outrageously anti-business. It should end today. Every single store has to beg to city hall for the right to operate? Really? IIRC from the Playhouse Square thread, this also happens whenever someone tries to reopen a shuttered/vacant/decrepit bar or music venue. Textbook example of what's wrong here. As it should if that shuttered/vacant/decrepit bar or music venue is next to residential areas. I'm all for bars and clubs...I go all the time...but I understand the city's desire to make sure residents, whether they've been there for 10 months or 10+ years, have the right to voice their concerns if a bar wants to open close to them. Having grown up off of Superior Avenue in Cleveland near a number bars I can tell you every bar owner is a good guy when they want to open. Some stay true to their word and operate great establishments...but more often than not in the more challenged areas of the city when the crowd thins they begin to play to a younger, drunker, rowdier crowd...and by then it's too late to protect your 2am peace and quiet...there's only years worth of fighting to close a place down.
May 31, 201213 yr Zoning thread! http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,25222.msg621126.html#new
June 5, 201213 yr Author Two developments...... http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2012/06012012/index.php CMHA 1 MW Solar Farm Project Address: 8120 Kinsman Project Representative: Mike Shaut, Carbon Vision LLC No maps or renderings. East2012-002 – Dollar General New Construction Project Address: 9011 Broadway Avenue Project Representative: Matt Casey, Zaremba LLC "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr Two developments...... http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2012/06012012/index.php CMHA 1 MW Solar Farm Project Address: 8120 Kinsman Project Representative: Mike Shaut, Carbon Vision LLC No maps or renderings. East2012-002 – Dollar General New Construction Project Address: 9011 Broadway Avenue Project Representative: Matt Casey, Zaremba LLC Yaaaay a Dollar General..... :weird:
June 5, 201213 yr Author Hey, at least they're putting it on the sidewalk. But there's a Family Dollar only a block away. Wow. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr Hey, at least they're putting it on the sidewalk. But there's a Family Dollar only a block away. Wow. And that's the exact reason I don't care for this being built I wish something better would be there...
June 5, 201213 yr Haven't you heard? Dollar stores replaced drug stores as the most plentiful retail establishments sometime last year.
June 5, 201213 yr Hey, at least they're putting it on the sidewalk. But there's a Family Dollar only a block away. Wow. And that's the exact reason I don't care for this being built I wish something better would be there... Like what? A Starbucks?
June 5, 201213 yr Author Haven't you heard? Dollar stores replaced drug stores as the most plentiful retail establishments sometime last year. Yep. I'm sure this makes MTS's blood boil.... Bloomberg News Why Dollar Stores Are the Growth Engines of Retail Posted on March 28, 2012 Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu reports that dollar stores are gaining market share from grocery stores and pharmacies and looks at the companies leading the way. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness With Margaret Brennan." (Source: Bloomberg) MORE AT: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-28/dollar-stores-the-growth-story-of-retail "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr ^ Huh, should I change my opinion about that "classy" Cash For Gold place that opened in my hood?
June 5, 201213 yr Author You can do whatever you want with that information. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr Hey, at least they're putting it on the sidewalk. But there's a Family Dollar only a block away. Wow. And that's the exact reason I don't care for this being built I wish something better would be there... Like what? A Starbucks? No but something that isn't a dollar store because one is a block away but I didn't know dollar stores boomed until I saw the story KJP posted so I guess it makes sense. :|
June 5, 201213 yr Author Still, I do think the two stores are awfully close to each other. But it's a free country, and if someone wants to start a new business at such a disadvantage and increase the risk of turning one or both of the stores into a vacancy someday, that's their call. Too bad the neighborhood has to suffer for it. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr I'm just happy they're building it up to the street. If all the dollar stores and drugstores did that, I wouldn't find them nearly so objectionable.
June 5, 201213 yr I'm just happy they're building it up to the street. If all the dollar stores and drugstores did that, I wouldn't find them nearly so objectionable. Now if we could just get them to build residential above! :D
June 5, 201213 yr Still, I do think the two stores are awfully close to each other. But it's a free country, and if someone wants to start a new business at such a disadvantage and increase the risk of turning one or both of the stores into a vacancy someday, that's their call. Too bad the neighborhood has to suffer for it. Just about every type of store does this for some reason- drug stores, discount superstores, groceries, hardware stores, they all locate as close as possible to the competition. Makes no sense to anyone but them.
June 5, 201213 yr Author I never understood it either. Must be hubris, with one company thinking they are so much better than the competition that they can push them out of a good location. I for one don't distinguish between CVS and Walgreen's, or Family Dollar and Dollar General. Ultimately a neighborhood can only support one store, so at least one of them is going to close. The South Broadway neighborhood also probably can't support two Dollar stores. The new Dollar General is probably the better located of the two, but I would have preferred that it be at the corner of Harvard and Broadway, which was once one of those mini-downtowns that Cleveland used to have all over the place at major streetcar intersections. And there was once a busy Pennsylvania Railroad station here too.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201213 yr Stores like this and drug stores like to congregate at high visibility intersections where they can benefit from the traffic in either direction. They also prefer stand alone stores. Drugstores prefer this because it allows them room for their drive-thru pharmacies. I think certain neighborhoods can support more than one store. Competition is good right? Maybe not the one the new dollar store is going in, but maybe the passing traffic changes that.
June 9, 201213 yr Well here it is... Based on the rendering it looks like it will be a neighborhood hotspot :-P Even drawing whites from outside the area :roll:
June 9, 201213 yr Is there a rule that all of our main streets have to be fronted with fences? If so, time to get rid of it. Can't tell if they're trying to keep wolves out or sheep in. Or people out or people in. Either way, it's inappropriate.
June 10, 201213 yr ^If you look very, very closely at the rendering, you can see that the fence keeps no one in and it keeps no one out. It is merely decorative and there is nothing wrong with that, even if it isn't to your taste.
June 10, 201213 yr Yes, there is something wrong with giving main street pedestrians the fence treatment while the entrance faces a parking lot. Pedestrian-oriented design is not a matter of taste. This is better than the typical dollar store, but we're not quite there yet. The improvement is noted.
June 10, 201213 yr Author The door is on the sidewalk and the parking is to the side which probably makes people feel more secure in that neighborhood than if the parking lot was in back. So I don't believe the fence deters from pedestrianism here as long as those are real windows facing the street and not decorative. But I am concerned the fence could be function as a net for discarded receipts, bags, wrappers, and other trash. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 13, 201213 yr Author In Collinwood, off East 152nd Street, U.S. Metal Forms and Tubes, Inc. owns one commercial property and three residential properties which it is seeking to demolish....... 14607 Velour Avenue 14610 Ingalton Avenue 14612 Ingalton Avenue 14614 Ingalton Avenue The company's properties were condemned by the city and the owner cited, which the company is appealing to get more time to be able to demolish the structures. See: http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/bbs/agenda/2012/AGENDA06062012.pdf It appears that U.S. Metal Forms and Tubes, Inc. is seeking to develop a former industrial site at or near 1145 Galewood Ave. This structure has housed multiple users recently as the Collinwood Enterprise Center, a business incubator. I am not able to find more details about this project or the company, except that it is based in Beltsville, MD. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 17, 201212 yr I was driving down east 55th street and saw some people building a "natural gas" gas station. Anybody know anything about that or was that talked about before and I just missed it?
July 21, 201212 yr From the choice neighborhoods section at CMHA website. Hopefully the demolition and redevelopment of the rest of the older project style buildings will come out of this. The Central neighborhood has had quite a transformation and actually grew last census. With the new focus on the Forgotten Triangle area hopefully we will see the same in that area as well. "The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has been awarded a $300,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The planning grant will focus on the Central neighborhood adjacent to Cleveland’s downtown....Once completed, the plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public housing units in the Cedar/Central Community, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families. The goal of this Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant is to employ a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation."
August 5, 201212 yr I was driving down Woodland yesterday and saw a sign saying E 115 and Woodland townhomes coming soon. I searched CMHA website and found nothing...same with google. It was dark so I didn't really see the renderings or who was building it.
August 5, 201212 yr This link mentions that the Town-homes will be a CMHA project..... :-( Councilwoman Mitchell is also supporting and focusing on community and economic development in ward 6 in order to enhance the neighborhood to its full potential. She is fulfilling this objective by partnering to create economic benefits for Ward 6 and city residents by supporting projects such as the St. Luke’s Manor, Doubletree Hotel and Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Association’s East 115th-Woodland Townhome and Woodhill Homes Community Center projects. http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/ward-6.aspx
August 9, 201212 yr Author http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2012/crr08-06-2012.pdf Board of Zoning Appeals August 6, 2012 9:30 Ward 6 Calendar No. 12-120: 11525-29 Buckeye Road Mamie Mitchel 19 Notices Cleveland Housing Network, owner, appeals to construct a four-story apartment building on a 240’ x 187.90’ corner parcel in a C1 Local Retail Business District; contrary to Sec-tion 355.04(b) a maximum gross floor area of 40,290 square feet is proposed and 20,234 is allowed; and by the provisions under Section 349.04(a) one accessory off-street parking space is required per dwelling and 23 spaces are provided contrary to the requirement for 65; and subject to Sections 352.08 through 352.11, a landscape plan/schedule is re-quired with a minimum 6 feet wide landscaping strip that provides fifty percent year-round opacity where the parking lot fronts on East 116th Street; and a building height of 40 feet is proposed contrary to Section 353.01(b) that limits the height to 35 feet; and a front yard of 25 feet is required where 10 feet is proposed contrary to Section 357.04 in the Cleveland Codified Ordinances. (Filed 7-12-12) "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 14, 201212 yr This looks like the best place to post this... Cleveland's old Slovenian neighborhood hopes a popup spurt sparks a revival Published: Monday, August 13, 2012, 6:00 AM Updated: Monday, August 13, 2012, 4:02 PM By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer In the old Slovenian neighborhood of Cleveland, empty buildings with pedigree hunker down in patient silence, as if waiting for the good times to roll again on St. Clair Avenue. You can almost hear the shuttered Croatian Bookstore at East 64th Street whispering "shhh" to the nearby Slovenian National Home, where the dance floor still thrums to polka parties but where most of the storefronts -- like much of the block -- stand empty and still. Neighborhood planners hope a bold business strategy infuses new vigor into a ghostly shopping district and rather quickly. Like, all at once. The St. Clair Superior Development Corp., working with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, will take a crack at creating a popup neighborhood with permanence. Offering merchants free rent and other enticements, the partners plan to welcome 10 businesses simultaneously next month on a two-block stretch of St. Clair and let capitalism work its magic. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/08/clevelands_old_slovenian_neigh.html
August 14, 201212 yr Author Another business in that same area..... http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2012/crr08-27-2012.pdf Board of Zoning Appeals August 27, 2012 9:30 Ward 7 Calendar No. 12-135: 6321 St. Clair Avenue TJ Dow 16 Notices Jessica Harris, owner, appeals for an expansion of use to include entertainment (ballroom) and rental apartments in an existing three-story building, located on a 100’ x 134.32’ corner lot in a C1 Local Retail Business District, where the proposed entertainment use, a ballroom, is not permitted under the limitations in Section 343.01 and first permitted in a General Retail Business District, provided it is distanced not less than 500 feet of a residential district, a school, public library, church, playground, public or non-profit recreation center or from another enter-tainment center in accordance with Section 343.11(b)(2)(L); and a maximum lot area coverage of 10,000 square feet is proposed contrary to Section 357.04(a) and 6,716 square feet that is allowed; and no front yard is pro-posed contrary to Section 357.04(a) and a required depth of 26 feet and there is no rear yard proposed where a depth of 20 feet is required under Section 357.08(b)(2); and 11 parking spaces are proposed contrary to Section 349.04(e) and a required 68 off-street spaces; no landscaping is proposed along East 64th Street where the park-ing abuts the street and a 6’ wide landscaped strip is required according to Section 352.11 in the Cleveland Codi-fied Ordinances. (Filed 7-31-12) "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 15, 201212 yr Old remaining Garden Valley Housing Projects (how many other cities had projects with the same name?) are getting demolished finally. Not sure when anything will go back in the place, but it should improve the looks of the area nonetheless. They've been vacant for 3 years now.
August 21, 201212 yr Author Anyone have more info on this? And is this near League Park? City Planning Commission Agenda for August 17, 2012 Resolution No. 1066-12(Ward 7/Councilmember Dow): Intent to vacate East 66th Place for residential redevelopment. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2012/08172012/index.php "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 21, 201212 yr It appears to be the alley between 65th/66th and Quimby and Lexington, katty corner to the League Park ticket building. That block has plenty of room for new housing.
August 22, 201212 yr can multiple pop-ups turn around blighted strip in st. clair superior? Thursday, August 16, 2012 Pop-up shops, business-plan competitions and storefront incubators have been successful at attracting new stores to trendy neighborhoods like Detroit Shoreway and Tremont. But can they turn around a blighted retail district and help sprout small businesses in a down-at-the-heels east side neighborhood? That's the question Michael Fleming, Executive Director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation (SCSDC), is determined to answer in the affirmative ... ... More available at http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/stclairpopuphood081612.aspx
August 22, 201212 yr Author Pop-up shops, business-plan competitions and storefront incubators have been successful at attracting new stores to trendy neighborhoods like Detroit Shoreway and Tremont. But can they turn around a blighted retail district and help sprout small businesses in a down-at-the-heels east side neighborhood? People sure do have short memories. Or they just can't see how neighborhoods can/do change. Detroit-Shoreway and Tremont were pretty dumpy places not too long ago. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 31, 201212 yr This thread is devoted to news and discussion about the redevelopment of mostly African-American neighborhoods, primarily on the east-side. It seems that many developments, including those of a large-scale, have been overlooked on this board. If there are already threads about a particular development project, please continue to post articles in those threads. If not, feel free to post them here rather than in the random developments thread. THANK YOU for creating this thread. $30+ million in construction projects will be taking place in Central and Kinsman in 2011: http://www.bbcdevelopment.org/2011/01/bbcs-major-construction-projects-in-2011/ That doesn't include the redevelopment of the Garden Valley Estates (now called Heritage View Homes). BBC development on the east side? Lol On a side note, I read a whimsical feature in the PD the other day about bringing retail to Mt. Pleasant... Kinsman has amazing urban fabric and didn't seem too rough during the day when I was lost looking for Shaker Square last month...but I didn't get the sense of neighborhood potential. Is this legit or just spinning the wheels for grants?
August 31, 201212 yr ^It's hard to imagine much of a retail revival on Kinsman, IMHO, as the population density and spending power drops. Those trends are unlikely to change anytime soon. A good comp might be Buckeye Road, which has a large suburban-style shopping center, and then a bunch of street-front retail housing churches, social services, non-profits, day care centers, but relatively few private businesses.
August 31, 201212 yr Kinsman totally sucks from 55th to 93rd. I drive it everyday. The CMHA development looks nice but that's it. That greenhouse facility being built near 55th is interesting
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