"I have never seen a college that has virtually no night life going on in the neighborhood surrounding."

 

Have you ever MET some Case undergrads?

 

<back on topic>

The CWRU nightlife is and has been happening a mile east, at Coventry. Uptown will obviously be the place to be once all is said and done.

I remember Peter Lewis gave a talk a few years ago and chastised Case - well, actually the whole community - for not properly developing the area.  If this plan comes together (isn't there going to be an official announcement today?), then maybe he'll give some $$$ to the area like many thought he would.

The tenant mix will be very interesting. Will they target college kids, grad students, medical residents, researchers, mature folk going to see arts-related activities?? I've heard something vague as if they are really going for a mix.

The tenant mix will be very interesting. Will they target college kids, grad students, medical residents, researchers, mature folk going to see arts-related activities?? I've heard something vague as if they are really going for a mix.

 

to me this is the best and most interesting part of the project.

The tenant mix will be very interesting. Will they target college kids, grad students, medical residents, researchers, mature folk going to see arts-related activities?? I've heard something vague as if they are really going for a mix.

 

I am also interested, I'm thinking of the following demographics in the immediate area

 

1) tons of College Kids

2) Tons of workers, with an nod to the heavy emphasis upon medical

3) The more mature cultural orchestra/arts crowd.

 

I guess what I'm saying is there's a lot of different groups that touch UC on a daily/weekly basis.

my goodness.... it'll be (gasp)... almost... city like, when this thing comes together.

The comparison lots of people like to make is Harvard Square: students of all levels, cultural institutions, lots of office workers, lots and lots of restaurant/retail, public transit hub, etc.  Harvard Square doesn't have the hospitals though (for worse or...for better?). 

I think that the entertainment stuff will be more centered around the alley and the everyday retail will go on Euclid.

 

UCI is also working on a parking garage along the rapid tracks and a possible grocery store on Mayfield adjacent to the redline.

 

There are also some other smaller things brewing in the area..

it's official... i'm now enamored with the pedestrian alley.  i keep staring at the graphic and i keep envisioning the possibilities... i think my head is going to explode.

Woke up this morning all happy about this project.  I think it excites me more than any other single mega project (FEB, Pesht) on the boards right now.

I missed this thread yesterday. Excellent news!

I remember hearing about this project a while back and I kind of forgot about it. I am super glad that it is progressing!

 

Now lets see some concentration on the Western Side of East 105. Hough, Wade Park, Ansel should all be glorious gateways into the circle.

 

I agree.

Well, there is Uptown, and UCI wants to develop the land where the old National City Branch was located.

 

When I moved to Cleveland from Puerto Rico in 1990 to go to Case I lived in some of those nasty dorms in the North side of campus (the dorm was Taft).  I could not believe how impossible it was for us to have fun outside in the University Circle area.  University Circle just did not offer anything of value to us (asides from 10 cent wing nights at The Euc).

 

I was and still am surprised as to why it has taken 18 years to get a project like this off the ground.  However, now that it seems to be up and running, I get so...well, makes me wish I was 18 again.

Strong design of Uptown project bodes well for Cleveland's future

 

Steven Litt

Sunday, July 27, 2008

 

The public is invited to a community briefing and feedback session on the Uptown development from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 East Blvd.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/steven_litt/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1217061257229130.xml&coll=2

 

"For Cleveland, a city coping with crime, poverty, a shrinking population and a mortgage meltdown in many neighborhoods, the new designs offer a solid indication that the future might be very different."

 

That's right folks, he hasn't done his job until he's brought up bludgeoned that fact into us for the 5,396,558th time!!!  :roll:

No wonder those words roll off the average Clevelanders' tongue without questioning if they are even accurate.

Well of course Nathan Zaremba could just as easily rattle off Poggenpohl, B&B Italia, and Cassina but here's the reaction he'd get from 90% (or more) of Clevelanders:

 

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

 

Yeah, only a few people in all of Cleveland are educated and well read enough to know anything about design outside of Value City and IKEA. Additionally, it certainly is difficult to Google these things and learn about them in a matter of minutes.

^Hey ain't notin wrong with Value City Furniture!

^Hey ain't notin wrong with Value City Furniture!

 

Yes, there is. :(

I second that!

"Saitowitz's five-story apartment building, to be located across the street, on the south side of Euclid Avenue, is conceived as a sleek, elegant object with smooth facades of pre-cast concrete. It too will have irregular window patterns marking the variety of the apartments within. And it will have large rectangular areas hollowed out to create indoor-outdoor areas for recreation and lounging."

 

Ughhh, this sounds even worse than it looks in the renderings so far.  Funny, when the architects were announced, I was excited to see what Saitowitz would come up with after looking at their portfolio, and unhappy with what I saw from Office dA's.  I feel the opposite about what we're getting here.

 

 

I remember Peter Lewis gave a talk a few years ago and chastised Case - well, actually the whole community - for not properly developing the area.  If this plan comes together (isn't there going to be an official announcement today?), then maybe he'll give some $$$ to the area like many thought he would.

 

Bottom line is, he built a headquarters in 5 different spots all along I-271 which did absolutely nothing for Cleveland. And as for his amazing collection of artwork on display, it's too bad it's in a hardly unique office building in a hardly unique area that is very hard to find. If he truly cared for Cleveland, he'd do something more than criticize. The default line for most of us Urban Ohioer's: If only I was a billionaire..

^I agree.  Progressive's huge "campus" would look awfully nice in a tower downtown.  We've all heard about Pete's split w/ Mike White, but that's not an excuse enough... If Peter B. wanted Prog downtown, ... I guess,  in additoning to lecturing/puting down then given a sh!tload to alma mater Princeton, Peter's "giving back" is buying the Indians' naming rights to the former Jake ... which conveniently promotes his Mayfield mega corp (btw, notice how Progressive's adds tout its 'home' Mayfield and say nothing about Cleveland/Greater Cleveland?)

 

... anyway enough about him.  The Marons and Zaremba, though much little-ler guys that Peter, are rolling the dice on projects that ARE helping the city build its density, livability, and attractiveness.  And perhaps MOST importantly, Uptown represents developers partnering on a great project and not bickering, which, unfortunately, is more the norm in this town... So let's promote these guys, and others like them, like Price, Corna, Wolstein, Stark (we hope) and others... and to hell w/ a uber-rich, do-nothing/drag-on-the-town whiners like PBL.

"and to hell w/ a uber-rich, do-nothing whiners like PBL."

 

I disagree - that attitude is precisely how Rockefeller got chased out of town - and Cleveland is hardly a better city for that. And I'm not sure what part of "the decision to not build a HQ tower in downtown Cleveland was a business decision by Progressive's Board of Directors when Al Lerner was chairman." you people refuse to believe. That said, Peter B. Lewis' contributions to Greater Cleveland:

 

$24 million to the Weatherhead School of Management of Case Western Reserve University for the new Lewis Campus, to be designed by Frank Gehry.

 

$3 million to Oberlin College for the design and construction of "an environmentally perfect building" for the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies (Lewis family gift).

 

$1 million contribution to the Hopewell Inn, a non-profit institution in Cleveland, Ohio, that helps return mentally challenged people to independent living.

 

$100,000 to the Cleveland Institute of Art for acquisition of a Philip Johnson sculpture.

 

$750,000 matching challenge grant to WCPN, Cleveland Public Radio, to implement a new strategic plan and improve local news programming.

 

$1 million to the Cleveland State University basketball program.

 

Major support of the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art for many years.

..................

 

Not that this thread should go further off-topic, but I'm going to guess that none of us have made those kinds of contributions to ANY Cleveland institution.

"you people"... er, thanks Ross... but your point being?

 

^Believe me, if I had the cash, I would.  None of us here does, so your comment’s a non sequitir .. My point remains the same... While, of course, there are a number of things PBL has done, compared to what he could do, w/ all his $ billions (as in one of the richest people in America), what he has done, comparatively, is piddling; and whether or not the late Al Lerner and the board did, PBL has the power to undo.  You cannot convince me w/ his power, prestige, gravitas, what-have you, that he’s powerless to do so  ... And perhaps I'd be less vocal if it wasn't for the nasty lecturing he gave leaders (UCI, CWRU’s long-gone president Hundert, and others) a couple years ago – much of it true, but then, there’s an adage that goes: ‘Put your $ where you mouth is…”  And yet, these smaller developers are doing more concrete things in the city promoting the type of development/partnership PBL has constantly hectored Clevelanders about (in not doing). 

 

Mayday, thanks again for being a voice of reason

I agree with Clevlndr. Even though PBL has donated money for many things, he has actually done 2 things which hurt Cleveland instead of helping the city:

 

1. Progressive's headquarters is located on the edge of the county along I-271 in a wealthy little village. It's this kind of backwards thinking that hurts our great city. If the region's biggest employer and the ever-so-amazing-PBL are going to build a headquarters in the suburbs, then it makes it seem like an ethical/good idea/smart thing to do, to leave Cleveland and re-locate to suburbs, cuz if PBL did it, then damn, it must be the way to go.

 

2. The way PBL has dissed University Circle is like bad publicity for our shining cultural center. Instead of saying, "I'm a super billionaire, and I will take the lead and show you how it's done!" he instead said, "You guys suck, I'm not helping!" Again - backwards thinking. He has a great collection of art that is apparently world renowned and it's hiding in Mayfield Village off of Alpha Beta drive inside of one of the 50 glass buildings he built. Even I, the local art enthusiast has yet to see or find these works, and at that rate, what does that say about the region? If a local art enthusiast can't see or find 'em, who can? Too bad they're hidden away, because it'd be another nice draw to the area, even if it's gotta be in Mayfield Village. What effect would UC have had if these works were more accessible in say, a real culturally rich area (e.g. University Circle). And no, I wouldn't compare PBL to Rockefeller - after all, PBL will probably want to be buried in a cemetery in Willoughby Hills because Lakeview Cemtery is hardly unique.

the art collection exists to keep his ex-wife busy....but then again, this has so much to do with UARD....

FYI from the Case Daily:

 

Campus News

A community briefing about Uptown will take place from 7-9 p.m., August 26 at the Cleveland Botanical Garden,  11030 East Blvd. The Uptown district is a $200 million investment by Case Western Reserve University, MRN/Zaremba development partnership, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, The Cleveland Institute of Art and University Circle Inc. at the intersections of Euclid and Mayfield avenues and Ford Road.

 

Register online to attend the briefing. (http://www.uptowncleveland.com/contact/community-briefing.php)

 

Also, I don't know if this has been posted yet, but UPTOWN now has a website--not too shabby!

 

http://www.uptowncleveland.com/retail-opportunities/

Sweeeeeeeet.  Those ugly commuter lots are finally kicking the bucket!!!!!!

Anyone coming to the public meeting tonight? 

http://www.uptowncleveland.com/contact/community-briefing.php

 

I may go.

I'll be there.

I can't go now...please fill us in!

So...what's the report.  Who went??

 

EDIT: Sorry, I'm a little premature.  I noticed the event let out about  15 minutes ago...

Actually the public meeting let out shortly after 8pm, even though it was originally scheduled for two hours.  Lara Kalafatis, VP of University Relations mentioned something about how everyone wanted to go listen to Hilary's speech...

 

Anyway, good meeting - at least three UO'ers there, and one who spoke! (Very coherently, by the way)  The presentation was run by Ari Maron who talked a bit about the various iterations of the project & how it has worked through the public process.  I liked how they presented this - showing the original plans, talking about the community concerns (basically it was too big in a number of ways) and how they came to the final plans today.

 

Nothing that we didn't know, really - just more details.  There will be four 6-7 story buildings on the Beach.  For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it's the giant surface/gravel lot on the northern end of Euclid between Ford & East 115th.  Behind it will be a surface parking lot.  Two confirmedish tenants are the Barnes & Nobles and a drugstore - both towards the East 115 end.  Those condos will be the more expensive, running from 250K to 1M. 

 

Nothing new about MOCA, other than that they're still working on it and a plaza/public space behind the building that will be in front of a new office building.  The Triangle apartment towers are staying as is, but being updated & with increased 'retail skirts' as Maron phrased it.  The south side of Euclid is going to be what they call the 'J' building - it's the silver one from the renderings and full of 700 sq. ft apartments & condos, which I think are going to be very neat.  Behind that building & in between the Triangle skirts is going to be an urban alley ala East 4th - pedestrian only, public space, bars, restaurants, retail.  The first floor of the J building will be those uses with entrances both out on Euclid & on the alley - and completely see through.

 

No real discussion of the RTA moving, future phases, the office building.  The public feedback was what you'd expect - with the exception of UO representing, it was concerns about affordability, parking, hostile takeovers of the neighborhood, and one gentleman who just could understand why someone would want to buy these at the prices & without knowing what is going to be around you.  Well handled by the speakers - I was impressed by both the Marons.

 

Overall, great stuff - I'm stoked and excited.  Impressed by what they are trying to do.  It's certainly unlike anything we have in Cleveland, and to be honest it feels very European - with a little more work I think it has the possibility to be transformative.  I think the key is making it warm, unique, and avoiding that new, corporate smell. 

 

 

The best news to me was that the alley along the back of the "J" Building is going to be somewhat reworked, and should end up looking a little more enlivened and less sterile.

http://uptowncleveland.blogspot.com/

 

they're about to get a lot more traffic on that site!

Hey, what is the timeline for the residential aspect?  I did a little searching on this thread, and the website, but could not find it.

Actually the public meeting let out shortly after 8pm, even though it was originally scheduled for two hours.  Lara Kalafatis, VP of University Relations mentioned something about how everyone wanted to go listen to Hilary's speech...

 

Anyway, good meeting - at least three UO'ers there, and one who spoke! (Very coherently, by the way)  The presentation was run by Ari Maron who talked a bit about the various iterations of the project & how it has worked through the public process.  I liked how they presented this - showing the original plans, talking about the community concerns (basically it was too big in a number of ways) and how they came to the final plans today.

 

Nothing that we didn't know, really - just more details.  There will be four 6-7 story buildings on the Beach.  For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it's the giant surface/gravel lot on the northern end of Euclid between Ford & East 115th.  Behind it will be a surface parking lot.  Two confirmedish tenants are the Barnes & Nobles and a drugstore - both towards the East 115 end.  Those condos will be the more expensive, running from 250K to 1M. 

 

Nothing new about MOCA, other than that they're still working on it and a plaza/public space behind the building that will be in front of a new office building.  The Triangle apartment towers are staying as is, but being updated & with increased 'retail skirts' as Maron phrased it.  The south side of Euclid is going to be what they call the 'J' building - it's the silver one from the renderings and full of 700 sq. ft apartments & condos, which I think are going to be very neat.  Behind that building & in between the Triangle skirts is going to be an urban alley ala East 4th - pedestrian only, public space, bars, restaurants, retail.  The first floor of the J building will be those uses with entrances both out on Euclid & on the alley - and completely see through.

 

No real discussion of the RTA moving, future phases, the office building.  The public feedback was what you'd expect - with the exception of UO representing, it was concerns about affordability, parking, hostile takeovers of the neighborhood, and one gentleman who just could understand why someone would want to buy these at the prices & without knowing what is going to be around you.  Well handled by the speakers - I was impressed by both the Marons.

 

Overall, great stuff - I'm stoked and excited.  Impressed by what they are trying to do.  It's certainly unlike anything we have in Cleveland, and to be honest it feels very European - with a little more work I think it has the possibility to be transformative.  I think the key is making it warm, unique, and avoiding that new, corporate smell. 

 

Very good analysis, I think this will be transormative... Any talk about how the existing structures are Univ. East and, especially, the old Commodore hotel will mesh with the Beach and Triangle props?  And what is planned for unit-types in the Commodore?

Very good analysis, I think this will be transormative... Any talk about how the existing structures are Univ. East and, especially, the old Commodore hotel will mesh with the Beach and Triangle props?  And what is planned for unit-types in the Commodore?

 

No, there wasn't much talk about that, the focus of the meeting was mostly about the newer build - they really tried to stay on topic & get out quickly so that everyone could get home to watch/listen to Hilary.

^Okay, I'm really glad their moving forward with grand plans the area deserves... It's just that the Commodore, given it's huge size and ample street-level retail  space, is definitely a player and, right now, if I'm not mistaken, it's a seniors building.  I'm sure we'll hear more about this as building begins and plans progress.

^UCI has been working on a plan to renovate the building for a few years now. I don't know what the hold up is. They are not envisioning turning the place into luxury condos or anything like that like. They envision it as a place where grad students could live. Currently, it is not just a senior complex.

I received this email today:

----------------------------------------------------

Dear Michael,

 

Pre-sales of our exciting Uptown condominiums are well under way and our sales center is now open every day from 12-5 or any time by appointment.  Please come out and see us or call to set up an appointment for a one-on-one briefing.

 

We have 13 exciting floor plans to choose from that range from 950 - 2155 square feet and 1-3 bedroom options.  By choosing to commit and purchase your condo early during our pre-construction sales, you will be afforded the best choice of floor plan and floor level orientation.  Choose city or campus views!  In many instances, only one floor plan will be offered per building as the first two buildings get under way, so it will be very important to view your early choices and options.

 

Come join us Uptown, Cleveland's newest and most exciting pedestrian friendly neighborhood, nestled among one of the nation's most cultural, educational and world-class medical institutions regions.  Add to all of this an exciting array of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues to look forward to and you'll be glad you're calling Uptown home.  Besides all of the above mentioned amenities in your new neighborhood, you will be afforded some of the most incredible financial incentives ever:

 

1.  15-year property tax abatement

2.  Using one of our key lenders, enjoy 1.5% below market  rate lending rates on a fixed-rate mortgage

3.  If you work for one of the major institutions or non-profit organizations in the Greater Circle area, you will realize an additional $5,000-$15,000 in savings.

4. The first 12 committed buyers will receive an early bird 5% discount

 

Hurry and contact us for more details and to see just how attractive and affordable living Uptown is!

 

Sincerely,

 

Lisa Saffle

Sales Manager

Uptown in University Circle

11490 Euclid Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44106

 

216.791.2100 phone

216.791.2101 fax

330.958.6838 cell

 

[email protected]

www.uptowncleveland.com

www.zarembahomes.com

You looking to buy one?