Nothing really "new" here, but some interesting tidbits in this article:

 

"The development opened in 2006 with 13 acres. It has since expanded to include more than 150 townhomes and condominiums ranging from 1,100 square-feet to nearly 3,000. They've sold for between $199,000 and $550,000. Six new townhomes are under construction, three of which are already sold.

 

"Aside from the brand new construction in Battery Park," says Szabo. "There are no opportunities. It is completely full."

 

There is, however, future hope for those wanting to settle in the complex. Keller Williams will soon release new construction plans for Battery Park.

 

"It's going to be the most premier phase," says Szabo, citing the fact that it will offer permanent lake views."

 

http://freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/batterypark101314.aspx

"It's going to be the most premier phase," says Szabo, citing the fact that it will offer permanent lake views."

 

http://freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/batterypark101314.aspx

 

So, anyone on here lucky enough to be presently enjoying their temporary lake views?

CHA is now open in Battery Park (replacing the wine bar).

 

 

They did some re-design, adding some windows on the West wall that make for a nice sunset view from a new bar top in the NW corner.  Had a pizza and a couple of beers the other night.  I think it is a simpler concept than the previous tenant and will be able to stick around a while... if they can survive the construction phase.

 

 

^ I had a pizza from there recently and thought it was very good.  I think they have wine tastings as well.  I hope they do well.

I thought some of you might enjoy this picture a friend took yesterday of an Amtrak train passing through the shoofly around the West 73rd Street extension project at Battery Park...

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3301.msg740381.html#msg740381

thanks KJP.  THey usually run through at about 3 AM. So unless im drinking late at night on the patio, i never see them.  WIsh they passed through at better times so they can see the park and the neighborhood

Several depart downtown Cleveland east/west around that time -- Chicago-Washington EB 1:54 a.m., Washington-Chicago WB 2:59 a.m. and NYC/BOS-Chicago WB 3:45 a.m. The EB CHI-NYC/BOS train in that pic is scheduled to arrive the downtown station each day at 5:35 a.m.

 

More info and discussion in the Amtrak thread:  http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2068.0.html

Several depart downtown Cleveland east/west around that time -- Chicago-Washington EB 1:54 a.m., Washington-Chicago WB 2:59 a.m. and NYC/BOS-Chicago WB 3:45 a.m. The EB CHI-NYC/BOS train in that pic is scheduled to arrive the downtown station each day at 5:35 a.m.

 

More info and discussion in the Amtrak thread:  http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2068.0.html

 

I often see a car sitting watching the tracks early in the morning at 306 and Tyler, this must be what he is waiting for.

So, I admittedly spend a lot of time in Gordon Square but have spent virtually none in the re-done Battery Park hood. But my friends opened a restaurant there last week (Graffiti), and I was in the neighborhood on Saturday so took my son to get a bite to eat there. I was blown away at all the new, colorful housing and what a cool area it looks like now.

 

My son, who is five, actually asked me a good question that I didn't know the answer to - who decided to invest in the neighborhood (generally) that enabled this construction and vibrancy? Government? Private industry? Donors? A combination? I admit I am terribly uninformed but would like to know, since people ask me about a lot of different areas of cleveland and I'd like to speak semi-intelligently about what's happened in this area.

 

On a personal level, I'd like to also know if the investment and rehabilitation has curbed crime in that hood? I feel like the areas immediately surrounding the newer developments are still struggling in that area, but maybe I have that wrong.

^Short answer: a large local builder/developer (Marous) acquired the site and is spending its own private money (and maybe the money of other investors) to build these townhouses and apartments with the expectation that unit sales/rentals will deliver a nice return on their investment. 

 

However, to allow this to happen, the city invested taxpayer dollars in site infrastructure (roads, maybe sewers, etc.), and there may have been public grants to clean the site of environmental contaminants and make it safe for housing (it used to be a battery factory). Also, the city is waiving the first 15 years of property tax for each unit, which allows the developer to sell them for a higher price, making development more viable.

Thank you, strap!

^Short answer: a large local builder/developer (Marous) acquired the site and is spending its own private money (and maybe the money of other investors) to build these townhouses and apartments with the expectation that unit sales/rentals will deliver a nice return on their investment. 

 

However, to allow this to happen, the city invested taxpayer dollars in site infrastructure (roads, maybe sewers, etc.), and there may have been public grants to clean the site of environmental contaminants and make it safe for housing (it used to be a battery factory). Also, the city is waiving the first 15 years of property tax for each unit, which allows the developer to sell them for a higher price, making development more viable.

 

This.  Also there were some secret handshakes prior to development that enabled Vintage to move forward, AKA the west 73rd project.  The city promised they would spend $40 Million on an on-ramp to Marous and his team. 

 

Realistically though, the biggest impact has been the residents that have moved into the neighborhood.  WHen I moved into Battery Park 4 years ago, it took over a year to sell 7 units.  It looked as if the development could've gone belly up.  There was crime, there wasn't the amenities that currently exist, and there was just a lack of energy. The residents have brought the development together, so to say, kept the area clean with trash pick-ups, essentially ran vandalism out of the neighborhood by painting over any graffiti, creating activities, tying the older part of the neighborhood with the newer development, and helping Vintage sell homes by giving the area high reviews when at times, they could have said don't move here.  The last 2 years have been a dream come true.  Rest assured, Vintage development has NOTHING to do with this.  Cutting corners on construction of the units and betraying their customers who have purchased by building taller units in front of them after blatantly saying this would not be the case.  I would have a harder time finding a better place to live in Cleveland, but I owe that to the entrepreneurs in the area, the Metroparks owning Edgewater, and the residents of the neighborhood.

 

and btw, Graffiti is excellent.  Happy they are there

My son, who is five, actually asked me a good question that I didn't know the answer to - who decided to invest in the neighborhood (generally) that enabled this construction and vibrancy? Government? Private industry? Donors? A combination?

 

Your son is pretty advanced to be asking questions like that!!!

 

The history of Battery Park is interesting - I'll do my best to surmise it briefly. 

 

- In a nutshell, a professor or researcher at CSU wrote a paper back in early 2000's I think that targeted that area, west of Cleveland along the lakeshore, as an area for redevelopment for upscale housing along the water.

 

- At that same time, Everready Battery was looking to dispose of the property but couldn't due to all the contamination and large scale demo required to get a "no further action" letter.

 

- A couple developers expressed interest to the City in partnering with Everready on the cleanup.  After a number of proposals and negotiations, Vintage (subsidiary of Marous Bros Const) stepped forward to develop the property after it was cleaned up & signed off by the Ohio EPA.

 

- The city also paid to install the streets & utilities and offer the residences a 15 yr tax abatement so at that point, Vintage had a clean building site with new infrastructure, ready to go.

 

- At the same time as all this was happening, the Shoreway redevelopment plan was coming together.  As most of you know, it's been discussed for over 10 yrs now and after a ton of budget cuts and scope changes, we are finally seeing it come together.  The two main pieces affecting BP were the 76th pedestrian tunnel and the 73rd Shoreway connector.

 

Of course, around the time the buildings were cleared, the streets & infrastructure were installed, and Vintage was getting around to building the first condo buildings and townhomes, the market crashed in 2008.  There was a small boost of home sales in 2009 based on some incentives from the Stimulus, but the last year or two, things have really taken off.

 

The powerhouse building with the "Battery Park" smoke stack is all that's left of the original Everready buildings.  It has the pizza restaurant that used to be the wine bar.  The other side is still waiting to be built out as a restaurant.  The Shoreway Lofts building was just completed last summer on 76th/78th and is a great addition.  Big picture, the development is pretty hot right now.  Cost/sf is really climbing, both on the new construction and the resales.

He didn't ask using those words, of course, but yes, he likes to know WHY and HOW things work the way they do, and I am happy to share those details with him or ask when I don't know the answer. These are great answers and I will discuss with him in more detail when I get him back Friday night.

So, I admittedly spend a lot of time in Gordon Square but have spent virtually none in the re-done Battery Park hood. But my friends opened a restaurant there last week (Graffiti), and I was in the neighborhood on Saturday so took my son to get a bite to eat there. I was blown away at all the new, colorful housing and what a cool area it looks like now.

 

My son, who is five, actually asked me a good question that I didn't know the answer to - who decided to invest in the neighborhood (generally) that enabled this construction and vibrancy? Government? Private industry? Donors? A combination? I admit I am terribly uninformed but would like to know, since people ask me about a lot of different areas of cleveland and I'd like to speak semi-intelligently about what's happened in this area.

 

On a personal level, I'd like to also know if the investment and rehabilitation has curbed crime in that hood? I feel like the areas immediately surrounding the newer developments are still struggling in that area, but maybe I have that wrong.

 

I have a question for you (for your friends)?  and probably rhetorical (I don't really expect an answer) why would they name this place like they did.

 

The good folks in battery park spend a great deal of time and energy to remove graffiti..

 

It seems like a very aggressive name to give to a bar/restaurant to an area that has been and continues to be confronted by this urban quality of life issue.  It strikes me as a very "stick in the eye" thing to do. 

 

 

 

 

I certainly don't purport to know the answer, but to many, graffiti is considered "art," and you could say through the name they are finding a new, better way to create their own version of art in this neighborhood, and are using an urban term to define that art. Like, WE are the new graffiti in this neighborhood, our are is now the art of this neighborhood, not the gang tags that came before. That's pure speculation, however.

I certainly don't purport to know the answer, but to many, graffiti is considered "art," and you could say through the name they are finding a new, better way to create their own version of art in this neighborhood, and are using an urban term to define that art. Like, WE are the new graffiti in this neighborhood, our are is now the art of this neighborhood, not the gang tags that came before. That's pure speculation, however.

 

fair enough..

 

to me it seems needlessly divisive.  I doubt anyone that lives within walking distance, who has spent time and effort removing graffiti, considers it "art".  Banksy doesn't live here, and for every one of him/her there are a thousand D- students of that particular form.

 

John Taffer would tell you that you risk alienating your target demographic.

 

 

 

I was just guessing. Maybe you should contact them and let them know what you think?

 

Quick google search tells me there are at least a half dozen restaurants named "Graffiti" in the country, including one in the east village.

Probably way to late for that and I doubt they purposefully looked for the least inviting name they could come up with.

 

Ebola...no too esoteric.

 

Plus who am I?  just 1 guy with an opinion like everybody else.

 

 

Actually,  Brian Okin explained that graffiti is used to express ones self through creativity and color...kind of what they are doing the at the restaurant with food.  There are different angles of graffiti, the blantant disrespectful vandalism on ones house or over another piece of public art, and then there is graffiti that is accepted and welcome by legitimate graffiti artists on an open canvas that needs to be beautified.  While the residents have abated plenty of vandalism graffiti, just based on the décor of this restaurant, this is a tip of the cap towards the latter.

It just means "urban" or "eclectic" to a lot of people. It does to me, and I would wager I am more specifically their demographic (epicure) than someone who just happens to live nearby. I live near a lot of restaurants I don't go to as they are not my thing. I really think it's a cool name (and apparently so do other restaurateurs who have used the name for their places), though I can certainly understand why some wouldn't agree.

 

Yeah, and what Believeland said.

So, I admittedly spend a lot of time in Gordon Square but have spent virtually none in the re-done Battery Park hood. But my friends opened a restaurant there last week (Graffiti), and I was in the neighborhood on Saturday so took my son to get a bite to eat there. I was blown away at all the new, colorful housing and what a cool area it looks like now.

 

My son, who is five, actually asked me a good question that I didn't know the answer to - who decided to invest in the neighborhood (generally) that enabled this construction and vibrancy? Government? Private industry? Donors? A combination? I admit I am terribly uninformed but would like to know, since people ask me about a lot of different areas of cleveland and I'd like to speak semi-intelligently about what's happened in this area.

 

On a personal level, I'd like to also know if the investment and rehabilitation has curbed crime in that hood? I feel like the areas immediately surrounding the newer developments are still struggling in that area, but maybe I have that wrong.

 

I have a question for you (for your friends)?  and probably rhetorical (I don't really expect an answer) why would they name this place like they did.

 

The good folks in battery park spend a great deal of time and energy to remove graffiti..

 

It seems like a very aggressive name to give to a bar/restaurant to an area that has been and continues to be confronted by this urban quality of life issue.  It strikes me as a very "stick in the eye" thing to do. 

There's a difference between tagging and artistic graffiti. Look up Wynwood in Miami to see how huge this new graffiti movement is.

I love graffiti, when it's tasteful and artistic of course. I wish there was more of it in Cleveland to brighten up certain places. I remember all the graffiti in Harlem, when I briefly visited there, and it added a really cool gritty/urban vibe to the neighborhood.

They could have called it Palette or Canvas or something else evoking art, without the negative connotations.

 

Like I said it seems needlessly divisive.  There is a certain portion of their audience who thinks of graffiti in an absolutely negative light.  People who will never consider defacing public or private property as anything but vandalism.  That negativity will be in their mind, consciously or subconsciously, when choosing where to spend their time/money.

 

Seems incredibly short sighted to cast yourself in a negative light....in your vary name.

 

To each their own, they will succeed or fail.  The name will probably be ancillary to the outcome.

I wouldn't discount the importance of the American Greetings building in the overall equation. Many thousands of people who would've never otherwise set foot in the hood have been brought in by countless events there in recent years.

 

If that place is a vacant warehouse, then I'm not sure the turnaround would've been as timely.

I wouldn't discount the importance of the American Greetings building in the overall equation. Many thousands of people who would've never otherwise set foot in the hood have been brought in by countless events there in recent years.

 

If that place is a vacant warehouse, then I'm not sure the turnaround would've been as timely.

 

I don't know about that.  Vast majority of BP owners never set foot in American Greetings gallery before buying.  Plenty still don't know it exists even after purchasing.  And conversely, the 'many thousands' who frequent the gallery very rarely venture back into BP.  Even though a single block separates them, it's just inconvenient enough to drive back up 78th & back down 76th and there's no pedestrian pathway.  Might as well stop at Luxe or go straight back to the Shoreway.

I wouldn't discount the importance of the American Greetings building in the overall equation. Many thousands of people who would've never otherwise set foot in the hood have been brought in by countless events there in recent years.

 

If that place is a vacant warehouse, then I'm not sure the turnaround would've been as timely.

 

I don't know about that.  Vast majority of BP owners never set foot in American Greetings gallery before buying.  Plenty still don't know it exists even after purchasing.  And conversely, the 'many thousands' who frequent the gallery very rarely venture back into BP.  Even though a single block separates them, it's just inconvenient enough to drive back up 78th & back down 76th and there's no pedestrian pathway.  Might as well stop at Luxe or go straight back to the Shoreway.

 

I'm not saying AG patrons and residents bought condos at BP. I'm just saying they helped establish the area as not only a safer place to congregate, but helped establish that neighborhood as a magnet for further development.

 

Take away AG and for a decade or more that neighborhood had zero going on. Less than zero, actually.

 

Agree to disagree.

I don't know about that.  Vast majority of BP owners never set foot in American Greetings gallery before buying. 

 

You maybe right. But I can guarantee you that Marous Bros. and their project leads absolutely set foot in there before buying.

 

 

So, I admittedly spend a lot of time in Gordon Square but have spent virtually none in the re-done Battery Park hood. But my friends opened a restaurant there last week (Graffiti), and I was in the neighborhood on Saturday so took my son to get a bite to eat there. I was blown away at all the new, colorful housing and what a cool area it looks like now.

 

My son, who is five, actually asked me a good question that I didn't know the answer to - who decided to invest in the neighborhood (generally) that enabled this construction and vibrancy? Government? Private industry? Donors? A combination? I admit I am terribly uninformed but would like to know, since people ask me about a lot of different areas of cleveland and I'd like to speak semi-intelligently about what's happened in this area.

 

On a personal level, I'd like to also know if the investment and rehabilitation has curbed crime in that hood? I feel like the areas immediately surrounding the newer developments are still struggling in that area, but maybe I have that wrong.

 

There is also Cleveland Public Theater, and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  I know the church has been heavily involved in neighborhood development, long before any of the private developers came around (that is why there are streets with names like Father Caruso and Father Frischatti).  2 pretty solid Anchors in the immediate neighborhood.

 

 

 

Construction at Battery Park W73rd viewed from the Shoreway a couple of days ago.  The bridge is for the RR tracks.  They've made a lot of progress.

Interesting property purchase in late-December. This is this site:

www.zillow.com/homedetails/1294-W-70th-St-Cleveland-OH-44102/2106169523_zpid/

 

1294 W 70 ST

CLEVELAND

Sales Date 12/21/2015

Amount $720,000

Buyer BATTERY PARK DEVELOPMENT LLC

Seller VIRSIS, MARTIN O.

Deed type FIDUCIARY

Land value $58,400

Building value $842,600

Total value $901,000

Parcel 002-07-043

Property Small shops (machine, tool and die, etc.)

^ I heard something a bit taller was going to be built by Battery Park. I wonder if this is step 1?

If that's the case they would need to have the parcel re zoned, probably show how it would tie into adjacent neighborhood & BP master plan...

I just looked at the map, that parcel will be torn down to become the new east-west connection to BP since Caruso is a dead end

Lots of pictures.

 

"This project will create new connections between the Gordon Square neighborhood and our greatest natural resource – Lake Erie – bringing public spaces and pedestrian walkways that will benefit current and future generations,” says Zone. “The Lakefront West Project was the city’s first lakefront development project. The whole plan was to provide better connectivity from neighborhoods south of the West Shoreway.”

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/tunnel010716.aspx

I never really saw the burning need for the 73rd Street underpass since a new, wider/safer pedestrian tunnel was built under the RR tracks from BP to Edgewater Park, which is literally a hop, skip and jump from Battery Park anyway.  But if the residents are happy with the bridge, who am I to say?  I just hope it doesn't become a shortcut for drivers passing through Gordon Sq and Battery Park, with no business or connection with either.

You wanted retail at Battery Park? Here ya go....

 

Cleveland's Battery Park getting new food shop-restaurant, Vita Urbana, in February

By Joe Crea, cleveland.com

on January 25, 2016 at 3:45 PM, updated January 26, 2016 at 10:24 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Vita Urbana, a new food shop and restaurant, will open during February in Cleveland's Battery Park neighborhood.

 

Chef Scott Popovic, who has cooked at some of the nation's most interesting restaurants, will partner with Mike Graley, who formerly ran the nearby Battery Park Wine Bar (renamed Cha Spirits & Pizza Kitchen). They'll open their fusion grocery-eatery at 1200 West 76th St., in the Shoreway Building.

 

MORE:

http://www.cleveland.com/dining/index.ssf/2016/01/clevelands_battery_park_gettin.html

 

The next phase at BP will be a loft building and have a pool for the whole community. Not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, pools are good, on the other, kind of tacky. That move is more westlake than it is city neighborhood

Not sure I follow...

Not sure I follow...

 

What part- the fact that the phase will include a pool or my feelings about the said pool.

^I follow you. I say it is tacky. Marous is just trying to keep up with the joneses. Both Snavely and the large apt development between 58th and 65th will have swimming pools. 10 years ago, the people who will fill these places may have been just as likely to have chosen a place in Westlake. 

^I follow you. I say it is tacky. Marous is just trying to keep up with the joneses. Both Snavely and the large apt development between 58th and 65th will have swimming pools. 10 years ago, the people who will fill these places may have been just as likely to have chosen a place in Westlake. 

 

ding ding! 

So many people downsizing... I've never run into more and more my age or older who are looking to downsize. Many of them want to buy but are renting in the hopes that more for-sale inventory in the urban core will enter the market soon. But they're not waiting. They're moving.

I don't get why having a pool is tacky?  People who want to live in Cleveland shouldn't want or have amenities?  Silly.

Where will the pool be? Rooftop? Tucked away behind the building? I think as long as it's not visible from the street, it makes no difference.

ive lived here for 4 years now. ita comes off as country club IMO. I can't really explain it, happy for those who like to sit poolside...but from my perspective, it's a weird add . It's an active neighborhood, people like to run, bike, go to edgewater and the beach down there. I don't think there was previously demand for a pool. Maybe it's a new buyer they r targeting

 

I don't get why having a pool is tacky?  People who want to live in Cleveland shouldn't want or have amenities?  Silly.

^I follow you. I say it is tacky. Marous is just trying to keep up with the joneses. Both Snavely and the large apt development between 58th and 65th will have swimming pools. 10 years ago, the people who will fill these places may have been just as likely to have chosen a place in Westlake. 

 

ding ding!

 

You folks are being jerks.  Apartments & condo towers built 40 years ago on the Gold Coast of eastern Lakewood all had pools...  It's an amenity plain & simple.  Quit bein haters

^I just visited my friend in a condo tower in Chicago at the south end of Lincoln Park bordering Gold Coast. Every condo tower there has a pool and it's a fairly common amenity. Though it's difficult to use the outdoor pool in 5 degree weather!

I really don't see the issue with this amenity.  I think it only make BP more desirable.

I have indoor pool in my condo building three streets off the Gold Coast in Lakewood. I rarely use it.