12 minutes ago, mack34 said:

Again,  I toured all of the new apartment buildings downtown.  Its gorgeous inside and out.....If it was on Euclid Ave it would be fully leased.  but its not in a pedestrian friendly area.  Euclid is the most pedestrian friendly street downtown, with Huron and Prospect being close seconds.  The standard is just isolated enough that there are better options.  Plus, their parking setup sucks

 

Yeah, most of the residents that I've talked to that live there work from home or in Key Tower or at Sherwin so parking isn't a deciding point. But yeah, they have the best view of the city's ugliest building and parking lots.

6 minutes ago, Garfield12323 said:

 

Yeah, most of the residents that I've talked to that live there work from home or in Key Tower or at Sherwin so parking isn't a deciding point. But yeah, they have the best view of the city's ugliest building and parking lots.

I'll be honest, if you get high enough up in that building so you're above the short building of the justice Center, and are on the Western side, the views are spectacular.  You see the lake, burke, Stadium, Lakewood, and yes.....the horrible parking lots.  But you also have a bonus window in the corner that has a full view of Terminal Tower.  ITs a great setup......just bad location

6 hours ago, Htsguy said:

Too bad all the commercial tenants had to close/relocate as part of the renovation.  When it was an office building it had a good mix (hardly high end but popular and active) of commercial tenants including a bank, cigar store, bar, deli, convenience store and small restaurant.  There always seemed to be a lot of traffic in the lobby even though it was not really connected to any other space.

 

 

That was the Leader Building.  I sorely miss the Leader Bar! 

 

The Standard had a small old school diner/lunch place, the Sidebar, and an Arabica.  I could be wrong, but I think that was all.

^If you enter via St. Clair there was a bar to the right.  The diner was to your left and the convenience store/ newsstand also sold some limited hot food at lunch time.

10 hours ago, X said:

 

 

That was the Leader Building.  I sorely miss the Leader Bar! 

 

The Standard had a small old school diner/lunch place, the Sidebar, and an Arabica.  I could be wrong, but I think that was all.

 

And Addy's restaurant. 

In my opinion, the Standard is the best location in the city. Nothing else is as centrally located. I can easily walk west to get to West 6th or the flats. I can easily walk east to East 4th, Playhouse Square or the Stadiums. I can easily walk to Public Square to get on the RTA or the Healthline. I also can easily walk my dogs to either Public Square or the Mall. Every weeknight around 5:30, the downtown dog owners all congregate to let the dogs play on the Mall.  If I'm driving, I can hit the highway easily without getting caught in Indian's or Cav's traffic--which is not the same as when I lived on East 9th. 

 

Anyone who thinks living across from the jail is an issue hasn't actually considered it. You sound like my suburban 55-year-old mother, who said: "wow, you guys are awfully close to the jail," the first time she came to visit. Do you know who makes good neighbors? The Cleveland Police Department and inmates. The police are in and out of that building all day and the inmates don't make a peep. Honestly, I don't think there I could feel any safer.

 

As said earlier, the apartments are absolutely spectacular. The amenities are great, they have a gym, free Starbucks machine, and an indoor dog park. If you live on the upper floors, the views are incredible. There's hardly ever any traffic on St. Clair and Ontario after 7 pm,  so you don't get woken up in the night. While they don't have their own attached garage, the parking really isn't that bad. I park in one of Westin's lots on W3 for $170 a month, but there's a back door out of the building which makes the walk not that far. The valet service is $225 per month. Honestly, parking in the surface lot here is way better and cheaper than parking at my previous apartment. I used to park in the PNC garage for $225 a month and it took way longer to drive up and down 4-5 floors every time I needed to either get the car or come home. 

 

Oh, and I just saw someone come tour the first-floor space with the owners yesterday. Not sure what they were looking to do with it just yet but I know they're actively trying to lease the space. 

 

P.S. If anyone chooses to move to the Standard from this post, DM me because I get $500 for any new referral to the building ? 

 

Edit: can't seem to scale down the video size

Edited May 1, 20196 yr by smimes

5 minutes ago, smimes said:

 

 

Anyone who thinks living across from the jail is an issue hasn't actually considered it. You sound like my suburban 55-year-old mother, who said: "wow, you guys are awfully close to the jail," the first time she came to visit. Do you know who makes good neighbors? The Cleveland Police Department and inmates. The police are in and out of that building all day and the inmates don't make a peep. Honestly, I don't think there I could feel any safer.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think those of us who mentioned the Justice Center and the jail being across the street as a negative were implying it is a safety issue.  II use to live a couple blocks away and it certainly was never an issue with me.  You really never see any activity at street level relating to the jail, especially on St. Clair.

 

I think what is being said is that the Justice Center block, and especially the jail, creates a large dead zone which gives the immediate neighborhood a sense of isolation.  That bunker of a building to the west of the Standard does not help the situation either. 

7 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

I don't think those of us who mentioned the Justice Center and the jail being across the street as a negative were implying it is a safety issue.  II use to live a couple blocks away and it certainly was never an issue with me.  You really never see any activity at street level relating to the jail, especially on St. Clair.

 

I think what is being said is that the Justice Center block, and especially the jail, creates a large dead zone which gives the immediate neighborhood a sense of isolation.  That bunker of a building to the west of the Standard does not help the situation either. 

 

Ah, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I just don't feel like that at all. My wife works in Key Tower, which is immediately adjacent. Transit access is at public square, which is immediately adjacent. We went to the winter Beerfest at the convention center, which is cati-corner to our building. West 6th is two blocks away, etc. 

14 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

I don't think those of us who mentioned the Justice Center and the jail being across the street as a negative were implying it is a safety issue.  II use to live a couple blocks away and it certainly was never an issue with me.  You really never see any activity at street level relating to the jail, especially on St. Clair.

 

I have. I was walking from the Justice Center to Tower City when I passed a woman on the sidewalk yelling up at the jail "Leo! Leo! I'll wait for you!"

Good to hear that the apartments are slowly leasing up. According to apartments.com there are 19 units available

today and another12 coming online in the next month or two.  So they are about 93% full.  268/277

Hopefully they can be close to full by years end. So it appears to have taken 2 full years to fill-up.

11 minutes ago, simplythis said:

Good to hear that the apartments are slowly leasing up. According to apartments.com there are 19 units available

today and another12 coming online in the next month or two.  So they are about 93% full.  268/277

Hopefully they can be close to full by years end. So it appears to have taken 2 full years to fill-up.

 

Pretty sure apartment.com has some double listings if I'm not mistaken.  Standard's actual website show 11 units available which is about 96% full which puts them above the desirable 95% line.  It goes to show that even apartments that may not have prime location (relatively speaking and at the moment) and are more pricey can fill up overtime.  

Speaking of World Class Signage, how awesome would it be if the Standard Building brought this back?

 

That big blank wall just really needs something. Another good option would be something along the lines of those big banners SHW puts up on Ontario, or maybe some massive painted mural. 
 

Maybe Sherwin Williams can sponsor a big painted mural so they have something to look at from their new HQ

Maybe they should just paint some windows. 

why are there no windows on the south side of that bldg? was there another bldg up against it at one time? I thought the old stone church was older than the Standard Bldg.

^ I’m sure I read on here that there were plans to demolish the church, but the Great Depression happened.

2 hours ago, Pugu said:

why are there no windows on the south side of that bldg? was there another bldg up against it at one time? I thought the old stone church was older than the Standard Bldg.

Many of the old skyscrapers don’t have windows on the side, in anticipation that something else would be built there. Keep in mind that there is space between the main building of the Old Stone Church and The Standard. There’s a goofy addition to the church in between. 

7 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Maybe Sherwin Williams can sponsor a big painted mural so they have something to look at from their new HQ

A 150 foot mural of Cleveland’s favorite fictional son, The Man of Steel, shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off.

Edited September 27, 20204 yr by Sapper Daddy

11 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Many of the old skyscrapers don’t have windows on the side, in anticipation that something else would be built there. Keep in mind that there is space between the main building of the Old Stone Church and The Standard. There’s a goofy addition to the church in between. 

 

Thanks. So lets tear down the goofy church addition and build a building that would fit in the space and provide windows facing south. The church could own it and get tax-exempt status on the money they make in rents, whether office tenants or apartments, or from selling condo units. Actually condos would be perfect here--probably a narrow floor plate--run the hallway along the standard bldg side with giant windows overlooking public square, with 3-6 units per floor and either matching the height of the standard bldg or a few stories taller. Those taller than the standard can have windows that face both public square AND the lake and would be the most expensive units. 

2 hours ago, Pugu said:

 

Thanks. So lets tear down the goofy church addition and build a building that would fit in the space and provide windows facing south. The church could own it and get tax-exempt status on the money they make in rents, whether office tenants or apartments, or from selling condo units. Actually condos would be perfect here--probably a narrow floor plate--run the hallway along the standard bldg side with giant windows overlooking public square, with 3-6 units per floor and either matching the height of the standard bldg or a few stories taller. Those taller than the standard can have windows that face both public square AND the lake and would be the most expensive units. 

 

The church addition has all of the administrative offices and meeting rooms for the church, so it is an actively used space downtown.  Not something that should be torn down.  But it would be cool though to see Old Stone redevelop the site with a new administrative office building on the first several floors, with an affordable housing/workforce house building above it.  Commercial space for some community-minded organizations would also be fitting.  The funding for that sort of building would be a challenge though.

^So my idea still works. Tear it down and replace it with a 20-25 story bldg (with windows on the Public Square side, as well as the other sides, except when up against the standard). Ground floor retail facing Ontario--floors 2-3-4-whatever could be used by the church for [community] meeting rooms and affordable housing, and floors 5-20/25 could be market rate condos or for-rent apartments if need be, or offices or some combination of these uses. All of it owned by the church. All profits kept by the church for their payroll and programming. All profits are tax-free (which is why many people start churches).

For now, painting a mural on that side would be a nice improvement.  I thought they used to hang some decorations there during the holidays many years ago, but I could be mistaken.

With regard to getting some type of installation on this blank facade, it’s something that is desperately needed here.

 

Being involved with DCR (Downtown Cleveland Residents) there is a group of us currently working with Old Stone Church + others to try to do something about this. FRONT had also been planning an art installation here in time for their 2021 event, which is now pushed to 2022.

 

All that being said - stay tuned...?

@Pugu  We were discussing how to get new build, high-rise condos downtown a while back and the idea came up for a buyer cooperative and I suggested almost exactly what your pushing for behind standard building.  Maybe you can take the the lead to get the cooperative together! I'm still interested, probably more so now than I was 3 years ago.  
 

 

FYI/PSA: Dave's Cosmic Subs is open! They also have a help wanted sign in the window, and it looks like they need it; the place was jam packed.

Holy cow look how awesome this is!

 

 

FRONT Triennial engages globally renowned artist Julie Mehretu to paint mural on Cleveland Public Square’s biggest, blank wall

 

By Steven Litt, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The biggest and most prominent blank wall in the city, overlooking Public Square and Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland, will soon become a giant canvas for Julie Mehretu, one of the world’s most respected and sought-after contemporary artists.

The FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, a 10-week, multi-venue exhibition of global contemporary art scheduled from July to October across Northeast Ohio this summer, announced the mural project Thursday.

…

“Mic drop’' for murals

Greg Peckham, executive director of the Cleveland-based nonprofit LAND Studio, which will also help manage the project, said the mural would qualify as the biggest example of public art in the city’s history, and one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S.

“This is like the mic drop for murals in this country,’’ Peckham said. “I do not know of anything of this scale in a spot this prominent with an artist if this importance. This is going to be a national if not an internationally significant public art landmark. This is a big site that’s been waiting for a big statement for a lot of years.”

 

i realize the consensus on the forum is that something needs to be done to that dreaded blank wall but I am really nervous that the outcome of the mural could  overshadow Old Stone Church if not done well.

13 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

i realize the consensus on the forum is that something needs to be done to that dreaded blank wall but I am really nervous that the outcome of the mural could  overshadow Old Stone Church if not done well.

 

At this point I was just hoping someone would paint windows. But yeah, this mural idea should make you nervous lol. 

I’m always wary when it comes to public art, especially murals, but having seen some of her work in the article, I’m feeling more confident it could work well. 

7 hours ago, roman totale XVII said:

I’m always wary when it comes to public art, especially murals, but having seen some of her work in the article, I’m feeling more confident it could work well. 

This is an April Fool's thing, right? Her stuff looks like Jackson Pollack with a crayon.

10 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Holy cow look how awesome this is!

 

 

FRONT Triennial engages globally renowned artist Julie Mehretu to paint mural on Cleveland Public Square’s biggest, blank wall

 

By Steven Litt, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The biggest and most prominent blank wall in the city, overlooking Public Square and Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland, will soon become a giant canvas for Julie Mehretu, one of the world’s most respected and sought-after contemporary artists.

The FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, a 10-week, multi-venue exhibition of global contemporary art scheduled from July to October across Northeast Ohio this summer, announced the mural project Thursday.

…

“Mic drop’' for murals

Greg Peckham, executive director of the Cleveland-based nonprofit LAND Studio, which will also help manage the project, said the mural would qualify as the biggest example of public art in the city’s history, and one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S.

“This is like the mic drop for murals in this country,’’ Peckham said. “I do not know of anything of this scale in a spot this prominent with an artist if this importance. This is going to be a national if not an internationally significant public art landmark. This is a big site that’s been waiting for a big statement for a lot of years.”

 

Here’s some of her work from the article. I’m very excited for this - I really like modern art. In addition to genuinely liking it, I will also take some pleasure in how much some un-fun people will be horrified by it. 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Here’s some of her work from the article. I’m very excited for this - I really like modern art. In addition to genuinely liking it, I will also take some pleasure in how much some un-fun people will be horrified by it. 

My concern is how well the mural will hold up to aging over future years to whatever her design ends up at. 

1 hour ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

This is an April Fool's thing, right? Her stuff looks like Jackson Pollack with a crayon.

 

Litt's article was published yesterday and mine was published in June.  😉

 

 

50 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Here’s some of her work from the article. I’m very excited for this - I really like modern art. In addition to genuinely liking it, I will also take some pleasure in how much some un-fun people will be horrified by it. 

 

 

If this stuff is your bag, then its fine to hang on a wall in your house. But I don't think its gonna look good writ large. A living wall would be better than this. Then again, almost anything would be.

8 minutes ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

If this stuff is your bag, then its fine to hang on a wall in your house. But I don't think its gonna look good writ large. A living wall would be better than this. Then again, almost anything would be.

I agree that a living wall would look awesome. I strongly disagree that “almost anything would be [better]”. Exhibit A: the big blank wall that currently hovers over Public Square is much worse than Pollack-esque modern art on a giant canvas in its place.

13 minutes ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

If this stuff is your bag, then its fine to hang on a wall in your house. But I don't think its gonna look good writ large. A living wall would be better than this. Then again, almost anything would be.

This stuff isn't your bag, got it. 

 

Something needed to be done with the wall and if it was going to be a mural there was going to be some group of people that would be unhappy with the direction taken, sorry you are part of that group. Though maybe we should hold judgement until we see what she comes up with?

Here are some ideas:

 

https://designyoutrust.com/2019/02/before-and-after-photos-show-the-power-of-art-to-transform-boring-buildings/

 

1 hour ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Exhibit A: the big blank wall that currently hovers over Public Square is much worse than Pollack-esque modern art on a giant canvas in its place.

Which is why I said "almost anything".

1 hour ago, Luke_S said:

This stuff isn't your bag, got it. 

 

Something needed to be done with the wall and if it was going to be a mural there was going to be some group of people that would be unhappy with the direction taken, sorry you are part of that group. Though maybe we should hold judgement until we see what she comes up with?

Sorry, I wan't aware that this was a positive opinions only thread. I agree that something needs to be done. I am just not impressed by this woman's work, and think there are better options.

24 minutes ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

Which is why I said "almost anything".

Sorry, I wan't aware that this was a positive opinions only thread. I agree that something needs to be done. I am just not impressed by this woman's work, and think there are better options.

She's a safe choice. As an entirely abstract creator her work caries no meaning which could be divisive or just draw too much attention from the rest of the square. 

 

Safe isn't necessarily a bad thing either. While the type of work she does has no place in an art museum, it may be ideal for such a large centrally located mural. A splash of meaningless, contentless color to brighten things up may be just what we need. Hopefully the color selection is appropriate and harmonizes with its surroundings. 

I like her work.  If done right, will be an improvement over that blank wall.

1 hour ago, Ethan said:

…

While the type of work she does has no place in an art museum, it may be ideal for such a large centrally located mural. A splash of meaningless, contentless color to brighten things up may be just what we need. Hopefully the color selection is appropriate and harmonizes with its surroundings. 

I’m sorry, what? As Litt’s article states, “…Julie Mehretu, one of the world’s most respected and sought-after contemporary artists.” Why on earth would her art NOT belong in a museum? That comment makes no sense. 

1 hour ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I’m sorry, what? As Litt’s article states, “…Julie Mehretu, one of the world’s most respected and sought-after contemporary artists.” Why on earth would her art NOT belong in a museum? That comment makes no sense. 

I'm going solely off looking at her work. "Expert" opinions aside, there's a lot of work in museums I think has no business being there. I frequently find work in art museums I literally laugh out loud at, and I think deserves to be mocked and derided. If you disagree that's fine. 

 

We're off topic, but my point was that same style of work, while I wouldn't consider it fine art, can still look great as a piece in a living room or as a mural, which is what we're discussing here. 

To jump in on this conversation, I am less concerned about what kind of art the artist creates and more annoyed with the process of selecting the artist. This should have been an open call RFP, rather than a high brow arts organization selecting an artist, then an art critic (mediocre in my opinion) telling us we should be impressed because they are international in stature and sell works in the 7 figure range. I would have liked more involvement in the community, the selection of artist to include collaboration with a local artist or community organization, and also ensuring that only local companies/organizations would be hired for it's installation. Keep the money as local as possible! I see an awesome opportunity for the artist to employ local college students, like those from CCC, CIA, and CSU, to assist on its design and creation.

 

From a design perspective, there are a lot of textures, patterns, colors, and forms with the landscape that surrounds this location, so something that is physically flat, in my opinion, will look off. I'd prefer an installation that took on more physical forms and included a light display that could vary over time.

^ I'm glad something will be done with the (eyesore) blank canvas. It is simply way too prominent both in scale and location to remain as is. Especially considering how the area will look when the new SHW building is added to the Square. Is a painted mural the best solution? Since I'm not artistic in any sense my opinion shouldn't count. Having said that, even though I can't create art I think I have a pretty good sense of what works collectively and what doesn't. If I was in charge of this I would look at all the different kinds of possibilities that have already been done with large blank walls. I'm not adverse to stealing ideas. If it works it works. If it doesn't it doesn't. So I would match the best ideas with the money allowed and go from there. 

 

And don't forget, the finished product will have a shelf life and possible maintenance costs so that needs to be factored in too. Personally, I would prefer some kind of lighting over paint (which fades) but then, I'm not in charge so there's that. 

On 4/2/2022 at 5:48 PM, cadmen said:

^ I'm glad something will be done with the (eyesore) blank canvas. It is simply way too prominent both in scale and location to remain as is. Especially considering how the area will look when the new SHW building is added to the Square. Is a painted mural the best solution? Since I'm not artistic in any sense my opinion shouldn't count. Having said that, even though I can't create art I think I have a pretty good sense of what works collectively and what doesn't. If I was in charge of this I would look at all the different kinds of possibilities that have already been done with large blank walls. I'm not adverse to stealing ideas. If it works it works. If it doesn't it doesn't. So I would match the best ideas with the money allowed and go from there. 

 

And don't forget, the finished product will have a shelf life and possible maintenance costs so that needs to be factored in too. Personally, I would prefer some kind of lighting over paint (which fades) but then, I'm not in charge so there's that. 

 

 

i agree. lighting and also like a rotating series of projections would be great. it would be better behind the old stone church as a backdrop than on it (but on it will be pretty sweet too). 

Any update on the mural to be painted on the side of the Standard Building by Julie Mehretu?

 

Thanks a bunch!

Edited November 13, 20222 yr by DO_Summers
Typo

Cross-posted in the downtown residences thread...

 

 

The Standard hits the market

By Ken Prendergast / May 12, 2023

 

Not all high-rise office and other commercial buildings in downtown Cleveland convert well to residential uses. And then there’s the historic Standard Building, 99 W. St. Clair Ave., which seemed a natural to become home to hundreds of people in the heart of the city. And now the timing is right for the company which bought and redeveloped The Standard to offer it for sale.

https://neo-trans.blog/2023/05/12/the-standard-hits-the-market/

 

Is the Magellan Development DOA or is it on Life Support.

Could a Standard Bldg sale resuscitate it?

14 hours ago, simplythis said:

Is the Magellan Development DOA or is it on Life Support.

Could a Standard Bldg sale resuscitate it?

 

I haven't heard anything about Magellan in a long time. But I think something is happening there. I belatedly added info to the article about Karl's Inn of the Barristers being forced to close by landlord Weston. I specifically asked Barron about whether the Weston-owned lot was included in the sale in any way, including whether there is an agreement for Standard residents to continue the Weston-owned lot at the NW corner of West 3rd and St. Clair. There isn't.  You don't reserve parking spaces in a parking lot if the parking lot isn't going to be there much longer. BTW, The Standard has been available for sale privately since January -- right when Karl's was evicted. 

FRONT Triennial not going ahead with towering mural on blank wall overlooking Public Square

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The FRONT Triennial project to have internationally renowned artist Julie Mehretu paint a soaring abstract mural on the 21-story Standard Building overlooking Public Square in downtown Cleveland is not moving forward.

 

Complications, including the sale of the building, a property converted from offices to apartments by Cleveland-based Weston Inc., delayed the mural project to the point of no return.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/10/front-triennial-not-going-ahead-with-towering-mural-on-blank-wall-overlooking-public-square.html?outputType=amp