July 16, 20213 yr They'll be so busy keeping all those lawns looking gorgeous and perfectly manicured there may never be enough time to go back and take care of the all dead trees downtown and on our new "designer" Public Square. 😆 Edited July 17, 20213 yr by ExPatClevGuy
July 16, 20213 yr 3 hours ago, NorthShore647 said: Today the Planning Commission adopted the Vision for the Valley Plan (full report). There weren't any specific details about Tower City/Bedrock in the VFTV, but here's a section from an article in Crain's by Michelle Jarboe on the plan: "Haviland described the document as a playbook, one that's not meant to derail projects that are already underway or negate preexisting planning efforts. ... But across the river, behind Tower City, there's an opportunity to reimagine a stretch of waterfront that's currently 'a vast sea of asphalt and parking,' said Matt Hils, an OHM principal. ... OHM solicited input from property owners including Bedrock, the Detroit-based owner of the mall at Tower City and much of the parking along Collision Bend, to come up with ideas for reviving that space. Conceptual images show mid-rise office, residential and mixed-use buildings along Canal Road, an expansive riverfront park and ribbons of greenery sloping from West Third Street and Ontario Street down to the water." Again nothing much new here (many of the graphics from the plan had already been shared with the public), but the finalized Vision for the Valley is worth a read. The VFTV can demonstrate how much Tower City and Bedrock's plans could affect this entire section of the flats, and how development along the river could boost Tower City. If Bedrock builds the proper connections south of/below Huron towards the river, it could help catalyze the development of the Flats South/Stones Levee, Scranton and Columbus Peninsulas (which are all within a 10/15 minute walk). The Marketplace could be a commercial center (and entrance to downtown) for the new developments along the water, further increasing the number of people passing through the building. What would happen to the parking lot/pedestrian walkway under this scenario? Would they built atop of them or would they simply be stripped out? Sorry if that’s a dumb question, just have no idea of the logistics surrounding such a proposal.
July 17, 20213 yr Interesting. Will definitely keep on eye on what tenants they attract. Hope some people manage to keep their expectations in check and they can bring in businesses that increase amenities to frequent users of Downtown. Usual idiots on Facebook will lose their sh*t when they see Discount Drug Mart, Penn Station Subs and some local businesses they've never heard of as opposed to Apple or H&M no doubt.
July 17, 20213 yr 4 hours ago, YABO713 said: I've been thinking about this since I posted it. Does anyone know of a mall being converted into like a neo-urban / European open space... (I apologize, I have a very limited architectural and planning vocab) What I'm envisioning is retail on the lower levels, trees, plants, benches in the middle --- and walkways with a bike path (it could be climate controlled but open up ends to each other in the summer and good weather. Each shop / restaurant would have custom frontage, but abide by an overall aesthetic. On the above levels would be apartments, condominiums, but blended in a way that incorporates it into the feel of the shops below. I'm 1/100th as creative as most of you... but my overall point is... why not try to integrate the mall in with the city outside of the doors. Encourage bikers - build infrastructure that allows bikes/scooters and pedestrians to coexist. I think Tower City originally was really well integrated with the transit and pedestrian experience. It’s been in disuse for so long I think it’s easy to forget that foot traffic flowed really well between Prospect, Huron, Euclid, and Ontario while the mall had active uses. I think if you can get active uses throughout downtown a lot of these access issues solve themselves.
July 17, 20213 yr 9 hours ago, YABO713 said: Unpopular take (don't hate me): I like the idea of it becoming a mall again - provided the right tenants and layout are chosen Nah man. A truly unpopular take would rhyme with "Smedical Blart" 2.0.
July 17, 20213 yr I think they could get some decent retailers to fill the space. The mall has been left for dead for 20 years and has had no marketing direction since those early 90s "Its on the Avenue" commercials. Marshall's was interested in a building on Euclid a year or two ago, probably still interested in that market. If this time around retail is deemphasized more, much like what is going on in redeveloping malls nationwide, and more focus is put on places that provide experiences, restaurants, as well as a mix of retail stores that cater to every income group, a good marketing strategy, and a relatively minor renovation,The Avenue at Tower City could be brought back to life.
July 17, 20213 yr Downtown really needs a movie theater, and one landing at the old Tower City Cinemas spot would be ideal. I think something more unique though - such as one of those dine-in theaters, something that's more of a destination - would be better than an AMC or Cinemark. Someone mentioned a coworking space, that would also be a great idea, but can downtown sustain more than one with the plans for coworking space in the building on E 9th? (Just curious too if anyone has heard of WeWork trying to enter the Cleveland market? I believe they have a space in Columbus now and several other Midwest cities). They should turn part of Tower City into a food hall, similar to Van Aken and some of the food halls you are seeing in Chicago and New York like Time Out Market, etc.
July 17, 20213 yr I would actually rather have a theater be free standing and street facing. They're such nice activity generators I don't want them locked away in the middle of a facility!
July 17, 20213 yr https://www.bedrockdetroit.com/?press_release=bedrock-announces-plans-to-reimagine-tower-city-center-as-a-destination-marketplace
July 17, 20213 yr "... slated to start opening for business in Fall 2021..." Hey, I want Tower City/Avenue to succeed as much as the next booster, but it's only a few months until the Fall, and we're just hearing about these plans/proposals now?
July 17, 20213 yr 1 hour ago, TBideon said: "... slated to start opening for business in Fall 2021..." Hey, I want Tower City/Avenue to succeed as much as the next booster, but it's only a few months until the Fall, and we're just hearing about these plans/proposals now? It wouldn't take much to make it happen given the facility they are imagining isn't really different than what it is now 🤷🏾♂️. To launch it properly though you'd think they'd need more time.
July 17, 20213 yr I don’t think Bedrock needs any city approval for what they’re doing so there’s really no reason to announce far ahead of time. It probably took them a while to figure out the precise direction they wanted to go, but now that they know what they’re doing they have every reason to move as fast as possible. Vacant spaces are lost money.
July 17, 20213 yr 4 hours ago, X said: I would actually rather have a theater be free standing and street facing. They're such nice activity generators I don't want them locked away in the middle of a facility! I 100% agree, but what do you propose they do with the old Tower City Cinemas space?
July 17, 20213 yr I could see something like a Main Event / D&B type of entertainment venue in there.
July 19, 20213 yr ^Bingo! I was thinking of the WORKZ on the riverfront down in Cuyahoga Falls, but keep a few theaters. A cinema/modern arcade/restaurant/live music venue would be a great compliment to the casino next door.
July 19, 20213 yr On 7/17/2021 at 3:04 PM, RE Developer In Training said: I could see something like a Main Event / D&B type of entertainment venue in there. Something like this would be great. Especially attached to Gateway. Would make for a full family day or even date night. I could also see that space being developed into a concert/show venue to compete with the Rocksino and bundle it with the Jack rewards. Make it a full casino experience.
July 19, 20213 yr Wasn't there supposed to be something else designated for the food court space which is why it looks unfinished? If so what was it?
July 19, 20213 yr 16 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: Wasn't there supposed to be something else designated for the food court space which is why it looks unfinished? If so what was it? There were plans for an addition including a Neiman Marcus store, but it was never built.
July 19, 20213 yr 2 hours ago, skiwest said: There were plans for an addition including a Neiman Marcus store, but it was never built. So was there going to be no food court at all had Nieman Marcus joined? Interesting. On a side note, I do think that they should ditch the food court altogether and open up the space to create a nice entrance for people coming in from Huron, especially with the increased activity moving forward (building construction, Vision for the Valley, etc). That, along with the food hall concept, were some of the few ideas I liked about the CityBlock proposal.
July 19, 20213 yr On 7/17/2021 at 1:23 PM, Mov2Ohio said: It wouldn't take much to make it happen given the facility they are imagining isn't really different than what it is now 🤷🏾♂️. To launch it properly though you'd think they'd need more time. The pop-up stores make sense when you think about the timeline in relation to Dan Gilbert’s other projects. He likely wanted to get the Tower City revival up and running before he and the Cavs host the NBA All-Star game. Pop-ups seems like the quickest and easiest way to fill vacancies. I wouldn’t be surprised if they develop a more permanent tenant plan after that.
July 19, 20213 yr On 7/17/2021 at 9:13 AM, mas1092 said: Downtown really needs a movie theater, and one landing at the old Tower City Cinemas spot would be ideal. I think something more unique though - such as one of those dine-in theaters, something that's more of a destination - would be better than an AMC or Cinemark. Someone mentioned a coworking space, that would also be a great idea, but can downtown sustain more than one with the plans for coworking space in the building on E 9th? (Just curious too if anyone has heard of WeWork trying to enter the Cleveland market? I believe they have a space in Columbus now and several other Midwest cities). They should turn part of Tower City into a food hall, similar to Van Aken and some of the food halls you are seeing in Chicago and New York like Time Out Market, etc. In my opinion, B&B Theatres would be a great fit to operate a revived Tower City Cinemas. We discovered them when we moved to Kansas City and they do almost exactly what you described; they have a few different varieties of “destination” theaters that make for a great night out. They also have experience operating the movie theater at the Mall of America, so they’re not unfamiliar with that type of setting.
July 19, 20213 yr So was there going to be no food court at all had Nieman Marcus joined? Interesting. On a side note, I do think that they should ditch the food court altogether and open up the space to create a nice entrance for people coming in from Huron, especially with the increased activity moving forward (building construction, Vision for the Valley, etc). That, along with the food hall concept, were some of the few ideas I liked about the CityBlock proposal. That's actually where I was getting at. My thing is what would you turn it into while still allowing people to flow through it that would be coming from the Q or Progressive field while not treating that new use as simply a pass through.Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
July 20, 20213 yr 56 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: That's actually where I was getting at. My thing is what would you turn it into while still allowing people to flow through it that would be coming from the Q or Progressive field while not treating that new use as simply a pass through. Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk I liked the original CityBlock proposal; they appeared to have two rooms that went from the ends of the food court to the edges of the concourse. I know my wording isn’t great, but it essentially cleaned up the food court area while not just leaving it as a dead space. You can view it on page 21 of this document. They could get creative with what those two spots. Perhaps a restaurant or store, or a showcase of local artists? Maybe an interactive exhibit tailored to tourists and travelers showcasing the history of Cleveland and/or Union Terminal? Lots of options.
July 25, 20213 yr Author SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021 Are Bedrock's Tower City plans serious? Yes, here's why... Ten days ago, news broke that Bedrock Real Estate would aggressively market its Tower City Center complex so it could exchange its cobwebs and echoes for business tenants and retail customers. NEOtrans opted to not respond to this press release. Why? Because I was skeptical about how serious Bedrock was. Understandably, shopping malls across the country were dying with some getting replaced by Amazon distribution centers. NEOtrans broke the news about several of them locally, starting with the first one at Euclid Square Mall. And all of those mall deaths occurred before the pandemic got other malls sick, too. MORE https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/07/are-bedrocks-tower-city-plans-serious.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 25, 20213 yr 1 hour ago, KJP said: SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021 Are Bedrock's Tower City plans serious? Yes, here's why... Ten days ago, news broke that Bedrock Real Estate would aggressively market its Tower City Center complex so it could exchange its cobwebs and echoes for business tenants and retail customers. NEOtrans opted to not respond to this press release. Why? Because I was skeptical about how serious Bedrock was. Understandably, shopping malls across the country were dying with some getting replaced by Amazon distribution centers. NEOtrans broke the news about several of them locally, starting with the first one at Euclid Square Mall. And all of those mall deaths occurred before the pandemic got other malls sick, too. MORE https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/07/are-bedrocks-tower-city-plans-serious.html This actually sounds very promising. I am definitely hoping for the best. Tower City is a gorgeous space and the time is (finally) right for big retailers to return to the city center.
July 25, 20213 yr My main question with all of this is what do you do with Huron over there? It’s such a dead zone.
July 26, 20213 yr On 7/25/2021 at 12:09 AM, KJP said: SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2021 Are Bedrock's Tower City plans serious? Yes, here's why... Ten days ago, news broke that Bedrock Real Estate would aggressively market its Tower City Center complex so it could exchange its cobwebs and echoes for business tenants and retail customers. NEOtrans opted to not respond to this press release. Why? Because I was skeptical about how serious Bedrock was. Understandably, shopping malls across the country were dying with some getting replaced by Amazon distribution centers. NEOtrans broke the news about several of them locally, starting with the first one at Euclid Square Mall. And all of those mall deaths occurred before the pandemic got other malls sick, too. MORE https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/07/are-bedrocks-tower-city-plans-serious.html It’s encouraging that they are willing to go as aggressively as to provide free rent and that they feel the urgency of doing this by the All-Star game in February.
July 26, 20213 yr On 7/19/2021 at 6:27 PM, BuckeyeNative said: So was there going to be no food court at all had Nieman Marcus joined? Interesting. I assume there still would have been a food court. I don't recall seeing any renderings of the proposed expansion. The only thing I remember was the "Neiman Marcus Coming Soon" sign on Huron which was there for several years.
July 27, 20213 yr Ceilings have been ripped out and multistory scaffolding was being erected inside tower city in the part directly under the Tower today. Likely rehab work from the flood. The ceilings were in need of a good patch and paint, so hopefully the repairs will freshen it up a little, maybe get it closer to being prepared for this "new" concept. Edited July 27, 20213 yr by Mov2Ohio
August 5, 20213 yr Author Cross-posted in the JACK Cleveland Casino thread in Completed Projects "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 5, 20213 yr I won't comment on WHAT they are doing, but I do applaud Bedrock on their follow through. When they say they are going to do something, it usually happens, and usually happens relatively quickly.
August 5, 20213 yr 2 minutes ago, Dino said: I won't comment on WHAT they are doing, but I do applaud Bedrock on their follow through. When they say they are going to do something, it usually happens, and usually happens relatively quickly. Um, casino phase 2? Cityblock? When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
August 5, 20213 yr Outdoor gambling huh? Well, I hope security will be on point. Remember when the place first opened up? It seemed like the safest place in the city, now, meh...
August 5, 20213 yr 1 hour ago, GISguy said: Very busy today: Time to bring back the dancing fountains! :)
August 5, 20213 yr Author 49 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said: Um, casino phase 2? Cityblock? Casino phase 2 is a fair critique. CityBlock wasn't their baby, however. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 5, 20213 yr I won't comment on WHAT they are doing, but I do applaud Bedrock on their follow through. When they say they are going to do something, it usually happens, and usually happens relatively quickly.Just like this post if it's retail related Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
August 26, 20213 yr Do we know if this is any work related to the "new" retail makeover for the mall? Or is this just repairs from K&D's faulty plumbing upstairs?
August 27, 20213 yr 10 hours ago, PoshSteve said: Do we know if this is any work related to the "new" retail makeover for the mall? Or is this just repairs from K&D's faulty plumbing upstairs? Repairs. They are gearing up to make repairs/light renovation to the retail suites though.
August 27, 20213 yr 3 hours ago, Mov2Ohio said: Repairs. They are gearing up to make repairs/light renovation to the retail suites though. This is what I thought, but there wasn't a wall at the top of the escalators before. So now I'm confused.
August 27, 20213 yr Author 17 minutes ago, Ethan said: This is what I thought, but there wasn't a wall at the top of the escalators before. So now I'm confused. Yeah, that one has me baffled. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 27, 20213 yr 17 hours ago, Ethan said: They're adding a wall... Not sure why. 🤔 Looks like a typical way to secure and screen off the work going on in the space behind the wall. Definitely temporary.
August 27, 20213 yr 3 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said: Looks like a typical way to secure and screen off the work going on in the space behind the wall. Definitely temporary. Yes- its obviously a temp wall to shield construction, and act as a controlled barrier to the public for safety reasons.
August 27, 20213 yr - Edited August 27, 20213 yr by ExPatClevGuy Deleted my silly thought (one of many). Mods, please delete
September 9, 20213 yr Nothing huge but looks like they completely redid the fountain (concrete in there looks new) and they've put the stage up at the bottom of the stairs - is something going on this weekend? Or getting ready for some candidate's watch party? Also redoing electrical (I'm guessing) in the area where Chick Fil A stand usually is (and same goes for the opposite side in the same spot). The work carts have BEDROCK AVENUE on them so seems like an internal job?
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