a company from california owned the building.

Oh, I see. I guess I just remembered the California part correctly.

LMN Architects and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol envision bold ideas for downtown's Group Plan Commission

Published: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 5:30 AM    Updated: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 4:05 PM

Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer

 

The core message of the planners -- architect Mark Hinshaw of LMN Architects, and Shannon Nichol of the landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol -- is that Cleveland boasts incredible riches.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/12/new_concepts_for_cleveland_gro.html

An article like that does not slip by UO for 3 days.  Check the Mall Renovation thread.

An article like that does not slip by UO for 3 days.

 

Heaven forbid! ;)

I don't know when the ground breaking is, but I walked past the malls today and there were trucks on it.

It looked like there was a little bit of work done already.

http://portal.cleveland-oh.gov/PRPortlet/document/download/12-29-10%20PR%20Convention%20center%20closing.pdf?id=8894

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 29, 2010

City of Cleveland and County

Close on the Sale of the Convention Center

Medical Mart & Convention Center Development Project Underway in 2011

 

CLEVELAND – Today, Mayor Frank G. Jackson and County Commissioners closed on the sale of the City’s convention center which now clears the way for the Medical Mart and Convention Center development project to proceed. Earlier this month, the City of Cleveland and the County announced the signing of a Definitive Agreement regarding the sale of the existing underground convention center. This deal represents one of the County’s and City’s largest public/private investment projects and will build upon, enhance and broaden the region’s healthcare industry.

 

“The Medical Mart and Convention Center project is a key element in our local version of a stimulus program. It will create opportunities for new and existing businesses and new jobs and can transform downtown Cleveland,” said Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “Combined with the recently signed deal for the Flats East Bank project, the Group Plan Commission’s work for our public spaces and plans for a casino on the Cuyahoga River, the Convention Center sale is another signal that Cleveland’s economy is moving in the right direction.”

 

Plans now can move forward with the official groundbreaking and the construction of a new Medical Mart and Convention Center. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for January 14, 2011, while demolition and construction will start as early as January 3, 2011.

 

The details of the Definitive Agreement are as follows:

 

Public/Private Interests. The County and City acknowledge the importance of balancing the interests of MMPI and its affiliates as a private developer/operator against the interests of the public and its institutions. Part of the public interest includes marketing the Convention Center facility to attract events that promote economic development and deliver benefit to private businesses in the City, County and region but may not necessarily be profitable for the operator of the facility. When event scheduling conflicts develop and cannot be resolved by holding the events simultaneously or seeking alternative dates, the County, MMPI or its affiliates, and Positively Cleveland have agreed to meet in order to select which proposed event would deliver the most economic benefit to the community.

 

The County, City and Positively Cleveland have negotiated with MMPI to establish operating benchmarks with penalty provisions that would apply if the benchmarks are not met. These benchmarks include minimum facility attendance and hotel and convention center occupancy standards, with the goal of encouraging the Convention Center operator to market the facility and book events that will deliver significant economic impact annually.

 

Special Hiring Programs. The County will require MMPI to require its general

contractor to utilize goo[d faith efforts to meet a 25% goal of County-certified small business enterprise (SBE) participation in the design and construction of the Medical Mart and Convention Center.

 

The County will monitor this SBE program with the expectation that the project hiring resulting in a Convention Center/Medical Mart construction workforce be made up of 40% Cuyahoga County residents, half of which (20% of the workforce) will be expected to be residents of the City of Cleveland. The County will also require MMPI to require its general contractor to utilize good faith efforts to meet these goals.

 

The Agreement also includes training programs by Turner Construction and MMPI that will provide annual construction training in conjunction with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, operational workforce training for the Convention Center and Medical Mart in conjunction with Cuyahoga Community College, and the possibility of expanding the residential hiring portion of the SBE program to cover the operational workforce at the Convention Center complex.

 

Malls B and C. The County and the City have entered into an agreement that will grant the City a permanent easement over Malls B and C for the use of Malls B and C as a public park. The construction of the Convention Center complex will likely result in a rise in elevation of the surface of (a) Mall C of no higher than 1 ft. above the current level of Mall C at Lakeside Avenue, and (b) Mall B of no higher than elevation 662 ft. above sea level; provided that the Lakeside Entrance may exceed these maximum heights. The County and the City desire to keep Malls B and C as open, public space following construction of the Project. To achieve that goal, in connection with the construction of the Project, the County will restore, or cause to be restored, Malls B and C to at least their current condition (as modified by the change of elevation and the construction of certain improvements referenced above) and pay for such restoration currently estimated in the County’s construction budget at $16 million. The County shall cause the work underlying Malls B and C to be designed and constructed to provide structural support for events to be held on Malls B and C that is at least equivalent to the existing condition.

 

Purchase Price. In consideration of the purchase of the Property, reimbursement to the City for expenses and lost revenue, and to facilitate development of the Convention Center complex, the County has paid the City a Purchase Price of $20,000,000 .

 

City Bed Tax. The City’s bed tax is currently continued pursuant to Cleveland Codified Ordinances; and after the Closing Date its proceeds will be redirected toward any lawful purpose (and thus no longer directed to the Convention Center or its operations).

 

County Bed Tax. The County has increased the County bed tax by 1%, which will be applied toward the operation of the new convention center.

 

Naming Rights. In the event that (a) the County sells the naming rights with respect to the Project or (b) the City sells the naming rights with respect to Malls B or C, then the County or the City (as applicable) shall pay to the other party an amount equal to 50% of any such funds actually received (but net of all commissions, out-of-pocket expenses costs and other costs incurred in connection with procuring the naming rights sponsorship). The funds received by either County or City shall be set aside in separate maintenance, operating and improvement funds to be used solely for the Project (in the case of funds received by the County) or Malls B or C (in the case of funds received by the City).

 

Construction Guarantees. The County’s agreements with MMPI provide for the establishment of a master project budget, a guaranteed maximum price, and a budget cap for the entire Project (the "Cost Control Mechanisms"). The City shall receive prompt notice of any modifications to the County’s agreements with MMPI that materially change the Cost Control Mechanisms.

 

Separation of Public Auditorium. The County's plan to construct the Project includes the demolition of the 1964 addition to the Public Auditorium and the physical separation of Public Auditorium from the Convention Center, while keeping in place appropriate connectivity between Public Auditorium and the Convention Center to allow the buildings to be used as an integrated facility as needed. The City's employees located in Public Auditorium will remain in place during the demolition and construction to separate the two buildings. A separation plan outlining the essential terms for separating Public Auditorium from the Convention Center has been agreed to as part of the closing documents. The County has agreed to cause MMPI to schedule the design, construction, furnishing, equipping, and development of the Project to minimize disruption, to the extent practicable, to the continuing use of Public Auditorium.

 

Renovation of Public Auditorium. The City intends to renovate and upgrade certain portions of Public Auditorium to address the future use of Public Auditorium in coordination with the new Convention Center. The Purchase Price includes compensation to be used towards such renovations, in an amount to be determined by the City. The City will coordinate the renovations with the County and MMPI.

 

Steps to Browns Stadium. The County has agreed to restore the stairs at the northwest corner of the site and address the use of those stairs once the project reopens to support events at Browns Stadium or north of the railroad tracks.

 

Competitive First Class Convention Facility. The County’s programming and operations consultant, Conventional Wisdom, has reviewed the design for the Convention Center and joint-use elements of the Medical Mart and has confirmed to the County that the current design of the Convention Center will provide the high quality space necessary for the Convention Center to be marketable to its intended audiences and appropriate to having a first-class convention center.

 

- 30 -

Crain's reporting of the above.....

 

Cleveland Convention Center passes into hands of Cuyahoga County

By JAY MILLER

2:42 pm, December 29, 2010

 

The Cleveland Convention Center today officially passed into the hands of Cuyahoga County, clearing the way for a groundbreaking next month for a new convention center and medical merchandise mart after five years of conversation, planning and negotiation.

 

Under an agreement announced Dec. 1, the county will pay the city $20 million for use of the space under the Mall and will pay the cost of tearing down a 1964 addition to the adjoining Public Auditorium.

 

The groundbreaking is set for Jan. 14....

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20101229/FREE/101229873

It'll be good for city morale to have construction cranes out and about. Looking forward to the opening day

Cleveland Wants to Be a Health-Care Hub

The city tries to rebrand itself by building a medical mart and convention center in hopes of attracting well-paying industry jobs to the region

 

 

Cleveland, which has been losing manufacturing jobs for decades, has spent almost $1 billion on everything from new downtown sports stadiums to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an attempt to rev up its economy, so far with mixed success. Next up: health care. In January construction will start on a $465 million Medical Mart & Convention Center targeted at manufacturers of health-care equipment and supplies.

 

 

Backers of the mart say it suits the area's changing job mix. Since 2000, Cuyahoga County has lost 41 percent of its manufacturing jobs, a total now down to 68,500 in 2009. Meanwhile, employment in health care and social assistance increased 19 percent, to 118,000.

 

The Medical Mart is the brainchild of Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, chief executive officer of Cleveland Clinic, a sprawling health-care complex east of downtown that ranked fourth this year on U.S. News & World Report's list of top U.S. hospitals. The medical center is the largest nongovernment employer in northern Ohio and the second-biggest in the state, with about 40,000 workers. "In order to build a hospital, I wound up traveling all over the country and the world to see various pieces of equipment," says Cosgrove. "It would be nice to have all those things in one place."

 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_02/b4210021528835.htm

 

 

 

 

It's nice to see their PR guy David Johnson staying on top of everything the press is saying.  From the comments section of the Business Week article:

 

"Cleveland MMCC enjoys widespread support within the local community and the business model and concept has resonated strongly within the healthcare community based on the 47 letters of intent for showroom occupancy in the Medical Mart, and 21 LOIs from tradeshow and conference organizers. More importantly, Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center has become a unifying, visible and successful symbol of progress for a community and region that is poised for significant economic development and new construction during the next decade. Demolition and construction are scheduled to begin January 3, 2011 and the groundbreaking ceremony will be held January 14, 2011. The facility will open in September, 2013."

It's nice to see their PR guy David Johnson staying on top of everything the press is saying.  From the comments section of the Business Week article:

 

"Cleveland MMCC enjoys widespread support within the local community and the business model and concept has resonated strongly within the healthcare community based on the 47 letters of intent for showroom occupancy in the Medical Mart, and 21 LOIs from tradeshow and conference organizers. More importantly, Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center has become a unifying, visible and successful symbol of progress for a community and region that is poised for significant economic development and new construction during the next decade. Demolition and construction are scheduled to begin January 3, 2011 and the groundbreaking ceremony will be held January 14, 2011. The facility will open in September, 2013."

 

21 LOI?  How many final agreement.  Usually you get 80/85 of LOIs.  This will surely help with hotel occupancy & hopefully flights into the city along with ancillary spending.

Construction under way. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=167473&catid=45

<b>Cleveland's medical mart construction starts downtown</b>

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The ceremonial groundbreaking for Cuyahoga County's $465 million medical mart and convention center is nearly two weeks away, but construction crews descended on the downtown malls this morning.

The county took ownership of the site today.

Barriers are up along Lakeside Avenue. Precision Environmental is preparing to start asbestos removal, and Independence Excavating Inc. is ready to start demolition, said Barb Shergalis, the county's in-house project manager. Trees will also be shredded, since they are too large to move...

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/01/medical_mart_construction_starts_downtown.html

 

From the cleveland.com article:  "MMPI will host a groundbreaking Jan. 14, at which the company will reveal the more than 40 companies who have signed letters of intent to lease showroom space in the mart."

 

I'm very interested to hear about the 40 LOI companies...

 

<b>Cleveland's medical mart construction starts downtown</b>

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The ceremonial groundbreaking for Cuyahoga County's $465 million medical mart and convention center is nearly two weeks away, but construction crews descended on the downtown malls this morning.

The county took ownership of the site today.

Barriers are up along Lakeside Avenue. Precision Environmental is preparing to start asbestos removal, and Independence Excavating Inc. is ready to start demolition, said Barb Shergalis, the county's in-house project manager. Trees will also be shredded, since they are too large to move...http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/01/medical_mart_construction_starts_downtown.html

 

 

Thats too bad...  I was really hoping that they would be able to use some of the trees somewhere else.  Especially the oak trees that were more recently planted on Mall C.  I didnt think they were that big to move. 

They probably just figured it was more trouble than it was worth. 

Is this really a new page on the Cleveland Planning Commission site?

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/grouplan/cmmc.php

 

Lots of graphics and other materials for downloading here.

That site on the website, from the planning commission, has been around for a while. I had mentioned it back on page 186 in october.  Nothing new  on that site ,but it is informative.  On the yourchangingcleveland.com website there are more current renderings including the preformed cast concrete patterns for the medical mart facade studies.

They certainly seem to have started work at a good pace. Yesterday, I drove home from work down St. Clair, and at 5:15 there were still back hoes working. This morning, coming to work at 7:45, they already had traffic stopped on Lakeside to let some trucks pull out on the road.

^Yeah, they basically completely destroyed the Mall in one day.  It was pretty impressive. 

So Far I'm not that excited about the design on the Wall.  I feel there needs to be some more interactive elements to the design.  Right now I see a central green space, a stage and tree lined paths on the edges but nothing never as exciting as the exihibits in City Park St. Louis or Millenium Park.

 

I think there needs to be something more exciting to draw people there.

Pictures?  :roll:

So Far I'm not that excited about the design on the Wall.  I feel there needs to be some more interactive elements to the design.  Right now I see a central green space, a stage and tree lined paths on the edges but nothing never as exciting as the exihibits in City Park St. Louis or Millenium Park.

 

I think there needs to be something more exciting to draw people there.

 

Well, that would cost a lot more money. Millenium Park is successful, but it cost nearly $500 million (about 2 x the proposed coast). Also, one major reason for it's success is the close proximity to busy Michigan Avenue. You already had the critical mass of people near by to support Mellenium Park when it was built, plus a ton of residential buildings going up next to it. I don't think the interactivity of Mellenium Park created its success. It was successful because it was a nice addition to an already active area.

The group plan commission is looking into what we can afford and how it will be paid.

Is this really a new page on the Cleveland Planning Commission site?

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/grouplan/cmmc.php

 

Lots of graphics and other materials for downloading here.

 

I'm all for the plan, but look at the rendering titled "Base: View North..."  The rendering looks great, full of people.  But do we really think all of those people will be there?  What is to draw them there now that is different from before?  Are these all people from out of town at conventions?

I hope that was a rhetorical question. I've never understood why people need a prediction about the future success of a project to decide whether or not they will support it. This project is a risk -- and no attempt at economic growth can happen without risk.

 

Decide for yourself if this specialty marketplace is worth building and attracting.

Well, that would cost a lot more money. Millenium Park is successful, but it cost nearly $500 million (about 2 x the proposed coast). Also, one major reason for it's success is the close proximity to busy Michigan Avenue. You already had the critical mass of people near by to support Mellenium Park when it was built, plus a ton of residential buildings going up next to it. I don't think the interactivity of Mellenium Park created its success. It was successful because it was a nice addition to an already active area.

 

Yes.  The traffic and usage of a park is determined more by its surroundings than by its features.  The Mall is surrounded by high-security government buildings that close by 5pm.  It is cut off, by these surroundings, from traffic generators like residential and retail and entertainment.  We could display a real live unicorn there and we still would not see a substantial change in its usage.  I would therefore not recommend breaking the bank on features.

I would go out of my way to see the unicorn.

The traffic and usage of a park is determined more by its surroundings than by its features

 

What do you base that off of?

This is a really good conversation topic, so I suggest we continue it in the Mall thread (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,22937.180.html) before a mod steps on it....

Took these today from the Key Club above the Marriott.  I was surprised to see so much activity!

 

Thanks for the photos - and welcome to the forum!

Holy schnickies! they are flying. It's going to be pretty cool when they peel the top of the CC back and strip it down to the concrete "tub". It is kind of a shame to watch them rip apart Mall C, I remember watching them working on it from my old office in Key Tower back in 2003 or 2004, our coffee station overlooked the waterfront and it was cool seeing it go from mostly parking lots/asphalt to the park. From above it looked a lot like the renderings.

I walked by the Mall on sunday and they already had all the pavers ripped up on Mall B.  They are moving quickly.  Good stuff.

mrclifton88, thanks for the pics. Those clearly show to me what a mega-scale project this is.

 

It's great to see those guys carrying their lunch boxes onto a job site to go to work. I presume they are good-paying jobs, and work that let's you get some good dirt under your fingernails. That's awesome stuff.

Thanks MrC, I love the view of the second pic.  Can't wait until we can compare it to the finshed product

Here's a pic from the 3rd, when construction started.

 

And here's one from the 6th.

 

I was intending to try to go up to the 31st floor of the federal building and take a picture every few days while they're working just to see the progress, but I have a bad memory, so we'll see. Sorry for the quality, they're from my cheap old cell phone.

They work just fine and give us a nice overview of what's going on. If you're able, getting closer to the glass will cut down on some of the reflections - if I'm shooting from inside a building, I'll sometimes place the camera lens ON the glass. Even if you can't, please feel free to post photos like these :-)

as an out of towner  the photos are always appreciated.  thank you

Those are going to be great photos to reference as the demo is completed & the new structure starts to take shape. 

 

The contractor, Independence Excavating, has a lot of equipment and looks like they are really gearing up for the project.  They can certainly handle it, they moved 3 million yards of dirt for the airport expansion and have done huge sitework & demo projects all over the area

I'd be curious to know the number of people working on this project who are going down there every day that wouldn't normally be working in downtown Cleveland.  100?  200?  More?

not nearly that many yet.  Maybe 8-10 equipment operators and as many laborers, a couple supervisors.  Probably 20 right now.  Throw in some office staff working on site and 25 max right now.

^Plus the dedicated traffic controllers!  That's maybe another 3 people...

Okay, looking at those photos, here's a dumb question that never occurred to me until now (sorry!) — Will they dig out and replace that one length of St. Clair or leave it alone? Not sure what's going on underneath there structurally. But it will look pretty bizarre having two gaping bathtubs on either side of St. Clair for a long while. And I'm sure driving down St. Clair will feel a bit bizarre, almost like you're driving over a bridge ...

not nearly that many yet. Maybe 8-10 equipment operators and as many laborers, a couple supervisors. Probably 20 right now. Throw in some office staff working on site and 25 max right now.

 

Don't forget the required number of city and county employees to "supervise."  That could easily double that number. ;)

Okay, looking at those photos, here's a dumb question that never occurred to me until now (sorry!) — Will they dig out and replace that one length of St. Clair or leave it alone? Not sure what's going on underneath there structurally. But it will look pretty bizarre having two gaping bathtubs on either side of St. Clair for a long while. And I'm sure driving down St. Clair will feel a bit bizarre, almost like you're driving over a bridge ...

 

Just a guess on my part, but I would imagine they have to remove that section of St. Clair at least for a short period of time to replace the support structure underneath.  I can't imagine them leaving in the old section to support the road... might as well replace it while you're in there.  But I'm sure they remove it last and replace it first...

Are we talking about Lakeside Ave? 

 

I'm not sure the CC extends under St Clair.

It does not.  The bottom of the "L" abuts St. Clair.  I believe that parking for the Marriot is underneath Mall A.

Are we talking about Lakeside Ave?

 

I'm not sure the CC extends under St Clair.

 

You mean extending SOUTH of St. Clair, right?

CC does NOT extend under St Clair nor does any parking garage.