Posted December 12, 201212 yr Today I got to take a hardhat tour of the Medical Mart & Convention Center after a brief presentation from Dave Johnson, the director of PR It was pretty amazing to finally see this in person and I took lots of pictures so get ready! :-P I will summarize what Mr. Johnson told us as some of it was very interesting and some of it has not been released publicly yet (so Shhhhh) Sorry for repeat information, I am sure some of what I will put is already known here. ALSO, I apologize for any errors in company names, etc. as this is based off my frantic note-taking :wtf: be kind! There are about 600 workers on site presently The project is 85% complete and continues to be 2 months ahead of schedule The Senior Games in 2013 will bring 35,000 people to downtown It will be the largest sporting event in the world in 2013 15,000 athletes Open/Closing ceremonies will be held on the malls, the Athlete Village will be in the CC GE Healthcare will create a "Disease Journey" showing the whole process of treating Breast Cancer, Alzheimer's, & Heart Disease 14 Pieces of equipment for Breast Cancer alone 3rd Floor will be displaying the health care of the future, Johnson Controls will be moving its national sales office here from Milwaukee UH + Phillips will work together in showing imaging technology 3 direct connection points to Public Auditorium which is in the process of being renovated as the money becomes available 59 booked events so far consisting of 250,000 approx. attendees, which means 98,000 approx. hotel room nights One "Hotel room night" generates about $1,000 The chief engineer for the complex was the chief engineer for One Cleveland Center at one time We have won events over Orlando, Philly, San Diego, Chicago and more They are in talks with a local TV news station to possibly have a studio in the MM building Ballroom is 32,000 and will be largest in Ohio. Completely column free He mentioned the possible Le Meridien and other hotels under construction right now but said we could lose business because we dont have enough hotel rooms at the moment. The current County headquarter building is obviously being thought of as a site for a new large parking deck and hotel It was brought out that as the demand for parking becomes much higher, parking lot owners may be choosing to build parking decks (with other development one can HOPE) instead of surface lots, especially since there is no dedicated parking for the complex The MM building will be public, open everyday, and will have some retail (something like a Starbucks, Au Bon Pan etc.) There will be extensive security to ensure access to certain areas can be restricted at times 4th floor will be for IT for healthcare. I missed something here but one of the tenants from the failed Nashville project will be taking this entire floor. Anyone know any IT related companies that were involved with that? Case University is the next tenant to be announced. They will have a simulation center, and school of Med. students will have a presence on-site, also CME (continued medical education) will be happening at an on-site location. Food service is by Levey (Spelling?) As of April 1st, tenants will be given access to the building to start designing spaces MM to open in October (with portions open before this) CC to open in July The MM name will be changed. Vocon will have some involvement ( I believe pertaining to signage but I could be mistaken) Thats it! Now the tour Entrance to MM Atrium First floor showroom space Entrance Hey, its me! This area will be a patio/garden type area that has the ability to be gated off and used as an event space 2nd floor space Looking back into the atrium 2nd floor catwalk Looking into the CC from the loading area Loading area for (I believe) 17 semis? and the ability to completely pull in and turn around Main CC space. This is absolutely enormous and you really have to see it to comprehend the space. Pre-function and reception area for the Grand Ballroom Entrance to ballroom Ballroom track for the room dividers Meeting space off the grand ballroom area Entrance to CC area from MM (I think) Mall A section of the main CC floor Covered are the escalators The End
December 12, 201212 yr Ok now I finally believe all the "world class"references MM&CC people have been throwing around all these years...
December 13, 201212 yr Fantastic tour! Makes you appreciate how big it is. And very encouraging information you shared at the start. I really hope we can get a convention hotel for this. The views to the north reveal the need for a connection to the lakefront -- if only $20 million more can be found. Maybe the county can put some money into it with all their property sales and savings from their consolidations. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 13, 201212 yr Fantastic tour! Makes you appreciate how big it is. And very encouraging information you shared at the start. I really hope we can get a convention hotel for this. The views to the north reveal the need for a connection to the lakefront -- if only $20 million more can be found. Maybe the county can put some money into it with all their property sales and savings from their consolidations. He did mention the transit center and that it's in the works for the future. Obviously we know that, but seeing the complex reiterates how essential that is not only for this but all of downtowns connectivity.
December 13, 201212 yr He did mention the transit center and that it's in the works for the future. Obviously we know that, but seeing the complex reiterates how essential that is not only for this but all of downtowns connectivity. The potential for the facility's interaction to the south is tremendous. But to the north -- toward the rail lines, tourist destinations and the shoreline for the largest collection of inland seas of the world -- there is zero interaction. It's almost as if the northern face of the MM/CC is the start of outer space.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 13, 201212 yr The views from the MM out onto the mall and the cityscape are as brilliant as I had hoped for, it's worth the price of admission. It's going to be even better at night. And I can't keep saying how impressed I am with the whole project and what appears to be a very well executed plan. Also Clifton just another great job. I'm sure everyone here appreciates your efforts.
December 13, 201212 yr Looks great. Is there any relationship between this and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago? "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 13, 201212 yr Makes sense. Thanks. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 13, 201212 yr The views to the north reveal the need for a connection to the lakefront. Exactly right KJP. That is the weak link in the chain, so to speak. The connections are getting closer but we still need something more. It's going to take an extraordinary plan to finally correct this.
December 13, 201212 yr You got some great shots---thanks for the tour and info. A few things you said stood out: "3rd Floor will be displaying the health care of the future, Johnson Controls will be moving its national sales office here from Milwaukee" That's great to hear of activities/offices moving here. "The MM name will be changed." To what? Hopefully something decent sounding. I'm okay with "MM"
December 13, 201212 yr mrclifton88, as you were walking through the convention center, did you feel like there were any negatives to being underground. The tall ceilings, lighting and windows look great to me, but I'm sure some people (before being there) ask, "Wait, the convention center is underground??" and be worried about it feeling cave-like.
December 13, 201212 yr mrclifton88, as you were walking through the convention center, did you feel like there were any negatives to being underground. The tall ceilings, lighting and windows look great to me, but I'm sure some people (before being there) ask, "Wait, the convention center is underground??" and be worried about it feeling cave-like. How is it any different from most convention centers? Mos have little or no natural light anyway. Just big boxes. Think Philadelphia, NYC, Washington DC (old and new), Atlanta, Miami Beach, Houston, Las Vegas?
December 13, 201212 yr Mr Johnson said "Medical Mart" doesn't represent what the facility is appropriately. It makes it sound like a CVS. Not sure yet what it will be but will probably implement terms like "global" and "innovation"
December 13, 201212 yr mrclifton88, as you were walking through the convention center, did you feel like there were any negatives to being underground. The tall ceilings, lighting and windows look great to me, but I'm sure some people (before being there) ask, "Wait, the convention center is underground??" and be worried about it feeling cave-like. I really did not get that impression anywhere, even areas without windows. There is actually a surprising amount of natural light throughout the space. As you mentioned the enormous ceiling height really helps.
December 13, 201212 yr mrclifton88, as you were walking through the convention center, did you feel like there were any negatives to being underground. The tall ceilings, lighting and windows look great to me, but I'm sure some people (before being there) ask, "Wait, the convention center is underground??" and be worried about it feeling cave-like. I really did not get that impression anywhere, even areas without windows. There is actually a surprising amount of natural light throughout the space. As you mentioned the enormous ceiling height really helps. Thats good to hear, because some of the centers I've listed above, make you feel like you're walking into a subway station.
December 13, 201212 yr The views to the north reveal the need for a connection to the lakefront. Exactly right KJP. That is the weak link in the chain, so to speak. The connections are getting closer but we still need something more. It's going to take an extraordinary plan to finally correct this. Don't necessarily need an extradordinary plan (although that would be nice) but it will need extraordinary money and still no ideas how that is to be raised.
December 13, 201212 yr mrclifton88, as you were walking through the convention center, did you feel like there were any negatives to being underground. The tall ceilings, lighting and windows look great to me, but I'm sure some people (before being there) ask, "Wait, the convention center is underground??" and be worried about it feeling cave-like. I really did not get that impression anywhere, even areas without windows. There is actually a surprising amount of natural light throughout the space. As you mentioned the enormous ceiling height really helps. Thats good to hear, because some of the centers I've listed above, make you feel like you're walking into a subway station. The Lakeside entrance really helps this dilemma; if you look in the pictures you see the entire length is glass with the escalators descending to each side. It acts as a giant window, letting a lot of light down onto the CC floor
December 13, 201212 yr Mr Johnson said "Medical Mart" doesn't represent what the facility is appropriately. It makes it sound like a CVS. Not sure yet what it will be but will probably implement terms like "global" and "innovation" How about the Rx-position Center! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 13, 201212 yr Mr Johnson said "Medical Mart" doesn't represent what the facility is appropriately. It makes it sound like a CVS. Not sure yet what it will be but will probably implement terms like "global" and "innovation" How about the Rx-position Center!
December 13, 201212 yr Thats good to hear, because some of the centers I've listed above, make you feel like you're walking into a subway station. MTS--you make that sound like a bad thing. mrclifton---okay, thanks on the name clarification.
December 13, 201212 yr 4th floor will be for IT for healthcare. I missed something here but one of the tenants from the failed Nashville project will be taking this entire floor. Anyone know any IT related companies that were involved with that? my guess would be RFID the largest tenant for the failed nashville medical mart, it's a consortium of companies using radio frequency to create intelligent hospitals... I also read (cannot remember where or find it) that RFID was in the cleveland medical marts sights. the cleveland clinic was also supposed to use the IT 4th floor... http://medcitynews.com/2012/05/nashville-medical-mart-adds-biggest-tenant-yet-a-multi-vendor-rfid-technology-showroom/
December 13, 201212 yr Mr Johnson said "Medical Mart" doesn't represent what the facility is appropriately. It makes it sound like a CVS. Not sure yet what it will be but will probably implement terms like "global" and "innovation" How about the Rx-position Center! Considering that Commodus wanted to screw his sister, I'll take a thumbs-down from him as a thumbs-up any day! Now go drink your coffee, MTS....... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 13, 201212 yr Coffee at 2pm? I was on my first glass of wine! I love how all the haters are going to have to eat their words now. It's going to be a nice space.
December 14, 201212 yr its just stunningly massive under there. i keep thinking about how it used to look too. what a project!
December 14, 201212 yr I remember the old convention center and have done tradeshow work in a few shows in cities like Indianapolis, Nashville and Baltimore (peer city convention markets) and I have very good feelings about this. Thanks for posting the photos! clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
December 14, 201212 yr Are naming rights a possibility? Cleveland Clinic Medical Mart? That could pull in maybe $1milion in city revenue
December 14, 201212 yr One small point that was brought out: our convention center is not the biggest and thus there are a small number of conventions we will not get because they are simply too big. Our CC however will be the most high-tech and unique facility there is right now. Putting a dome on the Browns stadium greatly changes our capacity for the large events. Another thing to consider is that we haven't even been ABLE to compete, we weren't even in the running for so many years, that coming back into the market with this much momentum is defiantly a good sign.
December 14, 201212 yr its just stunningly massive under there. i keep thinking about how it used to look too. what a project! I agree. I remember being in the old CC and the massive forest of columns. After touring this too, the difference is stunning in person. https://www.instagram.com/cle_and_beyond/https://www.instagram.com/jbkaufer/
December 14, 201212 yr you know, that train station is unsightly. They should move it or plant some trees in front of it, or something.
December 14, 201212 yr One small point that was brought out: our convention center is not the biggest and thus there are a small number of conventions we will not get because they are simply too big. Our CC however will be the most high-tech and unique facility there is right now. Putting a dome on the Browns stadium greatly changes our capacity for the large events. Another thing to consider is that we haven't even been ABLE to compete, we weren't even in the running for so many years, that coming back into the market with this much momentum is defiantly a good sign. Size wasn't the sole issue. Condition of the facility, technology and transportation also paid a very large part of Conventions at the OLD CC. Along with the opening of the New IX center. We're at a size were we can still hose large conventions, they'll just be paired down if they chose not to go to the IX center. [meaning some exhibitors will pass on Cleveland, or the producer will use "slots" to fill the venue] I have a feeling more conventions would pair down, a negative, but the central location offers the city a chance to attract a larger audience.
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