January 22, 201114 yr This would be incredible if this ended up morphing into an entire neighborhood of these houses in University Circle. UC needs more housing, and there are income levels only a few blocks away who could afford them.
January 23, 201114 yr This is some of the most prime real estate in Cleveland. I think they could easily sell the house for $500,000. A house ON WADE OVAL!!! I agree Murray Hill, I think UC should stuff as many homes like this in the neighborhood as possible.
January 23, 201114 yr This is some of the most prime real estate in Cleveland. I think they could easily sell the house for $500,000. A house ON WADE OVAL!!! I agree Murray Hill, I think UC should stuff as many homes like this in the neighborhood as possible. No silly, the house would be moved to Wade Park Ave. This would be at the other end of the campus across from the baseball diamond near E 115th.
January 23, 201114 yr Haha well thats what i get for skimming an article. Even still $300,000 is what the circle 118 townhomes are going for and this would have 1 more bedroom and no heating bill. I don't think they should have much of a problem selling it.
January 24, 201114 yr Case Western KSL Library is currently installing a first floor cafe to open Feb 2011: http://library.case.edu/ksl/whoweare/kslcafe.html
January 24, 201114 yr I spent many late evenings drinking gross vending machine coffee and as soon as I leave this happens. This should be a nice addition to the library.
January 24, 201114 yr I spent many late evenings drinking gross vending machine coffee and as soon as I leave this happens. This should be a nice addition to the library. I feel for you.
January 25, 201114 yr It looks like they are still on pace for a March 2011 opening. This place is going to be incredible: Cleveland: Tudor Arms building being restored Updated 1/19/11 The $22 million renovations are expected to be done in March 2011. That is when the Tudor Arms building will reopen as a 157-room Doubletree Hotel. http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=170487&catid=3 The Doubletree's website for the Tudor Arms hotel is now active. Here's the link. http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/CLEUCDT-The-Tudor-Arms-Hotel-a-Doubletree-by-Hilton-Ohio/index.do Website says the hotel will be opening in April 2011.
January 25, 201114 yr I can't wait to take a tour of the place. I am so glad that this building was saved.
January 28, 201114 yr This is an article from today's Case Observer: Growing pains and gains in University Circle http://www.cwruobserver.com/media/storage/paper1370/news/2011/01/28/Opinion/Growing.Pains.And.Gains.In.University.Circle-3971678.shtml His facts are not all quite right (I.E. Calling condo and Townhomes apartments) but it's still interesting to hear a case students perspective which is probably a pretty average response. The last paragraph is the most interesting IMO.
February 3, 201114 yr This is an article from today's Case Observer: Growing pains and gains in University Circle http://www.cwruobserver.com/media/storage/paper1370/news/2011/01/28/Opinion/Growing.Pains.And.Gains.In.University.Circle-3971678.shtml From the article: "This is one of the reasons I hope to stick around after I part ways with CWRU in May, to continue to watch the progression of a neighborhood I've so enjoyed experiencing in my time here thus far." Great example of how the city can keep recent college grads within the city - building an exciting, active environment.
February 3, 201114 yr ^Agreed. Plus I feel like this story is a true representation of Case undergrad.
February 3, 201114 yr This is an article from today's Case Observer: Growing pains and gains in University Circle http://www.cwruobserver.com/media/storage/paper1370/news/2011/01/28/Opinion/Growing.Pains.And.Gains.In.University.Circle-3971678.shtml From the article: "This is one of the reasons I hope to stick around after I part ways with CWRU in May, to continue to watch the progression of a neighborhood I've so enjoyed experiencing in my time here thus far." Great example of how the city can keep recent college grads within the city - building an exciting, active environment. For sure. University Circle and Cleveland as a whole have changed SO MUCH for the better since I started at Case 8.5 years ago. I stuck around for a reason!
February 7, 201114 yr In order news, I was walking past the Cozad-Bates house today and noticed about four to six vehicles parked in the back, all the lights on, and people inside. Now I don't know if this is part of some routine maintainance, but when I walked across to the front, I noticed this had been put up across the front porch: Looks like something is happening in there. I really hope it's going to be some sort of Cleveland/Ohio Underground Railroad Museum.
February 7, 201114 yr Yes, they are working on the next phase of restoration.... A new front porch! It was on the January agenda of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission along with some other interesting things. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/landmark/agenda/photo/01132011/index.php
February 7, 201114 yr ^Nice find. They have much better pics than me... Looks like we're losing the green color too.
February 11, 201114 yr <b>Cleveland councilman questions density, land use of $10 million apartment plan in University Circle</b> CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A $10 million apartment project in University Circle is on shaky ground, after a Cleveland councilman tabled a rezoning request for the property. WXZ Development Inc. has been working for more than a year on plans for Hazel at the Circle, a 59-unit apartment community on Hazel Drive. Scheduled to start construction by June, the project would replace parking spaces with high-end rentals aimed at graduate students, young doctors and people with short-term positions in the medical and educational communities. But City Councilman Jeff Johnson, whose ward includes Hazel, believes the project might involve too many apartments for a 1.4-acre site. And he's not convinced that renters - rather than buyers - are the right market. Last week, Johnson decided to hold off on sending a rezoning request for the land to Cleveland City Council. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/cleveland_councilman_questions.html
February 11, 201114 yr Hmm... councilman tries to shoot down apartment plan as too dense... wants for-sale units instead... weren't we just talking about this a couple days ago, how it supposedly never happens? Happening. Right now. Could somebody from UO please run against this guy?
February 11, 201114 yr Jeff Johnson is a joke. After the way he handled the west 6th street debacle over the summer I lost any respect i had for him. The Hazel site would NOT be a good spot to put condos or townhomes because it is on the edge of a "transitional" area that I just don't think is stable enough at the moment to make townhomes successful. I really do not understand what his problem with the plan is. I think he is just power tripping on this one. I can see why people complain about the city when developers backed by the most respected cdc in the city are turned down for "I need to talk to some people about this".
February 11, 201114 yr I don't think its Jeff Johnson's place to be deciding whether this development is rentals or for sale. When is the last time a private developer wanted to spend $10 million in his district on new market rate housing....? I hate to be negative but this is the kind of stuff that keeps Cleveland back.
February 11, 201114 yr Density concerns? Are u serious? http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/cleveland_councilman_questions.html
February 11, 201114 yr Johnson has stepped way beyond his role, his pay scale and his expertise. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 11, 201114 yr Perhaps he wasn't given enough "campaign contributions" and "personal loans" like the last time
February 11, 201114 yr Well, there you go. Some people know their stuff.... others don't. Especially when the others have no clue as to what they're talking about. Especially when the developer studies the market area and finds that rentals are the best use for the site. Oh well... But then again, this may just be politics. He may know of a better deal for the site which hasn't been announced yet- why else would a politician purposely shoot down a planned development in his ward? That doesn't make sense unless he didn't receive his in-pocket "campaign contributions".
February 11, 201114 yr Johnson is a climber and will not miss out on any opportunity to expand his portfolio or force people to talk to him. Expect to see more of him as time goes on. EDIT: They stopped taking comments? Seriously? Those were some of the nicest comments about Johnson I've ever seen on C.com.
February 11, 201114 yr What a sick joke. My only complaint about density is that the block facing Hazel won't be two stories taller. And that there isn't an equally dense development across the street in place of that unremarkable house and other large surface lot. Ridiculous. How can you "slow down" a glacial pace of development any more?
February 11, 201114 yr Mark my words.... Johnson does not have the reach or authority to kill this project. The City does not have the final say here and if it stands with Johnson it will lose.... again.
February 11, 201114 yr ^Do you think other councilpeople will approve a rezoning in his district against Johnson's wishes? Honest question- that is an absolute no no in other cities but don't know how it works in Cleveland. By the way, in case anyone's interested, here's a rendering of a townhouse plan for this site, presumably Brickman's proposal: http://www.dimitarchitects.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&Itemid=125 By the way, this episode is the other edge of the holding zone sward. By keeping this lot [and presumably much of University Circle] in a preposterously low density zoning district (single family), earlier city leaders set this up today. Hopefully it ends up being no big deal.
February 11, 201114 yr in the comments someone asked if another commenter was kjp from urbanohio. I think urbanohio should never be mentioned on cleveland.com. we don't need to encourage those idiots to find this site.
February 11, 201114 yr ^Do you think other councilpeople will approve a rezoning in his district against Johnson's wishes? Honest question- that is an absolute no no in other cities but don't know how it works in Cleveland. By the way, in case anyone's interested, here's a rendering of a townhouse plan for this site, presumably Brickman's proposal: http://www.dimitarchitects.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&Itemid=125 I don't think the City will want this one going to court on an administrative appeal should any variance request be denied. They are trying to lean on the owner now, but I suspect they will cave eventually. The City simply can't show a present market for what Johnson envisions.
February 11, 201114 yr ^Interesting, thanks. Time to brush up on my Ohio land use law I guess. The article indicates that the developer would seek a rezoning, not a variance- does this change things at all? Also, I don't think the developer owns the land- I believe UCI does.
February 11, 201114 yr UCI owning the land changes my take then. While UCI is private, I'm sure it wants to maiintain a cooperative relationship with the city.
February 11, 201114 yr I don't see the argument for ownership as opposed to rental here. I agree that ownership typically is a good thing to encourage for most neighborhoods and I certainly have not done a market study here, but with a university you absolutely have a market for people that are only going to be in the area for 1-4 years. These people obviously don't want to buy. EDIT: I seriously question the relationship between Johnson and Brickman and whether Brickman is appropriate for Johnson to seek advice from as Brickman may have his own biases if he wants to develop this site himself.
February 11, 201114 yr ^ I thought the same thing. That definitely seemed to be a subtext of the article. Not suggesting any impropriety, but I found the wording that Councilman Johnson used in describing Brickman as "people whose opinions I respect who are not stakeholders in it" and "I've been around 30 years and I'm not riding his horse" a) peculiar and b) like he was trying a little too hard to make it look like this advice was above the board. That, coupled with the fact that he's advocating a development strangely akin to what Brickman suggested, seems a little odd to me.
February 11, 201114 yr The issue of apartments and condos can be handled pretty easily... I've seen it here, in D.C. where a lot of places allow renting of units to transfer into Condo payments should a resident chose to alter their position on the unit. It requires a little bit of finesse with regard to accounting, but honestly it's all over the place here because a lot of people want to rent, but end up staying. It's the simplest way to keep the free-market involved in the process. I think we'd all agree apartments are the way to go (right now) but perhaps some people want to own their space, so we give them the option. It's not up to Johnson (or anyone in government) to decide what the people want.
February 11, 201114 yr This brings to mind when I heard someone describing development here as a "Cedar Point" process. Developing something here is like riding in one of the big rides at Cedar Point. You go winding back and forth through the lines until you come to a guy standing at a turnstile. You have to buy some sort of ticket from him, at which point they stamp your hand and you move on, winding your way through more of the line. Then you come to another turnstile, and you have to figure out what ticket to buy at this one. Then you get your hand stamped, and you move on to the next turnstile....... I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine who is manning the turnstiles.
February 11, 201114 yr Despite the deference reflected in the article, I bet there is dart board with Johnson's face on it in the UCI offices. They have been trying to develop this parcel for years. I run into the president of XYZ on occasion (although I have not seen him for more than a month) and I will try to get his "inside" take (in other words not filtered for the press) if I see him. I do know, after speaking to him in the past, that he was very excited to do this project and we specifically talked about for sale housing not working on that site at this time and the demand for high end rentals for students who are only here a sort period of time (as he mentioned in the article). It is not like he is not experienced and committed to the area given his Circle 118 development. Despite this, why would you want to throw any unnecessary road blocks in the way of a suburban developer when it is so much easier to just build on some virgin farm land in Medina than the city.
February 11, 201114 yr Coltman and Circle 118 sure do seem to be selling well despite the economy. I wonder if UCI was worried that if they went the for-sale route that the project would stall due to a difficult financing environment. While I like the design of Dimit's/Brickman's proposal, I really think it feels totally out of place.
February 11, 201114 yr ^Interesting. From the street, I thought the Brickman townhouse proposal would actually fit in a little better because it was broken into four masses instead of a single wall of units (like XYZs). I'm not really bothered by the fit of either proposal though...I'm kind of excited by such visible expressions of residential density, which are still pretty gentile with their little landscaped setbacks and tree lawns. [EDIT: oops, I forgot that the XYZ site plan also breaks up the units into three groups, so not a single wall.] Despite the deference reflected in the article, I bet there is dart board with Johnson's face on it in the UCI offices. They have been trying to develop this parcel for years. Yeah, I'd certainly bet good money on that.
February 11, 201114 yr Email him: [email protected] http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/Home/CouncilMembers/Ward8JeffreyJohnson/tabid/60/Default.aspx
February 12, 201114 yr in the comments someone asked if another commenter was kjp from urbanohio. I think urbanohio should never be mentioned on cleveland.com. we don't need to encourage those idiots to find this site. Um, that's probably cause the poster's name on Cleveland.com was KJP, so the other poster was asking a valid question. Not saying it is the KJP from UO, of course. There are several of UOers who post occasionally on Cle.com
February 12, 201114 yr in the comments someone asked if another commenter was kjp from urbanohio. I think urbanohio should never be mentioned on cleveland.com. we don't need to encourage those idiots to find this site. That's why I didn't respond to that person on cleveland.com. Yes it was me. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 13, 201114 yr A little editorial shout out from the PD. Not as in detail like Urbanohio, but it's still a little blip nonetheless: Fertile ground at University Circle: editorial Published: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 4:30 AM By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board The daffodils won't begin pushing up for several weeks yet, but there's plenty sprouting out of the ground at University Circle already. Construction continues on the $150 million mixed-use Uptown project along Euclid Avenue east of Mayfield Road -- 102 apartments and more than 50,000 square feet of retail space should be ready to lease this summer. University Hospitals and the Cleveland Museum of Art continue their expansions. And this week, ground was broken for the Circle's next gem: the Museum of Contemporary Art, at the southeast corner of Mayfield and Euclid. http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/02/fertile_ground_at_university_c.html
February 24, 201114 yr Awesome, awesome, awesome article: place making: mrn caps off string of successful urban developments with tudor arms http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/tudararmsrestored021711.aspx
February 25, 201114 yr The only proof I have that work is happening inside -- a dumster with construction materials: Tudor Arms: New Hawken School (University Circle Campus): Temple -Tifereth Israel (Donated to CWRU for Performing Arts Center...awaiting renovation) from Newton Ave in the distance: HQ:
February 25, 201114 yr The new Zeta Beta Tau house on Magnolia Drive: BACK: And FRONT: Adelbert RD huge infrastructure improvements (UH and CWRU): The 13 renovated mansions on E. 105th north of the VA Hospital:
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