I don't really think we are even at the surface stage yet.... so I think we should wait and see...

I hope they choose a good design for the new mall. So much potential.

 

 

^great pics! Thanks for sharing

 

 

Wow! Awesome view. Where were they taken from?

As for mall landscaping... read about this place in downtown STL awhile back... and sounded like the kind of thing that would make the mall a hit from day one... Sculptures, fountains, walkways, grassy areas, ponds, little pockets of pleasantry here and there...

 

http://www.citygardenstl.org/

 

YESSSSS...this is what I have been preaching.  We have so many gems already...that kind of styling would help pull downtown together!!!

 

Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center Adds Senior Staff and Establishes Industry Advisory Board

Bennett, Milner assume Senior Vice President and Operations Director roles

 

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cleveland-medical-mart-convention-center-adds-senior-staff-and-establishes-industry-advisory-board-2012-04-19

As for mall landscaping... read about this place in downtown STL awhile back... and sounded like the kind of thing that would make the mall a hit from day one... Sculptures, fountains, walkways, grassy areas, ponds, little pockets of pleasantry here and there...

 

http://www.citygardenstl.org/

 

 

Now THAT place is outstanding! It's exactly the kind of space we're missing here in CLE. Inviting. Inventive. Functional.

 

Thanks for posting.

Agreed, with enough interest to make the mall an attraction.  They should be using that as a model for something to be striving for, and something I would think corporations and foundations would want to fund. 

 

Although its making me kindof nervous that we are not hearing anything from the mall committee.  I hate to see them do the bare minimum (which is all they are required), and then see this dragged out forever...

Seeing Hts. pics I'm thinking it would be really nice if the road surface of Lakeside and St. Clair Avenues could take on the characteristics of the park.

 

This would aesthetically connect connect the three sections and better avoid a disjointed Public Square 2.0 effect. 

Isn't it about time for Steven Litt over at the PD to start wondering aloud (via his column) about what the mall could/should be? That STL project kind of sets the bar - and a proactive PD shaming of the city might get something moving.

Isn't it about time for Steven Litt over at the PD to start wondering aloud (via his column) about what the mall could/should be? That STL project kind of sets the bar - and a proactive PD shaming of the city might get something moving.

 

Can someone email him with the STL plans, saying something about ......  and if he knows where things stand here, whether or not we should even have any expectations for the mall etc..  I can do it sometime later.

^yeah that should work.

From what I have read, there were hoping the corporate communty would contribute the bulk of the money for the ammenties, and it hasn't happened.

The construction budget will allow them to set the mall for future improvements, but I don't have a lot of hope for much more than what was there before, just a little bigger, with a hill.

As for mall landscaping... read about this place in downtown STL awhile back... and sounded like the kind of thing that would make the mall a hit from day one... Sculptures, fountains, walkways, grassy areas, ponds, little pockets of pleasantry here and there...

 

http://www.citygardenstl.org/

 

I finally got a chance to check out the link to the St. Louis citygarden.  Very nice.

 

I would think that at least a couple of similar items could/should be incorporated into the MM/CC mall area.  I especially like the stone wall with the TV in it and some of the large artwork that's in place.  Maybe the Cavs/Browns/Indians could fund a similar TV here, that would draw people into the mall throughout the year to watch the games.

 

 

^That is what I recall as well.  There really is no money for the Mall landscaping to do it right, which sucks.  Maybe in phases as private/corporate donations become available.  Hopefully it doesn't become one large billboard.  The Key Bank volleyball courts.  This garbage can sponsored by Medical Mutual......

 

Millenium Park had all of corporate and family contributions for the amenities there.  Chase plaza, Crowne (family) fountain, Pritzker (family) theater, Wrigley Peristyle.

 

I have faith in Land Stdios, and the Metroparks to be able to do something great there with little $$$

Watch people complain that a citygarden CLE would block the view to the lake...

But it will already be blocked now with the roof thing. 

 

I cant believe that corps. like Forest City and Especially Progressive and Eaton wouldnt contribute large chunks to parts of this.  Especially Eaton since they and CEO Sandy Cutler are generally very philanthropic and need to save face with the city of Cleveland and the region.  Progressive more because they lack the presence downtown and tend to be very generous and encouraging of art and creativity etc.     

I wonder how much is limited by the engineering of the roof.  I assume the StL example and others don't have a cavernous, hollow space underneath them.  Point being..... at what point does weight become a factor?  I assume it was engineered to hold large crowds gathering on the mall, but how does that change when you start added fountains and things of that nature?

I wonder how much is limited by the engineering of the roof.  I assume the StL example and others don't have a cavernous, hollow space underneath them.  Point being..... at what point does weight become a factor?  I assume it was engineered to hold large crowds gathering on the mall, but how does that change when you start added fountains and things of that nature?

I've been waiting for someone to bring that up!

I thought they engineered the roof of the CC to hold full crowds of people on top in the event there are concerts, presidential speeches, or other things that would draw enormous crowds.

When I'm sober, I'll google the articles, but the construction budget includes a roof capable of holding a mall full of people

Ya but a mall full of people isn't the same as hydraulic infrastructure necessary to have fountains throughout... I think the only place a fountain can go is Mall C and they're already planning a water feature there. 

I find it amazing that the Med Mart/CC is using 11,800 pounds of steel which is the exact amount Key Tower used and that is 57 stories

I find it amazing that the Medical Mart cost $465 million and the US Bank building in LA only cost $350 million.... and that is 73 stories  :-o

I find it amazing that the Medical Mart cost $465 million and the US Bank building in LA only cost $350 million.... and that is 73 stories  :-o

 

The US Bank Building was completed 23 years ago.

I find it amazing that the Medical Mart cost $465 million and the US Bank building in LA only cost $350 million.... and that is 73 stories  :-o

 

 

True, US Bank Tower is 73 stories (1,013 feet) tall, but only two levels are below ground, and the full size of it is only 1.3 million square feet. It's a pretty narrow building. Moving soil is expensive, as is ripping out stuff underground in a 200-year-old city. And the size of the medical mart/convention center is 1.3 million square feet, the same area as US Bank Tower, but most of it is underground.

 

By comparison, Key Tower in Cleveland is 58 stories (980 feet) tall but has 1.5 million square feet. It was able to occupy a larger footprint because of lower real estate prices in Cleveland. And according to the following article by this crank....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sunpostherald/index.ssf/2012/04/merchandise_mart_pr_director_l.html

 

....the convention center/medical mart used the same amount of steel (11,800 tons) as Key Tower did when it was built. Considering how much more expensive steel is today vs. the late 1980s when US Bank was built (about $300 per ton in the late 80s vs about $1,500-$2,000 in 2010 for finished steel), and that more steel apparently is being used in the MM/CC than in the US Bank Tower, and that most of the MM/CC is being built below ground, I'd say $465 million is a reasonable price.

 

EDIT: and welcome, ExPatClevGuy!

Ya but a mall full of people isn't the same as hydraulic infrastructure necessary to have fountains throughout... I think the only place a fountain can go is Mall C and they're already planning a water feature there. 

 

Nor is the same as a mall full of people PLUS the necessary infrastructure for fountains, etc.  I'm sure they went through a rigorous engineering process to ensure adequate safety measures were taken, but there still has to be a theoretical cap and it probably has to be well over and above any reasonably anticipated load

^I never said I didn't find it reasonable... just said I find it amazing  :-D

 

I also find it amazing that we're able to put an entire building underneath the second largest and most developed malls in the US

^I never said I didn't find it reasonable... just said I find it amazing  :-D

 

I also find it amazing that we're able to put an entire building underneath the second largest and most developed malls in the US

 

Sorry -- my first reaction was to consider your post as a "taxpayer's critique" of the convention center.

Does anyone know what the status is with the exterior facade restore of The Public Auditorium?  It appears the work has finished but there seems to be a lot of missing stone repair. 

I do believe the vultures are circling...

 

 

Is the proposed medical mart complex on Lower Broadway about to be replaced by rock ’n’ roll?

 

Alternatives appear to be emerging for other possible uses for the longtime Nashville Convention Center site downtown, if plans for a medical trade center fizzle there.

 

One buzz in Nashville real estate circles centers around concert promoter Live Nation shopping the concept of using part of the space for a music and restaurant venue under its “House of Blues” brand.

 

The adjacent Renaissance Nashville Hotel also could be interested in taking over some of the space that would go vacant inside the aging Nashville Convention Center once the spacious Music City Center project opens south of Broadway next year.

 

 

 

more at...

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120425/COLUMNIST03/304250097/Getahn-Ward-House-Blues-medical-mart-fizzles-

We now have GLASS (!) on the North side of the Medical Mart. Saw it on my run today at lunch, so sorry, no pics. It was hard to tell if it was more gray or blue because it was so overcast and drizzling. Looked grayish or brownish to me, but that may have been because of the weather. Looked ok. Hoping for more of a bluish cast under better conditions.

Excellent pictures Hts121! FWIW, on good information - north of Lakeside, that white colored material is "low density fill" as in, literally expanded polystyrene (styrofoam)!  It is literally used to take up space and fill that void without excessive weight. 

 

 

Has anyone noticed the webcam images of the medical mart's official website the roof has a big question mark.  Does anyone know what this is for?

 

New interior renderings of the Med Mart/CC are up...

MMPI releases Cleveland medical mart interior renderings, upholds promise of 'first-class' facility

 

"From my perspective, from functionality, it will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with every convention center in the country," said David O'Neal, chairman and co-founder of Conventional Wisdom, the consulting company that helped draft specifications for the project and has helped plan more than 80 convention centers nationwide.

Quality is the most important marker of a convention center, experts say.

 

"You want it to look good, be attractive, be the kind of place people are going to get stop to get their picture taken," said Chris Gribbs, an American Institute of Architects managing director who plans the association's annual conventions. "Then behind the seams, it's ... got to be super strong."

 

To the county and Chicago-based MMPI, strong means solid surface countertops in the bathrooms, so there are no edges for dirt to collect in; fiber cement panels for the walls of meeting concourses, where guests might lean, and what designers describe as the highest-quality carpet. MMPI has spent nearly $300,000 upgrading interior finishes from the base materials agreed on in earlier plans.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2012/04/mmpi_releases_medical_mart_interior_renderings_upholds_promise_of_first-class_facility.html

I appreciate the quality of the exterior of this building, especially the cladding pattern. I wonder what this will look like in winter.

 

However, when they made the renderings for the large ballroom spaces facing out onto Lake Erie, why oh why did they put in such boring chairs? They really make it seem like "landerhaven" or something. So does the gaudy carpet. Everything else I am ok with.

Not sure if this video has been posted yet - it came out a month ago - it shows more of the plans for the inside

^^ They're cushioned stackable chairs and high traffic carpet.  Anything else would be dishonest in the context of a convention center or meeting complex.

Cleveland medical mart guide: How it began and how it has progressed

Published: Sunday, April 29, 2012, 6:00 AM    Updated: Sunday, April 29, 2012, 7:07 AM

Plain Dealer staff By Plain Dealer staff

 

 

The Chicago company building a medical mart and convention center downtown has hired a Clevelander to take over the project at the urging of concerned medical and government leaders.

 

Jim Bennett, a business consultant who helped develop an online health care company, started Monday as an MMPI senior vice president and the third boss of the $465 million project since 2008.

 

"When you're creating an institution that's the first of its kind in the country, that poses special challenges," said county Executive Ed FitzGerald. "It may mean that there's some course corrections. Hopefully this will be the last one."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_medical_mart_guide_h.html

I know how my UOers like pictures, and since I have a unique vantage point that the floor where my office is located is very close to the windows that look out over the project, I thought you might like to see some pix from above so you can see overall progress. I apologize for them not being great pictures. I am not a super photographer and I only have my phone to take pix. But it's easy enough for me to walk into the conference room at the end of the hall and get this view for these pix, so I will try to take some more as it goes along.

 

The first pic is the building across from the Justice Center. The 2nd pic is the big area just next to the old convention center building. The 3rd pic is what they used to call Mall C.

 

 

 

Good job. 

Thanks R&R!  Wow, so they are already piling dirt on top of the roof of the ballroom... amazing.  I wonder if they will start landscaping it this summer.

Thanks R&R!  Wow, so they are already piling dirt on top of the roof of the ballroom... amazing.  I wonder if they will start landscaping it this summer.

 

are you talking about mall c?  That looks like tarp to me. (squints)

You guys should be flattered. I never take/post any pictures online except food.

are you talking about mall c?  That looks like tarp to me. (squints)

 

Yeah, Mall C, overlookiing the lake.  Unless tarp is poured out the back of dump trucks (see far left of photo), I'm voting dirt.

Several posts have mentioned a concern about the ability of the roof holding certain structures on the final "park roof" such as fountains, sculptures, etc.  If the roof of mall c can handle a dump truck filled with dirt on 4 wheels, then I would guess it could hold most anything the final mall design requires.

 

You guys should be flattered. I never take/post any pictures online except food.

 

I am. Thanks for the pictures!