^He's the one who showed up at Bob Stark's presentation at the CSU forum with a completely baited and out-of-left-field question about the Port and Whiskey Island. Stark promptly shot him down and called him on it.

 

As you said, it's great that someone acts as a watchdog - after all, Cleveland's civic leaders (elected or otherwise) haven't always demonstrated that they have the best intentions. However, when the watchdogs take the kneejerk/Roldo stance that ANYthing coming from ANYone in power is automatically bad and and an attempt to screw taxpayers - how do these watchdogs ever expect any kind of constructive dialogue to happen?

I don't know if this is the right place or time to post this, but I'm hoping someone out there has heard of a major development brewing. My source said he's legally obliged to stay silent, but tells me I'll like it when it's announced (sometime soon?!?!). It's not Stark's project. It's not the medical mart. And it's not any of the other projects that are already in the pipeline (Flats East, Stonebridge future phases, etc). It's killing me to wonder what the hell this is, and it's apparently killing my source because he's dying to tell me!

 

So does anyone have an inkling of what might be coming down the pike? I hope I'm not disappointed....

amherst quarries!

Stryker Tourism Office.

Stryker Tourism Office.

 

they already have one, its inside the laundromat.

Could it have anything to do with the land that Stark picked up near Erie St. Cemetary?

you're not very good at playing the sarcastic game X

Except I was being serious (at least in my initial inquiry).

I'm sorry.  Um....perhaps it's the Public Square lot.

That's what I'm hoping it is.

I'd go for some big office news over some big residential news at this point.

what about the new building near the Q?

Maybe it'll be a Dollar Store Outlet?!

Damnit, Wimwar!  Can't you see we're done with the sarcasm game!?  Now we're playing the "build up our hopes for a big let down" game.

Sorry X.  Ok, how about the new 75-story Microsoft Tower?  (with no tax abatement!)

That must be it!  KJP, off to the presses!

More like...off with your heads!!

 

New building near the Q, Pope?

More like...off with your heads!!

 

New building near the Q, Pope?

 

it was some plot of land near ontario, q, jacobs, something something, maybe with gilbert, blah blah blah

 

we did talk about it, i'm just lazy

Now I recall. Someone had wandered past an office and saw a plan for it on a wall or something...

^I think that Pope's referring to a different plan.  Remember how it was publicized that Gilbert had approached the city with an idea to upgrade the Q and the surrounding area?

Doesn't ring any bells but I don't doubt it. Just don't remember it.

Now I recall. Someone had wandered past an office and saw a plan for it on a wall or something...

 

Over in the Convention Center thread:

 

Looking at the map above, I've also noticed someone working a site plan here in the office of the area west of the Ontario triangle.  I'll do some investigating...

 

And then:

 

Here at my place of employment, we do some work for Forest City (for better or worse) and I walked by a desk of one of the higher up people, and there is a rendering of an ESPN Zone at the northwest corner of Prospect and Ontario, the south end of the Higbee Building.  Could be that rear tenant they have been looking for...

Where exactly is the Ontario triangle?  I'm not sure if I missed it in this thread somewhere, but I've never heard of it.

It's across Ontario from Jacobs Field, and bounded by Ontario, Carnegie and a short hypotenuse of a one-way street that runs southeast off Ontario at Eagle to Carnegie. I think it was once old East 4th Street or more likely a pre-1930 section of Broadway/Pittsburgh Avenue.

That was me learing over drawings here at my place of employment.  Haven't seen anything since.

Another thing I've seen over the last few months is a horribly generic plan of a possible development on Scranton Penninsula for Forest City.  Could that be something?  I don't know, but I'm hoping for the Public Sqaure lot getting utilized as well.

^was it generic housing, office, industrial, mixed use....a gift from FCE of a park to the city :)

 

or was it so generic that you could not tell?

It was a schematic design sketch (poorly done I might add) that showed residential around the edges of the river, and then some suburbanesque industrial building near the underside of the Lorain Carnegie.  Hopefully this in no way represents what is actually built, but at the very least FC comissioned us to do it and they are thinking about what can be done there.

Sounds like Scaravelli Island.

 

Does he still own a large portion of that land?

I wish I new what I did with that old rendering that had places like "Cimperman Lane."

I thought that Scaravelli never really owned any land down there.

Scaravelli used to own the land recently acquired by Ferchill.

It wasn't the Scarvelli land, the sketch wrapped all the way around Scranton Penninsula.

but Scaravelli's plan included all the FCE land. He tried to get them to sell it to him. 

 

Ferchill's project is going to have a public meeting within the next two weeks. I think his project will be very interesting to watch. It is very isolated from other housing (although close to Tremont) and surrounded by gravel piles on many sides.  If he can sell 80 units down there, then future housing developments would be sure to follow.

i heard macy's was moving to the higbee building. a rumor from a sun newspapers employee.

It wasn't me as I've heard no such rumor. In what department does this Sun employee work?

KJP, could this be the news you have been waiting for from the person sworn to secrecy?

i accidently posted on my brothers account i didnt know he was signed in (jmoxon). i cant really give any more info than what i posted, sorry. though that is what she said she heard.

i heard macy's was moving to the higbee building. a rumor from a sun newspapers employee.

 

Hate to say it, but this sounds incredibily unlikely.

KJP, could this be the news you have been waiting for from the person sworn to secrecy?

 

Your guess is as good as mine. As to the Sun employee hearing the rumor, I would hope she would contact me since I cover downtown for the Sun chain. Whenever I hear of a hot rumor about a community I don't cover, it's a professional courtesy for me to contact the Sun reporter for that community and tell them what I know. We are on the same team, after all.

i heard macy's was moving to the higbee building. a rumor from a sun newspapers employee.

 

But the first two floors of Higbees is being renovated for a different use at the moment.

i agree that it is unlikely and jus plain unbelievable. though paired with a rumored espnzone and maybe some other components jus maybe forest city has something up their sleeve. i dont know. as for the source, i dont believe it would be my place to drop names on here. time will tell i guess.

^^What are they being renovated for?

visitors and convention bureau

Gotcha.  Thanks. 

regarding the tax abatement issue...here's my take. instead of reducing the tax abatement. how bout this. expand it to 30 years with a...say a five year window. you'll see every proposal thats been scrapped or shelved be developed as well as many other new developments come online. and just watch people from suburbia fight each other trying to reserve a condo/townhome etc. now that would be bold. i truly believe this would be amazing. you'd have people from all over the country taking a good look at this. if you want critical mass and a fast track i belive this is it.

Then the current homeowners would really have a fit.  At some point they need to start contributing to the tax base though. 

And as much as my dream would be to wake up and have Higbees (Macy's) back as a store on public square, it just does not seem likely.  Yes we'll have to see what will happen..   

youre never going to please everyone and something drastic needs to be done. this could revamp the whole city. not just downtown. or just make this for downtown..hmmm. either way you look at it you'll still get about thirty percent of taxes out of new owners as opposed to zero percent of zero new owners. plus count all the new businesses that would come to support these new residents and the taxes they pay. or we could jus stick with the status quo.

I'd say stick with the status quo for 5 more years and see where the market is. If they can fully stop abating taxes by then Cleveland will collect alot more money then just extending the span of the abatement to 30 years even if it is a five year window.

regarding the tax abatement issue...here's my take. instead of reducing the tax abatement. how bout this. expand it to 30 years with a...say a five year window. you'll see every proposal thats been scrapped or shelved be developed as well as many other new developments come online. and just watch people from suburbia fight each other trying to reserve a condo/townhome etc. now that would be bold. i truly believe this would be amazing. you'd have people from all over the country taking a good look at this. if you want critical mass and a fast track i belive this is it.

 

So is that a tax abatement "surge"?

I'd say stick with the status quo for 5 more years and see where the market is. If they can fully stop abating taxes by then Cleveland will collect alot more money then just extending the span of the abatement to 30 years even if it is a five year window.

 

well, i dont believe this should be about.....actually this should have nothing to do with the how much money the city can collect. thats not why we have this tax abatement. it was designed to lure people back to the city and its really starting to work, why in gods creation would you want to stonewall this movement now. it should be expanded if anything. its stupid that were even discussing this right now.  the homes that were built in the early 90's abatements will start running out soon and now every year you will have a new source of income...every year another bloc of homes will begin paying taxes...the more we build now the better off we will be later for sure with a improved housing stock to boot and more upper and mid income people inhabiting it. and dont forget the tax abatement only includes the structure...not the land its on...so theres some new tax revenue as well as their city income taxes....its a win win