Will the portion that juts out over Euclid Avenue ruin the nice dense building-lined street view?

That corner is 9th and Prospect (or Huron?)

Umm yeah, sorry I don't know what I was looking at, big time brain fart.  As if Huron coming in there shouldn't have been enough, the lack of the Rotunda really should have tipped me off, or the location of the tower.

 

Well, for that corner...hmm...I think I kinda like it.

Picture in Crain's http://www.crainscleveland.com

Interesting - looks like they went with WRL instead of Corna. I can live with that design.

And the corresponding article....

 

 

K&D Group submits sole Ameritrust complex bid

By JAY MILLER

1:03 pm, April 2, 2008

 

It was déjà vu.

 

K&D Group of Willoughby again was the only bidder for the Cuyahoga County-owned Ameritrust complex, bidding the minimum $35 million.

 

More at:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080402/FREE/583128820/1004/newsletter01#

Hmmm.... I think I might like that design.

^Yeah, me too.  I kind of like the canteliever over E9th.  Might require some interesting permits though.

 

The rotunda as ballroom is OK I guess, but I was kind of hoping it would be more of a lobby.  Would be a bad-@ss place to drink a nice cocktail in a lobby bar.  And I hope this doesn't mean we'll only be able to see it at weddings and office parties.

I'm curious about that corner that sticks out over E. 9th as well.  Is it just over the sidewalk or is it over the street too?  We're obviously looking at something very early on, but it's got me wondering.  In any case, good to hear there's still hope for this project!

Please refresh my memory.  What is currently on the corner where the new building will be built?

^Pure ugliness.

Please refresh my memory.  What is currently on the corner where the new building will be built?

 

check out google street view!

Good idea.  I did use Google street view and "pure ugliness" is an apt description.  The new design is a vast improvement.

I can't wait to see more about this new building... this looks extremely promising, and light years better than the inverted q-bert turd that Corna laid.

^Pure ugliness.

 

There is a plaque on that building which, although I don't remember the exact wording, praises the architect who designed it for improving the city. I believe the plaque is on the 9th street side of the building. Not only is it true that all art is in the eye of the beholder, but opinions of it are also based on the times in which the art is viewed.

What is the plan for the properties on Euclid directly to the East of the AT Tower???  Are they part of the deal.

 

I have always been disturbed by the idea of demolishing 1010 Euclid.... even moreso than the AT Tower.

^I'm curious as well.  One thing in our favor is that the 1010 did receive a state historic tax credit. 

 

Also, in the earlier plans, it was to be eliminated and replaced with a plaza/walkway to E. 9th.  It doesn't appear that the Tower is surrounded by such a space in the model/picture above, but I'm sure those are very preliminary.  So I'll just continue keeping my fingers crossed that it stays until we get some real details.

oh i like that version of the new building way better

Not only is it true that all art is in the eye of the beholder, but opinions of it are also based on the times in which the art is viewed.

 

There were A LOT of drugs around in the 60s and 70s, which explains a lot about the times and the beholders' eyes.

 

I am encouraged that they seem to have dumped the "cut through" idea and seem to be maintaining the density very well.  I like the plans presented here, and hopefully the final outcome will resemble them very closely.

i like it.......add a few more stories and build it!

I can but can't believe there's only one bid! well, one "legit" bid.

Picture in Crain's:

 

I love the facade from this angle.  You can just hear the client telling WRL: "gentleman, the most important thing in this design is preserving the existing overhead walkway to the parking garage."

the more i look at this building the more i like it... i really hope K&D doesn't f*ck it up.

I like it too.  It's actually a pretty smart way to cram an office building there without blocking (entirely) the southern facade of the Breuer tower.  Happy that Corna let some other design talent enter the picture...

 

When do we start speculating about which office tenant they think they'll land?

That building has Ernst and Young written all over it (I mean that is the type of stand alone building that Ernst and Young has been moving towards in other cities). 

That building has Ernst and Young written all over it (I mean that is the type of stand alone building that Ernst and Young has been moving towards in other cities). 

 

see also: Detroit

The pattern on the glazing appears to be etched with rounded edged rectangles, a 2D interpretation of the Breuer Tower "tubs" perhaps.

Is this building going where the New York Spaghetti House is/was?

 

This building will replace the 5-story low-rise that's just south of the tower:

Hopefully this is not another April Fools joke like the Erieview recladding.

 

I also like the way the new building interacts with the existing tower.  Because it is angled,  the southern part of the tower is still mostly visible.

 

I am also glad that the existing tower is being saved and renovated.  Does anyone know if the facades on the eastern part of the building are going to be replaced with windows?  I think it would be a good contrast to have this all glass to contrast to the rest of the tower.

 

There are no windows because there was supposed to be another 29 story tower where the 1010 Euclid building is.  This obviously never got built, but had the same design as the current AT tower. :-)

I've been busy lately, so I'm a little sketchy on the details of the new bid. Am I correct in hearing that they will not tear down the buildings on Euclid? Has K&D provided any plans for the Euclid side?

IIRC, no.... the project line does not extend east on Euclid past the Rotunda.  It also appears that there are no new plans for across Prospect.

 

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong, or add to the below, but I believe the entirety of the project is:

 

1.  New 13 story office building on NE corner of Prospect and E 9th.

2.  Rehab the AT Tower into 150 room botique hotel with Residential units on the higher floors.

3.  Transform the Rotunda into a ballroom for the hotel.

 

 

So what happens to 1010 Euclid? The county owns it. I'm sure that they don't want it.

I would think that 1010 Euclid is involved with the project.  Hopefully they just rehab it into apartments with retail on the first floor and call it a day.  This area is just asking for more apartments.  Isn't the Statler at 95% occupancy?  I think when the Euclid Corridor is finished that part of the city could change for the better very quickly with the new developers that have purchased the buildings recently.  All of the named below have been mentioned as development possiblities in the past 6 months.

 

-Cleveland Athletic Club Building

-1010 Euclid

-Breuer Tower

-Rotunda

-the buildings between Huntington and Statler

-Schofield Building rehab of the facade

I'd think 1010 would have been part of the deal. 

I don't know if everybody saw this, but 1010 did win in the latest round of state, historic tax credits along with the rotunda....  Which I guess the county applied for (kind of strange since they didn't necessarily want to keep the building), but this should definitely encourage K&D to keep the building if it is!

 

From the PD:

Nine Cleveland properties get historic preservation tax credits

By Michelle Jarboe

March 13, 2008, 2:08PM

 

• Though Cuyahoga County does not pay property taxes, it nonetheless won credits for 1010 Euclid Ave. and the attached historic rotunda. The county bought the properties, along with the Ameritrust tower and nearby parking garages, for a new administration complex but is offering them to private developers. A round of bidding on the properties closes April 2.

 

The tax credits - nearly $2 million - will go to whoever owns the building when preservation work is complete...

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/03/hanna_higbee_buildings_among_w.html

although it's a rather plain mid-rise glass office box it's not bad at all. i like how the corner juts out -- one jaunty style element like that is just enough to give it some decent presence/personality.

 

 

 

I like the design a lot. It would gesture towards those arriving from the south on E.9th. I wonder how solid K&D feels about prospective office tenants.

I like the design also.  Given its height and boxiness, it, in tandem with the Medical Mutual Building across the street, make a nice "frame" and gateway to the remainder of East Ninth street as you head towards the lake from the top of the street.

I like this design, too. Definitely better than the inverted Qbert tower. ;)

 

Question: with what building does the elevated skyway connect?

The parking garage (on the right):

 

Sheesh. :(

It's a Breuer designed parking garage and part of the original complex - what do you want?

Less things built to keep people from actually walking on sidewalks. I don't have a problem with the garage itself. I just wish the skyway wasn't a part of it.

 

I don't mean to be nitpicky, and I know that I'm being an armchair critic. I'm sorry. But if I could have my way, I would stop allowing things that keep people from walking around outside. The city needs more pedestrians, not less.

 

That is all. :)

Less things built to keep people from actually walking on sidewalks. I don't have a problem with the garage itself. I just wish the skyway wasn't a part of it.

 

I don't mean to be nitpicky, and I know that I'm being an armchair critic. I'm sorry. But if I could have my way, I would stop allowing things that keep people from walking around outside. The city needs more pedestrians, not less.

 

That is all. :)

 

A skywalk like that is a HUGE selling point to potential tenants. 

yeah, let me rephrase that, what a tenant would probably looking for would be "connected parking", clearly a skywalk is just one way to accomplish that.

^^Skyways are not "cool", just necessary sometimes.  They do tend to marginalize street life in my opinion and many cities with extensive systems constantly debate this point.  The best systems have retail available at the skywalk level.

"Oh, then one day, I saw you walkin' down that little one-way

Where, the place I'd catch my ride most everyday

There wasn't a damn thing I could do or say

Up in the skyway"

 

Tell that to your employees when it's 2 degrees and snowing in January..

 

How often is it 2 degrees in Cleveland? Please use the following tool to provide the answer:

 

http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=cle

 

Meanwhile, look up Chicago and give me the same answer (I think you'll find it's colder in Chicago). While you're at it, show me how many enclosed walkways Chicago has downtown. Skywalks are a neat little luxury, but not essential for making downtowns energetic and vibrant.

 

I can't wait to see more about this new building... this looks extremely promising, and light years better than the inverted q-bert turd that Corna laid.

 

I literally laughed out loud at this.

 

A little side note on this... Shortly after the Corna designed was released when K&D made their original bid... Bob Corna was talking to one of the influential city types and actually said, "This is going to be the best building in Cleveland, ever."

 

That's not paraphrased, that's a quote.  Is anyone else ecstatic that Doug Price gained some sanity and decided to work with WRL?

 

Also I'll throw in my two cents on this latest design.  A ways back before the county decided they were going to sell (actually before they had even voted to raze the Breuer Tower)... we had several conversations at design review trying to come up with a consensus view on what we wanted to attempt to guide the county.  Obviously everyone on that comittee wanted to preserve the tower.  One of our big thoughts was the county could restore the tower for adaptive reuse, use the rotunda as the entry / lobby, raze 1010 Euclid Ave (it really wouldn't have been useable for their needs), and in it's place erect a new building.  The thought being is what an interesting and stimulating site to see three buildings from distinctly different periods of architecture right next to each other.  You'd have the post-war modern architecture of the Breuer Tower, the neo-classical rotunda, and an opportunity for some exciting modern archtitecture (there is almost none in the CBD) where 1010 was.  Obviously they were too busy seeing how quickly they could tear things down to contemplate this.  Anyways, I feel that's what this building does.... it enables that exact scenario to play out in a line on 9th street. I'll be so disapointed if this doesn't work out, because it has me really excited right now.

Kids... learn how to play well with others, and save the speculation about National City for the National City thread  :whip:

 

skywalks are dreadful.

 

let me explain...

 

yeah sure, that would be wonderful to have a connecting system of walkways here in the wintertime.. but not only is it a street traffic kill, its a street business kill. All those cool shops and coffee places and diners etc. that are street level will absolutely DIE in the winter. Just trust me... its a great concept, but its incredibly hard to get right (please look at charlotte) and with our city politics, im glad we havent tried to pull it off.

 

however one single one connecting a building/hotel to a garage is excellent indeed. perfect.