Good article on the forthcoming changes. No bombshells, but steady progress appears to be happening. 

 

https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/news/articles/west-side-market-vendors-are-cautiously-optimistic-as-city-preps-transition-to-non-profit

Finally after so long things are moving in the right direction. My wish is that they FINALLY utilize the empty locker room space upstairs and provide much needed seating!

🥳 Purely a good thing!

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/12/west-side-market-food-waste-will-stop-going-to-landfill.html

https://mayor.clevelandohio.gov/initiatives/west-side-market

 

 

 

Love the plan! Looking forward to seeing this happen. The article does NOT appear to be paywalled.

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The City of Cleveland is proposing big changes for the West Side Market, including redoing the basement infrastructure of the historic landmark and reorganizing the produce arcades to add a prepared food hall.

Phase II of the West Side Market Master Plan was presented at a vendors’ meeting Wednesday night. Among other things, it calls for all produce vendors to be relocated to 24 stalls in the shorter East Arcade at the back of the market hall. The North Arcade, the longer space next to Market Garden Brewery, would become a prepared food hall with 10 food vendors, two bars, public seating areas, outdoor courtyards and more.

…

Other proposed changes include

Air conditioning throughout the hall and arcades.

Basement infrastructure upgrades

Commercial kitchen for vendor use and event catering

Meeting and event spaces on the second floor

Restrooms and elevators added for convenience and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

Teaching kitchen for culinary programs and onsite catered events

Market- not city- operated parking operations, to provide more income for the market.

This sounds like very good news...better late than never.

I was going to suggest filling some of the existing vacancies with artisan products, but it looks like they have it covered.

8 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Love the plan! Looking forward to seeing this happen. The article does NOT appear to be paywalled.

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The City of Cleveland is proposing big changes for the West Side Market, including redoing the basement infrastructure of the historic landmark and reorganizing the produce arcades to add a prepared food hall.

Phase II of the West Side Market Master Plan was presented at a vendors’ meeting Wednesday night. Among other things, it calls for all produce vendors to be relocated to 24 stalls in the shorter East Arcade at the back of the market hall. The North Arcade, the longer space next to Market Garden Brewery, would become a prepared food hall with 10 food vendors, two bars, public seating areas, outdoor courtyards and more.

…

Other proposed changes include

Air conditioning throughout the hall and arcades.

Basement infrastructure upgrades

Commercial kitchen for vendor use and event catering

Meeting and event spaces on the second floor

Restrooms and elevators added for convenience and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

Teaching kitchen for culinary programs and onsite catered events

Market- not city- operated parking operations, to provide more income for the market.

 

This is more than a good start and very exciting for the Market. 

 

Once the updates the the market are completed and it's stabilized a bit I would like to see them extend beyond the market a bit. Put a speed table crosswalk on W25 to integrate programing at Market Square Park across the street. Isn't the Cleveland Bazaar already held there? Could be a good spot for a farmers market in the summer, winter/holiday market in the winter. The park could maybe use a refresh/redesign too. 

I saw a blurb on a neighborhood Facebook last night that this is not said and done.  Blaine Griffin is apparently still fighting spending on the market.  However, I can't find the article now to verify.  

11 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

I saw a blurb on a neighborhood Facebook last night that this is not said and done.  Blaine Griffin is apparently still fighting spending on the market.  However, I can't find the article now to verify.  

I saw this on the Cleveland subreddit this morning.

 

https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/news/articles/city-council-president-calls-west-side-market-proposal-slap-in-the-face

Councilman Griffin has a point that every politician can make every time. He can't support a particular funding because doing so would mean something else doesn't get funded. Well that scenario happens every day all day in government. Something is always going to come up short because there aren't enough tax dollars to pay for every project. 

 

A better approach is to weigh the benefits of funding this while short-changing that. And in the case of The Westside Market l think maximizing its full potential outweighs spreading out tax dollars on some new sidewalks or painting some houses etc. The Market is a Cleveland gem. It needs to be supported accordingly.

16 minutes ago, cadmen said:

Councilman Griffin has a point that every politician can make every time. He can't support a particular funding because doing so would mean something else doesn't get funded. Well that scenario happens every day all day in government. Something is always going to come up short because there aren't enough tax dollars to pay for every project. 

 

A better approach is to weigh the benefits of funding this while short-changing that. And in the case of The Westside Market l think maximizing its full potential outweighs spreading out tax dollars on some new sidewalks or painting some houses etc. The Market is a Cleveland gem. It needs to be supported accordingly.

 

Doesn't this spending facilitate removing future expenses from the City's budget through the creation and handing over management of the Market to a non-profit entity? So, sure, there are other projects and initiatives that wont be able to be funded right now, but in the future those projects and initiatives wont have to compete with funding needs of the Westside Market. 

 

And as far as using ARPA funds for this, it makes quite a bit of sense to use this one-time infusion of cash for a one-off expense that, again, also removes future liabilities. 

Edited April 14, 20232 yr by Luke_S

Yeah, this Blaine Griffin sounds like a galaxy-brain thinker.

24 minutes ago, cadmen said:

Councilman Griffin has a point that every politician can make every time. He can't support a particular funding because doing so would mean something else doesn't get funded. Well that scenario happens every day all day in government. Something is always going to come up short because there aren't enough tax dollars to pay for every project. 

 

A better approach is to weigh the benefits of funding this while short-changing that. And in the case of The Westside Market l think maximizing its full potential outweighs spreading out tax dollars on some new sidewalks or painting some houses etc. The Market is a Cleveland gem. It needs to be supported accordingly.

I'd be interested to see him itemize exactly what he'd prefer those days 15 million dollars go to. I agree that a politician can make that point every time, but I'd add that it's also almost a good point. Governing is about tradeoffs. What specifically does he think would be a better use of that 15 million? I know council has proposed an alternative use of all the funds compared to Bibbs, but I think it be interesting to see which remaining unfunded projects he thinks would be a better use of the funds. Once he gets more specific we can have a more substantive discussion of the merits of each proposal. We can't debate WSM versus something else, but we can debate WSM versus these seven other priorities.

 

Personally I'd like to see the find go to the WSM, but I understand the councilman's argument, and I'd like to see it fleshed out. 

They have been going back and forth on ARPA spending all week. Griffin is looking for a lot more money for housing and community projects on the east side. This article excerpt helps sum it up. I’m team WSM for what it’s worth. 
 

“Another portion of Bibb’s original proposal that was not affected by the compromise is $15 million for the southeast side of the city, for home repair, development subsidies and public space improvements.

 

While the new plan represents a compromise between council and Bibb, the two bodies remain on opposite sides regarding a proposed $15 million for the West Side Market, which would be used for capital upgrades and to transition the market to non-profit management, Griffin said. Bibb originally sought $20 million for the market.

 

Many council members are “adamant” the money for the West Side Market could be better spent elsewhere, Griffin said.

 

Griffin questioned why the city should spend $15 million – the same amount of ARPA money it proposes spending on the southeast side – on an already-popular attraction in a neighborhood that is not struggling financially.

 

One change that came through the compromise was a reduction in Griffin’s proposed $60 million for “catalytic neighborhood investments” that were to be “identified by city council members” for use in their wards, according to a city news release. Now, that sum is $35 million.

 

One example of a project that could be supported under that fund would be Birthing Beautiful Communities Campus, a nonprofit originally formed to support mothers and reduce infant mortality. Other examples include La Villa Hispania’s CentroVilla25 project, the Care Alliance Health Center and the Harvard Community Services Center, Griffin said.

 

Despite the reduction in ARPA funding for such projects, Griffin said the city still wants to pursue them and is willing to do so using other dollars.“

 

full article with itemized compromises between both sides here: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/04/cleveland-mayor-council-president-reach-compromise-on-last-major-round-of-arpa-spending-stimulus-watch.html?outputType=amp

59 minutes ago, Henke said:

They have been going back and forth on ARPA spending all week. Griffin is looking for a lot more money for housing and community projects on the east side. This article excerpt helps sum it up. I’m team WSM for what it’s worth. 
 

“Another portion of Bibb’s original proposal that was not affected by the compromise is $15 million for the southeast side of the city, for home repair, development subsidies and public space improvements.

 

While the new plan represents a compromise between council and Bibb, the two bodies remain on opposite sides regarding a proposed $15 million for the West Side Market, which would be used for capital upgrades and to transition the market to non-profit management, Griffin said. Bibb originally sought $20 million for the market.

 

Many council members are “adamant” the money for the West Side Market could be better spent elsewhere, Griffin said.

 

Griffin questioned why the city should spend $15 million – the same amount of ARPA money it proposes spending on the southeast side – on an already-popular attraction in a neighborhood that is not struggling financially.

 

One change that came through the compromise was a reduction in Griffin’s proposed $60 million for “catalytic neighborhood investments” that were to be “identified by city council members” for use in their wards, according to a city news release. Now, that sum is $35 million.

 

One example of a project that could be supported under that fund would be Birthing Beautiful Communities Campus, a nonprofit originally formed to support mothers and reduce infant mortality. Other examples include La Villa Hispania’s CentroVilla25 project, the Care Alliance Health Center and the Harvard Community Services Center, Griffin said.

 

Despite the reduction in ARPA funding for such projects, Griffin said the city still wants to pursue them and is willing to do so using other dollars.“

 

full article with itemized compromises between both sides here: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/04/cleveland-mayor-council-president-reach-compromise-on-last-major-round-of-arpa-spending-stimulus-watch.html?outputType=amp

Thanks that's a good start, but if Councilman Griffin intends to hold his ground on this he needs to make a more specific pitch to the public. E.g. "instead of spending 15 mill on the west side market, we should spend 5 mill on the WSM, 4 mill on x, 3 mill on y, 2 mill on z, and 1 mill on w."

 

I'm also team WSM, but I'm sympathetic to his argument that we should prioritize the struggling neighborhoods.

 

Anyways, hopefully these funds, make it through, everything that has been proposed so far is either what I'd propose, or a better idea than what I'd have thought of. The food hall, expanded mezzanine, and outdoor seating will make WSM much more of a social destination and pull it away from functioning as a fancy grocery store. 

 

At the end of the day, while fund distribution is zero sum, the returns are not, funding the WSM will benefit the whole region, not just Ohio City. 

4 hours ago, Henke said:

One example of a project that could be supported under that fund would be Birthing Beautiful Communities Campus, a nonprofit originally formed to support mothers and reduce infant mortality. Other examples include La Villa Hispania’s CentroVilla25 project, the Care Alliance Health Center and the Harvard Community Services Center, Griffin said.

 

Despite the reduction in ARPA funding for such projects, Griffin said the city still wants to pursue them and is willing to do so using other dollars.“

The problem with these kinds of council pet-projects is once the AARP funding is gone, they have to go back to find a new well to keep it going.    At least the WSM is an investment in the city that will provide lasting benefits, employment and future tax dollars.  

 

As an aside, I'd love to see what Councilman Griffin has laying around for street repairs that they sit on while constituents tires and rims get blown out. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Ethan said:

At the end of the day, while fund distribution is zero sum, the returns are not, funding the WSM will benefit the whole region, not just Ohio City. 

You nailed it with this.

 

With the flexibility of the new rail cars, I’d love to see a Shaker Line extended over the viaduct to West 25th (no further for operating cost purposes). Then a good chunk of Griffin’s ward would have an easy trip to the market. Plus doubling the frequency between Tower City and Ohio City would be great for increasing ridership on that segment now that so many more people live close to the West 25th station. And Ohio City residents would have a direct ride to Shaker Square!

I just called council member Spencer’s office to get her stance on the situation. She is in favor of the funding for WSM.
 

Her office mentioned that negotiations this week were bringing the $20m for the market down to $15m. So it looks like the market will get half of Bibb’s original $30m allocation, which is pretty disappointing but better than nothing I guess. 

21 minutes ago, Henke said:

I just called council member Spencer’s office to get her stance on the situation. She is in favor of the funding for WSM.
 

Her office mentioned that negotiations this week were bringing the $20m for the market down to $15m. So it looks like the market will get half of Bibb’s original $30m allocation, which is pretty disappointing but better than nothing I guess. 

 Would like to know how this is going to affect the original plans outlined in the $30M budgeted proposal. Will some items be cut from the plan or will the overall scope be reduced while still implementing everything originally intended?

a rule of thumb is when you have a hot market like that which the wsm sits in the middle of, you double down on it.

Fantastic Crains editorial on the recent ARPA funds disagreement. Measured and nuanced piece advocating for funding the market. I wholeheartedly agree. 

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/editorials/crains-editorial-get-it-done-west-side-market

On 4/19/2023 at 11:43 AM, Henke said:

I just called council member Spencer’s office to get her stance on the situation. She is in favor of the funding for WSM.
 

Her office mentioned that negotiations this week were bringing the $20m for the market down to $15m. So it looks like the market will get half of Bibb’s original $30m allocation, which is pretty disappointing but better than nothing I guess. 

And now it's down to $10m. Absolutely ridiculous and short-sighted of the council. 

1 hour ago, bikemail said:

And now it's down to $10m. Absolutely ridiculous and short-sighted of the council. 

That doesn't seem like enough to do anything transformational.  

10 minutes ago, cle_guy90 said:

That doesn't seem like enough to do anything transformational.  

They need over $30m just to address years of deferred maintenance and they are only getting $10m due to an amendment in committee reducing the funding from $15m.  That $30m is just for the basics.  Roof, mechanicals like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, elevators, coolers and fixing the basement.  "Transformative" projects don't even start till all that work is done and they are not even close to having the money for the basics.  A fund raiser told the committee that it was going to be very hard for him to go to foundations and other private fundings sources begging for money when the actual owner of the facility refuses to acknowledge and address the problems.  

 

By the way, as a side note, if today's discussion in the finance committee is any indication, the council debate relating to public funding for a new football stadium is going to be a horror show.

13 hours ago, Htsguy said:

They need over $30m just to address years of deferred maintenance and they are only getting $10m due to an amendment in committee reducing the funding from $15m.  That $30m is just for the basics.  Roof, mechanicals like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, elevators, coolers and fixing the basement.  "Transformative" projects don't even start till all that work is done and they are not even close to having the money for the basics.  A fund raiser told the committee that it was going to be very hard for him to go to foundations and other private fundings sources begging for money when the actual owner of the facility refuses to acknowledge and address the problems.  

 

By the way, as a side note, if today's discussion in the finance committee is any indication, the council debate relating to public funding for a new football stadium is going to be a horror show.

 

15 years ago Drew Carey was just about burned at the stake for suggesting a non-profit model for the Market. 

 

Is it time to reconsider the idea?  

17 minutes ago, surfohio said:

 

15 years ago Drew Carey was just about burned at the stake for suggesting a non-profit model for the Market. 

 

Is it time to reconsider the idea?  

 

The Market is being handed over to a non-profit. 

 

Ideastream: New nonprofit board will manage, revitalize the West Side Market

Watched the committee meeting last night:

 

The main argument is the west side market needs 30 million dollars for defer maintenance (to bring it up to the point where the west side market is stable and not IMPROVEMENTS) and the council members wants the number dropped from 15 million to 10 million allocated from the ARPA funds. In the councilman view point they believe too much money is going into fixing the west side market, when there are food deserts throughout the city. Since the WSM is a city asset, the non profit thinks the city needs to provide funds the fixing up WSM to a basic standard and at this point is where the Council believe they were oversold on the concept of a non profit. The Council thought turning the WSM into a non-profit would allow them to gather funds to fix the WSM without asking the city for this amount of money to fix it up. The non-profit argued that it was very hard to ask donor for money for basic maintenance that the city should provide and that the donor is mainly interested for upgrades to the market (where the donors names could be plastered in places). The main thesis for the non-profit is that once they could get these basic improvement done they could be more self sustainable and won't have to keep asking the city for more money. 

 

Key points of each speaker I found interesting:

• Blaine Griffin: Said some of the members wanted a lower number than 10 million. He also said he wanted money invested into the city should yield back many dollars back in return. He said for too long money invested in the city yield back quarters to the dollar invested. (I hope he keeps up this energy when the Haslam's comes and ask for public incentives to build/renovate the stadium). Also, in the beginning he also incorrectly stated that all the non-profit markets throughout the us don't come and ask the city for money. 
• Polensek: Asked the non-profit what are they doing with the parking lots and how much they are charging for parking. The non-profit said they are charging less than what the city-meters are charging the citizens. The non-profit also said the parking hasn't been that profitable since the gates keeps needing to be replaced because people keeps crashing into it. Thus, the non-profit said they are going to change the fee structure of the parking lots. Councilman Polensek also asked if there were plans to develop the parking lots. The non-profit said that it might be a possibility in the future, but want to focus on the WSM since it is in such bad shape.
• Starr: Seemed really angry that a lot of money is being poured into the west side and not enough investments are being made to the east side. Wanted to remind Mayor BIbb the east side helped elected him into office. At this point he asked the non-profit what kind of deficit the WSM is running at. The non-profit said that the WSM currently collects 1.2 million in rent and the market needed 1.9 million in order to run. At this point he said WSM is out of its glory days and not all old things should be saved. He also mentioned that in his ward Daves supermarket has left and that why the Mayor didn't create a Senior Strategist for other things are in dire need.
• Spencer: Asked if 10 million is going to be enough for the non-profit to leverage it in order to carry out all the deferred maintenance. The director answered that it was going to be very difficult to ask the donor for the rest of the money because the city is isn't carrying it weight in its own assets. He said 15 million would've been a better target because he could spin it to the donors as a 50/50 match. At this point the Councilwomen recalled a story how the city in the past has spent money to renovate one of the board rooms at the WSM and that weeks later all of that money went to waste as the roof collapsed and the board room encountered water damaged from the rain water. Thus, the renovations to the WSM needs to have synergy and have to work together. 
• Hairston: Gets the WSM is a city assets and the city needs to invest in. Asked the non-profit on how are they getting minorities to open stands in the WSM. The non-profit responded that they have spoken to many minorities and they want to open stands in the WSM, but they can't because the WSM lacks many of the basic amenities for them to start the stands. They also said they hope to have 25-30 minorities represented in WSM in the future. At this point Councilman Starr interjected and asked what are they doing to the 5 million dollars that they are withholding from the WSM. Councilman Griffin said that he is looking into solving food insecurities in the central and northeast neighborhoods (contrary to the reporting he wants to put the 5 million into housing). 
• Kazy: Brought up the idea that if the WSM is a money pit, maybe it is time to sell the WSM since it is prime real estate. He said is not supporting the idea, he is just brining it up for discussion.
• McCormack: Said WSM is a gem for Cleveland and that even though WSM is in ward 3 the institution is so important that it doesn't belong to any ward just like the many other gems cleveland have. Also brought up how Councilman Blaine and him went to the mayor a decade ago to persuade the mayor on how to improve the WSM. He also feels the other councilman concern on food insecurities even in his own ward. 

Might be in the minority here, but I kind of see both sides of the argument here. For so long we have neglected the WSM that the city needs to step up and fix it up. On the other hand there are other pressing needs in the city and food insecurity/desert seems like an important issue that the city is facing and needs to tackle instead of investing in an already rich neighborhood. In a perfect world, we give the WSM the money here and we could use the 700,000 dollars that they received from the city each year and subsidize a grocery store in a food dessert (this assuming the WSM non-profit works and will become self sustaining). The WSM have so much potential though, I hope it follows other markets in the region like North Market. Many business have started there and became successful and started to expand around the city (Jeni's and Hot Chicken Takeover) and I hope we could emulate something like that here. 

Starr is something else.

34 minutes ago, WindyBuckeye said:

Starr is something else.

 

The heir to TJ Dow.   

 

Polensek lost a Dave's too but he manages to stay on topic.

Thank you for the notes!

 

What I’m seeing from council‘s notes is that the funding passed at $10 million. 
 

Pretty embarrassed that council members are advocating selling or otherwise reducing our interest in the market. 
 

Sure, we have parking lots and vacant land down the street, but let’s just tear down a historic market instead. 
 

We aren’t going to get these ARPA funds again, and I’m afraid this half measure is going to leave things worse off.
 

Now council will be able to say “hey we did something for the market” but without meeting core requirements for deferred maintenance, existing problems will persist.

 

Blame will be passed onto the new non profit management, when it’s council who is sabotaging the future of WSM. 
 

I wish there was a recording of the meeting so I could better understand the food desert argument. Is it because WSM serves food? Seems like two separate issues are being conflated.
 

Subsidizing a grocery store is not going to solve the structural issues that caused food deserts to develop in the first place. However it will create an ongoing expense, whereas investment in the market has the opportunity to be revenue generating.

20 minutes ago, Henke said:

Thank you for the notes!

 

What I’m seeing from council‘s notes is that the funding passed at $10 million. 
 

Pretty embarrassed that council members are advocating selling or otherwise reducing our interest in the market. 
 

Sure, we have parking lots and vacant land down the street, but let’s just tear down a historic market instead. 
 

We aren’t going to get these ARPA funds again, and I’m afraid this half measure is going to leave things worse off.
 

Now council will be able to say “hey we did something for the market” but without meeting core requirements for deferred maintenance, existing problems will persist.

 

Blame will be passed onto the new non profit management, when it’s council who is sabotaging the future of WSM. 
 

I wish there was a recording of the meeting so I could better understand the food desert argument. Is it because WSM serves food? Seems like two separate issues are being conflated.
 

Subsidizing a grocery store is not going to solve the structural issues that caused food deserts to develop in the first place. However it will create an ongoing expense, whereas investment in the market has the opportunity to be revenue generating.

 

Selling it to a private operator that agreed to run it according to something close to the current business model for a period of time is probably the best option, TBH.

7 hours ago, surfohio said:

 

15 years ago Drew Carey was just about burned at the stake for suggesting a non-profit model for the Market. 

 

Is it time to reconsider the idea?  

 

 

8 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

Selling it to a private operator that agreed to run it according to something close to the current business model for a period of time is probably the best option, TBH.

In the PPT deck that council reviewed (linked here) the alternatives to funding on slide 6 are “sell/close West Side Market” and “downward spiral into blight”
 

Personally based on the city’s competence with this so far, I’m leaning towards downward spiral into blight. 

2 hours ago, nokoeeee said:

Blaine Griffin: Said some of the members wanted a lower number than 10 million. He also said he wanted money invested into the city should yield back many dollars back in return. He said for too long money invested in the city yield back quarters to the dollar invested. (I hope he keeps up this energy when the Haslam's comes and ask for public incentives to build/renovate the stadium). Also, in the beginning he also incorrectly stated that all the non-profit markets throughout the us don't come and ask the city for money. 

Blaine was on the radio the other day talking about the stadium - "if it stays there we have to retrofit it so we can use it year round..." like what?? You put up this huge stink about WSM and on the other hand say something like that.

 

2 hours ago, nokoeeee said:

Starr: At this point he said WSM is out of its glory days and not all old things should be saved.

Get a load of this guy! lol I'm glad he has solutions for everything and isn't just a talking head...oh, wait. Don't worry though, I'm sure he'll have his face alllll over the Slavic Village redevelopment plans.

 

General Take:

Our council has been terrible with the allocation of half a billion dollars in ARPA funds. Where was this outrage when the police got their chunk of the ARPA pie?

Edited May 16, 20232 yr by GISguy
weird spacing/returns

I agree that we should do what it takes to keep the market afloat.

 

but 1.3 million in anual revenue to 1.9 million in expenses, plus 30 million to get the place up-to-date. I also seem to remember several multi-million dollar capital improvement projects over the last ten years (there was at leat the 100 year anniversary one).  I understand the perspective that this is a money pit. 

The fact that they can't get the additional $5 million for the market is just asinine. Glad at least something was approved. 

 

Does the market own the huge parking lot by it? How much money could be raised by either selling the lot off to a developer or charging for the first 90 minutes of parking?

13 minutes ago, LlamaLawyer said:

The fact that they can't get the additional $5 million for the market is just asinine. Glad at least something was approved. 

 

Does the market own the huge parking lot by it? How much money could be raised by either selling the lot off to a developer or charging for the first 90 minutes of parking?

 

The biggest complaint from suburbanites is that there's no parking (even though the lot is barely full, ever). They thought it was the end of the world when parking fees were instituted (even w/first 90 mins free), so I'm not sure how much benefit charging for an hour and a half would provide (# of cars vs added revenues). It'd be a nice alternative if you could validate parking or something based on $$ spent in OHC/the market. 

 

All this said, I'd be curious about the demographics/who shops at the market and if it's even worth it to placate to suburbanites as much as we do.

I gotta make one other comment here--

 

The food desert concern in some eastern wards is real. That's a genuine problem that the city has to address. It harms some of the most vulnerable, particularly children.

 

But the east-side councilmen complaining about funding WSM don't actually seem to have a plan to address the food deserts! If Starr were saying "I've got a developer lined up who wants to build a Whole Foods in the Central neighborhood, and the only thing holding them back is they're $5 million short" well then fine, let's discuss spending the money on that instead. But as far as I can tell there is no other plan for this money. Maybe I'm not giving the councilmembers enough credit, but it seems like the simplest explanation is that they have no idea what they're doing and just instinctively recoil at the idea of giving money to a "rich" neighborhood.

2 hours ago, Henke said:

 

I wish there was a recording of the meeting so I could better understand the food desert argument. Is it because WSM serves food? Seems like two separate issues are being conflated.
 

 

It will eventually be downloaded to YouTube.  It is not there yet but probably in a day or so.  Search:  "Cleveland City Council Finance Meting, May 15, 2023"

21 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

It will eventually be downloaded to YouTube.  It is not there yet but probably in a day or so.  Search:  "Cleveland City Council Finance Meting, May 15, 2023"

it usually under the live stream tab on youtube.

 

 

4 hours ago, GISguy said:

Blaine was on the radio the other day talking about the stadium - "if it stays there we have to retrofit it so we can use it year round..." like what?? You put up this huge stink about WSM and on the other hand say something like that.

The WSM probably doesn't treat Griffin and his friends to a luxury suite and beers on a Sunday! 

you think Griffin is corrupt?

New plan for Cleveland's West Side Market includes prepared food hall and outdoor seating

Ideastream Public Media | By Abbey Marshall

Published June 28, 2023 at 5:41 PM EDT

 

"The latest master plan is one of many over the years, Trivisonno said, but if Cleveland City Council approves the transfer of management to Cleveland Public Market Corporation this fall, they have the opportunity to make good on those promises.

 

...

 

Beyond the $30 million estimated for infrastructure, $14 million is proposed for expansion plans. That includes plans for commercial kitchens where vendors can prepare food on site, event spaces, educational kitchens for instructional courses and a prepared food hall.

 

...

 

Currently, produce vendors sprawl across the North and East Arcades. Under the proposed plan, they would be consolidated into a renovated East Arcade, complete with air conditioning and other infrastructure upgrades.

 

The North Arcade would be dedicated to a prepared food hall with 12 vendors, eight of whom will have access to cooking hoods to prepare food on-site. Two locations in the prepared food hall would be bars. There will also be indoor and outdoor seating. The alley in between the market and the arcades would be transformed into a covered passageway with retractable doors, tables and chairs."

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2023-06-28/new-plan-for-clevelands-west-side-market-includes-prepared-food-hall-and-outdoor-seating

Farmer's markets often feature a mix of food and art/maker oriented vendors.  Prior to execution of this plan, why can't the WSM invite makers to fill the empty spaces in the arcades, even if only seasonally?

Actually here for a different event but good turnout at Truss/Intro for the latest discussion. 

 

 

Photos of renderings 

lol makes ya wonder how many UO folks were there...

 

Sorry about the slide quality - for some reason their screen didn't agree with my camera. 

 

First Floor Plan

 

 

Basement Plan: 

 

 

 

And parts from the slideshow:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transition of Market Non-profit