April 25, 200619 yr Special Announcement and Speech by Nathan Zaremba, President Zaremba Inc., at The Avenue District Meet & Greet Dear Friends, I would like to personally invite you to The Avenue District “Meet and Greet” on Wednesday, April 26th from 6pm-9pm at the Cleveland Athletic Club. Our “Meet and Greet” will be an excellent opportunity for you to meet Zaremba staff and ask us direct questions about The Avenue District. This Wednesday evening, Nathan Zaremba, President of Zaremba Inc., will speak about Cleveland’s newest downtown neighborhood. In addition, we will be making a very special announcement regarding The Avenue District to all those in attendance. We are looking forward to meeting all of you and helping you learn more about Downtown’s newest residential development. Please Note: PARKING MODIFICATION AT THE CLEVELAND ATHLETIC CLUB Due to the extensive filming of Spiderman 3 this week in Downtown Cleveland, general parking at the Cleveland Athletic Club will be adjusted. Parking for The Avenue District “Meet and Greet” will be on East Huron Street, behind the Halle Building. Huron Street can be accessed from Prospect Avenue. Complementary valet parking will be provided. Zaremba representatives will be on hand to escort you to the main entrance of the Cleveland Athletic Club, located at 1118 Euclid Avenue. I look forward to seeing you there! Sincerely, Don Picciano, Jr. Who: Friends of The Avenue District and members of the Cleveland Athletic Club What: Meet representatives from Zaremba and the Cleveland Athletic Club over hors d’oeuvres When: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 6:00- 9:00 pm Where: Cleveland Athletic Club Sterling Room, 7th Floor 1118 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115 RSVPs requested to Frank Lalli at 216.589.8524 or [email protected]
April 26, 200619 yr you guys need to go to this and chat up zaremba and bring back the scoop. not to mention impress the man by packing the house. :clap:
April 27, 200619 yr I must concede that the westside is not exactly sophisticated. Okay, this is getting a little off topic from the Avenue District discussion, but the West Side is very nice. Strectching all the way from downtown along the lake and along I-90 into Bay-Westlake I'd say as a whole the West Side is probably nicer than the stretch from downtown along Carnegie/Cedar Rd into Beachwood. The east side to me seems like there is a lot of discrepency in terms of wealth and there is this huge gap. The West Side doesn't have a Shaker Boulevard, but it also doesn't really have anything like Woodland Road either. Also consider Lakewood vs. Cleveland Heights. Cleveland Heights is like the haves and the have-nots, where Lakewood is pretty much everyone has something. Statistically, Lakewood and other inner-ring west side neighborhoods have lower crime, better schools, and higher household income than the inner-ring east side. "the worst thing in the world is hillbillies with money," and that's how a lot of the outer West Side is. When just considering the "West Side" I think of it in terms of upper and lower, and not inner and outer. Very generally speaking the West Side gets nicer the farther north you are. For example, no hillbillies live north of Lorain Avenue. The communities along I-90 are a lot more affluent than the ones along I-480. Especially along the lake, if you take a drive along the west shore down Edgewater Drive, Lake Avenue, Lake Road, Frazier Drive, and Avalon Drive and I think it comes really close to rivaling the East Side. Sometime you really should consider driving along the lake from downtown into Avon Lake. It is pretty much a 20 mile millionaires' row. George Steinbrenner, Dave Thomas, Dick Jacobs, Tom Coughlin, the Bell family, the Kahl family, and many other of Cleveland's wealthiest families have lived or currenty live on the West Side.
April 27, 200619 yr Vulpster, you don't happen to be from the west side, do you? I think everyone here agrees that one side of town is not objectively better than the other even though there are definite demographic and other differences and we all have our individual preferences. Some nits though: I'm not sure what you mean by "statistically" when you compare Lakewood to inner-ring east side unless you are talking just about East Cleveland. As of 2000 (too lazy to find more recent data), Lakewood had a higher youth and elderly poverty rate than Cleveland Heights and lower median income (not just average) and as of 2004 Lakewood had significantly higher per capita instances of most types of crime, including violent (see http://brecksville.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Cleveland+heights&s1=OH&c2=Lakewood&s2=OH). The point isn't that Lakewood is a bad place or even a worse place- both Cleveland Heights and Lakewood are very safe places and I think cool places-just that I think your image of Cleveland Heights (and maybe other East Side inner ring 'burbs) might be a little exaggerated. OK, back to Avenue District...
April 27, 200619 yr Yeah, the announcement was that The Avenue District (Zaremba) and The Cleveland Athletic Club have an agreement where every buyer at The Avenue District will get a one year membership to the CAC included with their signed contract. It was a pretty good event. There was a decent amount of people there. Their people got around and answered questions. I even had a chance to speak with Nathan Zaremba after his speech.
April 27, 200619 yr That's great. It will pull some more bodies onto Euclid Avenue, increase business for CAC as some people will continue on after year 1, and it widens the focus of the Ave. District onto surrounding blocks. No word on when they will break ground?
April 27, 200619 yr The plan is this summer. They need to get to pre-sales for the bank to give the go ahead. Sales have been swift though.
April 27, 200619 yr The plan is this summer. They need to get to pre-sales for the bank to give the go ahead. Sales have been swift though. How close are they to getting enough pre-sales? We've heard this before with District Park.
April 27, 200619 yr The plan is this summer. They need to get to pre-sales for the bank to give the go ahead. Sales have been swift though. I Wonder what the pre-sales requirement is and where they stand at this point.
April 27, 200619 yr throw me into that west-side hillbilly mix. I think if they ever are going to open department stores downtown again, they should use the names of our old department stores. I would like to see "Higbees by Harrods" or "Halle's at Bloomingdales"...something along those lines. They could carry local designs as well as their normal mono-merchandise apparel.
April 27, 200619 yr ^way to throw the thread off track again! Glad to hear the event went well. If the presales are, in fact, going swiftly, then we could have our cranes by the end of the year!
April 28, 200619 yr Hope they offer subsidized, affordable housing there, because I'm going need it if my condo gets taken away from me by the end of the year if I can't find a better-paying job soon! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 28, 200619 yr KJP, have you tried the PD? I'm surprised they're not banging down your door. Or are you against working for the behemoth?
April 28, 200619 yr Hope they offer subsidized, affordable housing there, because I'm going need it if my condo gets taken away from me by the end of the year if I can't find a better-paying job soon! You should start your own publication completely devoted to urban development and city discussion. It could have a huge forum section along with a highlighted project weekly.
April 28, 200619 yr Perhaps you could supplement your income with an adjunct position at the College of Urban Affairs. They are currently looking to offer more transportation related classes. (off topic discussion complete)
April 28, 200619 yr Hope they offer subsidized, affordable housing there, because I'm going need it if my condo gets taken away from me by the end of the year if I can't find a better-paying job soon! You'll have company....we'll both be on the unemployment line. :x Hope they offer subsidized, affordable housing there, because I'm going need it if my condo gets taken away from me by the end of the year if I can't find a better-paying job soon! You should start your own publication completely devoted to urban development and city discussion. It could have a huge forum section along with a highlighted project weekly. I'll public affairs/communications & Intergrated Marketing :wave:
April 28, 200619 yr I've often thought about starting an Internet-based "newspaper" called "Cleveland Core News" or something like that. It's tag line could simply be "We get to the core of Cleveland." My vision is that its editorial content and advertising focus would be geared toward downtown and the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. But that would take some up-front financing -- something I lack. By the way, the PD isn't hiring. But this really needs its own thread. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 28, 200619 yr ^maybe we need to brainstorm ways to put our good ideas in this forum to use and take Urban Ohio corporate. We could have an office in several major downtown metropolitan areas that could operate a hostel, put out a newspaper, and lobby for transportation and urban projects for the metropolitan area.
April 28, 200619 yr I've often thought about starting an Internet-based "newspaper" called "Cleveland Core News" or something like that. It's tag line could simply be "We get to the core of Cleveland." My vision is that its editorial content and advertising focus would be geared toward downtown and the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. But that would take some up-front financing -- something I lack. By the way, the PD isn't hiring. But this really needs its own thread. I can sympathize. I tried to go into reporting when I got out of college, and the jobs were few and far between, and the pay worse. I interviewed at a local suburban chain, full-time reporting job plus covering city meetings in the evenings, and they offered $350 per week. That job required a bachelors degree. I don't think people realize how bad most reporters and editors have it. A friend of mine was writing in Oregon. The same year he won a state AP award, he found out he just missed qualifying food food stamps. You could try blogging. There's some pretty good open source software out there, and you can usually find a host that will give you a domain name, database access and basic setup for less than $10 a month. You can do Google Adsense... some people have made some money that way, by generating lots of quick, targeted content that gets picked up by other blogs. But I don't think it's a way to really pay the bills.
April 29, 200619 yr ^with how informative his posts are on this site, he pretty much has a de facto blog, if not a research journal.
April 29, 200619 yr anyone know what "presales have been swift" means? does that mean that people of signed non-binding letters of interest, or does that mean that some units have actually sold and people have put down a heafty deposit by the way, I hope that the new Downtown "Clean & Safe" program helps the The Avenue District sell better even faster
May 1, 200619 yr I've often thought about starting an Internet-based "newspaper" called "Cleveland Core News" or something like that. It's tag line could simply be "We get to the core of Cleveland." My vision is that its editorial content and advertising focus would be geared toward downtown and the immediately adjacent neighborhoods. But that would take some up-front financing -- something I lack. By the way, the PD isn't hiring. But this really needs its own thread. If I can stray off topic for one more post ... KJP, have you ever considered the trade press? It often is badmouthed as un-journalistic/ethically challenged by newspaper and journalism-school types, but there are some excellent publications out there, including a lot in and around Cleveland. The pay is better than consumer magazines, too. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] anytime if you'd like to discuss. :-D
May 9, 200619 yr Here's an article from the Jewish News. Real Estate Section The Avenue — downtown Cleveland’s newest residential hope By: JIM LAWLESS The Avenue development will offer condominiums, lofts and townhouses within walking distance of major attractions in downtown Cleveland. A proposed, $200-million, up-scale residential housing project east of the 40-story Erieview Tower could be the start of the rejuvenation city planners have wanted for more than 50 years. Zaremba Inc., a successful residential builder, has acquired six acres on three sites east of Erieview Tower. The plans are to break ground in July on the first of three buildings that will eventually house more than 400 condominiums, including lofts, penthouses and townhouses. More at clevelandjewishnews.com http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com
May 9, 200619 yr Thanks for posting this! Some good new info: _ July groundbreaking expected, with first building taking 18 months to complete _ 7-10 years for entire project buildout _ Six committed buyers (I'm a bit disappointed in this, but I guess it's enough to make the first building a go?); 25 reservations
May 9, 200619 yr they have more buyers than that. Their first contract was a month ago and they have about 14 sales. That article was probably written in april sometime.
May 9, 200619 yr very informative article thx. i was waiting to hear more about sales, city support and the timelines and there it was.
May 9, 200619 yr 7-10 years??? whew! that's some time frame for 400 units! I would think that with the way people are talking about building Downtown these days that this glacial pace of construction would speed up a bit... or at least that the director of sales and marketing would speak a bit more optimistically about it!
May 9, 200619 yr I bought at The Avenue District this past week. The reason why it's going to take so long is because there are separate buildings being built. The buildings won't have anything more than 58 units so, since this isn't one huge structure, it will take longer..being built individually. The first block alone will have 5 Loft buildings.
May 9, 200619 yr 7-10 years??? whew! that's some time frame for 400 units! I would think that with the way people are talking about building Downtown these days that this glacial pace of construction would speed up a bit... or at least that the director of sales and marketing would speak a bit more optimistically about it! People are talking about downtown but as you can see, few people have bought condo's here since they have had the sales office open. For sale housing downtown isn't quite where it needs to be yet apparently to support a massive project like this built out in one phase.
May 9, 200619 yr I'm banking on a few catalytic projects to really get the ball rolling (Ave District, Flats East Bank, County Offices, Euclid Corridor). Then, these things will sell like hotcakes! If they can sell all those units way out in Westlake before they're even built, why not Downtown? Well, it's the buzz and the feeling that they're buying into a neighborhood that has the assurance of being a sound investment, which gives the buyer confidence and makes the whole thing work. I think that'll come in Downtown Cleveland once the first of these big projects opens...
May 9, 200619 yr I wish that all developers would do as good of a job marketing their projects as Zaremba has done with the Avenue. They have created a lot of buzz around a project that is not really located in the greatest location that downtown has to offer. I hope that Eli Mann does an effective job once his project gets off the ground on Euclid. I really think that Mann's project is the linch pin in all of this. If UH can move into the Atrium building and the County breaks ground, then Mann's project will make Euclid will feel drastically different. Once that core is re-established, people will start to think differently about downtown.
May 9, 200619 yr I agree, Wimward, but in a different way, successfully creating a new residential node in Downtown for a non-WHD clientele will be its own success, regardless of Euclid. I think that the area east of Erieview has great potential to be this place. Euclid is clearly the single most critical location, though.
May 9, 200619 yr What frustrates me most about Euclid Avenue is the County's site -- the corner of E. 9th and Euclid, perhaps the most critical intersection downtown aside from Public Square. Those buildings will likely continue to look like crap for the next 5-10 years, as the County dithers around with choosing an architect, deciding the fate of the Breuer, etc. As long as that corner continues to evoke thoughts of Deadwood, S.D., that whole stretch of Euclid is going to be no-go land.
May 9, 200619 yr you're right, which is why the County should sell off the 1010 building to a private developer to convert to housing (providing them with some development $$$) and do their whole bit with the Rotunda and E. 9th street portion.
May 9, 200619 yr ^Couldn't agree more. I'm just looking for the county not to mess Euclid up more. Even when the project is complete I predict that the county's presence is going to rejuvenate Euclid about as much as the Justice Center rejuvenated the WHD when it was built. Thank god there are some curbs on demos now, at least.
May 9, 200619 yr well, it's the sheer number of people that will be coming over to Euclid that is supposed to be the impact. No one really knows what to expect from building design, but they seem committed to a degree of historic preservation, so it could be very positive. We'll just have to see, though, whether things look just about the same or radically different!
May 9, 200619 yr ^Couldn't agree more. I'm just looking for the county not to mess Euclid up more. Even when the project is complete I predict that the county's presence is going to rejuvenate Euclid about as much as the Justice Center rejuvenated the WHD when it was built. Thank god there are some curbs on demos now, at least. I hope that was a joke. After the Justice Center was built in 1974, the demolitions in the WHD went into overdrive to build more surface parking. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 9, 200619 yr Thanks MGD- yeah, I was being sarcastic and pointing out that activity centers don't automatically = revitalization. OK, I should have posted this in the county building thread, sorry.
May 10, 200619 yr I think that if the pieces keep all independently falling into place SLOWLY, then maybe in 5 years or so, Downtown living will experience a sort of "tipping point" and condo units will start selling really FAST. Right now, Downtown does not yet have a critical mass of people. Once some of these projects start getting built (Avenue, Eli Mann, 1104 Prospect, Flats East Bank, Lighthouse Landing, etc, etc) things will happen much QUICKER in the future. Also, the proposed renovation of the Parkview Apartment on E. 13th & Chester will really help Downtown in a subtle but very important way.
May 11, 200619 yr I have a feeling that as soon as the first building is completed this entire development will happen quickly. Zaremba has done a remarkable job marketing this project and I really think that as soon as the first building sprouts up the Avenue district will take on a life of itself i.e. Stonebridge.
May 11, 200619 yr I know Zaremba's people read this thread. From what I was told, they check it almost daily.
May 11, 200619 yr Hi guys! :wave: "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 20, 200619 yr Is there anything new with this project? I haven't heard any new announcements in awhile.
May 20, 200619 yr Well, if they read it then we sure would like to know when they are going to break ground. It tends to lend a lot of legitimacy to a project. :)
May 21, 200619 yr Is there anything new with this project? I haven't heard any new announcements in awhile. oc why not sign up for the avenue newsletter? this is news from the latest one: Interactive Walking Map Dear Friends, We are pleased to announce the integration of our newest feature to The Avenue District website, www.theavenuedistrict.com. In addition to the currently displayed walking map of Downtown’s newest and largest neighborhood, we have incorporated a user-friendly, interactive map that will allow you to ‘walk’ through this pedestrian friendly community and view all that it has to offer, simply with the click of a button. Visitors to The Avenue District website will be able to plan their travel time accordingly based upon the site’s built-in pedometer, which will gauge approximately how long it will take them to get from their doorstep at The Avenue District to venues such as Playhouse Square, Jacobs Field, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Public Square, the House of Blues and many other Downtown attractions and office buildings. Here’s how it wor The Neighborhood Benefit UPDATE In just five weeks, The Avenue District and Alan Ross Insurance Agency will bring you The Neighborhood, a benefit for the American Society. This exciting event will take place June 22, 2006 in Downtown Cleveland. All of those in attendance will have the chance to bid on high-end, quality items from fine establishments throughout the Greater Cleveland area. Some items from the Silent auction will include: The opportunity to name a street in The Avenue District 30-day Mercedes Benz lease, courtesy of Bernie Moreno, owner of Mercedes of North Olmsted A romantic Getaway Package to Kelly’s Island, featuring charter jet transportation, dinner, and a 1-night bed and breakfast stay, courtesy of Financial Network of America Golf excursion & gift bag, courtesy of Mayfield Country Club Private catered meal for ten, courtesy of Chef’s Catering Fine wine gift basket, courtesy of Financial Network of America Pilates personal training sessions, courtesy of Ma Ree Lings Pilates Studio Jafra Spa package, courtesy of Jafra And much more!
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