118th, you're right.

I am pleased how the art museum east wing is turning out as construction progresses.  I was initially fearfull that it was going to overwhelm East Blvd., but now do not think this is going to be the case.  The stone looks great and of high quality and the strategic placement of glass seems to lighten up the mass.  During the winter, with the lights on, I think those galleries are going to look sharp from the outside.

From today's Plain Dealer:

 

National City Bank is shifting one of its branches a bit south on Stokes Boulevard, opening a prime Euclid Avenue parcel for University Circle Inc. to develop a western gateway to its arts, medical and education district.  UCI announced Tuesday it was buying the site of a National City branch southeast of Euclid Avenue and Stokes for $418,000.  The bank will then lease land just south of the site from UCI for $20,000 a year to build a new branch, said UCI President Chris Ronayne.  UCI wants to develop the parcel south of Euclid, as well as city-owned green space to the north, into multistory buildings with a mix of uses serving the district's expected growth in population.

 

 

 

Its about time someone in the press reported on this one:

 

E. Side lures Fla. developer

Finch Group’s success at Park Lane Villa leads to proposed mixed-use project in upper Chester area

 

By JAY MILLER

 

4:30 am, July 9, 2007

 

 

A joint venture that involves local interests and a Florida real estate developer is preparing to unveil a mixed-use development proposal for the upper Chester Avenue area of Cleveland’s East Side, north of the Cleveland Clinic.

 

Under the plan by Finch Group of Boca Raton, Fla., and Heartland/HKS Consultants, new housing and retail development would be integrated among existing homes and commercial buildings in the area bounded by East 89th and East 101st streets and Chester and Hough avenues.

 

Heartland/HKS Consultants is a partnership between Heartland Developers LLC and HKS Consultants. Heartland Developers, led by developer Gordon Priemer, has built residential projects in Cleveland and the inner suburbs. HKS Consultants is headed by former Cleveland City Council member Helen K. Smith.

 

Ms. Smith said architect Paul Volpe of City Architecture Inc. in Cleveland is within weeks of finishing a master plan for the area, but she was reluctant to go into detail “because nothing is finalized.” Ms. Smith could not say how much acreage was involved, in part because the developers do not anticipate acquiring all the property in the target area.

 

Once the master plan is in place and the developers commit to moving forward, the first phase would be on the block of Chester between East 93rd and East 97th streets.

 

Cleveland City Council last month authorized the rezoning of a stretch of upper Chester from residential to retail. At the same time, City Council approved the sale to Finch Group of seven properties that had been abandoned and retained by the city within the rezoned area and beyond.

 

Wesley Finch, chairman of Finch Group, said the plan is to have retail along Chester with housing running along the side streets.

 

Mr. Finch cautioned that the project is “in the planning stage and nothing is set in stone.” But, he added, “I would expect that the first phase, because of the requirement for critical mass, to be in excess of 100 dwelling units.”

 

Signs of support

 

The area of upper Chester came to the attention of Finch Group because of the company’s redevelopment beginning last year of the Park Lane Villa apartment building on East 101st Street. Mr. Finch said the first tenants already are moving into Park Lane and that units are renting faster than he had anticipated.

 

Mr. Finch said he believes the large number of well-paid workers at the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland are a good base for residential development.

 

Daryl Rush, Cleveland’s director of community development, said the initiative would be consistent with the city’s goal of redeveloping housing in that neighborhood. He said it would be an important element of the city’s 2020 Citywide Plan, the city’s master plan for development.

 

The city’s five-year capital budget includes $2.5 million for infrastructure development for the upper Chester area. Mr. Rush described that number as “a placeholder,” but said the city is committed to improving the neighborhood’s infrastructure as new development unfolds.

 

Councilwoman Fannie Lewis, whose ward includes the upper Chester area, supports the project.

 

Many of the properties in the target area are vacant and owned by the Cleveland Clinic, the city of Cleveland or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Smith said other properties are in the hands of private owners whose properties would not be acquired.

 

“An awful lot of the real estate is in really good shape,” she said.

 

In a statement e-mailed last week to Crain’s, the Clinic said it “supports the efforts of the Upper Chester redevelopment initiatives and continues to keep its options open relative to the property it owns in the Upper Chester neighborhood.” Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove last year told The Plain Dealer that the medical center’s plans would dovetail with whatever is planned for the area north of Chester.

 

Part of the City Club's "Changing Face of Cleveland" series:

 

Getting a Lift at University Circle

Wednesday, July 11 at Noon

 

It’s an exciting time for University Circle. Chris Ronayne, president of

University Circle Inc., will sort out the beehive of development activity

currently underway in University Circle and outline other projects still on

the drawing board. Ronayne will cover University Circle’s role in the

development of the Euclid Corridor, plans for housing, the care and feeding

of the Circle’s educational and cultural institutions, and University Circle

Inc.’s Golden Anniversary this year.

Crain's:

 

University Circle initiatives detailed

 

By SHANNON MORTLAND

 

2:54 pm, July 11, 2007

 

University Circle Inc. this year is launching seven new initiatives, one of which is a $7 million effort to restore the vitality of Euclid Avenue and University Circle.

 

The Euclid Gateway Vision Project will focus on creating new pedestrian lighting, signage, prominent gateways and a visitor center along Euclid Avenue, said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc., which is a nonprofit group that represents the institutions within University Circle. Mr. Ronayne spoke today at the City Club of Cleveland about development efforts in and around University Circle.

 

“Euclid Avenue is where it’s at,” he said. “It’s our best bet for the future.”

 

Mr. Ronayne said he sees Euclid Avenue tying six districts — Public Square, Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals — together stretching from downtown to University Circle.

 

Housing also will play an important role in and around University Circle as the area is redeveloped.

 

Mr. Ronayne said University Circle Inc. is working with local developers to create 1,000 new homes over the next five years within the arts, education and health care district. Some of that housing would include projects already announced, such as the 250 housing units that are part of the Uptown housing and retail district slated for the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road.

 

Though there’s room and demand for upscale housing in and around the circle, Mr. Ronayne said it wouldn’t be built at the expense of the poor already living in the area.

 

“We need to continue to provide that step-up housing,” Mr. Ronayne said.

 

Though local foundations have committed a lot of money for projects in University Circle, he said large developments can’t be done without state and private funds.

 

“It’s not all going to be found at the city of Cleveland bank, because the city of Cleveland bank is dry,” Mr. Ronayne said.

 

seems more vague than detailed... this sounds like the same thing we've heard...

seems more vague than detailed... this sounds like the same thing we've heard...

 

its pretty much the same. He was speaking at the City Club, I believe. Those types of speeches are never meant to divulge anything new.

ok, well how about this for an upper?

 

The first residents have moved into the Wade Park Townhomes.  The next one is slated to be occupied by Friday.  They are very nice...

^Never heard that but would not mind it.  It is some kind of ugly.

Could be worse.  Look at Beacon Place.

I think he meant the guesthouse.

^I interpreted it the same way. 

 

In any case, the townhomes aren't anything to write home about from across the street, but when you get up on the porches, you can just tell that there's been a lot of quality work done on the structure, design, etc.  Real stone, real landscaping, durable wood.  Not a whole bunch of cheaply painted surfaces that are going to look worn and tattered in 10 years (ala Beacon Place).

I did mean the guesthouse.  Was not quick enough on the draw when posting apparently.  The townhouses aren't that bad and certainly shine when compared to Beacon Place (but that isn't hard).

Thanks Map Boy, that is an upper.  I think they're an attractive little row (and agree with W28- much better than Beacon Place).  Good use of a pretty random site.

 

Speaking of townhouses: One item on my wish list for University Circle (or somewhere else in the city with a market to support it) is a short street subdivided into townhouse lots and encumbered with CC&Rs requiring some rudimentary building characteristics (e.g., min heights, building to front and side lot lines, no front garages).  Would be great to nurture the almost lost home-owner as architecture patron tradition in this city and see what results.  I know I'd be game.

They aren't horrible.  But I'm not big on townhouses made to look like single family homes.  It just seems like half a loaf of urban to me.

^Hm, not sure I see how they were made to look like single family homes.  Well I guess they do individually look kind of like some of the city's newer sf homes, but it doesn't bother me.  I like the mellow colors.

 

Map Boy, what's the story with the Hazel Drive project- what's the hold-up with that one?

Units 1, 3, and 5 obviously look alot like 19th/early 20th century sf homes with there front gable roofs, units 2 and 4 are recessed so that they recede visually, especially from oblique angles, giving the block the appearance of single family homes with small sideyards spaces.  Also, they are slat sided and painted different colors, a look closely associated with sf, especially of balloon frame construction.  Townhouses are usually brick or stone, though there are plenty of exceptions.

^I definitely understand your point (I'd add the front porch to your list), but I think it was just a nod to the familiar, which in Cleveland was almost exclusively sf.  I thought you were saying that the set was somehow disguised to look like single familiy, a la Shaker heights two-family homes, but I gotcha now.

I think awnings and some additional trim would do wonders for the Wade Park Townhomes. Otherwise I love the front porches!

Yo tambien! It's very "Cleveland", which I think is cool.

 

Are the townhouses featured in the pic the only ones in this new development?

Map Boy, what's the story with the Hazel Drive project- what's the hold-up with that one?

 

Hmmm... it's been delayed, but UCI is still working on it.  I believe it will be scaled back to its original scale, which would produce about 12 high end townhomes with a parking deck behind it.

^Interesting, thanks.  Why the scale-down, concerns about the housing market?  I liked the juiced up version :(

More of an issue with partners feeling a little out of their element...  UCI is concentrating on its own land now, rather than on land owned by them and WRHS.

^You would have all the institutions at your doorstep, Little Italy for restaurants and galleries, revived (hopefully) retail within walking distance with Case's College Town development, the Hts. right up the hill and a quick trip downtown on the Silver Line with the bus stop at the end of your street.  Sign me up.

 

The hell with the goofy Silver Line.  What about the REAL Rapid transit that can get you downtown in 14-15 mins (as opposed to the 25-30 mins planned for ECP), esp if we can get RTA moving on rebuilding/relocating the E. 120 stop, that has only been on the drawing boards about 2 decades?

University Circle neighbors uniting

Area’s neighborhoods, major institutions join to make development, revitalization a group effort

 

By SHANNON MORTLAND

 

4:30 am, September 3, 2007

 

 

 

With a push from the Cleveland Foundation, individual efforts to revitalize and build in and around University Circle have come together as one movement.

 

The foundation in 2005 formed the Greater University Circle Initiative after various people asked for its help in revamping and building in the University Circle area, said Margaret Carney, university architect and planner and associate vice president for planning and design at Case Western Reserve University. After two years of talks, the initiative finally is showing some progress.

 

The initiative has brought together those in University Circle and the five residential neighborhoods surrounding it to collectively revitalize and build up the area, which many see as the up-and-coming hot spot in Cleveland, said Lillian Kuri, director of special projects at the Cleveland Foundation.

 

“This is a moment in time where Cleveland is making huge investments,” she said. “We need a deliberate strategy in the area to leverage those dollars.”

 

Indeed, Case, the Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland Museum of Art and University Hospitals are among the institutions that have multimillion-dollar construction projects either under way or on the drawing board. Overall, Ms. Kuri said about $2 billion of new construction will be completed in the University Circle area in the next five years.

 

 

But surrounding this construction are neighborhoods with many boarded-up and crumbling homes, as well as vacant and foreclosed properties, she said. Unless the neighborhoods are improved, people likely will continue to come to the University Circle area for one reason and then head home, instead of spending the day in the area, she said.

 

“All over the country, people are realizing the sustainable future of both the institutions and neighborhoods are tied together,” Ms. Kuri said.

 

 

 

Plans on the move

 

The Cleveland Foundation has visited places such as Ohio State, Johns Hopkins and Yale universities to see how local institutions, neighborhood groups and developers have worked together to create a better overall community, rather than focusing solely on themselves, she said.

 

The initiative now boasts cooperation among the Buckeye/Shaker, Fairfax, Glenville, Hough and Little Italy neighborhoods, the Clinic, University Circle and its institutions and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The participating groups are working together on their revitalization plans, while still achieving their own objectives, Ms. Kuri said.

 

For example, neighborhoods and institutions are working with RTA to redesign two aging transit stations at East 120th Street and Cedar Hill, she said. Though RTA must rebuild the East 120th Street station by December 2010 to accommodate the Americans with Disabilities Act, she said the stations have been redesigned to best fit the community’s needs.

 

Maribeth Feke, director of programming and planning for RTA, said the stations are being designed to include more than just buses and trains. She said RTA is working with the local communities to make the station part of a development that could straddle the railroad tracks and might include parking, retail and a grocery store, as opposed to being a standalone RTA station.

 

That station will be moved closer to Mayfield Road, away from its current location at East 120th Street and Euclid Avenue, and will become part of Case’s arts and retail district to be built at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Ford and Mayfield roads, she said. Ms. Carney said plans for that development have been tweaked to include the new RTA station.

 

“Plans for the arts and retail district have improved and are very different because of that station,” she said.

 

 

 

New paths

 

Case’s plans for the West Quad research park also have changed, said Ms. Carney, who has been involved with many aspects of the Greater University Circle Initiative from the start. She said the roads surrounding the West Quad, which will be built on the former Mount Sinai Hospital campus at East 105th Street and Hough Avenue, have been reconfigured to better link the West Quad, East Boulevard and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

 

The new plan will rid the area of the confusing traffic circle known as “suicide circle,” which links Martin Luther King and East boulevards, she said.

 

“We’re all looking to tame that beast,” said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc., which represents University Circle institutions. “It could be an inviting gateway into and out of the circle, or it could be a source of confusion and a repellent.”

 

Mr. Ronayne has been a champion of redesigning the roads in and around University Circle to make them more user-friendly. He said the Cleveland Foundation and the initiative have helped UCI obtain money from local institutions to redesign suicide circle, which paved the way for UCI to get $3 million from the Ohio Department of Transportation to help fund the estimated $10 million construction project. He said UCI will use the same approach to fund other such projects.

 

The Cleveland Foundation in June also awarded University Circle Inc. a $200,000 grant to study housing, safety and retail in University Circle.

 

 

 

Howdy, neighbors

 

But all these projects don’t equal a neighborhood, so participants in the initiative are working together to encourage more people to move to the area, said Vickie Johnson, executive director of the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp.

 

Fairfax for at least 10 years has administered a program in which employees of the Clinic and University Hospitals can get $2,000 to put down on a home in the area, she said, but that program this fall will be expanded to employees of all institutions participating in the Greater University Circle Initiative.

 

Ms. Johnson said Case, the Clinic, UH and local foundations already have agreed to contribute money to a fund that is expected to have $5 million to give to local employees over five years. Foundation money will cover contributions for those institutions that can’t afford to contribute or are not permitted to participate by law, she said.

 

Without the help of the Cleveland Foundation and the launch of the Greater University Circle Initiative, Ms. Johnson said such a high level of collaboration likely wouldn’t have happened.

 

Ms. Carney added that University Circle area institutions had always largely focused only on their own projects, not trusting one another enough to share their plans. But plans seem to be coming together now that a non-partisan group is facilitating the talks, she said.

 

“Collaboration really does work,” Ms. Johnson said. “We throw that word around, but you really can accomplish more as a team.”

 

New RTA stations could jumpstart University Circle transformation

Steven Litt

Saturday, September 08, 2007

 

Cleveland needs a new architecture and urban design award, not for architects and planners, but for clients. If such a prize existed, the Greater Cleveland Regional Tran sit Authority would be a strong con tender to win it this year.

 

No, I'm not talking about RTA's big current project, the $200 million Euclid Avenue transit corridor scheduled for completion next year. It's too soon to say whether the project will be a success.

 

I'm speaking instead of RTA's advance planning for two related projects in University Circle, both of which have the potential to be outstanding...

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

RTA seems to be heading in the right direction.  Hope they can follow through and make public transport and spaces interact with each other more prominently..

This is fantastic.  Glad RTA is finally getting its TOD act together... Isn't it ironic that, a month or so ago, RTA's spokesman (a guy named Self) reported in the PD that we wouldn't be seeing rail expansion any time soon since the "demand" isn't there and, yet, with these grand UCircle projects, Red Line rail is properly flex its muscles to create demand?

Anyone have any renderings of RTA's proposal?  Also, is there any news about development of the north side of Euclid, east of Ford?

Renderings are posted at:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4504.msg217209#msg217209

Quote: "If the Red Line station is relocated here, then I would think this would be a perfect place for a small, commuter-oriented retailer (newstand, bodega, dry cleaner, coffee shop, etc.)."

 

Would this bodega resemble anything seen in half baked?  just curious.

 

Has ground been broken yet on the Madonna Place site?

Has ground been broken yet on the Madonna Place site?

 

nope.

Everything in UCircle's falling into place.  Let's keep the momentum going.

The university argues that the wiring in the Science and Research Building functioned properly and that Mal's homemade grow light and electrical equipment caused his death.

 

So, that sentance was about 2/3s way down the article.  What the hell? :wtf:

^In the print version, that sentence was the first one after the page break; it was taken from another article that also split on page 1 - maybe they were planning to slot that other article in the space and changed it while inadvertently leaving that sentence in place.  That sentence belongs to an article about a CSU biology prof who was electrocuted in 2005 due to an electrical malfunction in his lab.

yeah, I noticed that too... silly editors!

 

And here's more good news on the education front:

 

Montessori high school will open in University Circle next fall

Botanical Garden planned as school's home, for now

Monday, September 24, 2007

Angela Townsend

Plain Dealer Reporter

A Montessori high school is on track to open in University Circle next fall, though it won't have a permanent home for at least three years.

 

Initially, the school will rent space at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Western Reserve Historical Society. The plan is to eventually have a permanent building in the heart of University Circle and use the cultural and educational institutions there as resources.

 

Only 15 high schools in the country currently carry the Montessori name. Cleveland's will be the first private Montessori high school...

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

^Very interesting.

 

Do you know which house they purchased on Magnolia?

I have an idea, but I wouldn't know without checking the County records, which I'll leave up to you!

Pretty soon we're going to have to rename it "High School Circle".  Anyways, good news.

^Very interesting.

 

Do you know which house they purchased on Magnolia?

 

It's going up before the Zoning Board:

 

9:30        Ward 8

Calendar No. 07-174:          10923 Magnolia Drive    Sabra Pierce Scott

    16 Notices

 

Magnolia Place\Otis House Condominium Association, owner, and The Montessori Development Partnership, prospective purchaser, appeal to change use from a three dwelling unit Class A Multiple Dwelling, to a rooming house/dormitory, Class B Multiple Dwelling for 10 to 15 students and “house parent”, an existing two and one-half story brick dwelling structure located on the front of a 116’ x 188’ irregular shaped lot and a two-story carriage house on the rear of said lot, all located in an AA1 Limited One Family District at 10923 Magnolia Drive; and in a Limited One Family Zoning District, dormitories operated by an existing permitted school are a permitted use provided they are not operated as a gainful business and if permitted after public notice and public hearing by the Board of Zoning Appeals under appropriate safeguards and such special conditions as the Board deems necessary, and if in the judgment of the Board such uses and buildings are appropriately located and designed and will meet a community need without adversely affecting the neighborhood, according to Section 337.01(a)(2) of the Codified Ordinances.

(Filed 8-22-07)           

 

 

Absolutely awesome.

 

Montessori?  IB Curriculum?    :-D  :-D  :-D  :-D  :clap:

 

Terrific news for education in Cleveland & NEO, as well as making University Circle even more livable...

Agreed. Gotta give these kids a chance if Cleveland is to be more than a place for empty-nesters and low-income families.

University Circle Inc. to open a visitor center

Aim is to promote area's development

Friday, October 12, 2007

Tom Breckenridge

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

University Circle Inc. wants to roll out a $7 million welcome mat, starting with a new visitor and real estate center.

 

UCI will soon open a "Living in the Circle Center" at Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road, to help visitors and prospective residents check out the expanding mecca of culture, education and medicine.

 

More than $2 billion in development is under way or planned in and around the 2-square-mile district. Thousands of new jobs are expected...

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

 

 

 

 

Big news! Good to hear the campaign is going so well! Out of curiosity, is the Living in Cleveland Center being at all engaged in the creation of the Living in the Circle effort? It would be great to see some substantial cross-marketing going on between both centers.

 

"We're all sort of looking to make it the cool and kicky place where empty-nesters and young professionals come back to the city," Cleveland Foundation President Ronn Richard said in an interview last year.

 

Kicky?  :? And as a side note, aren't young professionals and empty-nesters already repopulating several Cleveland neighborhoods (Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, Downtown, Shaker Square, etc.)? Not to say you can't draw them to UC too, but should we really be making it sound like a) they're not repopulating the city and b) that they're all going to be locate in one particular neighborhood?

"Kicky?"

 

*cringe*

he could have said "kinky" and well, that would be a whole new untapped market

^I prefer "kicky" to "hip".  "Hip" is a fine word but instantly gives me the creeps when used in promotional materials (i.e., non-objectively).

Big news! Good to hear the campaign is going so well! Out of curiosity, is the Living in Cleveland Center being at all engaged in the creation of the Living in the Circle effort? It would be great to see some substantial cross-marketing going on between both centers.

 

Good idea and yes!