Bridgeworks update.  First floor retail still to the corner, but a step back above. I guess that gives better views of St Malachi while keeping street presence. Looks like they added height. I also love how the subway station access is still clearly shown on the renderings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still looks great, but I personally like the other version better. Bummer that they had to accommodate with the set back.

The design of the new building looks good. But the site plan changes are stupid and weaken the entire thing. New buildings should be designed to stand on their own merit.

I like this much much better.

I’m very impressed by what I’ve seen from those behind this development.  It’s got to be frustrating dealing with the opinions of a stubborn, myopic landmarks commission.  The amount of red tape there seems to be to develop dynamic projects in Cleveland is ridiculous.  They’re definitely doing a good job with the crap guidelines that’s been dumped on them.

The 11-story proposal of November seems to have grown to 18, if I'm counting correctly. At first glance. I'm not sure I like the proportions or the offset of the top 5-story box.

I like the design...   not the color....  we have enough brown and beige buildings...

5 minutes ago, Dougal said:

The 11-story proposal of November seems to have grown to 18, if I'm counting correctly. At first glance. I'm not sure I like the proportions or the offset of the top 5-story box.

 

Yep, looks like 18 stories. I smell a TMUD credit (requires at least a $50-million and 15-story/330K SF project)....

Ugh, I think that's borderline hideous. Don't like at all. Looks clumsy and IMHO will practically ruin the skyline view from, say Church + State. 

But now it looks like they are tearing down some of the historic structures to build a parking garage. Does that sacrifice historic credits?

Looks like they're tearing down the more recent addition to the art deco building but leaving the actually historic part intact. I don't think saying "goodbye" to this will affect their tax credit possibilities.

I like the facade design less than the original but I like the massing a lot more. And I still really like the facade design, just a bit less than the previous one. Actually the new color may meld well with The Viaduct.

 

Also, if they build this and The Viaduct, then you've basically extended Downtown across the river.  😏😏😏

Whether this is an improvement over the previous version or not is a matter of opinion, or course (I prefer the prior site plan and massing.) But it is frustrating that this design seems to be reacting to the Landmarks Commission's comments about setbacks and street presence. Detroit and West 25th are exactly the streets on which we should be building right up to the sidewalk. 

1 hour ago, Mendo said:

The design of the new building looks good. But the site plan changes are stupid and weaken the entire thing. New buildings should be designed to stand on their own merit.

 

I do think if you're going to have a setback, this is the best possible way to do it. You've got a first floor restaurant that is (relatively) close to the sidewalk, and so the fact that the tower is 20 meters further back becomes an easier pill to swallow.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

Yep, looks like 18 stories. I smell a TMUD credit (requires at least a $50-million and 15-story/330K SF project)....

I thought the same exact thing when I saw the increase in height (which I like...this corner should have height).  The question then becomes does it not get built if they are not awarded a credit (or delay the project over and over as they continue to apply)?

I don't have a problem with the set back because from day one I did not like how the design overwhelmed the church and this is no longer the case even though it is now taller.  Also as noted above, this is a rather good compromise since the proposed restaurant space does hit the sidewalk.

I'm happy to see the absence of "archway" pastiche in this new version. 

It wasn't working at all in the original version and looked cheap.

The new massing reminds me of Midtown Tower in Rochester.

Opinions will surely vary on this proposal versus the previous - but when you “zoom out” - especially looking east down Detroit to the downtown core - this building appears more “urban” with more presence - an extension of the downtown vibe westward.  (Especially in the context of recent and proposed substantial vertical development in the area) 

 

The setback seems respectful of St.Malachi’s  importance although that juxtaposition remains far from subtle.

 

The restaurant with its accompanying plaza area should  increase pedestrian  activity.  I’m not crazy about the slightly darker tone of the higher portion - but overall, This design is  more arresting  and reminds me of very contemporary high rises one sees in many other large cities.  It will be a very appropriate contributor  to the extension of downtown’s influence. (think “ way cool” when lit up at night.) I’m not mad about that at all! 

Edited February 12, 20214 yr by CleveFan
Added sentence

I really like this new version. With this and SW,  it's going to make a great entrance into and then as you head towards downtown.

Edited February 12, 20214 yr by freethink

55 minutes ago, CleveFan said:

Opinions will surely vary on this proposal versus the previous - but when you “zoom out” - especially looking east down Detroit to the downtown core - this building appears more “urban” with more presence - an extension of the downtown vibe westward.  (Especially in the context of recent and proposed substantial vertical development in the area) 

Workin' on a view for y'all 😎

I don't agree with the concerns over the setback.  This is going to be 18 stories.  It's not like passersby won't know that the building is there--the building will make its presence know.

It looks, a little, as though they took the ~six story, angled building from the original design and plopped it atop the building to the west.  I wonder how the total square footage compares with that of the original design.

1 hour ago, jeremyck01 said:

I don't agree with the concerns over the setback.  This is going to be 18 stories.  It's not like passersby won't know that the building is there--the building will make its presence know.

It still affects the feel from the street much like the PNC building on Euclid! Even though it’s clear the PNC building is there it takes away from the wall of buildings. Setbacks in general make something feel less urban (at least to me).

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Bridgeworks seeks to add more height

 

Plans for building a new hotel as part of the Bridgeworks development in Ohio's City Hingetown neighborhood were dramatically changed. Gone is the plan to build a seven-story hotel next to the lower floors of a proposed 11-story residential building.

 

The new plan is to build the hotel atop the residential structure, bringing the combined height of the proposed Bridgeworks building to total of 18 stories and 200 feet. That would put it just shy of the 19-story, 208-foot-tall Lakeview Tower, 2700 Washington Ave., built in 1973 on the other side of the Shoreway highway.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/02/bridgeworks-seeks-to-add-more-height.html

 

Can’t imagine what the anti development freaks on the Ohio City Facebook/Courbanize site will say about this.

the nicest thing about this is — its exactly what should be built there.

 

no question it will do great and inspire more redevelopment.

The upper portion of this building looks downright silly.  Nothing about its design ties it to the lower portion of the building- it isn't the same floorplates, facade materials, window sizes or shapes or spacing.  It also looks like it was supposed to cantilever out from the all glass floors below, but then somehow got truncated off. It's like a totally separate building growing out of the top of the main building.  Like a tumor growing out of the top of someone's head.

26 minutes ago, X said:

The upper portion of this building looks downright silly.  Nothing about its design ties it to the lower portion of the building- it isn't the same floorplates, facade materials, window sizes or shapes or spacing.  It also looks like it was supposed to cantilever out from the all glass floors below, but then somehow got truncated off. It's like a totally separate building growing out of the top of the main building.  Like a tumor growing out of the top of someone's head.

It's like they tried to insert the upper third of the Beacon on top, offset windows and all. The contrast between upper and lower sections is what leaves a bad taste.

I prefer it and the height to the previous iteration but that top portion could use a decent bit of work.

On another note, I only just noticed that the floor plan now calls for "micro-commercial" space. 6 units along Superior Viaduct. Love it!

@tykaps Where did you get that screenshot? Great find! I added it to the article and gave you credit. 👍

I absolutely love this design. I like the two different design styles broken up by the large glass facade in the middle. It's different, and reminds me of something you'd see in NY/Brooklyn. Which is great, because I feel like OC is Cleveland's Brooklyn lol 

While I like the increased height, I think this is a huge step back design-wise. The disjointed design looks funny and never ages well, and what happened to the cool arches on the ground floor? Also not a fan of moving the parking from invisible and underground to visible and aboveground. Any chance the parking structure would be built to accommodate a future building on top?

What’s great is that they don’t need any height variances at least! The city got it right here

I like the height but agree the design can use refining. This is such a prominent, featured site and the design should be great.  Also, what is the "ticket booth" for?

 

As an aside, a portion of this site was occupied by the Campbell Building built in 1892. It was originally intended to be a hotel but became apartments instead.

 

The Campbell Block - Gone, but still remembered in the Old Angle | Cleveland Historical

 

 

 

4 hours ago, KJP said:

@tykaps Where did you get that screenshot? Great find! I added it to the article and gave you credit. 👍

You can download a PDF of the plans from coUrbanize.

https://courbanize.com/projects/bridgeworks/updates

1 hour ago, OC_Charlie said:

I like the height but agree the design can use refining. This is such a prominent, featured site and the design should be great.  Also, what is the "ticket booth" for?

 

As an aside, a portion of this site was occupied by the Campbell Building built in 1892. It was originally intended to be a hotel but became apartments instead.

 

The Campbell Block - Gone, but still remembered in the Old Angle | Cleveland Historical

 

 

 

The ticket booth is a relic from the subway station

I like the height, but not so much the design. I'm not much bothered by the top most facade, but the two story glass band bothers me. Also, just wait until the neighborhood groups start yelling about parking. Even with this massive garage. The church completely fills the surface lot that's currently there on Sundays. 

31 minutes ago, PoshSteve said:

 Also, just wait until the neighborhood groups start yelling about parking. Even with this massive garage. The church completely fills the surface lot that's currently there on Sundays. 

I was having such a nice day and now my head is starting to hurt.😏

Pave the triangular lot that's between West 25th, the Shoreway ramps and the Shoreway. It looks at least as large as the parking lot that's going to be lost to the Bridgeworks garage. 

On 2/12/2021 at 12:58 PM, lockdog said:

I like the design...   not the color....  we have enough brown and beige buildings...

Primarily I don’t like the color and could deal with the design as it is becoming more popular. 
 

I like the hotel set up, the location of the project but think the color is too drab to be sitting there at such a prominent location and this building will, obviously, stand out. At least the planned tower on the viaduct or wherever it is supposed to be may offset this.

I really like it! It's a nice welcoming visual for those coming into Hingetown from all directions! Very good!

On 2/12/2021 at 5:27 PM, Geowizical said:

Workin' on a view for y'all 😎

Well.... I as hoping to have both Bridgeworks and The Viaduct in the view, but now everything has changed (thanks Viaduct)... not much to show unfortunately now that one of the two towers is pretty much gone

 

Nonetheless, hopefully this tower will spur even more development on this particular corner - being right next to Irishtown Bend, it would not only be a great reason to add more buildings here in the future, but tall apartment towers in particular overlooking both the city and the bend could be a really lucrative opportunity/great for the skyline. Once the bend is in prime form, this may be some really good real estate...

Viaduct could still get built if they get a TMUD tax credit. Even if it isn't, something is going to get built someday at 2208-2210 Superior Viaduct. The market over there is too good and there's enough public incentives to overcome Cleveland high construction costs.

The Viaduct had to be the sexiest proposed building in Cleveland since ...um...well, a long time. I really believe that if there’s a way to make it happen - whoever does it will create a phenomenal success - people will be tremendously attracted to that building. If only  I had an extra 100 million...

I'm sure the Flat's west bank will continue to see development. The problem is I really loved The Viaduct design. It was exactly what is needed on the site. So we'll probably end up with a non-descript 12ish story building that will look something like the Edge near CSU.

 

Now if and when whatever developer acquires the site and places a call to the firm (Dimit?) and uses the plans I will be thrilled. And from the UO comments it looks like I'm not the only one who feels that way.

On 2/13/2021 at 9:43 AM, OC_Charlie said:

I like the height but agree the design can use refining. This is such a prominent, featured site and the design should be great.  Also, what is the "ticket booth" for?

 

As an aside, a portion of this site was occupied by the Campbell Building built in 1892. It was originally intended to be a hotel but became apartments instead.

 

The Campbell Block - Gone, but still remembered in the Old Angle | Cleveland Historical

 

 

 

 

 

thats quite a history — burden fire escapes sounds interesting - and here for another thing:

 

this was where Charles Salen, co-owner of the Graphic and County Democrat party leader, organized Cleveland’s first amateur baseball league, which played its games on the southeast side at Beyerle’s Park (later called Forest City Park) for several years, before moving to Brookside Park on the west side (where people got arrested at first for playing and watching!!).

Your opportunity to provide input:

 

https://courbanize.com/projects/bridgeworks/information

And they offer the alternative of a simple text message to provide input:

 

 

Bridgeworks is going to be presented again at Ohio City Design Review on April 1st.

Not as massive of changes like the last iteration, but plans have been updated. See here.

Edited March 30, 20214 yr by tykaps

I don’t remember seeing the artwork on the facade of the building before - that’s pretty unusual (if I’m seeing it correctly.) I’m not really sure how I feel about that. 
 

Originally, I felt like the higher and lower sections were almost a slight color mismatch.   But these newest renderings do a much better job of showing the way the coloration of the lower half of the building compliments  the hotel section above. With the large windows and the more subtle variations in the brick pattern below, this building may be another one that ends up looking even more impressive  than the renderings. Bridgeworks is definitely no wallflower.  

Edited March 31, 20214 yr by CleveFan