1 hour ago, w28th said:

I guess if you just don't care about architecture or urban design in any way, sure, these are fine.

 

I don't see what's wrong with it? The articles I read seemed to indicate it was the retaining wall and two street cutouts vs. one?

 

Edit: Actually, I see a house needs to be demolished for the driveway with a few parking spaces. That would annoy me if I were a neighbor. Why do they need that?

Edited September 9, 2024Sep 9 by coneflower

To me, it's the ground floor treatment that hurts the look.

13 hours ago, ExPatClevGuy said:

'A 1950s Citroen DS.

The artist must be a fan or collector of French cars, and so added it in as a little self indulgence.

 

I debated whether to crop out the car so that the image fit better on the website. But you don't see many Citroens in renderings like this.

48 minutes ago, coneflower said:

 

I don't see what's wrong with it? The articles I read seemed to indicate it was the retaining wall and two street cutouts vs. one?

 

Edit: Actually, I see a house needs to be demolished for the driveway with a few parking spaces. That would annoy me if I were a neighbor. Why do they need that?

 

Developer claimed the fire department requires a 20 foot path to access the rear units. Basically making the built environment worse to tuck more units into the back.

And that's probably true.  Within the last 1-2 years the Fire Department has becoming an enormous pain. It's amazing the demands and restraints that a large City fire department are making. I expect them out of suburban departments, but not an urban city. 

 

 

Not a huge fan of Not Just Bikes and his whiny doomerism most of the time, but this is a great video on this topic. These unnecessarily massive trucks respond to every EMS call, and less than 4% of calls are fires.

 

 

Edit: apologies since this is definitely off topic. Maybe I should move it to streetscapes?

Edited September 9, 2024Sep 9 by PlanCleveland

1 minute ago, PlanCleveland said:

Not a huge fan of Not Just Bikes and his whiny doomerism most of the time, but this is a great video on this topic. These unnecessarily massive trucks respond to every EMS call, and less than 4% of calls are fires.

It's hard to pick up side pieces in anything smaller.😜

 

But I'm sure they will tell you, the one time they showed up without it to a burning car people would be calling for their heads.  

 

Personally I think the entire public safety thing in the US needs to be examined.  It's a free-for-all with civic budgets.    But back to Tremont...

I agree not the most inspired design. happy something is happening with that corner, though. 

17 hours ago, PlanCleveland said:

 

 

Not a huge fan of Not Just Bikes and his whiny doomerism most of the time, but this is a great video on this topic. These unnecessarily massive trucks respond to every EMS call, and less than 4% of calls are fires.

 

 

Edit: apologies since this is definitely off topic. Maybe I should move it to streetscapes?

The irony is he is using a picture of a French Fire Truck as a thumbnail to talk about American Firefighters. Urgence is French for "Emergency".

8 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

The irony is he is using a picture of a French Fire Truck as a thumbnail to talk about American Firefighters. Urgence is French for "Emergency".

Could be Montreal.

2 hours ago, Enginerd said:

Could be Montreal.

Or at least it is in Quebec. While 911 (which is on the truck) is used in Canada, the French emergency numbers are: 15 (ambulance), 17 (police), 19 (fire), 112 (general emergency for English speakers), 114 (general emergency for hearing impaired), 115 homeless person emergency, 116 (child danger emergency), 191 (aircraft in distress), 196 (maritime emergency), and 197 (terrorism).

49 minutes ago, Growth Mindset said:

Or at least it is in Quebec. While 911 (which is on the truck) is used in Canada, the French emergency numbers are: 15 (ambulance), 17 (police), 19 (fire), 112 (general emergency for English speakers), 114 (general emergency for hearing impaired), 115 homeless person emergency, 116 (child danger emergency), 191 (aircraft in distress), 196 (maritime emergency), and 197 (terrorism).

 

sacre bleu why do le french always have to be tres difficile? 😂

4 hours ago, MyPhoneDead said:

The irony is he is using a picture of a French Fire Truck as a thumbnail to talk about American Firefighters. Urgence is French for "Emergency".

The author of Not Just Bikes is Canadian.

That video was garbage IMO.  I had never, not once in my career, heard about the FD demanding wider streets because of our big trucks.  Cleveland, for the most part, has decent sized streets.  Areas like Tremont, Little Italy, parts of the E.55 St Clair, and some West side neighborhoods are tightly packed...but we were always able to get to the fires.  Boston, NYC, Baltimore and Philly as well.  Also, the author failed to mention the amount of equipment we carry on our engines, trucks, and heavy rescues.  Our trucks may be bigger, but we don't need as many to respond to bring specialized equipment.  I could go on and on...but this isn't old grumpy fireman forum!  :)

On 9/9/2024 at 12:19 PM, Mendo said:

 

Developer claimed the fire department requires a 20 foot path to access the rear units. Basically making the built environment worse to tuck more units into the back.

 

The 20' is not the issue. They need that just to get cars in and out of the garages.
The question is why do they need the access drive off of 5th St.? A truck would not be able to make that 90 degree turn onto Jefferson, nor would they want to back out onto 5th.

 

3 hours ago, yanni_gogolak said:

The question is why do they need the access drive off of 5th St.? A truck would not be able to make that 90 degree turn onto Jefferson, nor would they want to back out onto 5th.

Appears to be needed due to the change in elevation. The existing townhomes across Jefferson also have access from 5th.

On 9/10/2024 at 7:04 PM, cfdwarrior said:

That video was garbage IMO.  I had never, not once in my career, heard about the FD demanding wider streets because of our big trucks.  Cleveland, for the most part, has decent sized streets.  Areas like Tremont, Little Italy, parts of the E.55 St Clair, and some West side neighborhoods are tightly packed...but we were always able to get to the fires.  Boston, NYC, Baltimore and Philly as well.  Also, the author failed to mention the amount of equipment we carry on our engines, trucks, and heavy rescues.  Our trucks may be bigger, but we don't need as many to respond to bring specialized equipment.  I could go on and on...but this isn't old grumpy fireman forum!  :)

Nah, it’s a real thing. They want at least 25’ at all times unless there’s ample room to turn around. 

On 9/18/2024 at 5:29 PM, Rustbelter said:

Appears to be needed due to the change in elevation. The existing townhomes across Jefferson also have access from 5th.

Oh yes, there is a 27' retaining wall there between the buildings.

Lincoln Heights has really been flying under the radar...

 

is that the one tucked behind TREO off of W25th?

1 hour ago, Dino said:

Lincoln Heights has really been flying under the radar...

 

It's great to finally be able to forget about projects because so much is going on. 

More coming over there

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/11/08/plans-revealed-for-big-tremont-site/

 

Linking back to the Lincoln Heights article with renderings and site plans

Another building will hopefully be announced within the next few weeks or so...

 

20 hours ago, zbaris87 said:

Another building will hopefully be announced within the next few weeks or so...

^According to the Lincoln Heights site plans, there's supposed to be a second apartment building on the site plus townhomes.  Is the announcement you're describing in addition to that?

36 minutes ago, Dino said:

 

^According to the Lincoln Heights site plans, there's supposed to be a second apartment building on the site plus townhomes.  Is the announcement you're describing in addition to that?

I thought the townhouses were nixed

^Could be, I don't know much about this project.  It's why I was surprised to see it built.  It's a very stealthy project.  Even when it's done, most people will never see it.

1 hour ago, Htsguy said:

I thought the townhouses were nixed

 

Knew sold its portion of the development (the townhouses) to another developer involved in the project who intends to build them when the for-sale market improves. 

On 10/2/2024 at 2:27 PM, Dino said:

^Could be, I don't know much about this project.  It's why I was surprised to see it built.  It's a very stealthy project.  Even when it's done, most people will never see it.

This is visible from the Innerbelt southbound, seen here below the W. 14./Abbey exit sign.

1 hour ago, MayDay said:

This is visible from the Innerbelt southbound, seen here below the W. 14./Abbey exit sign.

The development visible as one exits the W.14/Abbey ramp is remarkable.

Was on site yesterday. Here are some photos from the roof deck. 
PAG who is developing the multi family bought the approved townhome land from Knez when Knez decided to sell. PAG is completing all necessary site work in order to deliver the promised parkland to the community and will develop it into something at a later date.
 

 

On 10/2/2024 at 12:59 PM, Dino said:

 

^According to the Lincoln Heights site plans, there's supposed to be a second apartment building on the site plus townhomes.  Is the announcement you're describing in addition to that?

Yea there’s a site next door which was being developed by the guys who were doing Rockefeller (Pintus and Wolf) but they ran into issues getting it over the finish line. There’s a different developer looking at the site now. Not the same developer as the PAG building/townhomes. 

35 minutes ago, babysfirstxmas said:

Yea there’s a site next door which was being developed by the guys who were doing Rockefeller (Pintus and Wolf) but they ran into issues getting it over the finish line. There’s a different developer looking at the site now. Not the same developer as the PAG building/townhomes. 

Do you have a rendering of what's under construction.  I do not recall what it will look like.

@Willo they were reposted here on Tuesday 

 

On 10/1/2024 at 3:45 PM, Dino said:

https://neo-trans.blog/2022/11/08/plans-revealed-for-big-tremont-site/

 

Linking back to the Lincoln Heights article with renderings and site plans

 

38 minutes ago, KJP said:

@Willo they were reposted here on Tuesday 

 

 

Thank you! I was confused what remained with the departure of Knez's piece.

23 hours ago, Willo said:

Thank you! I was confused what remained with the departure of Knez's piece.

Just imagine the entire proposed project but instead of the townhomes, there will be a green field until townhome or other phase 2 is conceptualized. The rest of the project and park will be delivered.

Ironically, Knez sells that land but picks up another 1.3-acre property at 2426 West 25th. He said he doesn't have any plans to develop it yet. Perhaps he never will. He got it for a bargain ($18,810!) so it may be a buy-and-hold until someone else approaches him with offer he likes. Others were interested in that property but couldn't get the then-owner Jason Lin to return their calls.

@KJP, did Knez say why they backed out of the townhomes? I haven't heard much out of them lately, so I am wondering how their developments are doing in the CLE

35 minutes ago, YO to the CLE said:

@KJP, did Knez say why they backed out of the townhomes? I haven't heard much out of them lately, so I am wondering how their developments are doing in the CLE

Something of note is the fencing for their West 47th and Bridge Townhomes development in OHC is down. It came down over the weekend and I believe they're preparing the lot to either restart OR to avoid fines for overgrowth. They did just get their permits approved for the rest of development there it seems. As a reminder, they have a few foundations already poured.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4806497,-81.7190394,3a,75y,221.14h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sJXdhQVHADh6jJJddL03_rg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3DJXdhQVHADh6jJJddL03_rg%26yaw%3D221.13876!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

1 hour ago, YO to the CLE said:

@KJP, did Knez say why they backed out of the townhomes? I haven't heard much out of them lately, so I am wondering how their developments are doing in the CLE

 

Knez (and many other developers) is disappointed in the city's new tax abatement policy as well as the difficulties in dealing with the city's approvals process. I've also heard rumors that Knez is short on cash but it may be a simple matter of recently high interest rates which may explain why some of his non-Cleveland developments like the South Taylor Place townhomes in University Heights haven't moved forward. 

25 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Knez (and many other developers) is disappointed in the city's new tax abatement policy as well as the difficulties in dealing with the city's approvals process. I've also heard rumors that Knez is short on cash but it may be a simple matter of recently high interest rates which may explain why some of his non-Cleveland developments like the South Taylor Place townhomes in University Heights haven't moved forward. 

I keep reading and hearing about these approval process complaints and zoning complaints. When do all of the changes the city announced to the permit process and zoning go into effect?

The city approval processes I completely understand, but the tax abatement thing is a bit over-stated by a lot of developers I feel. I agree with Bibb. Houses in prime neighborhoods are now selling for north of $600k. There's no need to abate that. He's asking builders to take a chance and build on the fringes of the prime areas if they want the tax abatement. Nothing wrong with that IMO. 

41 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said:

I keep reading and hearing about these approval process complaints and zoning complaints. When do all of the changes the city announced to the permit process and zoning go into effect?

I thought I heard Jan 1st 

6 hours ago, YO to the CLE said:

The city approval processes I completely understand, but the tax abatement thing is a bit over-stated by a lot of developers I feel. I agree with Bibb. Houses in prime neighborhoods are now selling for north of $600k. There's no need to abate that. He's asking builders to take a chance and build on the fringes of the prime areas if they want the tax abatement. Nothing wrong with that IMO. 

That’s all fine and good that you feel that way, but like it or not, development is basically a math problem. If the math changes for the worse, developers aren’t going to build where you want them to and “take a chance” in a more perceptively less ideal location. We’re talking about millions of dollars potentially.
The tax abatement changes were a political move that will hurt the city’s tax collections/general fund in the long run.

16 minutes ago, w28th said:

That’s all fine and good that you feel that way, but like it or not, development is basically a math problem. If the math changes for the worse, developers aren’t going to build where you want them to and “take a chance” in a more perceptively less ideal location. We’re talking about millions of dollars potentially.
The tax abatement changes were a political move that will hurt the city’s tax collections/general fund in the long run.

I am not running numbers on large scale apartment or townhome projects, so in fairness, I can't speak to that. But I am running numbers and working extensively with renovations and small-scale multi-family. As nice as the tax abatements are, I can promise you that there is still money being made on those types of projects in the hot neighborhoods. Maybe they should've kept a more robust abatement for projects over a certain scale? That way some of these larger projects that seem to have stalled could've gotten a boost.

I agree there’s money to be made in that environment, and it’s critical that the small to mid size projects still come together, but the margins are tight, as I’m sure you know, and rents go up long term to make up the money lost from tax abatement to make it pencil.

Where the rents can’t be raised the projects generally don’t happen without some other subsidy.

With the tax abatement the buyer is essentially getting an additional asset that drives the price up, thus giving the developers a larger profit margin. With those profit margins lowered it reduces incentive for development. I think the tax abatement is still useful because from what I see on the ground these "hot" neighborhoods still have a ways to go; however, it will continue to be thing but just at 85% instead of 100% to my understanding. I do believe renovations are still eligible for 100% abatement.

14 hours ago, w28th said:

That’s all fine and good that you feel that way, but like it or not, development is basically a math problem. If the math changes for the worse, developers aren’t going to build where you want them to and “take a chance” in a more perceptively less ideal location. We’re talking about millions of dollars potentially.
The tax abatement changes were a political move that will hurt the city’s tax collections/general fund in the long run.

Correct. The value of the 100% tax abatement provided in less desirable neighborhoods does not offset the cost of construction and the lower rents one would get in those neighborhoods. You can't just invent a market that doesn't exist. The lower tax abatement in stronger rent neighborhoods will only necessitate that rents get pushed higher if a developer even feels like those are justified. If they don't feel that those rents are justified, then they won't build. Then you could have a lack of supply in the desirable neighborhoods as people continue moving there so rents will only get pushed further. Cleveland unfortunately is not a city with a strong enough population to support non-tax abated development for new product. 

Yesterday, some digging at the south side construction site on Willey between the RR tracks and Columbus Rd.  Is this project coming out of project limbo?

It looks like they have unfortunately begun finishing the Gas station redevelopment project at 14th and Clark. New steel framing is up and some concrete is laid.