there really isn't any huge tracts of land that aren't developed in some shape or form other than some scattered parking lots, not that i can think of off hand.....

 

I guess there is midtown, ripe for development

There's a pretty significant development/redevelopment project going on around East Boulevard called "Heritage Lane."

 

http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/mayor/press/2004/200408/08_19_2004.html

 

Here are the key parts of it...

 

"The Heritage Lane Historic Homes and Heritage Lane Townhomes combined, are a $18 million development project being made possible through $2.5 million in Housing Trust Funds and $2 million in Empowerment Zone Funds from the City of Cleveland. Additional funding is being made possible through National City Bank, Huntington Bank, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and Village Capital Corporation.

...

Located on the east side of East 105th Street, between Superior and Wade Park, the Heritage Lane Historic Homes range in size from 3,500-5,000 square feet, and include magnificently restored exteriors, full front porches, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, gourmet kitchens, 5-7 bedrooms, bedroom level laundry facilities, 2-3 bathrooms, all customized to buyer’s tastes. The starting price is $274,000.

 

Located on the west side of East 105th Street, right across the street, the Heritage Lane Townhomes floor plans will range from 1,600 to 2,100 square feet and feature 1.5-2.5 baths, 2-3 bedrooms, live-work bonus room, second story deck, bay window, basement, private drive, and two-car garage. The starting price is $174,900.

 

Both housing developments will feature below market financing. The Heritage Lane Historic Homes will also include 10-year tax abatement, while the Heritage Lane Townhomes will include 15-year tax abatement."

 

and a site plan from Progressive Urban Real Estate:

 

 

here are some photos of the new CWRU housing from last week

 

 

Some photos of the lots on Euclid/Ford/Mayfield and how they relate to the new dorms...

 

Mi Pueblo & the Euclid Tavern [sniff, sniff], looking northeast from E. 117th & Euclid:

Looking back towards the new Case North Residential Village construction:

Corner of E. 115th & Euclid, looking west towards Ford/Mayfield:

Another, including the newly acquired Triangle property on the left:

 

I miss the Euclid Tavern too.  With so many people interested, you'd think someone would hop on the idea of resurrecting it.  But, maybe things have moved on- new Grog Shop, Beachland Ballroom, HOB, etc.  Whoever did it would have to try to find some special niche.

 

Those Case dorms are starting to look impressive.  They seem to match well with the older brownstone apartments around that area.

yeah, well, considering the amount of investment that CWRU is putting into on-campus housing alone, the Euc' is going to be right on the edge of campus with a whole new population of students just two blocks away.  Add to that the potential redevelopment of several sites nearby and the existing housing that's already there...there's got to at least be a market for a bar/pub/tavern, right?  The other thing about the Euc' is that it wasn't exactly the ideal spot to see or hear music, but it's a great place to have a beer and hang out.  The market will bring it back...believe!

 

and yes, walking around the CWRU/Wade Oval area reinvigorated my belief that it is one of the most beautiful places in the city...just give people a place to LIVE down there and it'll get even hotter!!!

what, are they knocking down the old stuff??? 

Once they finish the North Residential Village this summer, they are supposed to start knocking down the old dorms in groups of three and replacing them.  I don't know the timeline, but I got the impression that it will be a continual process.  This should really change things for the better.  Even before I knew what good architecture was, I hated thos old dorms across from Arabica. Very depressing and cold.

really?  that's great, because the ones that I was standing next to when i took those pictures were terrible!  i mean, i had some of the worst while at UC, but come on, these things looked like temporary military housing on stilts!

 

So, i guess i assumed (bad move) that they were going to try to lure more students to either stay on campus longer or move to campus where they would otherwise commute.  i'm assuming they have an undergraduate residency requirement like most other schools, but if they wanted to provide an option for students to stay on campus longer and not move elsewhere, the new housing would suit that purpose.  either way (knocking down or leaving the old stuff) I think there are going to be many more rooms for students in the neighborhood and students like to hang out and drink beer (sometimes even legally!), so the effect on the stretch of Euclid closer to 120th Street could still be noticeable.

yes, case is trying to expand. When they added about another 300 or so to the recent freshman classes, they realized there wasn't enough dorm space to accomodate the extra kids. So in the long run there will be an increase.

 

And yes case does have a housing requirement, 3-yrs or 21 yrs of age to live off-campus. But its extremely easy to lie your way out of it.

The old dorms will be replaced with more of what you see going up already.  The difference is that they will be arranged around a traditional quad, not a ballfield like the current set.

wow, that sounds great!  i mean, I've heard of professional development, but providing startup workspace and capital???  geez!  how attractive would that be as an incoming/prospective student???

^  very   :wink:

oooooh zoiks!

 

you just had to go and show the euc on there!?! snif!

 

here's a video of the dorms, its worth watching if only for the dancing elvis,

 

http://studentaffairs.case.edu/living/construction/phase1/video/1400.html

that video is ridiculous...

 

or maybe i'm just so out of touch with what attracts undergrads these days...

wow couldnt they ask a cia student to make something better...? 

I agree. They probably spent way too much money on that video.  The music, the Elvis.  The dorms are pretty enough, you don't need a bad video to prove it to the students. 

Am I the only one who didn't know that the CWRU village project was going to be LEED certified???  If they receive certification, this project will be among the first (and largest) in Ohio!  This is fantastic!  I hope Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are paying attention and will start to make certain LEED points mandatory in their new (public) projects.

 

Case's Village @ 115 to be among nation's leaders in energy efficiency, environmentally conscious design

First phase of $126 million North Residential Village to open this fall

May 9, 2005 | For more information: Kimyette Finley 216-368-0521

 

Case Western Reserve University’s new $126 million housing project —The Village at 115—is expected to be among the nation’s leaders in energy efficiency and environmentally conscious design.

 

In addition to pursuing points on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system for the seven residential houses in three buildings that will open this fall, Case also is establishing one of the most comprehensive systems for measuring energy consumption.

 

“We’ll be among the first LEED-certified buildings in Ohio and considered a national leader in energy measurement and verification. This will be on the cutting edge,” said Donald Kamalsky, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of housing at Case.

 

Informational kiosks in each residential house will provide the 740 students who occupy The Village at 115 with statistics on real-time steam, water and electricity. Monthly and annual energy use will be monitored and calculated per house and per student occupant.

 

In addition, energy operations for the Village at 115 will be compared to existing conventionally-designed buildings on campus.

 

Overall, the high performance buildings in The Village at 115 are expected to reduce annual energy consumption by 40 percent, and reduce peak heating and cooling demand by 30-40 percent over conventional buildings.

 

“We wanted to make the buildings a teaching instrument and help students to learn and live an environmentally appropriate lifestyle,” said Gene Matthews, director of facilities services at Case. “Once students understand how their lifestyles impact [the environment], they can begin to control how much energy the building consumes, and it gives them some control over their living space.

 

“Our goal is to produce a generation of students who are more environmentally aware and conscious not because they learned it out of a book, but because they learned to live that way here,” Matthews added.

 

The data on energy consumption also will be broadcast on the Internet, allowing researchers from almost anywhere to access the information.

 

Energy-efficient initiatives for The Village at 115 include a heating and cooling system design that allow for hot and chilled water to be generated at two central locations and then distributed to each house that is part of this phase of the project. The system is designed to reduce energy usage and loss, as well as maximize free cooling and heating during the “shoulder” seasons of fall and spring.

 

The Village at 115 also features a unique system for ground water recharge, the collection of surface storm water and most roof run-off water. The water will percolate into the ground gradually rather than into the sewer system with wastewater.

 

“Students said we should be a model for building energy-efficient buildings. Being responsive to environmental concerns was the responsible thing to do,” Kamalsky said.

 

In addition to the environmentally conscious features that will exist in the new buildings, Kamalsky said about 60 percent of the construction waste for this project has been recycled.

 

Other energy conservation measures and efforts to encourage recycling for The Village at 115 include:

 

-highly insulated, air tight buildings

-light shelves

-high-performance windows

-local materials such as brick, slate and poured in place concrete (cuts down on fuel and transportation costs)

-construction materials that were made from recycled materials

-motion detectors to monitor occupancy and reduce energy used for lighting

-recycling bins in each residential house

-electrical distribution that is designed to reduce power loss

-individual fan coil units in each suite to moderate temperature

-drip irrigation and low-flow plumbing fixtures for water conservation

 

Project organizers are compiling an inventory of all these environmental measures and will send the information to the U.S. Green Buildings Council, which will award LEED points for the project. LEED-certified professionals have been involved with various stages of The Village at 115.

 

 

LEED certified??? If they receive certification, this project will be among the first (and largest) in Ohio!

 

ooh, almost the first. brunswick has a supermarket certified LEED.

Brunswick?  who knew?!  (aside from Summit Street, that is) 

 

The more the merrier!

One of the buildings is going to be going for LEED Gold.  That's a level that only a handful of buildings nationally have attained.  And people panned these buildings for being too architecturally conservative!  Progressivety isn't just style.

I was poking around Case's site and found a reference to the architects that are planning the new dorms.  Looks like they are in the final stages of planning out the rest of the new phases for the dorms.  Specifically, I have heard that a consolidation of Greek houses is part of the next step.  Here is some info from the architect's site:

 

ASG completed the 128-acre Case Western campus master plan in 2002. The University then requested a site plan and further study of the North Residential Village as the location of the Greek community, with prototype buildings for 18, 24, and 36 students in duplex and stand-alone facilities.

 

This strategy was one of several presented in the master plan to meet Case Western’s goal of creating the premier living/learning environment. After the initial Greek focus, the study expanded to include the phased addition of six residential colleges for freshmen and additional on-campus housing for sophomores, juniors, and seniors now on the south campus. That area would become the site for graduate housing.

 

Student life services also will expand and improve, including a new dining and recreation facility to replace the existing dining halls.

 

Study Completion: 2005

 

 

As much as I'm excited about the new plans for UC, I think this article raises a couple of valid concerns: 1) the seeming disregard for preserving the area's historic architecture; and 2) the fact that the area is becoming a medical/academic "ghetto" of sorts. There should be more emphasis on residential development and preservation! Lots of people would love to live in UC -- if only there were better housing options. I know there are some plans for new housing in the area, but a lot of it is for students.

 

E. 115th St. demolitions upset neighbors

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Barb Galbincea

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Tim Damon shook his head as he surveyed the clawfoot tub, silver radiators and slate shingles heaped among a pile of rubble that until Monday was a house on East 115th Street.

 

The building, owned by University Circle Inc., has been uninhabited and decaying since he and other tenants were moved out in 1998, Damon said.

 

The more than 100-year-old structure and the house beside it, just north of Euclid Avenue, are giving way for the eventual construction of a retail-residential complex along Euclid, according to Debra Posner, a UCI spokeswoman. For the short term, she said, the cleared property will be open, green space.   Oh great! Just what the city needs -- more vacant lots.

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

yeah, i'm upset about this one too. those properties always looked super sweet (and vacant) since my first year at case in 1999. tsk tsk UCI

i just say them today, im in a bit of shock.  i didnt know those were "in the way" of the new development thats proposed there

as much as I feel that UC needs residential and retail growth and is one of the areas of this city that can support it, I am saddened as well that there aren't more efforts at present to reuse historic structures.  I'm not familiar with the ones mentioned above, but I believe that two large, historic Mt. Sinai buildings are slated to come down on the West Quad property, while at the same time, a nasty parking garage is being "preserved."

 

On the other hand, satisfying both the aims of historic preservation and new housing provision, the beautiful Park Lane Villa building, adjacent to Wade Park Manor, will be renovated and reopened in the near future...a definite win there!

I agree that 'holding vacant land for future possibilities' angle is poison here in Cleveland -- you know our town, that land could be vacant-yet-waiting 30 years from now. 

 

And yes MGD, I agree w/ your sentiment.  UCI/U. Circle, have probably the worst track record in historic preservation in the entire region.  While I'm obviously happy to have our world-renowned research hospitals there, UCI's allowed them (esp hemmed-in U. Hosp) to run roughshod over its historic residential neighborhood, building garage after garage while tearing down some beautiful houses and old walk-ups.  Damn shame.

 

clvndr,

 

The governing structure of UCI is set up so that it has to do what its largest members tell it to.  If Case says jump, then UCI has to jump.  A lot has been lost in the past decades due to poor ideas of how to grow the Circle.

 

 

holy fuck shit dear mother of god sweet jebus:

 

The old Rite Aid Property at Cornell in euclid finally has a tennant. Its going to be a starbucks, i could care less about who the tennant is, just the fact that the property has been sitting vacant since 1999 at a very key intersection of UC

I hope it does not run Arabica out of the 'hood.

 

How is that Arabica doing lately by the way?

^If Arabica could hire people with a sliver of a work ethic, they'll stand a great chance of staying in business!

^The new Starbucks is going to be a Starbucks/Charter One.  I believe that the bank will keep Starbucks' hours.  Strange.

a bank open past 4pm? huh?

 

also, will there be two separate entries/spaces? or are they one and the same?

I believe that it will have one entrance. While I am not a Starbucks fan, this will help draw people out of the megalopolis that is UHHS.  The University Circle East building needs more foot traffic. 

 

BTW, UCI just won a little battle with RTA.  RTA was going to take 3/4 of the sidewalk infront of Starbucks, Uptown Grill, Rascal House, etc for a turning lane on Euclid Ave for Mayfield Rd.  Fortunately, the sidewalk will be left alone.

That's great news!  It would've been a BIG mistake to cut into that plaza...

a turning lane for the #9?

The Hessler St. people crack me up. 

 

I saw an aerial map of UC that was about 25 years old.  I am amazed at the amount of surface parking that has been turned into green space or buildings. 

I was told at a meeting yesterday that University Circle is the second largest employment center in the state, behind downtown Cleveland?  Does anyone know if this is true?

 

They also said that Case, UH, and the Clinic are three of the top ten largest employers in the entire Northeast Ohio region. 

 

Considering the fact that UC has a nationally known univerity, that so many people work there, and that it's chock full of cultural insitutions, it's a no-brainer that this area should be a world-class neighborhood.  It is the cultural and intellectual capital of the region!  Plus it's close to the Lake and in close proximity to a ton of green space.  I hope these discussions bear fruit.   

Hessler Road and the West Side Market Merchants Association...two "institutions" that are resisting development for reasons that make no sense!  Why do they fight like mad to keep surface parking lots on adjacent land when it is so clear that additional housing and retail would only serve to make their lives better?!  I know they'd argue this point to the death, but I stand by it!

Hessler residents were given permission to park on the beach a while ago.  They don't want to lose their parking.  Someone said "if you build on the beach, the Hessler residents will lay down infront of the bulldozers."  I say all the better!

are you kidding???  I always thought it was because buildings would block their sunlight!  Parking spaces???  That's ridiculous! 

You know, there's an easier solution to all of this -- start encouraging friends of yours (or, more specifically, friends of developing the Euclid/Ford corner) to move onto Hessler and change the consensus. It's a nice street. Market it to more open-minded people!

but UCI does have a reputation as being bad property owners (i.e. demolition), from the local residents, whether its true or not, you ask some of long time UC residents, and they really dislike UCI

 

[/broad generalization]

 

And really i think hessler only has a handful of the left over hippies. For the most part, its all rental housing for students.

I would never live on Hessler... it's too close to that big parking lot at Ford & Euclid!

 

Now, if someone were to build a nice set of buildings there and fix up the shopping center across the street and give me a reason to walk around the corner to buy a coffee or a book or just stroll and people watch...I'd probably want to live there!

have patience for the big lot on euclid (unless you were being sarcastic)

^Hmmm...I guess I never responded to that...of course I was being sarcastic!  I was basically being a smart-ass and saying that I'd much rather live next door to a thriving retail street than a parking lot.  This is something that some very vocal people in the neighborhood disagree with me on...

And in other news, as all of our attention has shifted to the intersection of Ford & Euclid, the big construction that's happening right now is going unnoticed!  Of course we all know that CMA is expanding and that their doors will be closing for 6 months (starting tomorrow!), but what about the Cleveland Institute of Music's project?

 

The last I heard about it was a murmur on here some pages back, but while visiting CMA and walking around beautiful Wade Oval yesterday, I came across the site and found that it's moving along quite well!  Alas, I did not have my camera with me, but trust that it is taking shape. 

 

CMA's construction is much more noticeable, as it wraps around two sides of the building.  Unfortunately, construction will last well into 2010, if not beyond.  It will be exciting to watch it get vertical, but a shame to lose full access to the museum for such a long period of time.  I'm sure it will be well worth the wait, though!

Anyone seen this blog entry yet?  It was posted on the Cuyahoga County Weblog and is a pretty extensive view at what looks like an updated Case master plan:

 

http://darthvadermeditations.blogspot.com/2006/01/early-action.html

 

ps: there's tons of free stuff going on down at UC today for MLK Day!  If you've got nothing to do, check it out! 

 

http://universitycircle.org/NEWS/MLKday.htm