Unbelievably sad.    I just don't understand our country sometimes. 

Would anyone be surprised if the Geis wasn't in this redevelopment project?  ...Their involvement in the Hofbrauhaus and experience with previously publicly-owned property?

Okay, so which one of you is tshirtngenes in the .com comments section? The dude clearly lurks here since he reposts comments and hearsay from here constantly.

Would anyone be surprised if the Geis wasn't in this redevelopment project?  ...Their involvement in the Hofbrauhaus and experience with previously publicly-owned property?

 

 

 

Start the video at about 1:27...

 

Start the video at about 1:27...

 

 

Brilliant!

I think he had a few pints, but I'm not complaining because we got the scoop that way

Hopefully nobody here. (Meant for Mendo.)

Playhouse Square gets $10 million gift for its 'Advancing the Legacy' capital campaign

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Playhouse Square announced the biggest gift to its $100 million capital and endowment campaign to date on Tuesday: $10 million from the Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation.

 

The donation, said Art Falco, Playhouse Square's president and CEO, is also the largest one-time gift that the downtown arts complex has ever received.

 

www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2014/12/playhouse_square_gets_10_milli.html#incart_river

Wow!!

I'm glad they're not asking for any naming rights.  I think it was totally tacky to rename the Palace Theater earlier this year.

They probably asked for something in return. Few write blank checks especially when their checks say "$10 million." Donors want to be immortalized by large contributions.

I'm glad they're not asking for any naming rights.  I think it was totally tacky to rename the Palace Theater earlier this year.

 

The ultimate solution to "naming rights" is to not use them.  To me, it's always going to be "Cleveland Browns Stadium" "Gund Arena", and "Jacobs Field".

The "Connor Palace" certainly seems unnecessary, but it was "Keith's Palace" when it opened, so the ego game on the marquee is not unprecedented.

You guys must hate Severance Hall and Blossom.

I can deal with naming it after individuals, corporate branding is where it starts to rub me wrong. However that is the age we live in....  With Connor Palace it could have been worse

You guys must hate Severance Hall and Blossom.

 

And Wrigley Field.

 

But seriously, it had a perfectly serviceable name for decades.  It's one thing if an individual or company helps pay for the construction of a building (Severance Hall,) or if they have a legitimate association with the organization it houses (Blossom, Gund Arena, Jacobs Field.)  But just paying a ton of money to put your name on a 92 year-old building is different.  Idk.

The "Connor Palace" certainly seems unnecessary, but it was "Keith's Palace" when it opened, so the ego game on the marquee is not unprecedented.

It wasn't really an ego thing with Keith's Palace, as it was named that by the builder E.F. Albee to honor his long-time, late partner B.F. Keith.

I would feel better if they just named it the "Connor Theater" rather than "Connor Palace"

 

That way the PHS theaters would be the State, Ohio, Hanna, Allen, and Connor theaters.

Okay, so which one of you is tshirtngenes in the .com comments section? The dude clearly lurks here since he reposts comments and hearsay from here constantly.

 

Yeah, he made some comments about some of my arguments too.  I think someone outed his real name/CV over there.

 

He doesn't sound like the type that can handle actual debate like happens here.

Okay, so which one of you is tshirtngenes in the .com comments section? The dude clearly lurks here since he reposts comments and hearsay from here constantly.

 

Yeah, he made some comments about some of my arguments too.  I think someone outed his real name/CV over there.

 

He doesn't sound like the type that can handle actual debate like happens here.

 

Totally off topic, but I read your posts about tshirtngenes and got curious.. Did a .com search on his username.. and WOW.. I've never felt so embarrassed for someone before..

 

To knock on suburbs so hard, but then pull out that he is from wealthy "Poland,OH" where kids go to Duke and Harvard... I am originally from Youngstown and that comment made me laugh way too hard. I would love to know who he is and what "downtown real estate" he owns as a millennial.

 

Sorry for the interruption.

Moved this graphic here to discuss the topic of the rumored building next to the Hanna....

 

 

It has always struck me as I walk, ride or drive east on Euclid from East 9th into Playhouse Square how downtown's vertical street wall drops to virtually nil beyond the Keith and Hanna buildings. There are buildings with height beyond the Keith/Hanna cliff, but they are far beyond (Fenn Tower, 1836/1900 Euclid buildings) or set back from the street (Rhodes Tower) so you can't see them until you've passed the cliff. It's not a big deal, except the vista down our city's main street looks unfinished. In a sense, it is, as we stopped developing Euclid Avenue like that after the 1920s.

 

So the above graphic is the first time we've seen a visual of what the rumored building for the Playhouse Square Foundation-owned parking lot at 17th and Euclid might look like. I'm happy to see it, and glad it might have some height. That concept is only eight stories, so I would thing a modest building like that would be feasible. But something taller like the proposed 11-story 1750 Euclid building might also be feasible in this booming downtown housing market. So I guess this is my long-winded way of congratulating the design and progress. If I had any quibbles with it, it's that it could/should be a little bit taller. But that's easy for me to say when it's not my money involved! :)

 

EDIT: here's a couple graphics visually describing what I mean. This is looking east on Euclid toward "the cliff":

 

The Euclid-East 17th (rumored) development site:

 

Looks like financing is wrapped up and construction has commenced in earnest.

 

Theater District office building to undergo $18 million conversion to apartments, commercial space

 

Work is underway, according to a news release issued Monday, Jan. 26, by Cleveland Development Advisors, which helps catalytic real estate developments close gaps in financing.

 

CDA, which is housed at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, provided a $4.5 million loan to help the developers bridge the delay between building the project and receiving funds from federal and Ohio historic credits vital to such conversions of older office buildings to multifamily use.

 

A notice filed Jan. 20 with Cuyahoga County to mark commencement of construction said the project also has financing from FirstMerit Bank and identifies Dalad Group as the general contractor on the project. Dalad played a similar role on the 2320 Lofts, the conversion of a warehouse at that street address on Superior Avenue East as student apartments.

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150126/FREE/150129855/theater-district-office-building-to-undergo-18-million-conversion-to

I thought 1220 Huron had gotten under renovation a long time ago.

I thought 1220 Huron had gotten under renovation a long time ago.

 

Yeah I kinda thought that too.  There have been some small cherry pickers and "light" construction activity at the property for some time.  However, come to think of it I haven't noticed what I would consider large scale activity at the building to date.  So I'm guessing, from the wording of the article, that they were able to do some light prep work but were yet to secure a bridge loan to close their construction cost gap - which they seem to have now.

What is the timeline for the RFP of the lots by they Greyhound station?  I think the deadline to submit was a few months ago but will all the proposals be made public?

Playhouse Square gets $3 million Gund Foundation gift to restore Ohio Theatre lobby (vintage photos)

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The historic restoration of the grand theaters of Playhouse Square is about to come full circle, thanks to a $3 million gift from the George Gund Foundation.

 

The gift, made to the Playhouse Square Foundation's $100 million Advancing the Legacy campaign and announced on Saturday, is earmarked for the restoration of the Ohio Theatre lobby, to be completed next year.

 

More: http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2015/03/playhouse_square_gets_3_millio.html#incart_gallery

 

Playhouse Square gets $3 million Gund Foundation gift to restore Ohio Theatre lobby (vintage photos)

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The historic restoration of the grand theaters of Playhouse Square is about to come full circle, thanks to a $3 million gift from the George Gund Foundation.

 

The gift, made to the Playhouse Square Foundation's $100 million Advancing the Legacy campaign and announced on Saturday, is earmarked for the restoration of the Ohio Theatre lobby, to be completed next year.

 

More: http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2015/03/playhouse_square_gets_3_millio.html#incart_gallery

 

Wow! I had no idea this was being pursued. When I see some of the amazing architecture in CLE I always think, it would cost a fortune to do something like this today... Not to mention it is going to require an astonishing amount of work. This isn't a restoration, this is a recreation. Can't wait to see the finished product.

While this massive restoration is exciting and was among the top of the list of things left to do, I got the impression from the article that PHSF considers this to be the last item on the list. I've always considered the Palace Theater marquee/canopy to be a placeholder for a more elaborate and deserving icon of what is inarguably the premier theater within the district. When you consider the size of the Connor donation to PHS, wouldn't a Palace marquee restoration/re-creation be in order?

What does the Ohio Theater lobby renovation mean for Bin 216?  The restaurant is in much of the space of the original 1921 lobby fronting Euclid...

K&D Group set to buy Keith Building at Playhouse Square - but not for apartments

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The K&D Group Inc. plans to buy another downtown Cleveland office building. But this time, the apartment landlord isn't plotting a residential overhaul.

 

Doug Price, K&D's chief executive officer, confirmed this week that the company has a contract to purchase the Keith Building in the theater district. The deal, set to close in mid- to late March, is the latest in a spate of acquisitions for K&D, which bought downtown's Leader Building and Halle Building last year.

 

Unlike those other properties, earmarked for apartment conversions, the 21-story Keith Building isn't set for a transformation. It's a pure office play, driven by a shrinking supply of cheap corporate space and K&D's need to find a home for businesses displaced by the downtown residential boom.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/kd_group_set_to_buy_keith_buil.html#incart_river

 

I guess the news in this Crain's article is the sale price....

 

K&D Group purchases 21-story Keith Building for $5.2 million

By STAN BULLARD

Originally Published: March 27, 2015 2:31 PM  Modified: March 27, 2015 3:02 PM

 

The 21-story Keith Building has become the latest downtown Cleveland office building to become part of Willoughby-based apartment owner and developer K&D Group’s portfolio.

 

Unlike K&D’s other office deals last year, the Halle and Leader buildings, Keith will remain an office building.

 

Through 1621 Keith LLC, a company name that matches the structure’s Euclid Avenue address, K&D on Tuesday, March 24, paid $5.2 million for a place to try to put office tenants from Halle and Leader.

 

MORE:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150327/FREE/150329845/kd-group-purchases-21-story-keith-building-for-5-2-million

Playhouse Square is interested in getting a large movie theater complex built, with an residential/office/ and or retail component, likely on the site of the current Greyhound Station and its surrounding parking lots.

 

From Reddit:

 

Sounds like things are still very preliminary. And I wonder how well a movie theater would do unless it offered something different like mainstream/commercial IMAX movies. If that's what's in the offing, then I suggest the vacant lot next to the Hanna.

 

The Greyhound station needs to be redeveloped with retail/restaurants/offices surrounded by a mostly residential area on those surface parking lots.

^^ Hello fellow redditor.

 

Anyway, if it's true they better not be demolishing the Greyhound Station. It would be perfect for a lobby for a movie theatre complex.

Playhouse Square is interested in getting a large movie theater complex built, with an residential/office/ and or retail component, likely on the site of the current Greyhound Station and its surrounding parking lots.

 

From Reddit:

 

 

Movie theaters are on the way out, but some will survive and combining one into this area makes an odd sort of sense.

^^ Hello fellow redditor.

 

Anyway, if it's true they better not be demolishing the Greyhound Station. It would be perfect for a lobby for a movie theatre complex.

 

It would be a great lobby for any building(s) built on the east/west/north side of it, whether office/residential/theatre, etc...

What cheap rates!

 

Playhouse Square is interested in getting a large movie theater complex built, with an residential/office/ and or retail component, likely on the site of the current Greyhound Station and its surrounding parking lots.

 

From Reddit:

 

 

Huh.  I guess that would be great for Playhouse Square, but it would undoubtedly kill off Tower City Cinemas, which have a fantastic indoor transit connection and are probably the biggest driver of traffic to the mall.

^ I would think this would be a little more artsy fartsy and feature such films while Tower City would handle the blockbusters.

Playhouse Square is interested in getting a large movie theater complex built, with an residential/office/ and or retail component, likely on the site of the current Greyhound Station and its surrounding parking lots.

 

From Reddit:

 

 

 

 

Huh.  I guess that would be great for Playhouse Square, but it would undoubtedly kill off Tower City Cinemas, which have a fantastic indoor transit connection and are probably the biggest driver of traffic to the mall.

 

I agree.  The residential component would, of course, be welcome as would downtown retail.  But why another movie theater complex?  I kinda get it from PHS' POV; they want to generate more foot traffic into the area during the long hours their multiple live theaters are dark, but at what cost to downtown generally? 

 

And as for the rail transit convenience of TC and its theaters, I've all but given up on this town and it's planners to think or act intelligently toward rail transit.  Planners here are too quick to genuflect to the almighty automobile.  To them, transit is for the poor and minorities; it's a stubborn and pernicious mentality that even infects the transit agency itself.  Only a tiny few number of leaders and developers, like MRN, even have a faint clue about TOD.  Even for all K&D's development downtown, they still market their properties as if they were suburban buildings that just happen to be downtown... There is no mention of rail transit anywhere in K&D literature; barely any mention of transit at all... (there may have been one HL reference I saw somewhere).

I just don't see arts movies pulling in the dollars that would offset the likely high cost of a theater complex, within a significant mixed-use development. Instead, I think it needs to offer something more unique for Greater Cleveland -- IMAX, including with laser technology and the ability to upgrade technology in the future. There is only one commercial IMAX movie theater in Greater Cleveland -- Regal at Crocker Park. The IMAX theater at the Great Lakes Science Center is for educational movies. Downtown always had the biggest and best of things, so make this theater the biggest and best commercial IMAX theater not only in Greater Cleveland or in Ohio, but in the country. And put it on Euclid Avenue on the ground floor of an entertainment complex with places to enjoy drinks, dancing, live music, late-night snacks and meals, etc after seeing a movie or visiting one of the other theaters on Playhouse Square. Too many people head straight for their cars and the suburbs after a show. Keep 'em downtown spending money!

 

And as for the rail transit convenience of TC and its theaters, I've all but given up on this town and it's planners to think or act intelligently toward rail transit.  Planners here are too quick to genuflect to the almighty automobile.  To them, transit is for the poor and minorities; it's a stubborn and pernicious mentality that even infects the transit agency itself. 

 

It doesn't infect the agency, it largely comes from there.  Ever since the merger GCRTA has had a downtown-centric and "one size fits all" mindset.

 

In this case, it actually means better service for the area.

 

And as for the rail transit convenience of TC and its theaters, I've all but given up on this town and it's planners to think or act intelligently toward rail transit.  Planners here are too quick to genuflect to the almighty automobile.  To them, transit is for the poor and minorities; it's a stubborn and pernicious mentality that even infects the transit agency itself. 

 

 

Yep....that article on W 25th Transit Corridor comes to mind....the one stating that transit is being developed for poor single mom's.

 

It's easy to see how a modern, frills attached movie complex would integrate with PS. It's a good fit. Yet I don't want to give up on Tower City just yet. Having the CIFF there every year has been by and large a really great experience.

 

I don't think anyone believes downtown could support two complexes.

 

 

And as for the rail transit convenience of TC and its theaters, I've all but given up on this town and it's planners to think or act intelligently toward rail transit.  Planners here are too quick to genuflect to the almighty automobile.  To them, transit is for the poor and minorities; it's a stubborn and pernicious mentality that even infects the transit agency itself. 

 

 

Yep....that article on W 25th Transit Corridor comes to mind....the one stating that transit is being developed for poor single mom's.

 

It's easy to see how a modern, frills attached movie complex would integrate with PS. It's a good fit. Yet I don't want to give up on Tower City just yet. Having the CIFF there every year has been by and large a really great experience.

 

I don't think anyone believes downtown could support two complexes.

 

 

No question... I just attended another excellent CIFF, their 39th, with over 100K attendees for the 1st time and, now, rated among the top 10 film festivals in the US.  I really think CIFF saved the TC theaters, at least for now, because I know FCE had once, not too long ago, voiced interest in demolishing the theaters for expanded parking (. . . yeah I know, it's at the point you can't even get angry anymore).  Hopefully the TC theaters will survive.  I hope a new residential/retail complex of some sort is built in PHS ... just absent movie theaters. 

Is there subsidized housing near PHS? The horror!

 

And as for the rail transit convenience of TC and its theaters, I've all but given up on this town and it's planners to think or act intelligently toward rail transit.  Planners here are too quick to genuflect to the almighty automobile.  To them, transit is for the poor and minorities; it's a stubborn and pernicious mentality that even infects the transit agency itself. 

It's easy to see how a modern, frills attached movie complex would integrate with PS. It's a good fit. Yet I don't want to give up on Tower City just yet. Having the CIFF there every year has been by and large a really great experience.

 

I don't think anyone believes downtown could support two complexes.

 

Perhaps if it was food/drinking centric?  Like one of those new chains popping up that serve food and booze in your seats?

Is there subsidized housing near PHS? The horror!

 

I hope not!  ........no seriously, I hope not

Is there subsidized housing near PHS? The horror!

 

I hope not!  ........no seriously, I hope not

 

The Allerton Apartments on E 13th are section 8

Bohn Tower on 13th and Payne is a CMHA property.

I live in the PHS area and could definitely see a movie theater of the type mentioned by KJP fitting nicely here. People would still use Tower City Cinemas (even more so if they could do something about the seating so you don't break your neck every time you see a movie) for normal movie-going experiences. Conversely, I just attended a film at the Hanna Theatre during CIFF, and it was an absolutely fantastic experience (from my silly Millennial perspective). I think a beautifully done theater with an IMAX screen and/or a restaurant theater could perfectly complement the theatres next door and cater to more of a date-night crowd than the Cinemas.

 

That being said, even though I don't like art deco, it would be a travesty to not incorporate it into any development!

 

 

A draw like that should be on Euclid not on Chester.

 

Placing it on Chester kills any hope for this not being so auto centric.