On 6/29/2023 at 9:39 AM, MyPhoneDead said:

Wait they don't pull their own trash to the curb??

no, they have a mothership Garbage truck that drives around the neighborhoods and little child golfcarts garbage vehicles that drive up the driveways into the back yard to get the trash.  In the mean time, my side walks look like they are laying on the San Andreas fault. They did an aggressive sidewalk replacement plan last summer and this, but get this, they sent ME the bill to replace the slabs!!!!.  Its kind of a funny community...all love though

4 hours ago, BelievelandD1 said:

no, they have a mothership Garbage truck that drives around the neighborhoods and little child golfcarts garbage vehicles that drive up the driveways into the back yard to get the trash.  

Rocky River had that for a while; I believe it was discontinued but forget why.

2 hours ago, Dougal said:

Rocky River had that for a while; I believe it was discontinued but forget why.

Most cities are going with the automatic loading trucks, which are better for worker productivity and workers comp claims.   

So.... how 'bout that Van Aken District

2 hours ago, KJP said:

So.... how 'bout that Van Aken District

Was there last night. The view of the tower from shopping area will be striking. 

44 minutes ago, OldEnough said:

Was there last night. The view of the tower from shopping area will be striking. 

I wish it would’ve got built on the actual Van Aken district site. On those parking lots. Farnsleigh is so wide, and with the setback of the building, makes it feel like a separate development. 

19 hours ago, marty15 said:

I wish it would’ve got built on the actual Van Aken district site. On those parking lots. Farnsleigh is so wide, and with the setback of the building, makes it feel like a separate development. 

 

I agree.  Farnsleigh needs to go on a road diet.  There is no reason it needs to be any more than one lane each way and then a third lane for left turns at Warrensville and maybe into Tuttle.

This is going up pretty fast imo.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

 

Bracing / scaffold up getting ready for the top bridge. Also new electrical work for transit station. 

 

Didnt  realize the view it will have all the way to Canterbury CC 

1 hour ago, Taller_is_better said:

 

Didnt  realize the view it will have all the way to Canterbury CC 

Congratulations on all your success.

Was getting my hair cut today at Van Aken's Principle Barbershop and WOW does that building loom large over the Van Aken District - even at half-ish its height. Love the feeling it gives to the area. 

I spot glass…

I can’t remember ever seeing scaffolding like that, at least on a project around here.

Theft from r/cleveland

On 9/9/2023 at 2:49 AM, Pleco said:

Theft from r/cleveland

Hey thats me! I live down the street and spend weekends in Van Aken and its amazing out the new apartments are adding a sense of "density" to the area. My family that lives in the east side is surprised when I take them through the district and they see this behemoth rising

It's impressive how much that area is growing, almost like a modernized Shaker Square.

 

The "On the Rise" needs a little work though; it doesn't come close to the Taylor branch, at least from my experience.

From today.  You can see lots of glass starting to be installed on the lower floors from these shots.   In the renderings, I thought the glass was mirrored.  IMO this is so much better, and along with the dark grey trim, going to look really good.

I am getting my hair cut tomorrow at the trendy barbershop (Principle) at Van Aken - as I do every 5-6 weeks. While there, I'll check out the progress on the highrise... and then I may run into the busy market food hall for some lunch (and a quick stop at the great Shinola watch store) - returning to the usually empty sidewalks to get back to my car. 

 

I hope others see customers and diners at Van Aken when I'm not there... Do you? On my weekday midday visits it just seems the workers outnumber patrons in the (open) stores and restaurants not inside the main food hall.  I'd love to be wrong. 

 

 

10 minutes ago, eyehrtfood said:

I am getting my hair cut tomorrow at the trendy barbershop (Principle) at Van Aken - as I do every 5-6 weeks. While there, I'll check out the progress on the highrise... and then I may run into the busy market food hall for some lunch (and a quick stop at the great Shinola watch store) - returning to the usually empty sidewalks to get back to my car. 

 

I hope others see customers and diners at Van Aken when I'm not there... Do you? On my weekday midday visits it just seems the workers outnumber patrons in the (open) stores and restaurants not inside the main food hall.  I'd love to be wrong. 

 

 

It seemed vibrant and active when I was there today.  Brassica is always busy.  The food hall was hopping.  Saw 2 ladies in the salon getting their hair colored.  I didn’t go into many stores, but they don’t seem to have much retail turnover, so they must be doing OK.

As it happens, I was there at lunch today and the the place as a whole was as busy as I’ve seen it outside of a weekend. 

1 hour ago, JohnSummit said:

From today.  You can see lots of glass starting to be installed on the lower floors from these shots.   In the renderings, I thought the glass was mirrored.  IMO this is so much better, and along with the dark grey trim, going to look really good.

 

It's giving me Atlantis Condo Miami vibes:

 

4 minutes ago, Mov2Ohio said:

 

It's giving me Atlantis Condo Miami vibes:

 

It's going to be way more attractive than that building.

On 9/14/2023 at 4:21 PM, eyehrtfood said:

I am getting my hair cut tomorrow at the trendy barbershop (Principle) at Van Aken - as I do every 5-6 weeks. While there, I'll check out the progress on the highrise... and then I may run into the busy market food hall for some lunch (and a quick stop at the great Shinola watch store) - returning to the usually empty sidewalks to get back to my car. 

 

I hope others see customers and diners at Van Aken when I'm not there... Do you? On my weekday midday visits it just seems the workers outnumber patrons in the (open) stores and restaurants not inside the main food hall.  I'd love to be wrong. 

 

 

Its always been busy when I go on the weekends. During the week this time of year its expected to be a bit slower as most restaurants open after 4pm and most people there either work or are just passing by.

After seeing all of the generic four story specials going up around town, this project is actually exhilarating to look at 

 

 

I apologize for not knowing this, but is the number and composition (1bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc) of units known?

2 minutes ago, Clefan14 said:

I apologize for not knowing this, but is the number and composition (1bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc) of units known?

I don't know but I am wondering if the developers might be considering doing more "grown up" type units as this is a building that could appeal to Shaker and east side empty nesters who are downsizing from large houses.  In other words no studios and a significant number of apartments with more square footage (even one bedrooms) than you normally see in new builds around town.  Just a guess.

We should do a "guess the average rent per square foot."  I start the bidding at $3.25, lol.

Van Aken District had to be one of the most significant tod projects in the country rn.  theyre building a multi-block, dense downtown for shaker hts from scratch. 

Edited September 23, 20231 yr by Whipjacka

Van Aken District is a TMUD applicant again

 

 

Word is going around that Micheals Genuine is closing for good this Friday. Pretty sad if true. I worked there for a bit and went every so ofter to grab something to drink(went alot during the pandemic to get takeout).

 

 

Also hearing that Shake It is closing as well.

Edited September 27, 20231 yr by rwashington89

7 minutes ago, rwashington89 said:

Word is going around that Micheals Genuine is closing for good this Friday. Pretty sad if true. I worked there for a bit and went every so ofter to grab something to drink(went alot during the pandemic to get takeout).

I went there a couple of months ago for the first time. It wasn’t too busy, but it was a Monday night so that could be the reason. Good service. Food was above average.

So, per @Htsguy...

 

I do feel bad because I knew a lot of the workers and the managers there. Hopefully they are able to find employment elsewhere. I do hope we get some new dining options that are more budget friendly.

That’s a shame. I took a party of about 12 of us there for a business dinner earlier this year and I thought it was all-round great. 
On paper, a good restaurant there should thrive, but its predecessor (forget the name) didn’t last too long either. As has been pointed out, maybe the pricing is a little off. 

Michaels is great, it will be a loss.  But I kind of felt this was going to happen eventually.  He is Miami guy and if i am not mistaken was recruited by Jonathon Sawyer who was in charge of the food options at Van Aken before he was run out of town.  So then Schwartz was kind of there without his pal running a restaurant with really no other ties to NE Ohio.  He was making money, so i think he kept it going...but i didnt know if it was going to be for the long term. 

 

The place is very nice and turnkey,  i wouldnt be surprised if it got scooped up quickly.  As the two predecessors in the Shake It space found out, the biggest money makers will be fun, whimsical and family friendly...so i would expect something of that nature.

 

 

I'm not sure I've seen the level of closings we've seen in the last few weeks. It's crazy. I've been waiting for the Michael's news for some time simply due to constant availability of reservations in auch a small space - and the loss of the Sawyer connection - and Shake It was empty from day one. Not sure how Paloma at Van Aken is doing - but on pretty Summer days they were opwn and patio was empty. And what about Northstar at Van Aken... a hit in Columbus but who knows here. 

7 minutes ago, eyehrtfood said:

I'm not sure I've seen the level of closings we've seen in the last few weeks. It's crazy. I've been waiting for the Michael's news for some time simply due to constant availability of reservations in auch a small space - and the loss of the Sawyer connection - and Shake It was empty from day one. Not sure how Paloma at Van Aken is doing - but on pretty Summer days they were opwn and patio was empty. And what about Northstar at Van Aken... a hit in Columbus but who knows here. 

In my frequent experience, the Northstars and Brassicas in both Columbus and Cleveland are equally as busy as one another - the brand is pretty strong, and both "chains" are owned by the same people is my understanding...

20 minutes ago, Geowizical said:

In my frequent experience, the Northstars and Brassicas in both Columbus and Cleveland are equally as busy as one another - the brand is pretty strong, and both "chains" are owned by the same people is my understanding...

then that's great... I'm a fan - and frequent enough customer of Brassica - and know they must be doing well enough to 1) open Northstar and 2) open a Brassica on west side. (Northstar is a different sort of concept that some will love and some won't - and had a rough start, service-wise, but have enjoyed my several visits...)

I'm surprised how busy Northstar is given it's on the corner facing outside of the district vs the others which are more visible to the people walking around the district.

Northstar is always packed.

 

also:

 

 

Hmm, heres hoping that its a bit more moderately priced :D

3 hours ago, BelievelandD1 said:

Northstar is always packed.

 

also:

 

 

Curious if (much like Paladar's Eton space) the exit plans were long known and there is already a tenant (Agave & Rye in Eton's case) lined up - or this is just PR / wishful thinking... I hope the former. 

3 hours ago, BelievelandD1 said:

Northstar is always packed.

 

also:

 

 

Northstar is packed as it runs a top notch operation. 

This is a very small thing but l think l read that Bomba (which l think is affiliated with Paladar) is also closing. The only reason l mention it is because they have the best quacamole nearby. Anybody know where l can get some good quac in the Lakewood Rocky River area? And please don't say Cilantro. Don't like theirs.

1 hour ago, cadmen said:

This is a very small thing but l think l read that Bomba (which l think is affiliated with Paladar) is also closing. The only reason l mention it is because they have the best quacamole nearby. Anybody know where l can get some good quac in the Lakewood Rocky River area? And please don't say Cilantro. Don't like theirs.

La Plaza or El Carnicero

Booms Pizza is going into the Michaels Genuine space.

On 10/8/2023 at 11:07 PM, willyboy said:

Booms Pizza is going into the Michaels Genuine space.

Fitting, since Michael's Genuine was intended to only serve pizza to begin with.