November 4, 20222 yr 7 minutes ago, Foraker said: Not exactly "development" news, but the Taylor Road home now has "boulder" protections. (Report by Cleveland Heights's own, Vic Gideon) https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/11/03/wheres-my-guardrail-house-gets-huge-boulders-solution-frequent-accidents/ I think the Washington Post and New York Times also have stories upcoming on this breaking news.😉
November 4, 20222 yr 3 minutes ago, Htsguy said: I think the Washington Post and New York Times also have stories upcoming on this breaking news.😉 What do you think of the homeowner's suggestion to extend the median and move the boulders there, force all southbound Taylor Rd. traffic to turn right?
November 4, 20222 yr 12 minutes ago, TBideon said: Well that was thoroughly depressing. True though. The Wal-Mart there was a nightmare. Maybe not Steelyard bad, but not good either. Markets and business practices change all the time. To me, what's depressing is when communities don't keep up with them to redesign themselves to account for these changes. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 4, 20222 yr 19 minutes ago, Foraker said: What do you think of the homeowner's suggestion to extend the median and move the boulders there, force all southbound Taylor Rd. traffic to turn right? South Taylor has pretty heavy traffic. I imagine if they eliminated left hand turns onto Fairmount you will see a lot of that traffic turning onto East Scarborough and then down Queenston or Kingston (or even worst Canterbury near the school) to make lefts onto Fairmount which would not make the residents of those streets happy. Edited November 4, 20222 yr by Htsguy
November 4, 20222 yr 1 hour ago, Foraker said: What do you think of the homeowner's suggestion to extend the median and move the boulders there, force all southbound Taylor Rd. traffic to turn right? Bad idea. The boulders may work well. Next best solution would be for the city to give the homeowner 125% of FMV and just demo the home. 58 minutes ago, KJP said: Markets and business practices change all the time. To me, what's depressing is when communities don't keep up with them to redesign themselves to account for these changes. The city's real problem was giving too much control over a huge important parcel to the landlord, and that decision was probably made in a time when the city had no leverage. I'm not sure when the lease ends (I think it's soon). But Wal-Mart has been paying rent. That's the main reason things haven't gotten better recently. The investor that owns Severance is getting rent without any of the obligations of a landlord. I think long-term we'll be glad it was empty for so long. When the city does redevelop Severance, they'll probably use Van Aken as a model and come up with something really cool. Had Severance been redeveloped in 2005, the end product would have been more short-sighted and dumb.
November 4, 20222 yr 55 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said: The city's real problem was giving too much control over a huge important parcel to the landlord, and that decision was probably made in a time when the city had no leverage. I'm not sure when the lease ends (I think it's soon). But Wal-Mart has been paying rent. That's the main reason things haven't gotten better recently. The investor that owns Severance is getting rent without any of the obligations of a landlord. I think long-term we'll be glad it was empty for so long. When the city does redevelop Severance, they'll probably use Van Aken as a model and come up with something really cool. Had Severance been redeveloped in 2005, the end product would have been more short-sighted and dumb. There were people trying to get the city to put up the money to buy Severance when it was in foreclosure -- the predatory buyer was a foreseen consequence. Wal-mart's lease ended December 2021. Namdar sold off the Home Depot for slightly more than they paid for all of Severance. They continue to siphon rent from the remaining tenants without doing any maintenance (Dave's reportedly repaved their parking lot themselves). The acreage at Severance is a LOT bigger than Van Aken, but that is certainly seen as the kind of development that CH wants. So that's a plus -- I think you might be right about the risks of redevelopment in 2005. Mayor Seren is reportedly making plans for what to do with Severance once it's free of Namdar, and looking for ways to get Namdar to move on, but nothing has been made public yet.
November 5, 20222 yr 23 hours ago, Foraker said: The acreage at Severance is a LOT bigger than Van Aken, but that is certainly seen as the kind of development that CH wants. So that's a plus -- I think you might be right about the risks of redevelopment in 2005. Maaaaaan, you could have had the Shoppes at Parmatown Severance!
November 5, 20222 yr Whatever happens at Severance, I hope it doesn't have "shoppes" or "village" in its name. Van Aken is nice, but we don't need yet another lifestyle center.
November 7, 20222 yr It happens.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 8, 20222 yr https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/cedar-lee-meadowbrook-project-still-on-hold-as-cleveland-heights-school-district-stuck-on-shared-use-agreement.html If the school district derails this project, so help me...
November 8, 20222 yr 1 hour ago, LlamaLawyer said: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/cedar-lee-meadowbrook-project-still-on-hold-as-cleveland-heights-school-district-stuck-on-shared-use-agreement.html If the school district derails this project, so help me... Derailing this project is certainly not what anyone wants, but I don't think this is all on the school board. (1) the city brought the TIF agreement to the school board at the last minute and asked them to pass it quickly, which was sloppy and disrespectful on the city's part (disrespectful according to the school board, they thought discussions should have started months ago -- I can see their point), and (2) the school board has been asking the city to waive fees imposed on the schools for renting athletic facilities in the city (residents pay taxes to both the schools and the city, why charge those taxpayers again for using city parks -- I can see that argument) for a long time and the city has ignored them. I don't think the school board is going to budge. Mayor Seren doesn't want this to fail on his watch; so if the city wants this project to move along and doesn't want this matter to be part of the TIF agreement, maybe they should negotiate that side agreement and resolve that issue ASAP so that the school board will approve the rest of the agreement, rather than blaming the schools for the city's failure to engage in a timely manner.
November 8, 20222 yr On 11/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, Foraker said: Not exactly "development" news, but the Taylor Road home now has "boulder" protections. (Report by Cleveland Heights's own, Vic Gideon) https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/11/03/wheres-my-guardrail-house-gets-huge-boulders-solution-frequent-accidents/ ha -- here's a story for ya -- there is a t-intersection in lorain that back in the day heavyweight champ leon spinks passed out drunk and drove thru into a house. needless to say it now has a big boulder in front. anyway it gets better -- leon's bodyguard mister t switched places with him in the car seats and took the legal charge fall. "i am the protector," he said. it's in his book mr t by mr t, which btw is a great book and i pity the fool who tries to read it not in his voice. 😂
November 8, 20222 yr 1 hour ago, Foraker said: Derailing this project is certainly not what anyone wants, but I don't think this is all on the school board. (1) the city brought the TIF agreement to the school board at the last minute and asked them to pass it quickly, which was sloppy and disrespectful on the city's part (disrespectful according to the school board, they thought discussions should have started months ago -- I can see their point), and (2) the school board has been asking the city to waive fees imposed on the schools for renting athletic facilities in the city (residents pay taxes to both the schools and the city, why charge those taxpayers again for using city parks -- I can see that argument) for a long time and the city has ignored them. I don't think the school board is going to budge. Mayor Seren doesn't want this to fail on his watch; so if the city wants this project to move along and doesn't want this matter to be part of the TIF agreement, maybe they should negotiate that side agreement and resolve that issue ASAP so that the school board will approve the rest of the agreement, rather than blaming the schools for the city's failure to engage in a timely manner. This kind of makes sense when you put it that way. I'm not clear whether Seren has the authority to unilaterally meet the school baord's demands, but if he is, I agree with you he's smart enough not to let this deal fall apart.
November 9, 20222 yr 20 hours ago, LlamaLawyer said: This kind of makes sense when you put it that way. I'm not clear whether Seren has the authority to unilaterally meet the school baord's demands, but if he is, I agree with you he's smart enough not to let this deal fall apart. Fingers crossed that this gets resolved quickly.
November 17, 20222 yr Not sure whether this is "action" on Severance or just another step in a long line of "projects" that amounted to nothing more than wishful thinking, but Severance is in the news again. Quote Members of SAG [Severance Action Group -- under the Planning Committee of FutureHeights, a local CDC] have been “visioning” for about two years now on how to go about revitalizing Severance Town Center, or at least the 60 remaining acres of the deteriorating interior expanse owned by an out-of-state investor. https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/severance-action-group-presents-vision-to-transform-decaying-town-center-in-cleveland-heights.html Quote The group expects spirited debate but there’s also another obstacle: The city doesn’t own the property inside the circular access road. https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/11/15/council-hears-bold-vision-reimagine-severance-cleveland-heights/ https://www.cleveland19.com/video/2022/11/15/council-hears-bold-vision-reimagine-severance-cleveland-heights-2/
November 23, 20222 yr On 11/8/2022 at 1:10 PM, LlamaLawyer said: https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/cedar-lee-meadowbrook-project-still-on-hold-as-cleveland-heights-school-district-stuck-on-shared-use-agreement.html If the school district derails this project, so help me... I'm pleased to report that on Saturday the school board backed down and endorsed the TIF agreement without the side conditions. https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/cleveland-heights-university-heights-school-board-oks-revised-tax-deal-for-cedar-lee-meadowbrook.html City council approved it/re-approved it on Monday (11/21). All the local financing is in place for Cedar-Lee-Meadowbrook to break ground. Hopefully that means construction permits, already approved but not yet issued, now will be and we'll see activity soon.
November 28, 20222 yr https://www.cleveland.com/community/2022/11/cedar-lee-meadowbrook-project-receives-financing-approval-from-cleveland-heights-council-school-board.html
November 30, 20222 yr On my way back from picking up a pie at Maxi’sSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
November 30, 20222 yr Such a win for the neighborhood. Hopefully results in more new developments and updates to existing housing. Starting to see more modest homes in this area being bought, upgraded, and put on the market. Given it's proximity to UC the Cedar/Fairmount district should be much further along than it is.
November 30, 20222 yr 3 minutes ago, OldEnough said: Such a win for the neighborhood. Hopefully results in more new developments and updates to existing housing. Starting to see more modest homes in this area being bought, upgraded, and put on the market. Given it's proximity to UC the Cedar/Fairmount district should be much further along than it is. Couldn't agree more. CH should have been able to capitalize on UC much more than it has, but its vocal residents and reputation for being anti development certainly hasnt helped. Once Cedar Lee gets going im hoping the momentum continues.
November 30, 20222 yr 31 minutes ago, willyboy said: Couldn't agree more. CH should have been able to capitalize on UC much more than it has, but its vocal residents and reputation for being anti development certainly hasnt helped. Once Cedar Lee gets going im hoping the momentum continues. I think the elevation difference makes the two place feel separate.
January 18, 20232 yr Couple of dusk shots from the Cedar side tonight (west bound curb lane open again). Overhang lighting looks great and can be seen throughout the neighborhood with the leaves down. Rest of the exterior property is pretty much wrapped up and really looking nice. Now time to fill retail and see nighttown open again!
January 28, 20232 yr Wow, that’s lookin really great!! And I’d love to see NightTown open again - Cleveland definitely could use a venue that attracts nationally known jazz artists.
February 21, 20232 yr "Ascent" at Top of the Hill is wrapping up. Looks like apartments are leasing and all are expected to be available to be occupied by March 15 https://www.ascentapt.com/
February 21, 20232 yr 1 hour ago, Foraker said: "Ascent" at Top of the Hill is wrapping up. Looks like apartments are leasing and all are expected to be available to be occupied by March 15 https://www.ascentapt.com/ That's going to get some interest in a follow-on project. The question is where and how are they going to be able to afford it with these construction costs and interest rates. Maybe the tennis courts on Carlton? Or on the north side of Carlton? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 21, 20232 yr 41 minutes ago, KJP said: That's going to get some interest in a follow-on project. The question is where and how are they going to be able to afford it with these construction costs and interest rates. Maybe the tennis courts on Carlton? Or on the north side of Carlton? F&C is already going to be doing the Meadowbrook-Lee project next. Construction hasn't even started, but that's gonna add another 200+ apartments. And I don't think Ascent is more than about 50% leased out yet. I know the city pushed very hard to get these two sites occupied, which was an essential part of their completion. Do you think there's enough confidence in the development community to go for a third big project before we know how the second one did? EDIT: I did the math, and if the website is correct and up-to-date the now available units are 70% rented out, while the unavailable units are like 16% rented out. Those seem like pretty respectable numbers. Edited February 21, 20232 yr by LlamaLawyer
February 21, 20232 yr 4 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said: F&C is already going to be doing the Meadowbrook-Lee project next. Construction hasn't even started, but that's gonna add another 200+ apartments. And I don't think Ascent is more than about 50% leased out yet. I know the city pushed very hard to get these two sites occupied, which was an essential part of their completion. Do you think there's enough confidence in the development community to go for a third big project before we know how the second one did? No. And I don't think F&C is going to be looking for another project before Cedar-Lee-Meadowbrook is well underway. And don't forget WXZ's Taylor Tudors project (discussed above), which also will be transformative in that neighborhood. The city wants to see development in the north of the city, perhaps along Noble. But I don't think there is an obvious location for a big project at the moment. Personally, I think creating some density and redevelopment to form a business district around the Save-A-Lot just south of Nela Park would be good, but a very heavy lift. So that seems unlikely. Severance redevelopment will be huge, if and when Namdar can be dislodged. As cities around the country with dying malls have found, once Namdar gets their teeth into a property, they like to sit on it for decades, investing as little as possible. They are following that model with Severance. The mayor says he has a (secret) plan... so we wait and see. The Mayfield Triangle (Mayfield-Noble-Warrensville) needs redevelopment, and the city has taken the first steps -- applying for a grant for environmental remediation of the former Hillside Dairy fronting Warrensville. The next step will be to relocate the salt storage and clear the site. All of that will take several years before the city is ready to issue an RFP. Gaining control of the properties fronting Mayfield would be desirable as well, but probably not essential.
March 8, 20232 yr https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/cleveland-area-projects-win-unexpected-state-historic-tax-credits I can't read the article, but Taylor Tudor getting off the ground would be very significant for Cleveland Heights.
March 8, 20232 yr This has the potential to bring some new life to a very dead side of the street. Hoping the first phase gets moving quickly with the historic funding now in place. If I remember right, design is already approved. Side note: If you want to read the article, or anything from Crain's, you can access the site from CCPL's resource page.
March 9, 20232 yr Sorry. Busy day..... Two Cleveland-area projects win millions By Ken Prendergast / March 8, 2023 Two Greater Cleveland historic rehabilitation projects got an unexpected boost this week to the tune of nearly $7.2 million. The Taylor Tudors portion of a larger development in Cleveland Heights plus a renovation of McKinley School in Cleveland’s Westown-Jefferson Neighborhood were beneficiaries of an oversight by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/03/08/two-cleveland-area-project-win-millions/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 9, 20232 yr 12 hours ago, KJP said: Sorry. Busy day..... Two Cleveland-area projects win millions By Ken Prendergast / March 8, 2023 Two Greater Cleveland historic rehabilitation projects got an unexpected boost this week to the tune of nearly $7.2 million. The Taylor Tudors portion of a larger development in Cleveland Heights plus a renovation of McKinley School in Cleveland’s Westown-Jefferson Neighborhood were beneficiaries of an oversight by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/03/08/two-cleveland-area-project-win-millions/ Love this quote from CH Business Development Manager Brian Anderson : Quote “The recent tax credit award certainly moves the timeline up for construction to commence,” Anderson added. “Hopefully, that can be in the summer, but an exact date is still to be determined. Crains also said that Matthew Wymer of WXZ Development, the company behind the Taylor Tudors project, "hopes" to start renovations this summer. I hope he's right. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/cleveland-area-projects-win-unexpected-state-historic-tax-credits
March 9, 20232 yr We can debate the merits vs. unwarranted insider influence of Public Policy but this kind of legislation gets it right. It's a much needed shot in the arm for an inner ring suburb and it also saves a decrepit but still beautiful historic building in Cleveland Hts. Very happy to see this investment.
March 9, 20232 yr Sorry if this is in the article and I just can't read, but is it known whether the owners of Taylor Commons are playing ball on this? Doesn't look like WXZ or Cleveland Heights own those parcels yet per the county auditing site. Edit: I have been informed a deal is in place for the Taylor Commons site, per this article. https://www.clevelandbuilds.com/news/historic-buildings-cleveland-heights-are-catalyst-potential-100-million-project?fbclid=IwAR3I3lNtb5SGmwEBB0TDLCaagxFWGMpPj7NELVgzhgBrJCc5ooGLb67f5Xc Edited March 9, 20232 yr by gpodawund
March 9, 20232 yr 21 minutes ago, gpodawund said: Sorry if this is in the article and I just can't read, but is it known whether the owners of Taylor Commons are playing ball on this? Doesn't look like WXZ or Cleveland Heights own those parcels yet per the county auditing site. Edit: I have been informed a deal is in place for the Taylor Commons site, per this article. https://www.clevelandbuilds.com/news/historic-buildings-cleveland-heights-are-catalyst-potential-100-million-project?fbclid=IwAR3I3lNtb5SGmwEBB0TDLCaagxFWGMpPj7NELVgzhgBrJCc5ooGLb67f5Xc One of the articles (not mine) reports that the Taylor Commons' owner Paran Management is working with WXZ. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 10, 20232 yr I do hope when getting tenants for this location that the developer and city work somewhat with the local Orthodox community. Some on the forum may not know this, but the Taylor area is home to one of the original Orthodox communities in Cleveland, and they have a very visible presence. It's also a demographic that has absolutely explosive growth. Something like +100% over the last 15 years.
March 12, 20232 yr On 3/10/2023 at 12:56 PM, LlamaLawyer said: I do hope when getting tenants for this location that the developer and city work somewhat with the local Orthodox community. Some on the forum may not know this, but the Taylor area is home to one of the original Orthodox communities in Cleveland, and they have a very visible presence. It's also a demographic that has absolutely explosive growth. Something like +100% over the last 15 years. They've heavily bled into South Euclid. Before I left there was literally two or three families buying up an entire street of homes for their kids. In cash.
March 13, 20232 yr On 3/10/2023 at 12:56 PM, LlamaLawyer said: I do hope when getting tenants for this location that the developer and city work somewhat with the local Orthodox community. Some on the forum may not know this, but the Taylor area is home to one of the original Orthodox communities in Cleveland, and they have a very visible presence. It's also a demographic that has absolutely explosive growth. Something like +100% over the last 15 years. Yes, it's still a very active community, but the redevelopment of the Stadium Village apartments or any new apartments across the street wouldn't really fit the bill since thye would be mainly studio or 1-2 bedroom units. I am excited to finally see some movemeent on this. Since we live about 6 blocks away, we were excited to see the commercial district so close to our hiuse when we first purcahsed our place in 2019. It was only after we moved in that we noticed that everyhting in Stadium Village was shuttered. This will definitely help revitalize the area with new retail, maybe a small restaurant while also adding more residents to the neighborhood.
March 14, 20232 yr 13 hours ago, nickmgray said: Yes, it's still a very active community, but the redevelopment of the Stadium Village apartments or any new apartments across the street wouldn't really fit the bill since thye would be mainly studio or 1-2 bedroom units. I am excited to finally see some movemeent on this. Since we live about 6 blocks away, we were excited to see the commercial district so close to our hiuse when we first purcahsed our place in 2019. It was only after we moved in that we noticed that everyhting in Stadium Village was shuttered. This will definitely help revitalize the area with new retail, maybe a small restaurant while also adding more residents to the neighborhood. Yes, the Taylor Tudor developers are in close contact with the Orthodox community in the area. The Taylor Tudor buildings will be mainly studio and 1-2 br units, but the makeup up of units in the later phase(s) across the street could be more tailored to Orthodox families. The design of those buildings has not been as thoroughly fleshed out as far as I know. I do know that they are starting with rehabbing the existing buildings, so stay tuned. I also heard talk about infill construction on vacant lots in the area, with some push for Orthodox-adaptable designs. But I don't know whether anything has come from those discussions. Developers probably prefer new construction on cleared large lots on which several multiples of units can be built rather than 1s and 2s on scattered infill lots.
March 19, 20232 yr Cleveland Hts Cedar Lee Meadowbrook “A done deal” By Ken Prendergast / March 19, 2023 The City of Cleveland Heights and its development partner, Flaherty & Collins Properties, announced the real estate and financial “closing” for the Cedar Lee Meadowbrook project, clearing the way for construction to commence in the coming weeks. It’s the second major project for the Indianapolis-based developer in the eastern inner-ring suburb of Cleveland. MORE https://neo-trans.blog/2023/03/19/cleveland-heights-cedar-lee-meadowbrook-a-done-deal/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 19, 20232 yr Just mentioning that there's an additional Cleveland.com community section article on Cedar Lee - Meadowbrook by a Thomas Jewell from 3/17 for anyone interested. Edited March 19, 20232 yr by urb-a-saurus
March 19, 20232 yr The Cedar-Lee commercial district looks great (except for the hole this development will fill). Cedar Road on the other hand has been in steady decline for some time. Primarily due to the city’s toothless enforcement of code for both residential homeowners and landlords. Hopefully this development will spur more demand for some of the homes and inspire more renovation along this thoroughfare. I say this a resident - not a hater.
March 19, 20232 yr It's often been said the western equivalent of Cleveland Hts is Lakewood. If that's true Lakewood could learn some lessons from the Cleveland Hts development office. All those large projects in a short time frame is very impressive while Lakewood struggles.
March 19, 20232 yr 46 minutes ago, cadmen said: It's often been said the western equivalent of Cleveland Hts is Lakewood. If that's true Lakewood could learn some lessons from the Cleveland Hts development office. All those large projects in a short time frame is very impressive while Lakewood struggles. I’m a little baffled by how they’re puling it off. Thrilled, but baffled. I will say Kahlil Seren is a very capable mayor and pushed the Meadowbrook-Lee project through some obstacles that it wouldn’t have survived without his help.
March 19, 20232 yr 2 hours ago, cadmen said: It's often been said the western equivalent of Cleveland Hts is Lakewood. If that's true Lakewood could learn some lessons from the Cleveland Hts development office. All those large projects in a short time frame is very impressive while Lakewood struggles. Maybe we can convince both mayors to come to the next UO happy hour and trade notes.
March 20, 20232 yr 20 hours ago, LlamaLawyer said: I’m a little baffled by how they’re puling it off. Thrilled, but baffled. I will say Kahlil Seren is a very capable mayor and pushed the Meadowbrook-Lee project through some obstacles that it wouldn’t have survived without his help. Maybe. If Kahlil can make something happen at Severance, he'll deserve all the accolades. But Cedar-Lee-Meadowbrook might not have been such a huge lift; it's unclear how critical the mayor's role was in overcoming obstacles to the project. Forest City Flaherty & Collins was already building Top of the Hill and was looking to do another project in the city -- so the Mayor didn't have to search far for a developer -- and he already knew the developer from his time on council during the debate and approval of Top of the Hill. Plus I think the city planning director, Eric Zamft, has been a huge help in streamlining the approval process and making this project move through the city departments much faster than Top of the Hill. The mayor inherited Zamft and did make the good decision to keep him. The current Council also was strongly in support of this project. I don't remember the mayor being out in front of the campaign to defeat the "we want a park" people. I'm sure the mayor is a strong advocate for the project, I just don't know how big his role was in overcoming obstacles to say that "it wouldn't have survived without his help." Is there something more you know about particular obstacles that the mayor was instrumental in overcoming -- that you could share with UO? Edited March 20, 20232 yr by Foraker Brain cramp. Thanks KJP
March 20, 20232 yr @Foraker I think you meant Flaherty & Collins. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 20, 20232 yr 13 hours ago, Foraker said: Maybe. If Kahlil can make something happen at Severance, he'll deserve all the accolades. But Cedar-Lee-Meadowbrook might not have been such a huge lift; it's unclear how critical the mayor's role was in overcoming obstacles to the project. Forest City Flaherty & Collins was already building Top of the Hill and was looking to do another project in the city -- so the Mayor didn't have to search far for a developer -- and he already knew the developer from his time on council during the debate and approval of Top of the Hill. Plus I think the city planning director, Eric Zamft, has been a huge help in streamlining the approval process and making this project move through the city departments much faster than Top of the Hill. The mayor inherited Zamft and did make the good decision to keep him. The current Council also was strongly in support of this project. I don't remember the mayor being out in front of the campaign to defeat the "we want a park" people. I'm sure the mayor is a strong advocate for the project, I just don't know how big his role was in overcoming obstacles to say that "it wouldn't have survived without his help." Is there something more you know about particular obstacles that the mayor was instrumental in overcoming -- that you could share with UO? Yes. Multiple things. First, there was a vocal minority of residents that had multiple petitions and ended up getting a measure on the ballot to oppose the development. The mayor was helpful in coordinating the opposition to the ballot measure and (presumably, although this would have been behind closed doors) in reassuring the developer. The fight with that group was years long. Then there was a major kerfuffle with how the TIF was impacting school funding, which threatened to blow the project up. And then finally, the project costs increased by 20%(!!!), but the city somehow found the money to get it across the finish line anyway. All of the above needed the mayor's help. The Top of the Hill development had similar obstacles and the city managed to push it across the finish line before there was an elected mayor (but while Kahlil Seren was in an assistant mayoral/council position). So, just to be clear, I'm not saying that Kahlil Seren is a wunderkind and nobody else could have done this. But there were lots of points where incompetent leadership could have screwed the whole thing up, and that didn't happen. I think he and the rest of city government deserve credit for that.
April 1, 20232 yr There was some activity on the Cedar-Lee-Meadowbrook Site on Friday with clearing of some of the overgrown bushes and trees along Tullamore Rd. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cqd3h7KJWpO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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