March 5, 20196 yr 2 hours ago, TBideon said: Color me very optimistic. Closest comparison I can think of is the Merchandise Mart in Chicago which really reinvented/repurposed itself into a tech hub, and is a huge success. Literally reborn from the ashes even with some wholeselling showrooms remaining Merchandise Mart is the comp I was thinking of as well, albeit much larger at 4.2M SF! It even has its own CTA Brown Line stop connected to it along with a second floor food court and first and second floor food/retail options. The remainder of the building contains showrooms and tech offices (directory: http://themart.com/building-directory/).
March 5, 20196 yr Author 29 minutes ago, G00pie said: and just thought of this... If Sherwin Williams goes forward and builds a Tower, that opens up all that space to redevelop and bring in even more pieces to a tech hub.. Maybe thats the thought process too? The Landmark Office Building doesn't work very well in terms of modern office concepts, collaboration, energy/light efficiency, amenities, technology, etc. The only reason it works for the non-SHW tenants is because it's cheap as a Class C space. I don't think it would sell very well for tech firms, except for its low price. And intentionally cheap space will probably be offered for the incubator spaces at Tower City. It will be a nice problem to have if they run out. The Landmark Office Building will be a wonderful (and MASSIVE) residential conversion. 25 minutes ago, PaxtonMarley said: The article doesn't say but I wonder how much of The Avenue space will be used versus all that space in the Post Office Plaza or the adjacent buildings. I have not heard anything about this involving anything beyond The Avenue at this point. Post Office Plaza is undergoing renovations (possibly only cosmetic) but moreso for a basic refresh by K&D to lure tenants. I'm sure K&D wouldn't turn down tech tenants, but I haven't heard if they're directly involved in the City Block project. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 5, 20196 yr 5 hours ago, KJP said: And intentionally cheap space will probably be offered for the incubator spaces at Tower City. This sounds more and more like the kind of investment we keep refusing to make in our neighborhoods (including this one i.e. downtown) because we're sooooo broke. And boy does it look filthy when a giant subsidy scheme is presented as anything but. Especially when we're sooooo broke. If that really is what we're talking about here, I don't want to hear any more complaints about "simcity fantasy" whenever I suggest spending public funds on urbanism, which includes drawing major retail to Tower City by reducing the rents for it. Edited to address the assertion below that these points were off-topic Edited March 5, 20196 yr by 327
March 5, 20196 yr Author Who said public funds would be involved in the incubator? Most incubators rely on venture capital and philanthropic funding. Sometimes public support is involved, but it's usually in-kind. And you're confusing "broke" and, at the other extreme, "Simcity fantasy" with a median "return on investment" -- again. EDIT: and another thread is about be taken off-topic in 3 -- 2 -- 1..... Edited March 5, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 5, 20196 yr 15 minutes ago, KJP said: Who said public funds would be involved in the incubator? Most incubators rely on venture capital and philanthropic funding. Sometimes public support is involved, but it's usually in-kind. And you're confusing "broke" and, at the other extreme, "Simcity fantasy" with a median "return on investment" -- again. I think you're confusing "Simcity fantasy" with some kind of a valid point. Again. As for who said public funds would be involved, the blockland people did. The thread below is about this specific project, they even mention the $150 million cost. Someone suggested we offer up the old juvenile court building. Then there's an exchange about the ROI of the Medical Mart.
March 5, 20196 yr Author Well, there are those who produce and those who don't.... Edited March 5, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 5, 20196 yr Author Speaking of which..... March 05, 2019 02:16 PM 12 MINUTES AGO Blockland Cleveland sets 2019 goals JAY MILLER "This is about how do we raise the status of Cleveland, the brand awareness of Cleveland, to start to move to the idea that the outside world will view us as a tech city?" he said. "Goal No. 2 is to bring some of these (young tech) companies here and to help existing (tech) companies here. " Blockland Cleveland is also close to finding a home for what is now being called City Block, a local tech hub. "I'm not a sports-analogy person," Moreno said, "but I think we're on the one-yard line." The group has been focusing on finding space in an existing building, and speculation has run high that City Block will land in Tower City. MORE: https://www.crainscleveland.com/technology/blockland-cleveland-sets-2019-goals "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 5, 20196 yr 1 hour ago, KJP said: Speaking of which..... March 05, 2019 02:16 PM 12 MINUTES AGO Blockland Cleveland sets 2019 goals JAY MILLER "This is about how do we raise the status of Cleveland, the brand awareness of Cleveland, to start to move to the idea that the outside world will view us as a tech city?" he said. "Goal No. 2 is to bring some of these (young tech) companies here and to help existing (tech) companies here. " Blockland Cleveland is also close to finding a home for what is now being called City Block, a local tech hub. "I'm not a sports-analogy person," Moreno said, "but I think we're on the one-yard line." The group has been focusing on finding space in an existing building, and speculation has run high that City Block will land in Tower City. MORE: https://www.crainscleveland.com/technology/blockland-cleveland-sets-2019-goals All coming together... $1 Billion funding goal is certainly ambitious, but that's why you set goals. Case Western Reserve set that goal in 2011, and hit that goal only after a few years: https://thedaily.case.edu/university-supporters-1-8-billion-in-campaign-giving-surpasses-two-goals-and-all-expectations/
March 5, 20196 yr 4 hours ago, KJP said: Speaking of which..... March 05, 2019 02:16 PM 12 MINUTES AGO Blockland Cleveland sets 2019 goals JAY MILLER "This is about how do we raise the status of Cleveland, the brand awareness of Cleveland, to start to move to the idea that the outside world will view us as a tech city?" he said. "Goal No. 2 is to bring some of these (young tech) companies here and to help existing (tech) companies here. " Blockland Cleveland is also close to finding a home for what is now being called City Block, a local tech hub. "I'm not a sports-analogy person," Moreno said, "but I think we're on the one-yard line." The group has been focusing on finding space in an existing building, and speculation has run high that City Block will land in Tower City. MORE: https://www.crainscleveland.com/technology/blockland-cleveland-sets-2019-goals Someone say it G_____
March 6, 20196 yr If Google is involved at some level it could be this https://startup.google.com/community/ Google for Entrepreneurs has locations throughout the US, including one at the Madison Block a Dan Gilbert project in Detroit.
March 6, 20196 yr One other note: I was at the event last week where Jon Pinney and Bernie Moreno spoke a bit about this. Besides just blockchain firms, they talked about how the tech startups are spread all around town and that it would be better if there was more of a focal location, the thought being that by having them close to one another (or under one roof) there's more chance meetings, etc that could lead to new ideas and innovation. That's not a crazy idea - a similar notion is often cited by academics about why cities tend to be more productive than less urban areas and if you've been in a silicon valley incubator space you can sort of see it in action - but it does mean that you might see them try to lure some of the existing tech firms in town to this location. Moreno also made similar comments to those in Craig's about being "this close" to getting a fortune 100 company to open an office here.
March 6, 20196 yr Author @Potamus So Moreno says he's close to both nailing down the City Block site AND getting a Fortune 100 tenant? If so, hope so. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 6, 20196 yr This article pretty much lays it all out. I’m not toying with you guys. They got Google. https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/07/building_blockland_cleveland_c.amp
March 6, 20196 yr 39 minutes ago, marty15 said: This article pretty much lays it all out. I’m not toying with you guys. They got Google. https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/07/building_blockland_cleveland_c.amp But you said Google was behind the Tower City makeover. The article you posted (which doesn’t even mention google) makes it seem like a site hasn’t even been chosen for the incubator. An incubator maybe happening somewhere in the city isn’t the same as Google being “behind the Tower City makeover”.
March 6, 20196 yr I'm guessing revealing primary sources now would get people in some serious trouble with NDA's and whatnot
March 6, 20196 yr 12 minutes ago, bumsquare said: But you said Google was behind the Tower City makeover. The article you posted (which doesn’t even mention google) makes it seem like a site hasn’t even been chosen for the incubator. An incubator maybe happening somewhere in the city isn’t the same as Google being “behind the Tower City makeover”. They’re providing $$$. Right now. It’s 100% a go.
March 6, 20196 yr The architecture firm involved says it’s their largest undertaking to date. It’s not a small firm either. I can’t give sources, and I won’t unless I get a green light to do so. Which is not likely. Get excited. It’s real. Edited March 6, 20196 yr by marty15
March 6, 20196 yr Thinking back to the "Lindsey's Steakhouse" rumor, does anything rhyme with Google?
March 6, 20196 yr You better be right about this @marty15 or the villagers will be coming for you with torches and pitchforks... ? In all serious though this sounds pretty exciting. I just hope we won't have to wait long to find out what is happening.
March 6, 20196 yr Just now, mrclifton88 said: You better be right about this @marty15 or the villagers will be coming for you with torches and pitchforks... ? In all serious though this sounds pretty exciting. I just hope we won't have to wait long to find out what is happening. They won’t be able to hide it for long. It’s being fast tracked. There’s a real sense of urgency.
March 6, 20196 yr Google is directly providing money for construction/planning of this. I don’t have an exact dollar amount.
March 6, 20196 yr 13 minutes ago, marty15 said: The architecture firm involved says it’s their largest undertaking to date. It’s not a small firm either. I can’t give sources, and I won’t unless I get a green light to do so. Which is not likely. Get excited. It’s real. Vocon has already been revealed as the architect, Pinney indicated that. But there could be others.
March 6, 20196 yr Side question. If Google were to actually be the big tenant in this Tower City development, I wonder if they would open one of their physical Google stores inside the mall or directly outside.
March 6, 20196 yr On 3/4/2019 at 12:09 PM, CleCaneFan said: One would think that Bedrock would be close to announcing their plans for TC relatively soon given that physical work there is imminent; would Bedrock need to go before the city to get any designs approved for the space or since its strictly interior work would it just have to jive with whatever its zoned for and pull the necessary building permits? Hopefully Dan Gilbert took my suggestions to do an outlet mall in Tower City to heart. Save us from the monstrosity at Burke Mr Gilbert!
March 7, 20196 yr Just how does this "Marty" character know what's going to happen and who is his source? ?
March 7, 20196 yr 28 minutes ago, PittsburgoDelendaEst said: Just how does this "Marty" character know what's going to happen and who is his source? ? His profile might start fading if he can’t get Google to kiss Moreno by the end of the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Edited March 7, 20196 yr by bumsquare
March 7, 20196 yr 21 hours ago, Cleburger said: Hopefully Dan Gilbert took my suggestions to do an outlet mall in Tower City to heart. Save us from the monstrosity at Burke Mr Gilbert! Agreed 100%. With the glut of available indoor and street level retail space there is no way such a project would make sense. I suppose that the good thing about all these dead malls in major cities, anyone can see the warning signs of what this project would become.
March 12, 20196 yr Author Is it happening? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 12, 20196 yr On 3/10/2019 at 9:22 PM, freethink said: So this was 30 years ago, let's hope we see this again soon. My dad was a Pipefitter Superintendent on that Tower City project (now retired) and I remember him giving my brothers and I a behind-the-scenes tour one evening while it was still under construction....I'm excited to possibly get an opportunity to be part of building the next chapter in TC's story.
March 12, 20196 yr Victoria's Secret in the Avenue at Tower City has closed. People heading in for the upcoming CIFF will be treated to a vastly emptier mall than last year.
March 12, 20196 yr 3 minutes ago, fishface said: Victoria's Secret in the Avenue at Tower City has closed. People heading in for the upcoming CIFF will be treated to a vastly emptier mall than last year. I sure wish some development downtown would've kept these national tenants downtown. TBH I am not a fan of this vision the more I think about it, I just hate going from some decent shopping downtown to virtually no shopping downtown.
March 12, 20196 yr 2 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: I sure wish some development downtown would've kept these national tenants downtown. TBH I am not a fan of this vision the more I think about it, I just hate going from some decent shopping downtown to virtually no shopping downtown. As downtown continues to develop, I personally would rather have street retail than a mall.
March 12, 20196 yr 2 minutes ago, ASPhotoman said: As downtown continues to develop, I personally would rather have street retail than a mall. Well, that's what I'm saying, I wish I would've read that a downtown development would have scooped Victoria Secrets up instead of they are flat out closing.
March 12, 20196 yr 11 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: I sure wish some development downtown would've kept these national tenants downtown. TBH I am not a fan of this vision the more I think about it, I just hate going from some decent shopping downtown to virtually no shopping downtown. I just went in yesterday to pick up a present for my fiance- they included a postcard in the bag saying they were shutting their doors. I hope they and the other stores left don't completely leave downtown and have some presence in the future.
March 12, 20196 yr 3 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: Well, that's what I'm saying, I wish I would've read that a downtown development would have scooped Victoria Secrets up instead of they are flat out closing. My bad. Misinterpreted what you meant. I'm still hoping that once downtown passes a certain population threshold that we will see certain retailers come back. Victoria Secrets was reportingly closing numerous stores nationwide.
March 12, 20196 yr 1 minute ago, Oldmanladyluck said: I just went in yesterday to pick up a present for my fiance- they included a postcard in the bag saying they were shutting their doors. I hope they and the other stores left don't completely leave downtown and have some presence in the future. 1 minute ago, ASPhotoman said: My bad. Misinterpreted what you meant. I'm still hoping that once downtown passes a certain population threshold that we will see certain retailers come back. Victoria Secrets was reportingly closing numerous stores nationwide. Honestly, I hope that the JHB building could bring some of them over or another national clothing retail tenant to replace them. My fingers are crossed for that development, May Co, or Lumen.
March 12, 20196 yr Not gonna lie, would love for some more Marty rumors right about now ? Even if it's not real, the hype alone makes my day a lot better ?
March 12, 20196 yr ^ That's why Victoria Secret is closing to make room for Google's relocation to Cleveland ? ?
March 12, 20196 yr 12 minutes ago, Florida Guy said: ^ That's why Victoria Secret is closing to make room for Google's relocation to Cleveland ? ? Idk, I heard it was Microsoft and the US Government. Psyched for the variety of license plates!
March 12, 20196 yr So is Brooks Brothers the last major national retailer left? I wish it wasn't so 'hidden' inside because its such a cool space. They need signage outside...
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