From what I hear, though, the RTA wants to move the station to a point between E. 120th and Mayfield...kind of midway...and have it be a part of the larger Triangle redevelopment.  Not the best idea, in my mind, because it won't be as visible and the connection to Little Italy would be much less obvious/direct.  I'll look forward to that article!

hmm i would think it could still be integrated into the triangle development if it were at mayfield.  travel between CIA/Triangle and Little Italy is pretty common and not really isolated at all

The stop definetely needs to be along the Mayfield, just seems so obvious (although there is always that myth that people in Little Italy don't want the type of people riding the rails hanging in their neighborhood.  Hopefully they are past that).  It could be a really cool station if it is squeezed into the existing urban fabric and somehow connected to the rest of the development going on there.  Hopefully RTA doesn't out it in the middle of the block/off the street like many of it's other stations (Triskett is the worst stop for pedestrians ever, it's located in the middle of a sea of surface parking about a half mile off of the street.  Horrible).

its not a myth as of 4 years ago.

 

If anything matters, little italy is less italian than four years ago. (more students and yuppies)

i get off at UC station in the morning with about a dozen other people who are all walking to hospitals, institutions, etc and we walk through little italy, peeing on porches and throwing empty bottles of boones farm into the road.  I can't blame them for not wanting a station closer to them!

 

seriously, though, if this myth exists, it's a ridiculous one.  but i have my doubts that it's all about the Little Italians...I think it's more about the RTA and ODOT.

I can't find the link online, but the PD print version has a story about how the Natural History Museum will be renovating itself into a more interesting and interactive place.  They are also going to build a new parking garage. I really wish that some of these institutions would built joint parking facilities.  I remember talking to someone at CMNH last year. She said that the expansion was not an attempt at bringing in more folks to see the place--it is more of an attempt to enliven what they've got.

News from the Planning Commision: Debbie Berry, now former Lakefront Plan Manager, will strat working at UC.

Don't know in what capacity.

News from the Planning Commision: Debbie Berry, now former Lakefront Plan Manager, will strat working at UC.

Don't know in what capacity.

 

She starts in early August and will work on infrastructure and development planning.

Case gets grant for polymer research center

 

 

Surprising that Case got this grant instead of the already established University of Akron polymer program. But maybe that's the point-to start up new polymer research centers.

great news!  does this mean the college of engineering won't be losing its dean? 

Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Incorporated (UCI) has recently been interviewed by Meet the Bloggers (MTB)  The interview can bel downloaded in four parts at

http://www.meetthebloggers.net

 

MTB is a local group of NEO bloggers who provide an alternative to the traditional press.  They have a catalog of interviews, some transcribed, and originally focused on politics, but recently they seem to be branching out.  All in all, a GREAT development for NEO.

 

If you are interested in what's happenin' in University Circle, do give this a listen!

Just to nip any duplication in the bud, I put today's PD article and graphics in the transportation section.

The Dutch firm MVRDV is supposedly involved with designing a possible addition to the old Ford Plant which is the "factory building" mentioned in the article.  If that firm did that, and then SHoP Architects possibly doing the MOCA space (dependant on a new developer being found) the Triangle would be an instant must see for architects and arch students who travel all over the country to see famous architects' work.

^oh man, that would be sweet!

Better news out of University Circle on Sunday.  Steven Litt has been busy of late.

 

Alliance bodes well for University Circle

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Steven Litt

Plain Dealer Architecture Critic

 

The contrast is shocking and ridiculous. Uni versity Circle, the pride of Cleveland, is home to more than 40 educational, medical and cultural institutions including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University.

 

But the East 120th Street Red Line rapid station, the stop closest to those institutions, could be in the Third World.

The station entrance hugs the east side of a dark, grimy railroad abutment next to Euclid Avenue, about four miles east of downtown. To reach the train platform, you push through a pair of greasy-looking glass doors, walk through a narrow tunnel with puddles that smell faintly of urine and climb a flight of stairs...

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

hey, any little bit helps..

 

 

$700,000 allotted to Historical Society

 

By SHANNON MORTLAND

 

6:00 am, August 21, 2006

 

 

 

The Western Reserve Historical Society will receive $700,000 from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission to upgrade its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the library and Halle Collection wings.

 

The commission previously provided $300,000 to the society to update its infrastructure in the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum and in its central annex area.

 

 

I'm sick of studies. Start doing something, for the love of God. I don't understand why they need to "study" what college kids want. They want to have fun and have cool things to do. They don't need a polymer ice skating rink. What the hell?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/entertainment/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_entertainment/archives/2006_09.html#183045

 

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

 

Study imagines more lively, edgy University Circle

 

 

5:37 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006

 

By Steven Litt

Plain Dealer Architecture Critic

 

Bike barns. Balconies. Bowling alleys. A performing arts lab. An “ice” rink made of polymer for year-round skating. Buildings painted in wild colors.

 

Those are a few of the concepts sprinkled throughout the “Catalog of New Ideas for University Circle,” the fruit of a year-long planning study by design consultants Dennis and Kathleen Barrie for the non-profit University Circle Inc...

leave it to University Circle (i.e CWRU) to come up with a skating rink built by polymers for year round use.

 

I didn't think it was possible to reach new levels of dorkdom.

I'm not usually pro-study, but I'm kind of glad they assembled this info. Hopefully, it will inspire a whole host of neighborhoods to make things a little "edgier".

 

If nothing else, gotsta love what Tirana has done. Obviously, we need to preserve historic gems without paintin' 'em up, but there a LOT of areas in Cleveland where this could be done - the first that jumps to mind is the corridor of sprawling, low-rise, non-architecturally significant warehouses along lower St. Clair.

 

 

Trust that there are plans and/or active interest in about every square foot of land in and around University Circle.  That's not to say that anything will necessarily happen with this land anytime soon, just that more than a few people recognize its potential and the need to develop up and out over the next several years.

This study is interesting and a very good thing. I wonder how much influence it will have. Considering the past year at UCI, I wonder how seriously people will take this.  The study started back in the Terry Hamilton-Brown era (did a rising political career ever dissipate so quickly in Cleveland?), lived through the interim days and concluded with Ronayne. I fully trust Ronayne, but I also know that individual developers all have their own ideas.

I'm not usually pro-study, but I'm kind of glad they assembled this info. Hopefully, it will inspire a whole host of neighborhoods to make things a little "edgier".

 

If nothing else, gotsta love what Tirana has done. Obviously, we need to preserve historic gems without paintin' 'em up, but there a LOT of areas in Cleveland where this could be done - the first that jumps to mind is the corridor of sprawling, low-rise, non-architecturally significant warehouses along lower St. Clair.

 

 

Like EWWW  Gag me with a pitchfork!

 

That crap looks like someone "threw up" Miami on a neighborhood and said "its hot"!  I don't think so!

I agree with 8shades.  Something like that to shake up the monotony is a nice thing.  Of course, it can be entirely distasteful if done wrong, but hey, you've gotta take some chances!

 

As for how useful this will be... I don't know how much it will affect thinking inside the Circle.  I know it was brought on by years of stagnation in thinking "big" and creative thinking...see PBL's sharp criticisms from last year that basically called for bringing back the hookers and adult book stores!  I can see how this is constructive...the study...but like Wim, I'm not sure how much people/institutions inside the Circle will buy into it.  If nothing else, it can be seen as yet another refreshing look at what "could be."  Maybe we'll get a few new outside investors looking into the district.  Or maybe a conservative local developer (I can think of a few!) will decide it's time for them to step it up and make a statement in a high-profile area.  I can get down with that!  As long as it translates into thoughtful new development.

^ I absolutely agree. I can imagine looks of horror on some of the big players' faces when they see some of the things in this study. That being said, I think that if nothing else, edgier and more innovative elements could appear in areas BESIDES buildings, e.g. use of greenspace, signage, public art, etc. Hopefully, as you noted, it will also lead to at least some isolated innovations, along the lines of demonstration sites.

 

Again, I think that these same principles can be overlayed, with more community buy-in and equal success, in other Cleveland neighborhoods that are looking to rebrand as "edgier". 

"Like EWWW  Gag me with a pitchfork! That crap looks like someone "threw up" Miami on a neighborhood and said "its hot"!  I don't think so!"

 

Riiiight, there's certainly no need to improve on these beauties!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm all for interesting architecture, but those things are ugly. Putting bright colors on a structure that appears as if its a phase two building at Crocker Park is not what University Circle needs.

From the terminal tower to PBL (both of which I like, yes, I like PBL), Cleveland is always building last-year's model.  Sigh.  Cheers to the New Gallery (n.k.a MOCA like every other city's contemporary art space) for pushing for something fresh.

 

UC is so ripe for an explosion of cool stuff but I fear there is too much inertia: there is so much buzz about making it more happening but I suspect the institutions will freak out at soon as it become hard to find parking (I mean big city hard, not Cleveland hard) or someone tries to build on one of those suburban front lawns.  Maybe flashing some pretty pictures in front of people will help a little bit.

As for the Tirana buildings: I suppose they are bit, er, aggressive, but we could seriously use some color downtown.  I would kill for a nice orange or yellow building on a grey February day.  Something to break up all that gray and buff stone and concrete.  All the glass does (swoopy or not) is reflect the gray sky and all that gray and buff stone and concrete.

For me, the point is less about whether the color schemes are to my personal liking, but rather whether they signal something different and something that will make people take notice. I think anytime you take risks in designing the physical environment (whether that be risks with color, structure, material or location), you're bound to rurn some people off. But when you try to design an environment that is "non-offensive", I think you often end up with something bland, milquetoast and absolutely forgettable (and I think this is true of a lot of the building stock in Tirana, as well as sizable sections of Cleveland). Even in our artsiest districts, I can't think of too much "edge". All I'm saying is that whether we individually like particular elements or not, Cleveland should mix some innovations into its mix, rather than catering to some citywide lowest common denominator.

 

Here's one example. Personally, I think this is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen in this city. But I bet there's not too many people who've missed it. Or who couldn't approximate its location.

here's a blog on planning in University Circle:

 

http://adva.com/clevelandcircle/?page_id=17

Parking lot operator buys land near University Circle

 

 

 

4:14 p.m.

 

Parking lot developer John Coyne and his son, a commercial real estate broker, are teaming with others to buy six acres of vacant land that sits between University Circle and Little Italy.

 

Terry Coyne, a senior vice president at the Cleveland office of Grubb & Ellis, said the family-led partnership is interested in the property because of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's plans to build a new rapid station near the site...

 

 

more at:  http://www.cleveland.com

^Sounds like the Coltman Rd. site aka Mayfield lofts that an LLC (Coltman rd Developement corporation) cleaned up about 2 winters ago.  It is a smaller swath of property, yet could serve for a nice developement. 

I was pretty sure that the previous owners didn't plan on developing the property.  Sounds like this was a quick decision.

^If this is the building I'm thinking of, it's a shame they're tearing it down. It's mega-cool, and I believe artists are either squatting or living legally in it.

"Parking lot developer" -- is there a special ring in hell for them?

I don't think that anything is going to be torn down. There is nothing there at the moment.

Oh, OK. You know me and parking lots, wim. I get a little touchy.

Oh, OK. You know me and parking lots, wim. I get a little touchy.

 

Blinky I totally agree.  Parking lots are EVIL!  cities should be made and maintained for PEOPLE not cars.  with all the people that work in this area, the streets should be filled with street level retail and such.  this makes no damn sense, no matter how you spin it!

as some of the previous posts allude to, this is a temporary plan for a highly developable piece of land.  with the pending decision by the RTA about where to locate/rebuild the rapid station, this land could be needed or could become an even more marketable development possibility.

 

trust me, no one in my camp wants this to stay a parking lot!

 

Blinky I totally agree.  Parking lots are EVIL!  cities should be made and maintained for PEOPLE not cars.  with all the people that work in this area, the streets should be filled with street level retail and such.  this makes no damn sense, no matter how you spin it!

 

i had a lovely experience today at caribou with suburbanites bitching about a) parking downtown b) getting caught by a cleveland traffic camera and then c) bitching about speed limits on surface streets.

 

Blinky I totally agree.  Parking lots are EVIL!  cities should be made and maintained for PEOPLE not cars.  with all the people that work in this area, the streets should be filled with street level retail and such.  this makes no damn sense, no matter how you spin it!

 

i had a lovely experience today at caribou with suburbanites bitching about a) parking downtown b) getting caught by a cleveland traffic camera and then c) bitching about speed limits on surface streets.

 

And what was your response? 

oh, my apologies on my lack of clarification. I was eavesdropping on their conversation.

oh, my apologies on my lack of clarification. I was eavesdropping on their conversation.

 

and you didn't enlighten them or atleast tell them to check out www.urbanohio.com?  lol  :-)

^i didn't have my UO business cards on me, sowwy.

as some of the previous posts allude to, this is a temporary plan for a highly developable piece of land.  with the pending decision by the RTA about where to locate/rebuild the rapid station, this land could be needed or could become an even more marketable development possibility.

 

trust me, no one in my camp wants this to stay a parking lot!

 

I am putting in a formal request for map of the property's location, and submitting it in triplicate (and thanking you in advance).

 

i had a lovely experience today at caribou with suburbanites bitching about a) parking downtown b) getting caught by a cleveland traffic camera and then c) bitching about speed limits on surface streets.

 

Have these people have travelled to Chicago, NYC or Seattle?

 

And, good Lord, speed limits? Are these people Libertarians?? 

Uptown, an online collection of ideas for redeveloping, redesigning, redefining University Circle, is now available: http://www.universitycircle.org/events/uptown.htm.

From Crain's:

 

Botanical Gardens boss to leave

 

2:26 pm, October 30, 2006

 

The Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Fla., has won the full attention of the executive director of the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

 

Brian E. Holley will become full-time executive director of the Naples garden on Feb. 1, according to a statement from the Cleveland Botanical Garden. He had been executive director of both gardens since June 2005.

 

Natalie A. Ronayne, the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s chief operating officer, has been appointed acting executive director immediately. Mr. Holley will remain as an adviser for one year.

 

The Cleveland Botanical Garden’s board of directors has formed a search committee to find Mr. Holley’s permanent replacement.

^good. We need someone who will devote more time to CLE. Ronayne was really running the place. Holley spent most of his time in FL.

i have to ask...how many damn parking garages & associated parking spaces will UC have??

 

Its ridiculous!  We got the ECP going online and being promoted...and at the same ass backwards moment, we add (what seems like) 10k parking spaces.