^For $25M, I don't think CSU will be building anything too massive on that site.  Which should mean plenty of room for new building and Wolfe.  Unless, of course, it's demo now, plan later.

 

For reference, the new education building, which could easily fit on the Viking Hall site without having to demo Wilfe, had a $29M construction budget and $37M total project budget (in nominal dollars).

[crap - i lost all of my original post - gonna try to remember what i had earlier]

 

CSU has over $190 million of planned development through 2014. This first image shows the extent of this plan -an update to the previous master plan. Most of it we already know about; the basketball pavilion was new to me.

 

 

 

The second image shows a rendering of what the health science building, or Global Sustainability Center, could look like. Notice how the footprint maintains the Euclid "ribbon" (undulating pockets of pedestrian friendly green space) that has always been part of the mater plan.

 

 

 

I just did a parcel search on the group of parcels bordered by Euclid Ave to the north, East 22nd to the east, Prospect Ave to south and East 21st to the west. They are all owned by CSU directly or the State of Ohio. That is, except for the parking lot adjacent to Rascal House (owned by Rascal House Inc) and the Rascal House complex itself (owned by Frangos). I bring this up because previously I stated it was not in the immediate plans of CSU to obtain these parcels - I stand corrected as I now know this to not be the case.

 

 

Is there anything going with the 1836 Euclid Building?  They did receive approval for the State Historic Tax in 2010.  Originally the plan was to renovate for offices for the medical program.  There has been no sign of workers or any news I can remember since.

According to the CSU website, its in the planning phase still

^^^Musky, do you mean you have affirmative knowledge that CSU is trying to acquire the remaining lots on that block (don't forget Peabody's too), or just that the master plan suggests it?  Without independent info, I don't put a whole lot of stock in that (or any) master plan regarding the possible site plan or size of a future building on that site.  And thank the lord we don't have to trust the master plan for the name of that new building.

 

Personally, if they really do plan on redeveloping the entire block (including Rascal House/Peabody's), I would understand more their plan to demo Wolfe- and that rending isn't so bad (much better than that stupid corner lawn shown in the master plan).  But for a $25M project, it would be an enormous waste of money to acquire and use the whole block, so would prefer hey just keep a nice Euclid street wall and preserve Wolfe.  CSU could also develop a separate, smaller on-street building in place of Rascal House and parking lot down the line if needed. Or one that incorporates a mothballed Wolfe.

Not affirmative, Strap. I was just using the evidence presented in addition to my working knowledge of how things operated in the University Architects Office (including anecdotal evidence suggesting the Rascal House in Euclid may be up for sale).

 

There are 7 parcels in this block. Only two are owned by two different (although related) privet entities: the two previously mentioned. Peabody's is part of Rascal House.

 

 

^Gotcha and thanks.  I know you have the inside scoop often for CSU, so was just clarifying.  I certainly agree that it's likely CSU will buy those two remaining parcels at some point, even if not for this project.

What is the basketball pavilion? Is that a new arena or a practice facility like the Cavs' Independence facility?

Notice how the footprint maintains the Euclid "ribbon" (undulating pockets of pedestrian friendly green space) that has always been part of the master plan.

 

I don't get how this "undulating ribbon" of open space makes anything more pedestrian friendly.  Are people expected to be winded every couple blocks, needing to sit down in the grass?  Is this where we're supposed to graze our horses?  How does dead space help pedestrians?  Is Manhattan somehow hostile to pedestrians? 

 

If CSU wants Euclid to be pedestrian friendly, they'd be better off fronting it with buildings that are open to the general public, rather than labs, classrooms or offices.  That's how it works in most cities.  Look at Ohio State... they keep most of that stuff off of High Street, so that High Street can be welcoming for everyone.  I really don't think Rascal House and Peabody's should be replaced with a science building, if what we're going for is residential campus life.

[crap - i lost all of my original post - gonna try to remember what i had earlier]

 

CSU has over $190 million of planned development through 2014. This first image shows the extent of this plan -an update to the previous master plan. Most of it we already know about; the basketball pavilion was new to me.

 

 

 

The second image shows a rendering of what the health science building, or Global Sustainability Center, could look like. Notice how the footprint maintains the Euclid "ribbon" (undulating pockets of pedestrian friendly green space) that has always been part of the mater plan.

 

 

 

I just did a parcel search on the group of parcels bordered by Euclid Ave to the north, East 22nd to the east, Prospect Ave to south and East 21st to the west. They are all owned by CSU directly or the State of Ohio. That is, except for the parking lot adjacent to Rascal House (owned by Rascal House Inc) and the Rascal House complex itself (owned by Frangos). I bring this up because previously I stated it was not in the immediate plans of CSU to obtain these parcels - I stand corrected as I now know this to not be the case.

 

The health center rendering looks great and fits in well with the surrounding area

I respectfully disagree... to me that design looks garish and hacky, especially sitting next to Trinity Cathedral.

I doubt the health science building will look anything like that.

I respectfully disagree... to me that design looks garish and hacky, especially sitting next to Trinity Cathedral.

 

Maybe we should both keep our final opinions until a better rendering is released that shows truly how the building will look

The design isn't my chief concern... I'd thought all this bare grass along Euclid was accidental, a side effect of other goals pursued.  Access to the arena, an art building that never got built, etc.  Now it sounds like the grass itself is a goal.  I can't get behind that.  I think CSU fundamentally misunderstands what makes a city street attractive and functional.  This philosophical approach is a page straight from Beachwood's book.  I'm beginning to see how those inappropriately suburban designs for the Chester development came to pass.  Why would someone approve that?  Because they believe patches of grass draw people to a city's main street, that's why.  The vast anti-density conspiracy strikes again!     

Mather Mansion at CSU could become boutique hotel

Published: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 9:00 PM

By Karen Farkas, The Plain Dealer

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mather Mansion, one of the few surviving "Millionaires' Row" homes that once lined Euclid Avenue, is poised to become a boutique hotel.

 

Cleveland State University, which owns the 43-room Tudor mansion, is seeking proposals from developers who want to sublease it, spend about $10 million to redevelop the property and operate it as a hotel.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/12/cleveland_state_universitys_ma.html

327, not sure what you are expecting. The two spots on Euclid with significant grass are next to Levin and in front of the Communication Building (currently being used for in-season farmers markets). The later being the potential home for some future arts related building in the future (possibly, but not likely).

 

This has always been part of the "turning inside-out" of the campus from the closed-off, protective way it was built with its brutalism architecture, to one more inviting.

 

But if you don't like it, that is fine. You are entitled to your opinion.

 

Tower of Light markers -- love 'em or hate 'em? Tomorrow and Friday's planning commission meetings are your chance to speak your mind....

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2011/12162011/index.php

 

 

 

Where they would be put:

 

 

 

How they might look:

 

Looks good.

Although it will just make the price of a name change go higher :D

I love it! Lights, lights, and more lights.  :clap: I love that.

Skyline view

 

I couldn't figure out what CSU was trying to show with skyline view, so that's why I didn't post it among the other Towers of Light images I posted.

I couldn't figure out what CSU was trying to show with skyline view, so that's why I didn't post it among the other Towers of Light images I posted.

'

 

The four light beams on the right side of the picture are supposed to be the lights from the Towers of Light

The four light beams on the right side of the picture are supposed to be the lights from the Towers of Light

 

Wow, I wonder if they'd really be that visible...?

I can barely see them in that picture, which I'll repost here so we don't have to keep going back and forth to the previous page.....

 

327, not sure what you are expecting. The two spots on Euclid with significant grass are next to Levin and in front of the Communication Building (currently being used for in-season farmers markets). The later being the potential home for some future arts related building in the future (possibly, but not likely).

 

This has always been part of the "turning inside-out" of the campus from the closed-off, protective way it was built with its brutalism architecture, to one more inviting.

 

But if you don't like it, that is fine. You are entitled to your opinion.

 

 

Brutalism and Beachwood aren't the only two choices, and some recent additions aren't all that distinct from brutalist concepts anyway.  This new science building is another example.  I was hoping for buildings that embrace the street and utilize their entire frontage, like those along main streets in most major cities.  The analogue here shouldn't be Cambridge... it should be central Boston.  This is right downtown.  Lots should be fully utilized, and individual lawns for each building aren't necessary.  Even minimal grass is out of place along Euclid, and "significant grass" like in the Corlett Building footprint is simply uncalled for.  What should CSU put there instead?  Something like the Corlett Building. 

 

Consider the area around Wayne State in Detroit, which features a Lakewood/Coventry type of built environment.  Other examples abound... downtown campuses don't typically load up on small patches of greenspace, or single-use buildings with setbacks.  Those elements are typically used to insulate structures from pedestrians, not to invite them in. 

 

The dorms on Euclid were a major step forward, as was the P-H admin building, which features a restaurant right at the sidewalk.  The new student center does have a bar in it, but it has no street presence and even its outdoor terrace is isolated by the building's design.  It certainly doesn't beckon to passers-by.  I would prefer that CSU focus its Euclid Ave developments in the direction of mixed use, increased density, and an unmistakably downtown feel.

There's always something to nitpick, but CSU is clearly doing something right.  I was driving down Euclid a month or so ago in that area in the early evening and there was a certain "life" to that stretch that wasn't visible before.

Fences are up and demolition has begun on the North Campus project.

^ Thanks for the update Bookman!

Look like they're going to start with one:

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/cleveland_state_university_to_5.html

Don't read the comments, don't read the comments, don't read the comments.

"Unfortunately non-students often enter the campus and assault and rob students. Perhaps a more functional design would be in order; such as a metal detector or a barb wire fence."

 

This one did make me chuckle.

 

 

Don't read the comments, don't read the comments, don't read the comments.

 

Haha I always think the same thing whenever I share an article with someone. It's almost shockingly unbelievable yet for us here it's entertainment...IE the barbed wire fence. Wow.

Some of the comments make decent points, like $100k is a lot for this one light pole, and it doesn't compare favorably with public art elsewhere.  Like that old fake Volvo commercial... "CSU, boxy but good."

Almost immediately someone goes the "priapic" route, as if this could compete with CWRU's Michelson-Morley fountain (which is never ever called that by students not conducting tours) in that regard.

More light pollution--Cleveland astronomers rejoice!

 

Lighting up Cleveland State University: editorial

Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012, 7:56 PM

The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

 

Cleveland State University's plan to build a 30-foot beacon of brushed stainless steel may seem a bit like grandstanding, especially given its $100,000 price tag.

 

But thanks to two CSU presidents intent on upgrading their neighborhood with an expanded and more inviting downtown campus, it's a great way to put out the welcome mat for an urban university slowly abolishing the notion that there is no "there" there.

 

The beacon, to be paid for with university capital funds, will bear the name Cleveland State University and go up by April on the south side of Euclid Avenue, just east of the university's new student housing complex.

 

The university will put three more beacons at its borders if it can find donors to pay for them. Alumni should take on this worthwhile project.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/01/lighting_up_cleveland_state_un.html

More light pollution--Cleveland astronomers rejoice!

 

A downtown should be bright.  Now, down with streetlights in the suburbs?  I'm with you.

I like it, its something new :-D

As long as they don't blind pilots on final approach to Hopkins! :-O

Right off the bat the Wolfe Music was postponed at landmarks today, Stephanie McHenry, VP of Business affairs and Finance at CSU, asked for 30 days to develop plans of saving the Wolfe facade and its incorporation into the new structure as a counter to landmarking.

 

So even if the Wolfe is demolished, all the trouble we went through at least got the facade saved, and I say thats something. Before they might have just said screw it and tore it down with no salvage.

That's a step in the right direction. Thanks!

Well, judging by the amount of sunlight in winter in Cleveland (today ironically is beautiful), I think a lot of mini windmills would be better.  But solar panels are still awesome!!!!! And the scholarship thing is a nice bonus!  Go CSU!

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/cleveland_state_universitys_wo.html

Well, judging by the amount of sunlight in winter in Cleveland (today ironically is beautiful), I think a lot of mini windmills would be better.  But solar panels are still awesome!!!!! And the scholarship thing is a nice bonus!  Go CSU!

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/cleveland_state_universitys_wo.html

 

Great news.  Germany is as cloudy as NEO, and they are leading the world in solar energy production.  Great to see Cleveland continuing to have more leading examples for the good old (new compared to Germany?) US of A. 

I go there for a yearly convention and last year the Gull factor was just RIDICULOUS! A sea of feathers and diving birds everywhere... Haha this is fantastic. But where will these thousands of gulls make their new home...? Uh oh ;)

I wonder if Michael Symon can come up with some type of seagull meal??? :P Back on topic lol

This is the same quality as a post on Cleveland.com. You have to read the whole thing, its short dont worry.

 

CSU parking changes unfair

Recently, in an effort to make more money, a greedy higher-up of Cleveland State University ordered for two on-campus parking lots to be permanently destroyed only to make way for Viking Village—apartments and retail space. This enrages me and many other commuters.

 

CSU, why are you charging students the same ridiculously high price of $205.25 for a product you're not even capable of delivering? I asked a woman who worked for the parking department and she told me "Yes, all of the lots fill up quickly, but there's always parking at the South Garage. Just park in the South Garage."

 

http://www.csucauldron.com/opinion/csu-parking-changes-unfair-1.2748038#.TyCee-NWp8s

God forbid you walk.  The south garage is never used (so there is plenty of space there) plus it is almost brand new.  And if it takes you thirty minutes to get to even the furthest section on campus from that very garage, then you must be having a conversation with everyone on your way there.  I parked in the garage along 90 and I remember there would be plenty of spaces on the top decks, but people would wait and circle to find a spot on the ground level or close enough to where you could walk to the connector instead of walking up or down stairs.

That thing is a real hoot.  Ah to feel young and entitled again.

I went to school on a residential campus.  My freshman year my shortest walk to class was 10 minutes and my longest was 20 minutes.  I cannot imagine it takes longer than 15 minutes to walk to class from any parking lot on the CSU campus (with the majority being much shorter).  When I was practicing law I would walk anywhere from 10-25 minutes (depending where my office was) in the business district to get to meetings, depositions and court.  I would walk 10-15 minutes from my office to the rapid when going home.  These kids have to get a life.

I park at the south garage now, the walk isn't that bad, and if you dont want to walk, the E line trolley goes through the RTA transit center and will drop you off in front of CSU. I am ashamed to attend the same school as this moron. People like him and the other entitled of my generation wont make it very far in the workplace.