^^^ The parking garage appears to be entered and exited from the north side, so it wouldn't show up in that shot.  There may be auto entrance near the Northwest corner for the Hotel too, which would be obscured by the tree in that drawing.  Hopefully all the truck deliveries will be on the north side and away from the pedestrian areas. 

 

So will the movie theater still be built down in the flats? If so what does that mean for Tower City's theater will it stay open?

 

That got "value-engineered" out of the plan. It's going to be tough enough for the developer to get financing for the apartments, let alone any supportive retail, theaters, etc.

Apartments and Retail are supposed to be apart of the next phase correct? So basically we will have to wait on the construction like phase 1?

^ ^ Hope you're right about truck deliveries!

 

This pic seems to show at least decent interaction with the sidewalk....but I am reserving the right to complain later!

 

shaping up quite nicely I must say D:, can't really wait for this project to be done, I'm impatient lol. Looks like there's plenty of green space, hopefully everything will be maintained.

^ Accroding to this shot, the hotel appears to just peak over the bridge.  Looks like it's visible, but just. 

 

The hotel appears to go up to level 5 in the office:

 

 

That's a pretty cool perspective of how this project will look compared to the rest of downtown.  Only complaint, the hole in the middle of downtown.  But that is for a different thread....

So will the movie theater still be built down in the flats? If so what does that mean for Tower City's theater will it stay open?

 

That got "value-engineered" out of the plan. It's going to be tough enough for the developer to get financing for the apartments, let alone any supportive retail, theaters, etc.

Apartments and Retail are supposed to be apart of the next phase correct? So basically we will have to wait on the construction like phase 1?

 

I thought Wolstein was quoted, in the fall 2011 article, as saing that he was shooting for 600 apartments, but that he would start slow with, IIRC, about 175.  Are we hearing, that the apts are now on hold?  Also, I thought that 1 or 2 major restaurants are part of Phase 1.  Is that true?  How much, exactly, has been committed to at this moment?

The Aloft website shows the FEB hotel scheduled to open April 2013. I've stayed 4-5 times at an Aloft in the last year (including this past week) and LOVE them. A great mix of upscale, hip vibe with easier on expense account pricing.

There have been a lot of changes to Phase I & Phase II and to the overall project since they started working on the FEB years ago.  I couldnt find an exact breakdown of what's currently in Phase I and Phase II.  But the FEB website does give a list of things on it's homepage that seem to all be included in Phase I:

 

•Casual and fine dining

•Clubs and entertainment venues

•Boutique hotel

•Full-service health club

•Riverfront boardwalk, 3-acre beach and 10 acres of inviting green space

•Environmentally-conscious design and construction

•Cleveland's newest downtown office tower

•Access, connections to key attractions downtown

 

So I would think (hope) that whenever Phase II is started that it would include the apartment aspect of the project.

 

 

http://www.flatseast.com/

 

So will the movie theater still be built down in the flats? If so what does that mean for Tower City's theater will it stay open?

 

That got "value-engineered" out of the plan. It's going to be tough enough for the developer to get financing for the apartments, let alone any supportive retail, theaters, etc.

Apartments and Retail are supposed to be apart of the next phase correct? So basically we will have to wait on the construction like phase 1?

 

I thought Wolstein was quoted, in the fall 2011 article, as saing that he was shooting for 600 apartments, but that he would start slow with, IIRC, about 175.  Are we hearing, that the apts are now on hold?  Also, I thought that 1 or 2 major restaurants are part of Phase 1.  Is that true?  How much, exactly, has been committed to at this moment?

 

Have there been any indications that they are on hold?  If you look back, not too far, in this thread, you'll find the answer you seek.

Actually, that's not true; the question is based on the fact that it appears that we're getting mixed signals between Wolstein's statements to the media and what appears on Fairmount's website.  We're just trying to get some clarification.

Webcam Update

 

I've been wondering for a week or so as to whether those double-high pieces of steel on the NW side of the building represent the exposed columns from the cutout portion of the building. And I'm pretty convinced of it after staring at the building during my run at lunchtime. See webcam shot and rendering with area highlighted.

 

 

Paul you are one keen-eyed SOB.  I too have stared at that rendering and wondered how the details would come together regarding the "bump-in" as I call it.  Thanks for identifying!

So that elevator core still has 5 or 6 more floors to go? What a pleasant surprise!

 

EDIT: it seems that the bottom of the crane's arm is how tall this building is going to go, once you include all that rooftop architectural stuff.

Thanks, gottaplan! I figure that the bump-in CAN'T be any lower than that, because there is no one-floor cutout in the floor plans up to that point. So, yes, I think this thing will be a bit taller than we're imagining. :-)

Thanks, gottaplan! I figure that the bump-in CAN'T be any lower than that, because there is no one-floor cutout in the floor plans up to that point. So, yes, I think this thing will be a bit taller than we're imagining. :-)

 

I noticed the same thing last page.  Considering that part has been open for a week or two now, I figured that must be the part in the rendering that they were at.

Can some one explain what the bump in is used for? Is that like a mid rise balcony access? (that's what it looks like in the rendering), or is it just more of an architectural detail?

Can some one explain what the bump in is used for? Is that like a mid rise balcony access? (that's what it looks like in the rendering), or is it just more of an architectural detail?

 

I think it's a bit of both.

Here's a FEB webcam update.  Not too much noticeable progress since some of the last pics were posted.

 

 

 

 

http://www.flatseast.com/webcam.htm

 

Here's a thought. With all my focus on watching the cut-in portion of the tower develop, it has occurred to me that I've never seen a rendering of the building's east face. All of the pictures on the Flats website show the western facade. Not that I expect that there would be a cut-in on the opposite side of the building, but I worry that there might not be the same variations in cladding or detailing that you see on the west side.

 

It would be a shame if the design was far blander on the "back" side of the tower, because that's the one that all of downtown will see.

 

 

Here's a thought. With all my focus on watching the cut-in portion of the tower develop, it has occurred to me that I've never seen a rendering of the building's east face. All of the pictures on the Flats website show the western facade. Not that I expect that there would be a cut-in on the opposite side of the building, but I worry that there might not be the same variations in cladding or detailing that you see on the west side.

 

It would be a shame if the design was far blander on the "back" side of the tower, because that's the one that all of downtown will see.

 

 

 

sorry for the cell phone pic http://i.imgur.com/b9YTk.jpg

Cool, thanks roserob!!!

Wow....that's going to be a great addition to Downtown Cleveland...I cannot wait

Woweezy louise lol, from that view the tower looks really massive and impressing, can't wait untill its finished as it will be a great addition to downtown Cleveland :-)

I was able to see a bit of the building's structural steel from the interbelt bridge this morning.  :clap: :clap:  And it's still got a ways to go until topping out.  Cant wait until it reaches it's final height.

 

The building should be a nice addition to the Cleveland skyline.

Thanks, gottaplan! I figure that the bump-in CAN'T be any lower than that, because there is no one-floor cutout in the floor plans up to that point. So, yes, I think this thing will be a bit taller than we're imagining. :-)

 

Looks like about 5 or 6 floors above the top of Key Tower.  :)

Some Pics from today taken from by the courthouse and under the Rt 2 bridge:

It's hard to tell, but it looks like we might be seeing the first bits of the facade installation:

 

From the looks of the construction I would think their ahead of schedule....

Looks like they are going to have to jump the crane soon.  If I recall from an earlier post it is going to be raised to 381 feet.

From the looks of the construction I would think their ahead of schedule....

 

Almost all constructions projects in ohio are ahead of schedule, due to the very mild winter.

Except my garden - but that will change tomorrow.

I was at a conference this week where Ryan Sommers, CPA, Flats East Bank Development Finance Manager spoke.  Among the highlights:

- He said rents will be in the $28/SF range

- Construction costs are $375/SF, which he said is why so much public support was needed "to make the numbers work" for this project

- The boardwalk will open as part of Phase 1

- The building will open in April 2013, including the boardwalk

- Someone asked about transit access and how important it was to this development.  He said the tenants demanded it, but banks/lenders don't put a premium on it so its not very useful "right now" and why government has to push incentives for TOD's to work.  (Note: I'm not saying this as my opinion, it was exactly what he said). 

 

 

^So it does not sound as though beginning the residential portion (as suggested up thread) is going to happen any time soon.

Where does it say that?

Thanks for the heads up!

 

I'm curious, do you have any knowledge of the boardwalk being an actual boardwalk- with boards- or are they using the term generically and it's actually just a paved walkway?

 

I only ask because some of the renderings don't look at all like any boardwalk I've seen.

 

 

- The boardwalk will open as part of Phase 1

- The building will open in April 2013, including the boardwalk

 

^^It doesn't say anything about residential which is the point.  The poster was giving important highlights of the project from an "insider".  I found it interesting that this insider said nothing about residential even though he was describing what things would look like in 2013.  It could be that he was keeping things under wraps (I hope so), but Mr. Sommers did go into a fair amount of detail according to the poster (going as far as to suggest average office rents, costs of construction and issues regarding TODS).  One would have thought residential would have come up in such a discussion.

The facade has definitely started going up. From what I saw, it looks good. Better than in the renderings, but there is still only a little of it up. Sorry no pics :(

^It's hard to get photos of the facade on the western side; the aLoft construction blocks the view. But I snapped a peek of it from the north:

 

 

aLoft in the foreground:

 

- Someone asked about transit access and how important it was to this development.  He said the tenants demanded it, but banks/lenders don't put a premium on it so its not very useful "right now" and why government has to push incentives for TOD's to work.  (Note: I'm not saying this as my opinion, it was exactly what he said). 

 

Interesting. Thanks. I'm surprised banks/lenders aren't putting a premium on it when tenants are. And I thought transit access counts as part of making a project LEED certified? Sounds like lenders are a little behind on this issue.

^If tenants really are putting a premium (i.e., literally paying higher rents) for transit access, then it is making it's way indirectly into at least part of the bank's underwriting.

that peek at the facade is very intriguing. looks good.

By the way, to the 700,000 people traveling this year between Chicago and the East Coast on Amtrak trains through Cleveland, that development looks very impressive at night. The tracks run right past there, and after passengers are surely jarred awake from slamming across the Cuyahoga River drawbridge, they see this beacon of new construction close to the train with the skyline behind. I put myself in their shoes on Saturday morning, returning from Chicago, and that view told me that Cleveland has some big stuff going on. The convention center construction is also right next to the tracks, and passengers get a good long at that while their train is picking up and dropping off about 50-100 passengers for each of the four nightly trains. We may not appreciate it because most Clevelanders aren't willing to use trains that "serve" them between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., but there are thousands of outsiders whose only Cleveland experience is what they see passing by their train windows in the wee hours, and these views of the Flats East Bank and the Convention Center/Medical Mart are conveying a positive message to them.

Well said KJP.

^Like your positive attitude KJP.  I just hope that 95% of the 700,000 are not a sleep given the time the trains pass through Cleveland.

I doubt those on eastbound trains are asleep. Like I said, when those trains hit the drawbridge, if you were asleep you won't be after that sound unless you're a military veteran and can sleep through anything. Or if you are awake, you will look out the window to see what in the hell that loud noise was. That's when you see all the bright lights on that large structure overlooking the tracks. And most people don't sleep on trains. They doze.

^If tenants really are putting a premium (i.e., literally paying higher rents) for transit access, then it is making it's way indirectly into at least part of the bank's underwriting.

 

Banks are looking primarily at two things when underwriting: cash flow and loan to value. They won't consider transit as a direct pro or con. However, as Strap indicated, to the extent that transit can positively impact rents psf, they will consider that. Also, an appraisal on the property may take into consideration the benefit of having transit nearby and positively impact the fair market value of the project upon completion. Higher valuation results in the ability to lend more to the project.

Did anyone listen to the "Sounds of Ideas" on NPR yesterday?  Someone from the FEB was on there, and they did mention that they are working (predevelopment) on Phase II.  I'd like to think that will put that question to rest for at least a week, but if I've learned anything, next time anyone makes a statement about FEB and doesn't mention that yes, indeed, they are working on Phase II, then we'll get people posting on this thread, "so, does this mean they cancelled phase II?"

^ Maybe it was this?

 

http://www.ideastream.org/soi/entry/45850

 

I'd like to think that will put that question to rest for at least a week, but if I've learned anything, next time anyone makes a statement about FEB and doesn't mention that yes, indeed, they are working on Phase II, then we'll get people posting on this thread, "so, does this mean they cancelled phase II?"

 

Agreed.  It's still happening with the casino.  Even on UrbanOhio, some people still have the "glass half empty" Cleveland disease.