What in the world is going on with this street? From the Clinic until you hit downtown it is a mess of vacant lots and boarded up buildings. Considering that it is a major gateway in to the city from the eastern suburbs.

 

Are there any plans in the making to redevelop this area? Should we expect any spin off development from the Euclid corridor project?

 

Just wondering.

That's the problem. It's a pass-through area. It's almost like a pipeline in that what traffic comes in at one end (near the clinic) is virtually the same as what comes out at the other end (downtown) -- and vice-versa. It has been that way since the 1950s and 60s. In fact, it was more pronounced prior to the 1980s. When I was kid living in the heights in the 1970s, we would go to/return from downtown on either Chester or Carnegie. There was a reason why during the rush hours that at least four of the six lanes on Carnegie were signalled for traffic in one direction. The traffic on that road was THAT heavy. I recall seeing traffic moving stop and go, bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see.

 

The diminishment of downtown and University Circle as the region's only two principal employment centers, and reduction of traffic on Carnegie, means that some of the intermediate segments of this road are better positioned for redevelopment. That may be particularly true for mixed uses, since Carnegie began its transition into a commercial corridor more than 50 years ago. It will take many years for the Euclid Corridor to build out, and even longer for it to spill over in the Carnegie Corridor.

 

That timetable could speed up if the residential areas along and south of Carnegie, Cedar, to Quincy and Woodland are redeveloped. I believe that the intense poverty and abandonment in those areas are what's holding back Carnegie since its decline as a commuter corridor in the past 20 years or so.

well put KJP!

There is one significant project slated for Carnegie. The large abandoned and beautiful warehouse just east of E.55th will be renovated and turned into office space.  If anything was to be renovated on this street, this is the building that you would want.

Carnegie is actually one of the more in tact East Side arteries in Cleveland, particularly once you get past the 40s.

 

One good piece of news is that it has a new transit-oriented zoning overlay for the section between E. 40th and E. 79th, along with Euclid and Chester avenues. This is to coincide with the Euclid Corridor project. It means future buildings along the street must be at the sidewalk and mixed-use whenever possible (retail/office below, residential/office above). However, we probably won't see any visible results from this until the street becomes desirable for development again -- which likely won't be happening anytime in the near future.

 

Welcome to the board, by the way, AJ!

Not to mention the fact that the pavement is TERRIBLE  :whip: