42 minutes ago, Down_with_Ctown said:

This tower is destined to stand out in the neighborhood not only because of its height but also its pure, um "glassiness," I guess.   I know glass towers are all the rage in most urban setting these days, but UC's construction mix is a lot more old school with mostly brick and stone buildings built in the last century.  Even the new buildings, like One University Circle and virtually everything the Clinic has built in the last 25 years (with the exception of the new med school and the cancer hospital on Carneige), don't have much glass facings.

 

The overall design is nothing special but it will add some variety to the skyline, which is good.

I hate to be that person but can we discuss this in the original thread rather than the one just created by Florida Guy yesterday.  Mods can you merge the two threads?

On 2/20/2020 at 3:28 PM, KJP said:

Library Lofts is also moving forward. Seeing lots of filings with public entities on it. But this is at the site where the police station was just demolished.....

 

 

Circle Square project in Cleveland’s University Circle to include 24-story apartment tower

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/02/circle-square-project-in-clevelands-university-circle-to-include-24-story-apartment-tower.html

This new residential tower caught me delightfully by surprise. I don’t share concern about criticism upthread describing a “thrown together” look of the rendering . Based on first impressions and the verticality, I think this project will contribute a highly modern and impactful presence.   The growth of University Circle as a cultural, medical and educational hub is yielding a residential story as well.  Cleveland’s second downtown is on the rise and it has the potential to be one of the country’s most interesting and dynamic hubs. 
As it continues to grow, it will give even further gravitas to Downtown’s resurgence. 

 

Separated at birth?  

Something looks very familiar between Circle Square & Reserve Square.

- Fort Cleveland!

 

LOL - Maybe if "Park Centre" (Reserve Square) downtown had some delightful colored panels on its garage, the community/pedestrian experience would have been soooooo much better, ?.

 

Seriously tho, Cleveland is still suffering with this awful design at the corner of Chester & 13th. That intersection continues to languish, because pedestrian traffic is too dangerous and uninviting for many to consider walking there.

 Also, the traffic from the nearly 300 households and staff of Circle Square will not be as shown in the pic; with one solitary car politely stopped for joggers.

 

To glimpse a similar urban design disaster wrought from this same style of development, visit downtown Orlando, FL, where buildings like this hover above similarly unacceptable monolithic garage structures. The garages in-turn loom with imposing & unengaging emptiness above pedestrian-unfriendly traffic sewers.  

- It's a truly awful place to walk, and we should not attempt to replicate it in Cleveland's newest potentially excellent residential "neighborhood."

 

"

Edited February 22, 20205 yr by ExPatClevGuy
Grammar

At least they didn't put the parking garage's ramp along and parallel to the sidewalk like Park/Reserve Square.

yeah the parking base is a lazy, off the shelf disaster. the otherwise nice building is begging for a more street friendly face. 

If you had to relocate the parking garage entrance, where would you put it?

Edited February 22, 20205 yr by MyPhoneDead

9 hours ago, ExPatClevGuy said:

 

Separated at birth?  

Something looks very familiar between Circle Square & Reserve Square.

- Fort Cleveland!

 

LOL - Maybe if "Park Centre" (Reserve Square) downtown had some delightful colored panels on its garage, the community/pedestrian experience would have been soooooo much better, ?.

 

Seriously tho, Cleveland is still suffering with this awful design at the corner of Chester & 13th. That intersection continues to languish, because pedestrian traffic is too dangerous and uninviting for many to consider walking there.

 Also, the traffic from the nearly 300 households and staff of Circle Square will not be as shown in the pic; with one solitary car politely stopped for joggers.

 

To glimpse a similar urban design disaster wrought from this same style of development, visit downtown Orlando, FL, where buildings like this hover above similarly unacceptable monolithic garage structures. The garages in-turn loom with imposing & unengaging emptiness above pedestrian-unfriendly traffic sewers.  

- It's a truly awful place to walk, and we should not attempt to replicate it in Cleveland's newest potentially excellent residential "neighborhood."

 

"

 

 

 

Yes, a two story glass front retail area is EXACTLY like a concrete brutalist parking lot exoskeleton. /sarcasm

and I'm thinking those two toned panels will be some sort of mesh like the weston parking deck downtown....

4 hours ago, KJP said:

At least they didn't put the parking garage's ramp along and parallel to the sidewalk like Park/Reserve Square.

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure designers and approvers of that time considered those ramps to be an interesting sculptural element; a feature no less, which invited people to use their car to leave home rather than walking out the front door.

 

Behind those joggers on Chester Ave. I see what looks like an almost three lane driveway apron with a built-in speed curve; a dumpster garden(?); a blank back wall; a two story door-less wall of glass; and a deep curb cut that narrows the sidewalk to almost nothing.  I see this side of the building as resembling a freeway ramp. 'Nothing more.

 

I don't a see a single tree or consequential shrub except for some pampas grass near the revolving door; signage; any features at all that approach a human scale; a storefront; any type of traffic calming elements; and nothing at all that looks more appealing than the Béton brut wall facing the street at Reserve Square. 

 

Allowing this to be approved without considerable modification will only encourage an entire neighborhood in UC of similarly featureless frontages at street level, so beware. 

The entire interaction at street level on this side of the conceptual structure is an imaginative vacuum.  - It is a dud, and to my mind those who enjoy Cleveland Clinic style architecture or Le Corbusier's "Tower in the Park" concepts are surely the only ones who will truly love this design in its current form.

Edited February 22, 20205 yr by ExPatClevGuy
I misspelled Le Corbusier

3 hours ago, MyPhoneDead said:

If you had to relocate the parking garage entrance, where would you put it?

 

It's fine exactly where it is.  Done with sidewalk-sensitivity and style it might look fine on any side of the building. 

The enormous Amazon delivery box, which appears to be the central architectural statement at street level needs to be put someplace else, far away from U.C..

33 minutes ago, lockdog said:

and I'm thinking those two toned panels will be some sort of mesh like the weston parking deck downtown....

 

LOL, ?  I misread your comment as "two tonned panels," which made sense to me at first because mesh or not, they do seem to have the visual weight of two tons apiece

2 hours ago, ExPatClevGuy said:

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure designers and approvers of that time considered those ramps to be an interesting sculptural element; a feature no less, which invited people to use their car to leave home rather than walking out the front door.

 

Behind those joggers on Chester Ave. I see what looks like an almost three lane driveway apron with a built-in speed curve; a dumpster garden(?); a blank back wall; a two story door-less wall of glass; and a deep curb cut that narrows the sidewalk to almost nothing.  I see this side of the building as resembling a freeway ramp. 'Nothing more.

 

I don't a see a single tree or consequential shrub except for some pampas grass near the revolving door; signage; any features at all that approach a human scale; a storefront; any type of traffic calming elements; and nothing at all that looks more appealing than the Béton brut wall facing the street at Reserve Square. 

 

Allowing this to be approved without considerable modification will only encourage an entire neighborhood in UC of similarly featureless frontages at street level, so beware. 

The entire interaction at street level on this side of the conceptual structure is an imaginative vacuum.  - It is a dud, and to my mind those who enjoy Cleveland Clinic style architecture or Le Corbusier's "Tower in the Park" concepts are surely the only ones who will truly love this design in its current form.

For the record, I do agree with all of these complaints. Lots of good improvement suggestions in this post. 

6 hours ago, MyPhoneDead said:

If you had to relocate the parking garage entrance, where would you put it?

 

I think they should eliminate that entrance, and exclusively use the entrance the back alley they are including in their site plan.

 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020

University Circle is becoming Cleveland's "other downtown" again

 

AFTER THIS ARTICLE IS A LIST AND RANKING OF THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN UNIVERSITY CIRCLE.

In a couple of years, the skyline of University Circle is going to look quite different. Not only will it be taller, but it will be more active at street level. And the economic and investment impact resulting from this booming district is spreading beyond the Euclid Avenue spine including into some long-troubled neighborhoods.

Cleveland's University Circle has been the second-largest employment center of Greater Cleveland for decades as Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and other institutions and business spin-offs have grown. Today, it is the fourth-largest employment center in Ohio, trailing only the downtowns of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Now that growth is becoming more visible at a distance. In September 2018, the first 20-story tower in the district was formally opened -- One University Circle, 10730 Euclid Ave. It was also the first residential high rise of 20 stories or more to be built in Cleveland in more than 40 years. It has heralded a boom of residential towers locally -- a gift that keeps on giving.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/02/university-circle-is-becoming.html

^ KJP - your list could also include
- G building at Cleveland Clinic - 192 ft 
- S building at Cleveland Clinic - 121 ft

- Antioch Towers on Carnegie - 155 ft est.

7 hours ago, buckeye1 said:

^ KJP - your list could also include
- G building at Cleveland Clinic - 192 ft 
- S building at Cleveland Clinic - 121 ft

- Antioch Towers on Carnegie - 155 ft est.

 

Aw, poop! Missed those!

 

EDIT: Fixed!

Edited February 23, 20205 yr by KJP

Thank you for the article Ken. It just might be possible that University Circle area of Cleveland will have a taller skyline than downtown Akron in the near future.

 One University circle at 234’ would currently be Akron’s 4th tallest and when Circle Square is completed in 2 years it would become Akrons 3rd tallest building. 

 

Steven Litt likes the design improvements on the new MLK library. And so do I - the original proposal wasn’t that good and I was disappointed that it won the design competition. The new version is MUCH better. Especially getting rid of that stupid “table” / raised section surrounded by workcenters. That would have been weird. Litt’s write up here describes many of the improvements. 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/arts/2020/02/cleveland-public-librarys-new-martin-luther-king-jr-branch-could-be-a-palace-for-the-people.html

 

“The library’s design team of SO-IL, from New York, and Jonathan Kurtz, from Cleveland, imagined the new MLK library as a civic living room subtly enclosed by 30-foot-high windows and cast concrete columns that will ripple like parted drapes.

 

“A luminous canopy of perforated metal or metal mesh will cap the two-story library. Combined with the rippling columns, the design looks like a modernist reinterpretation of neoclassical civic architecture. It also hints at 1960s designs in the same vein, such as New York’s Lincoln Center, but with a more approachable, less authoritarian flavor.

 

“The MLK design, which emerged as the winner of a design competition held by the library system in 2018, is evolving in positive directions.”

 

 

These Chicago guys aren't messing around. But why the two listings?

 

Euclid Corridor Design Review Case Report

 

10600 CHESTER AVE. NEW BUILDING

 Return to Case List | Start Over | Print Report (PDF format)

Project Information

Euclid Corridor Case #  EC 2020-006

Address:10600 Chester Ave.

Company:FitzGerald

Architect:FitzGerald / Power Construction

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/brd/detailDR.php?ID=3441&CASE=EC 2020-006

 

And

 

PARKING STUCTURE SUPPORTING 10600 CHESTER AVE.

 Return to Case List | Start Over | Print Report (PDF format)

Project Information

Euclid Corridor Case #  EC 2020-007

Address:between Chester & Reserve Court

Company:FitzGerald

Architect:FitzGerald / Power Construction

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/brd/detailDR.php?ID=3442&CASE=EC 2020-007

 

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

Circle Square plan was big, gets bigger

 

When Midwest Development Partners first announced its Circle Square plan five years ago, then-called University Circle City Center or UC3, it was considered bold and ambitious.

Cleveland in 2015 was still shaking off the body blows it took from the Great Recession and even from the early-2000s recession before that. But this was University Circle -- Cleveland's fastest-growing employment hub.

That hub, the center of the region's eds-n-meds jobs machine, continued to crank out employment opportunities at a pace exceeding the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So when Midwest Development Partners representatives make their presentation of its revised plans for Circle North on Friday to the City Planning Commission, it will show a bigger and more ambitious vision.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/03/circle-square-plan-was-big-gets-bigger.html

 

 

 

Didn't 1UC open earlier than what the article stated (September, 2019)?

6 minutes ago, JohnSummit said:

Didn't 1UC open earlier than what the article stated (September, 2019)?

 

Yes, it began accepting move-ins before the official grand opening.

Happy to see so much density being added to the area, but being surround by traffic sewers is seriously going to limit how nice this development can ever be. Even with the proposed road narrowings, which may or may not actually happen. I predict a whole lot of short car trips and shuttle bus rides, not so much street activity.

University Circle has a lot of curves! 

9 hours ago, StapHanger said:

Happy to see so much density being added to the area, but being surround by traffic sewers is seriously going to limit how nice this development can ever be. Even with the proposed road narrowings, which may or may not actually happen. I predict a whole lot of short car trips and shuttle bus rides, not so much street activity.

I think once opportunity corridor opens, it’ll take a lot of stress off the Chester corridor. That’s essentially the main artery from everything west.

14 minutes ago, marty15 said:

I think once opportunity corridor opens, it’ll take a lot of stress off the Chester corridor. That’s essentially the main artery from everything west.

Chester is a major Downtown-Heights/Hillcrest corridor. OC will do little to relieve that traffic and I imagine it will stay the same.  That said, if they can fill the over 100.000 sq foot of retail and include convenience retail, those short car trips suggested by StrapHanger will be significantly reduced.

Chester and Carnegie are major links between Downtown/Midtown/Cleveland Clinic/University Circle/Heights, but the OC should move a lot of traffic that is coming from the South and West off of those streets.

3 hours ago, X said:

Chester and Carnegie are major links between Downtown/Midtown/Cleveland Clinic/University Circle/Heights, but the OC should move a lot of traffic that is coming from the South and West off of those streets.

 

It will also allow major construction on them without creating chaos. 

4 hours ago, X said:

Chester and Carnegie are major links between Downtown/Midtown/Cleveland Clinic/University Circle/Heights, but the OC should move a lot of traffic that is coming from the South and West off of those streets.

When I lived in Lakewood, worked at UH, MS, CCF and the VA, depending upon the time of day, East Blvd (MLK) to the Shoreway was also an alternate route from UC to downtown.

 

Does Carnegie still convert to one-way during rush hours?

47 minutes ago, Frmr CLEder said:

Does Carnegie still convert to one-way during rush hours?

 

No. Traffic is significantly less than I remember from the 1970s and 80s. But traffic seems worse on Euclid east of MLK and on MLK itself. Euclid east of MLK to the East Cleveland line could really use some bus-only lanes.

 

I can foresee a lot of walking and use of CircleLink between Circle Square and the Clinic as well as Uptown/CWRU. Of course it depends on what retailers Circle Square can attract. And don't forget that there are a lot of large apartment buildings in that area already (1UC, Fenway, Judson, Park Lane Villa, Innova). I don't see many people walking in-and-out of them now but maybe they might if there was something worth walking to in the immediate area.

Edited March 4, 20205 yr by KJP

On 3/4/2020 at 7:26 AM, Frmr CLEder said:

When I lived in Lakewood, worked at UH, MS, CCF and the VA, depending upon the time of day, East Blvd (MLK) to the Shoreway was also an alternate route from UC to downtown.

 

Does Carnegie still convert to one-way during rush hours?

That used to change to a one way?! That must've been one large one way lol, bizarre. 

4 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

That used to change to a one way?! That must've been one large one way lol, bizarre. 

There used to be neon signs above Carnegie with green arrows and red x's to indicate the approved traffic direction-downtown in am and out of downtown in pm. I thought they also had them on Cedar Hill going into the Heights. 

Edited March 5, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder

It was always interesting to watch traffic merger if you were driving down the road just when the lanes changed.

 

Even more fun was when an out of towner visiting the Clinic would turn the wrong way during rush hour not understanding the lane change or the time it happen and the look of horror on their faces as they faced 6 lanes of on coming traffic.

2 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

It was always interesting to watch traffic merger if you were driving down the road just when the lanes changed.

 

Even more fun was when an out of towner visiting the Clinic would turn the wrong way during rush hour not understanding the lane change or the time it happen and the look of horror on their faces as they faced 6 lanes of on coming traffic.

It was amazing.  Six tight lanes all heading in one direction.  Used to make the commute downtown from the Heights a snap.  

Part of the six-lane Carnegie was one-way, through the Clinic. Most of it was four lanes one direction and two the other during the rush hours. then 3-and-3 the rest of the day/night. Same with Cedar Hill. In the early 90s, I made a wrong turn into that oncoming six-lane wall of traffic, many of the cars flashing their headlights at me and I probably had that look of horror on my face.

 

But none of this has anything to do with Circle Square, so if you want to be able to discuss this project and any news to come out of today''s and tomorrow's Planning Commission Meetings on this project, I'd suggest that we put a lid on the roadway discussions except as they relates to this project. 

This project would be so much better if the city could muster some more courage with that block of Stokes between Chest and Euclid.  Make it one travel lane in each direction with parallel parking on each side to buffer the sidewalks.  I know that block has been a key part of traffic flow to Shaker Heights for generations, but there is so much redundant capacity. Traffic would pretty quickly redistribute across the other three avenues providing direct right turn access to the Shaker traffic sewer.  

On 3/3/2020 at 1:23 PM, KJP said:

 

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

Circle Square plan was big, gets bigger

 

 

The height of the proposed curved residential building in the East Stokes block following the curve of 1UC is disappointing.  I realize no concrete proposal exists, but its height should come closer to that of 1UC or, at the rendered 10-stories, IMO it will look oddly truncated.  15 stories at least, to match Fenway Hall.

Edited March 5, 20205 yr by Dougal

https://www-news5cleveland-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/whats-going-on-with/circle-square-looking-for-tenants-in-13-story-office-building-planned-for-university-circle?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&_amp=true&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news5cleveland.com%2Fnews%2Flocal-news%2Fwhats-going-on-with%2Fcircle-square-looking-for-tenants-in-13-story-office-building-planned-for-university-circle

I may be wrong but I believe this is the first indication of bringing an office component to this project (which could make a lot of sense)...but here is a thought...instead of continuing to yak and yak about the development how about they finally stick a shovel in the ground and at least start Phase 1.  First we heard about this was way back in 2015 and now they are "suggesting" a 2021 start date.  If this was a Stark Enterprise project we would be marching in the streets and burning Ezra in effigy. 

Love the idea of an office component.  I also love me some glassy towers, but this feels like a bit too much glass.  Hopefully this will evolve a little, but good start all things considered.

Sorry that this project will no longer echo the curve of One University Circle; the continued curve added a nice distinction to the parkland.  At least it's a little taller than the last version, more in sympathy with Fenway Hall.

48 minutes ago, Sapper Daddy said:

Love the idea of an office component.  I also love me some glassy towers, but this feels like a bit too much glass.  Hopefully this will evolve a little, but good start all things considered.

The rendering is kind of low res and ugly, but I think this will look great. There is one glass facade building in all of UC right now (Clinic doesn’t count) and it’s black glass. UC is not going to be overwhelmed by some glass.

2 hours ago, freethink said:

News_5_Link

 

43 minutes ago, Dougal said:

Sorry that this project will no longer echo the curve of One University Circle; the continued curve added a nice distinction to the parkland.  At least it's a little taller than the last version, more in sympathy with Fenway Hall.

 

I usually don't nit-pick on designs, but this leaves a lot to be desired.  I think it's strange to have the two tallest buildings on Chester, at least the one on the East side of Stokes/107th.  I'd much prefer the building on Euclid to have more height as well.  And @Dougal is totally right - echoing the curve of 1UC was a great design concept and I hate losing it.  EVERYTHING about the previous design (posted by @KJP above on March 3) was better.  (Well, the height of the building on Euclid is better now.)  All that said, I do like the addition of an office component.  And I do like both the glass and the vertical lines on the glass.

 

 

 

 

I love it! Very important for that neighborhood and will really set the tone as a second downtown. 

Wish that they weren't ugly modern glass buildings, but it's still probably worth it to have some more density in the area and better grow and extend the University Circle neighborhood.

Frown!

Maximum exposure of glass,

Minimum attention to style.

 

Any single random building on Rockside Rd offers more architectural interest to the viewer than this structure as shown. (All is forgiven if those images as shown are just early an massing)

All expenses seem to have been spared. It is a new achievement in bland; completely free of inspiration. 

What it does gives to the viewer is a reflection of the better buildings that surround it.

 

To glass - yes, 

To zero personality - no.

 

Edited August 2, 20204 yr by ExPatClevGuy

It's time for Cleveland to expect some 21st Century use of glass. 

Please, we're now well into the new century.  There's no need now for throwback looks from 1990s Houston. It's time for U.C. & Co. to reject the worst ideas of the past when it comes to glass towers.

 

Slightly more contemporary surfaces and shapes in glass...

On 5/24/2019 at 11:24 PM, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

That’s what I thought too when I started working on this post. It turns out that while Pei did the master plan for the Erieview urban renewal, the tower itself was designed by Harrison & Abramovitz. 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erieview_Tower

I never knew...was always told it was Pei.   

Folks, if you look at the renderings, you can see they're on some level conceptual. The office building has different facades in different renders. The tops of the buildings are also obviusly not going to look the way they look in the render. The render quality is also low, so even if they built the buildings as closely as possible to the renders above, the buildings would look way better in real life than they do in the renders.

Wow, what a cool surprise to come back from vacation and see! I wouldn't get to worked up over massings.

 

BTW there's at least a half-dozen large buildings (that I know of) in the works for UC. I'm grateful that at least one of them is a for-lease office building. As one property owner in the immediate area said, there is no for-lease Class A office building in between downtown and the I-271 corridor. This would fill a large gap in the regional market and in Ohio's fourth-largest employment district.