^You mean 'eastward'; the wife and I moved back to Lakewood last fall from Toledo. We were there for about a year. One thing I do miss about Toledo is the abundance of top-notch Mexican restaurants.....this area doesn't seem to match up in that category.

There are three great Mexican restaurants between 85th and 117th towards your neck of the woods: Villa Zapata, Luchita's, and Mi Pueblo.

Don't forget El Jalapeno's right on West 117th between Clifton and Detroit. One of my favorites -- just a five-minute walk from home.

^You mean 'eastward'; the wife and I moved back to Lakewood last fall from Toledo. We were there for about a year. One thing I do miss about Toledo is the abundance of top-notch Mexican restaurants.....this area doesn't seem to match up in that category.

 

i made the same move last summer (tol to lkwd), and i too live walking distance to the new cozumel.

There are three great Mexican restaurants between 85th and 117th towards your neck of the woods: Villa Zapata, Luchita's, and Mi Pueblo.

 

Is Villa Zapata still open?  Someone told me they thought it closed.

They had a location open for a brief time on 25th that closed (no liquor!).  I'm pretty sure the Madison one is still open, though.  And.....Rockport Square looks good and the new Lakewood library.

What is going on with the proposed Quaker Steak at the Drug Mart plaza just west of downtown Lakewood?  Has this project been scraped?

 

This is now a year old article:

 

http://downtownlakewood.blogspot.com/2010/01/quaker-steak-and-drug-mart-plaza.html

Oh no!

Lakewood's Detroit theater closing

Published: Friday, January 21, 2011, 2:32 PM   

By Lindsay Betz, Sun News

 

LAKEWOOD -- The lone movie theater in the city will close its doors for good at the end of the month.

 

Since 1924 the Detroit Theater has been showing movies to residents and has since become a local landmark. Loyal movie patrons will soon have to leave the city to catch a flick.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2011/01/lakewoods_question_of_the_day.html

Almost all of these theatres have closed.  Here on the east side, the one on the Coventry strip is now a bar, so is the one in Lyndhurst.  The old Mayfield Road theatre near Noble is a liquor store (after about a 10 year run as a Hollywood video).  They just can't compete with the huge multi-plex theatres.  The only way they survive is to have a niche, like Cedar-Lee does with the indy and foreign films.

THAT SUCKS!!

University of Akron to set up satellite location in Lakewood

By TIMOTHY MAGAW

9:02 am, April 28, 2011

 

University of Akron is venturing into Cuyahoga County as its trustees approved a deal that would allow the school to operate a satellite location in Lakewood.

 

The 11,000-square-foot education space will be at the corner of Detroit Avenue and Warren Road in the Bailey Building. The deal includes a six-year lease at $14 per square foot plus a build-out cost in the first year that comes to about $147,000 and will increase by about 3% each year of the lease.

 

Lakewood city officials and representatives from LakewoodAlive, the city's nonprofit economic development organization, have been working with the university on the project for more than a year. Information about programming and course offerings will be available in the coming months.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110428/FREE/110429835

Hi all, I have been thinking about something recently and I was wondering if this idea makes any sense, so feel free to point out reasons why this wouldn’t work because I kind of assume there are probably reasons why this hasn't been done. 

 

I live in Lakewood.  Lakewood has an abundance of rental properties, and the city has offered loans of $50,000 to those who convert doubles into single-family homes.  I haven’t seen too many people taking advantage of this.  My feeling is that this is because most doubles wouldn’t make very desirable single family homes because most of them would be very large, perhaps larger than the average 3-4 member family would want, without the benefit of a yard.  Most homes in Lakewood have very small yards, but the doubles have almost none because the building goes so much farther back onto the property.  Besides the fact that no matter how well you do the conversion, the layout of the house will probably always be a bit wonky since it was never intended to be one large residence.

 

But this got me to thinking that not everyone cares about yards.  For instance, the Rockport Square townhomes seem to have done alright, so there is a market for yardless homes that are right up against each other and they don't seem like they would be much larger square footage wise than some of the double units in town.  It seems like the main difference there is that the townhomes are new construction with all the modern conveniences.  So what if a $50,000 loan was offered to renovate and update doubles to be sold as double condos instead?  It would be less complicated so you could spend the money on updating appliances and amenities, maybe do some soundproofing of the floor/ceiling instead of having to use it to rework the whole layout.  Does this seem feasible?

 

^They did a proto-type of a double conversion into a double townhouse in Cleveland Hts.  It cost a fortune to convert (I think something in the 150,000 range...I believe they did find structual problems which jacked up the price but I bet that will often be the case with most old doubles).  Then the two townhomes took forever to sell if I recall correctly.  Not aware of the status of the homes now.  It does not appear this "experiment" led to many other conversions.

Well, they converted the buildings from an up/down to a side by side.  That juice probably isn't worth the squeeze.  Renovations and improved soundproofing might make the up/downs more desirable for far less money.  I think it's worth a try.

I suspect it would take much more than a subsidized loan program.  Given the low for-sale housing prices in the area, I bet it would take a fare amount of cash subsidy to justify the renovation costs (no matter the configuration) and pretty steep per-unit legal costs of creating such a small condo association.  And, at the end of the day, that condo could very well be occupied by a renter anyway, albeit a somewhat higher-end renter.

Heres more about that shopping center with the Drug Mart.  Looks like they are finally going to go forward with some updating (plans are supposed to be released later today).  And a Quaker Steak and Lube (which was announced a while ago).

 

Good, now Lakewood will have somehwere to get beer and wings........ :-D

 

Lakewood Plaza is set for major facelift

Published: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 1:24 PM    Updated: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 1:29 PM

LAKEWOOD Lakewood Plaza is finally going to get its multimillion dollar facelift.

 

Property owner Levey and Company of Akron will unveil the new design concept during a ceremony at 1 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the plaza, 15412 Detroit Ave.

http://www.cleveland.com/sunpostherald/index.ssf/2011/10/lakewood_plaza_is_set_for_majo.html

 

According to a Sun blurb I read today, Lakewood's planning commission has rubber stamped the McDonalds on Detroit, citing McDonalds' right to pretty much do whatever they want anyway.  So if it has zero power... exactly how much is it costing us to maintain a planning commission?  I'm a fan of planning, but not of paper tigers.  Would McDonalds be able to do whatever they wanted in Beacon Hill or Tribeca?

According to a Sun blurb I read today, Lakewood's planning commission has rubber stamped the McDonalds on Detroit, citing McDonalds' right to pretty much do whatever they want anyway.  So if it has zero power... exactly how much is it costing us to maintain a planning commission?  I'm a fan of planning, but not of paper tigers.  Would McDonalds be able to do whatever they wanted in Beacon Hill or Tribeca?

 

If McDonald's has site control, if the zoning code permits a McDonald's to be built there, and if Lakewood has a development guideplan that does not prohibit it (either by the zoning code allowing a fast-food restaurant there or if the guideplan is not tied to the zoning code) then, yes, McDonald's can build a restaurant there. And there's nothing the city can legally do to stop it.

 

I saw the opposite story while at Sun Newspapers when I covered Westlake from 1996-2005. In 1993, Westlake denied a building permit to First Interstate Properties (represented by the lawyer and soon-to-be State Senator Tim Grendell) from building a 150,000-square-foot Super Kmart and later a Lowe's super store plus a large grocery store out of a neighborhood district. It successfully fended off numerous lawsuits over seven years that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. How? Because, although Westlake's zoning code allowed retail there, its development guideplan did not. The guideplan was tied to the zoning code which stipulated that 100,000+ square foot superstores be located in a district along I-90. The courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) said that, since the guideplan was tied to the city's zoning code, it carried the force of law. So the city won. I covered that fight from 1996 until 2000 when First Interstate relented and opted to build smaller-scale retail (which has yet to be built).

I saw the opposite story while at Sun Newspapers when I covered Westlake from 1996-2005. In 1993, Westlake denied a building permit to First Interstate Properties (represented by the lawyer and soon-to-be State Senator Tim Grendell) from building a 150,000-square-foot Super Kmart and later a Lowe's super store plus a large grocery store out of a neighborhood district. It successfully fended off numerous lawsuits over seven years that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. How? Because, although Westlake's zoning code allowed retail there, its development guideplan did not. The guideplan was tied to the zoning code which stipulated that 100,000+ square foot superstores be located in a district along I-90. The courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) said that, since the guideplan was tied to the city's zoning code, it carried the force of law. So the city won. I covered that fight from 1996 until 2000 when First Interstate relented and opted to build smaller-scale retail (which has yet to be built).

 

Interesting.  What I take from that is: the planning commission was powerless here only because the zoning code wasn't up to snuff.  That can be fixed.  There probably should be a no-drive-thru provision for Detroit Avenue.  It won't save the twin cinema but it could save a lot of other buildings down the road.

no drive thru is a good start, maybe revisit the parking space requirements in the same area along Detroit and restrict to small lots as a percentage of square footage or on street parking only...  that would certainly deter any fast food chains

We (Euclid) are working with McD currently as they are proposing a new store in our Downtown Overlay District. They are pretty much doing everything we ask of them, Although there will still be PLENTY of variances that need to be approved from P&Z, and Architectural Review Board. I can't see why Lakewood would just "rubber-stamp" it.

 

And I doubt HIGHLY they would NOT put a drive-up facility there. In fact, it will likely be a double lane facility. I guarantee it.

 

Two recipients of NOACA TLCI planning grants have completed studies recently posted on NOACA's website. One is the city of Lakewood's Birdtown Madison Study which proposes transportation improvements that preserve and enhance the assets of the ethnic Birdtown neighborhood.This neighborhood was established when employees of the National Carbon Company settled there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Several of the development's streets were named after birds, including Robin, Lark, Quail and Plover. The study includes recommendations for bike facilities, streetscape amenities, public art and bird identity graphics that can be incorporated into location and way finding signage. The other study is for the Campus District/East 22nd Street (see the Campus District thread).

 

Birdtown Madison Study (104 MB - November 2011):

http://www.noaca.org/madisonstudy.pdf

Two recipients of NOACA TLCI planning grants have completed studies recently posted on NOACA's website. One is the city of Lakewood's Birdtown Madison Study which proposes transportation improvements that preserve and enhance the assets of the ethnic Birdtown neighborhood.This neighborhood was established when employees of the National Carbon Company settled there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Several of the development's streets were named after birds, including Robin, Lark, Quail and Plover. The study includes recommendations for bike facilities, streetscape amenities, public art and bird identity graphics that can be incorporated into location and way finding signage. The other study is for the Campus District/East 22nd Street (see the Campus District thread).

 

Birdtown Madison Study (104 MB - November 2011):

http://www.noaca.org/madisonstudy.pdf

 

Yay for Birdtown!

I just wish we'd get some $ to help pave Madison....the street needs it badly.

I just wish we'd get some $ to help pave Madison....the street needs it badly.

 

The condition of the street creates an eyesore. It's the major reason why the Madison corridor is ugly; the sheer size makes the roadway the dominant visual feature.  And it is in deplorable shape.

 

Under the Birdtown plan, at least that section of Madison will have that red "brick look" that, while not as cool as the real thing,  will be a dramatic and fantastical improvement.

^do you mean the crosswalks or the entire street will be brick?

Yay for Birdtown!

 

We got scolded by our grandma if we said the term "Birdtown". It was not a positive term a few decades ago for the Slovaks who had grown up in the neighborhood.

Here are the brick street concepts: check "Church Square" on page 14.

 

http://www.lovelakewood.com/pdf/planning/101202_btown_pres.pdf

 

p.s. 3231 I realize there's still some here in the 'wood that look down upon bt. I wear that derision like a badge of honor!! Seriously. I'm going to commission a Birdtown flag of some sort...always been a little jealous of Ohio City in that regard lol.

They are starting renovation work on the Facade of the Drugmart plaza by the library.

^At last!

They are starting renovation work on the Facade of the Drugmart plaza by the library.

OK, not sure if this is cool or sad - I'm just a block away from this development and if it were not for this post, I would not have known about this job finally starting...strange how our daily routines keep use isolated from Lakewood's commercial center...

I've no idea where to put this.

 

Old buildings are coming down at a pretty good clip in Lakewood.

 

Fast food and drugstores replacing diverse business--a dry cleaners and an empty church in one case, a theater, a deli, a  sign shop in another, and in third, a hair salon, a chiropractor, a guitar studio. One of the buildings had second floor apartments, which were occupied. But fast food and drugstores pay a premium to deal in this market. That's what the density of population and the level of income in Lakewood seem to have attracted. There's money to be made here, sure. On fast food and prescription drugs. It's changing the landscape, and the city's economy, too.

 

http://gyroscopethattakesyouplaces.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/changing-the-landscape/

 

Good bye Detroit theatre (Photos by Jim O'Bryan @ The Lakewood Observer):

edit - These photos from the Lakewood Observer

http://www.lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10956

edit edit - mods already provided citation

 

 

 

One slightly positive note:  Mickey Krivosh of Around the Corner is claiming the marquis

 

 

I wished I hadn't seen that.

I think I just threw up in my mouth.  First person to take out Ronald McDonald in any way/shape/form gets 10 points. 

On Sunday I saw an old man standing at the front entrance, just staring up at the place, looking sad.

 

The fact that so many people like this McDonald's idea has me questioning whether I live in the right place.

I've never been to the theater but have driven and walked past it many times. While nothing is remotely as bad, personally, to me as the loss of Geauga Lake and Sea World (I was a bit young for the Flats), this one is certainly up there.

I've never been to the theater but have driven and walked past it many times. While nothing is remotely as bad, personally, to me as the loss of Geauga Lake and Sea World (I was a bit young for the Flats), this one is certainly up there.

 

Flats, Sea World, Geauga Lake...all incredible losses for the quality of life index in NEO.

On Sunday I saw an old man standing at the front entrance, just staring up at the place, looking sad.

 

The fact that so many people like this McDonald's idea has me questioning whether I live in the right place.

 

Lakewood, while it is a wonderful and diverse place, is definitely a candidate for people supporting a McDonalds.  Think of all the low-mid income families there with kids.  This is right in their wheelhouse.  I wouldnt question whether you live in the right place, its a bad situation, not a bad place.

A lot of people love places like this, but don't regularly patronize them. My Mom was one bemoaning the loss (she lives in Lakewood) and i asked her how many times she has been there recently? She's been there like once in her whole life. I certainly think a McDonald's is an AWFUL choice here too, but how many of you who are upset about the loss have really been regular patrons of the Detroit theater? Even when I lived in Lakewood, I only went there a couple of times.

 

One positive I will say about LA is that when they have old movie theaters like this, they make sure they are kept modern and retro all at the same time - the furnishings and decor are really well taken care of and restored to old glory, but the concession stands serves all the same food, if not better, than at a big multiplex, and a lot of people still regularly patronize their local theater. I don't think the Detroit really did that.

A lot of people love places like this, but don't regularly patronize them. My Mom was one bemoaning the loss (she lives in Lakewood) and i asked her how many times she has been there recently? She's been there like once in her whole life. I certainly think a McDonald's is an AWFUL choice here too, but how many of you who are upset about the loss have really been regular patrons of the Detroit theater? Even when I lived in Lakewood, I only went there a couple of times.

 

 

My friends and I frequented the theatre. However it was hardly ever crowded. To my knowledge, the owners/management never tried anything outside the box to draw bigger crowds. You would think that in a place like Lakewood it would be easy to get a beer license and mix things up to draw creative types.

Agreed - they could have easily become the west side equivalent of the Cedar Lee and made a good living.

Agreed - they could have easily become the west side equivalent of the Cedar Lee and made a good living.

 

There would be plenty of room for that, yes. And they could have differentiated themselves from Capitol enough imho to be a complimentary venue.

 

To me it's telling that there were no warnings that the place was in danger. That there was no "save the theatre" campaign while it was open. If there was, I certainly didn't hear of it. I believe there were enough in the community who would have made a good, viable effort for preservation. Instead, this whole McDonalds thing was sprung on us pretty fast.

 

 

^Actually, while there might not have be a "save the Detroit" campaign, if I recall correctly there was significant opposition to this at City Hall hearings and the like.

 

I would also imagine that even if the Detroit was patronized more heavily the result would not have changed.  McDonald developer's tend to over pay for prime locations and the $$$ was probably too good.  Hopefully the city will force a design (do we have high hopes) that will not be a blight on the landscape like the recent McDonalds monstrosity built in University Hts after the destruction of  "sidewalk buildings".  Now the drive through and parking front Warrensville Center.  What a mess.

^Actually, while there might not have be a "save the Detroit" campaign, if I recall correctly there was significant opposition to this at City Hall hearings and the like.

 

I would also imagine that even if the Detroit was patronized more heavily the result would not have changed.  McDonald developer's tend to over pay for prime locations and the $$$ was probably too good.  Hopefully the city will force a design (do we have high hopes) that will not be a blight on the landscape like the recent McDonalds monstrosity built in University Hts after the destruction of  "sidewalk buildings".  Now the drive through and parking front Warrensville Center.  What a mess.

 

I agree there was some vocal opposition. Yet my experience was the majority of Lakewood was either complacent or worse; they were actually spiteful of the theatre's existence.

Now this is GREAT news! Nature's Bin is expanding and will take that nasty old mcDonald's!

 

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2012/05/lakewoods_natures_bin_to_purch.html

 

Now this is GREAT news! Nature's Bin is expanding and will take that nasty old mcDonald's!

 

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2012/05/lakewoods_natures_bin_to_purch.html

 

 

I really want Natures Bin to have another location, preferably on the near west side where organics are important.  There is no grocery near gordon square and natures bin would do well in the DS neighborhood

Now this is GREAT news! Nature's Bin is expanding and will take that nasty old mcDonald's!

 

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2012/05/lakewoods_natures_bin_to_purch.html

 

 

I really want Natures Bin to have another location, preferably on the near west side where organics are important.  There is no grocery near gordon square and natures bin would do well in the DS neighborhood

 

Wait, there is a grocery at Gordon Square (name escapes me sorry) and it's surprisingly quite nice inside.

Sav-a-lot??

^ Yes that's it.