Anyone else underwhelmed by the PD's coverage of the Med Mart since last week?  You'd think they would have had a giant 12 page spread full of pictures, interviews, explanations, detailed tenants list, rumored tenants, goals, timeline, commentary on what this means to the region, linking it to Health Line and Hospitals, and some other overwhelmingly positive coverage.  Instead we get...a couple blurbs, more or less.

 

Heck, they could have had 20 pages, half on the MM and the other on the Convention Center with full explanations of each, designs, a history of the projects, a history of Cleveland Convention Centers in the past, yadda yadda. 

 

Nope.

They believe 5 short paragraphs are enough!

 

I think, at least hope, that once the construction starts, less of grounds preparation, that they will really cover this thing good like you suggested.

^Such coverage would not give  the PD an opportunity to pat itself on the back so they would not really be interested in it.

Anyone else underwhelmed by the PD's coverage of the Med Mart since last week? You'd think they would have had a giant 12 page spread full of pictures, interviews, explanations, detailed tenants list, rumored tenants, goals, timeline, commentary on what this means to the region, linking it to Health Line and Hospitals, and some other overwhelmingly positive coverage. Instead we get...a couple blurbs, more or less.

 

Heck, they could have had 20 pages, half on the MM and the other on the Convention Center with full explanations of each, designs, a history of the projects, a history of Cleveland Convention Centers in the past, yadda yadda.

 

Nope.

The only coverage I expect from the PD on the Convention Center is "contracts being awarded to companies involved with the county corruption probe."  Now, had Forest City got their way and location, it'd be hugs & kisses for the next two years.

Anyone else underwhelmed by the PD's coverage of the Med Mart since last week? You'd think they would have had a giant 12 page spread full of pictures, interviews, explanations, detailed tenants list, rumored tenants, goals, timeline, commentary on what this means to the region, linking it to Health Line and Hospitals, and some other overwhelmingly positive coverage. Instead we get...a couple blurbs, more or less.

 

Heck, they could have had 20 pages, half on the MM and the other on the Convention Center with full explanations of each, designs, a history of the projects, a history of Cleveland Convention Centers in the past, yadda yadda.

 

Nope.

 

The PD some years back reduced their health reporting staff significantly, with some of those individuals that would have been able to provide what you are describing  now employed over at MedCity Media.

So the Medical Mart is 235,000 square feet.  What other office building downtown is similar in size to compare that to?

 

 

 

North Point I would be comparable..... just a bit bigger, I believe.  That is the smaller of the two North Point buildings.

 

 

Yep. North Point Phase 1 (where Jones Day is located on the west side of the atrium at E 9th) is 242,000 square feet. North Point Phase 2 (the office tower to the east of the atrium) is 600,000 square feet.

Regarding the impact of the prospective tenant mix, discussed in above posts, perhaps Ms. Jarboe or Ms. Johnston of the Plain Dealer, or KJP for that matter, could ask the developers for their opinion of the mix that have signed letters so far and what it means (or doesn't mean) for the future impact of the Medical Mart on Northeast Ohio's economy.  I would be curious to hear what THEY have to say.  Remember we have civic boosters going to airlines saying what a shot in the arm this mart will be for business travel to/from the area.  Will it be a popgun or a howitzer?

That's like asking a parent if their child is special.

The article need not be restricted to the opinions of the developers.  A variety of viewpoints would be welcome.  The idea is to create a sense of "what is the community getting (or not getting) here?"

we are getting a new convention center which (after 20 years of talking) would not have happen without the "cover" of the medical mart (justifying the quarter percent sales tax without a public vote). 

Some pictures today of the remnants of the demo'd parking garage. 

Med Mart Tenants Big on Furniture, Not So Much on Medical Technology

POSTED BY VINCE GRZEGOREK ON TUE, JAN 18, 2011 AT 10:52 AM

 

Cleveland’s Medical Mart project, touted as the nation’s future showcase for cutting-edge health-care innovation, is coming along nicely — as long as you consider aromatherapy and comfortable office chairs to preside on the cutting edge.

 

During groundbreaking festivities last Friday, project developer MMPI shared a list of 58 companies planning to lease space when the building opens in 2013. One-third of them sell furniture or in some way make interior spaces more inviting. The news served as a convenient reminder that MMPI’s bread is buttered nationally by a bunch of furniture and interior design marts, not technology palaces.

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/18/med-mart-tenants-big-on-furniture-not-so-much-on-medical-technology

Anyone else underwhelmed by the PD's coverage of the Med Mart since last week? You'd think they would have had a giant 12 page spread full of pictures, interviews, explanations, detailed tenants list, rumored tenants, goals, timeline, commentary on what this means to the region, linking it to Health Line and Hospitals, and some other overwhelmingly positive coverage. Instead we get...a couple blurbs, more or less.

 

Heck, they could have had 20 pages, half on the MM and the other on the Convention Center with full explanations of each, designs, a history of the projects, a history of Cleveland Convention Centers in the past, yadda yadda.

 

Nope.

 

I agree, it really is pathetic.  So much misinformation out there too among the general public.  How many people have even driven past this site?  Of course showing it on a map is interesting, but most readers of the PD come down town about 3x a year for ballgames & that's it, they don't know where this site actually is or what it looks like at street level.

Looks like the Cleve scene is up to its usual level of Cleveland bashing. 

 

(does anyone remember when the scene was locally owned and was something to be proud of?  Oh well, back on topic)

So is Nashville, but that's expected (OK, so is Scene and the PD!).....

 

http://business.nashvillepost.com/2011/01/17/cleveland-med-mart-names-tenants/

The Scene....typical negativity from them.  What do people think a Mart is?  I think it is a place to showcase items for people that plan, design, build and run medical facilities....like hospitals and nursing homes....etc.  It is not meant to be a fireworks display of futuristic cancer curing machines....that is what a convention or trade show is for....to show off and wow people....which they will have occasionally.

 

The day to day stuff, like hospital beds, waiting room furniture, dentist chairs, wheelchairs, antibacterial surface materials/paint/carpet,...is not going to be glamorous.  It is what is it is, a one stop shop for said people above to visit and plan on what to fill a medical facility within the budget they have.  The technology will be there at the big shows when the tech companies rent temporary space to showcase innovations and future technology.

 

There is a reason why at NEOCON, Herman Miller and Steelcase are not throwing big over the top parties in their medical furniture showrooms...it's just not an "Exciting" segment of the biz.

So is Nashville, but that's expected (OK, so is Scene and the PD!).....

 

http://business.nashvillepost.com/2011/01/17/cleveland-med-mart-names-tenants/

 

“The emperor in Cleveland has no clothes,” said Cole Daugherty, a spokesman for the Nashville project.

 

Oh really?  Well in terms of financing then Mr. Daugherty it is the other way around.....Cleveland is dressed for the big dance while Nashville is waiting naked at the train station.

Does the Nashville site have a comment section and do people in that town make comments similar to those found on Cleveland.com, or at least express very rational and obvious points like that made by Firenze98.

 

“The emperor in Cleveland has no clothes,” said Cole Daugherty, a spokesman for the Nashville project.

 

Oh really? Well in terms of financing then Mr. Daugherty it is the other way around.....Cleveland is dressed for the big dance while Nashville is waiting naked at the train station.

 

I believe that would make us the Emperor of the North (apologies to all who do not know this movie, but in railroad circles it's required viewing -- the near head-on collision scene is epic!).

Quick clarification - what is the status of the Nashville project?  Still a concept?  Is a site selected?  In design phase?  Under construction?

<a href="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110119/COLUMNIST0304/101190337/Getahn+Ward++Cleveland+scores+first+in+medical+mart+race+with+Nashville">Getahn Ward: Cleveland scores first in medical mart race with Nashville

</a>

But in the public relations battle, Cleveland scored major points even if its initial lineup lacked a lot of big health-care names.

 

"Cleveland is doing it. Nashville is talking about it," said Jorge Lagueruela, president of Trinity Furniture Inc. of Trinity, N.C., which leased space in the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center. "From the standpoint of the health-care industry, Cleveland is going to become the hub in the United States, and this new center is going to be the beacon for that."

 

Among the few big fish that Cleveland signed to letters of intent for permanent showroom space were $34 billion-a-year in revenues Johnson Controls Inc. and the well-known Cleveland Clinic.

 

 

Some big names at this week's Design Review.  It's a good thing it's the only thing on the agenda.

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/schedule.shtml

"From the standpoint of the health-care industry, Cleveland is going to become the hub in the United States  :clap: "

 

I wish the Plain Dealer could write something half that positive.  Though since it's from thetennessean.com maybe it's transitive and CDC can only write those kinds of things about other cities...  :-D

 

 

 

 

Does the Nashville site have a comment section and do people in that town make comments similar to those found on Cleveland.com, or at least express very rational and obvious points like that made by Firenze98.

 

Well there are at least two people on this article that believe their project will fail.

 

http://www.tennessean.com/comments/article/20110119/COLUMNIST0304/101190337/Getahn-Ward-Cleveland-scores-first-in-medical-mart-race-with-Nashville

^Cleveland.com comments raise negatively to an art form but in the past articles the Nashville comments have been generally negative towards their proposed project too.

Obviously you have to take all comments with a grain a salt in such forums but I found this one interesting:

 

"Jeff Haynes is a suburban retail developer who is a small fry against the world of multi-national healthcare companies".

List of Medical Mart Tenants and Convention Center Tenants

http://www.onlinetmd.com/medical-device-design-manufacturing-cleveland-medical-mart-convention-11911-tmd.aspx

Obviously you have to take all comments with a grain a salt in such forums but I found this one interesting:

 

"Jeff Haynes is a suburban retail developer who is a small fry against the world of multi-national healthcare companies".

 

He's leasing consultant to the developer, no the developer.  So I don't know if that matters so much.

Her's a link to the constrcution webcam for this incredible project:

 

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/about/live-web-cam/

 

 

is that really the best angle?  I'd like o see a shot that encompasses both the malls and where the facility itself is going to rise

is that really the best angle? I'd like o see a shot that encompasses both the malls and where the facility itself is going to rise

It's probably the best angle from a building (and computer network) that they control. Although they'll have to move the camera when that building comes down.

<A href="http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2011/01/designs_for_cleveland_medical.html"> Designs for Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center by LMN Architects are still evolving and still need work </A>

 

Downtown Cleveland doesn't have a suburban big box store. But evolving designs for the city's new medical mart and convention center show that Seattle-based LMN Architects are dealing with how to introduce something similar in the historic context of the city's neoclassical Group Plan District.

 

It's a tough job, and architects from LMN, who are scheduled to share the latest iteration of its plans this morning and tomorrow, respectively, with the city's Design Review Committee and City Planning Commission, haven't yet reached a completely convincing conclusion. The medical mart, in renderings at least, still has a blocky, clunky quality.

 

It is clear that the architects are working hard to ensure a smooth functional relationship between the medical mart – an above-ground, year-round showroom for advance medical devices - and the underground convention center to be built below the surface of the downtown Mall, just east of the mart.

 

It worked when I clicked it :(

 

 

Ctown,

 

Thew link doesn't work??

For now...

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2011/01/designs_for_cleveland_medical.html

That design needs to evolve a great deal.  More windows and less blank expanses of concrete is a good start.  We don't need windows that look like DNA, any more than we need DNA that looks like windows.  We just need an attractive and functional structure.  The architects need to quit being cutesy and focus on that.  Classical design elements probably wouldn't hurt. 

Does anyone else see the similarity, or is it just me?  The article's mention of the lack of a big box store in downtown made me think of the crate & barrel store design.

^ Heh. 

 

I mean, are tenants suppsed to draw straws to see who gets natural light and who doesn't?  Form should follow function, instead of being some sort of joke.

its a balancing act: how it functions inside, how it looks outside, and the budget to do it

 

I have faith that they will get it right

I am guessing that there are rooms that require glazing and rooms that do not. However it does seem underglassed. Excellent post Sizzlinbeef.. that is hilarious! I have never been personally excited about the medical mart design. While its most important job is to be of quality construction, some nice sculpture pieces could add something great to it. Though I am hoping the design gets sexier, don't be too surprised if its relatively square.. its interior spaces and wayfinding/signage should be world-class. Thats where the money is going in this project, and if I had to choose, thats where I would put the most money for this project.

 

But dont worry.. I also have faith it will look respectable.

I think it's the same guy who thought up these windows:

 

 

it worked on THAT design' date=' lets try turning the whole thing [i']sideways[/i] ... Brilliant!

Everything on the mall is square so there's nothing inherently wrong with that.  But there are other commonalities among the mall buildings, and that context should at least be a consideration here.  I'm OK with something "modern" as long as it looks decent (a site-specific issue) and makes sense.

A handful of shots from Saturday afternoon ...

 

 

^I'm impressed with the speed of the parking garage demolition; just curious how long it will take for the Sportsman and 113 St. Clair building.

^I'm impressed with the speed of the parking garage demolition; just curious how long it will take for the Sportsman and 113 St. Clair building.

 

I saw a demolition worker sneeze, which was sufficient to bring down the parking garage. And that was one demolition in Cleveland that no one lamented.

^I'm impressed with the speed of the parking garage demolition; just curious how long it will take for the Sportsman and 113 St. Clair building.

 

I saw a demolition worker sneeze, which was sufficient to bring down the parking garage. And that was one demolition in Cleveland that no one lamented.

I am so confused with this project, but I am assuming the Willard Park Garage was demoed. correct?  If so, are they building a new parking deck?

this garage  http://tinyurl.com/4rz8dmk

 

 

They are considering tearing down the entire garages, Willard and the one at W. 3rd, and they are also looking into removing just the top floor, which blocks views from the northern end of Mall C.

 

 

Willard has not been demo'd.  Just the "Justice Center Parking" (self titled) garage at the intersection of St. Clair and Ontario. 

 

It has been suggested to demo Willard (by some firm...cannot recall which) as part of the possible re-greening of all downtown but right now this is just pie in the sky.

I would be shocked if either Willard or Huntington are demoed.  Both are cash cows.  Plus, you take either of thos down and the WHD surface lots become that much more valuable.  They are both built into a hillside and put behind buildings you are going to build nothing up against.... and built between those buildings and the shoreway.  We need more garages like those two, not less.

I would be shocked if either Willard or Huntington are demoed. Both are cash cows. Plus, you take either of thos down and the WHD surface lots become that much more valuable. They are both built into a hillside and put behind buildings you are going to build nothing up against.... and built between those buildings and the shoreway. We need more garages like those two, not less.

 

Agreed.