May 21, 201114 yr Put ground level retail along Prospect and East 2nd in the new parking garage and I'm in. As someone earlier said, replacing mixed use potential buildings with mixed use ACTUAL buildings makes the demolition of an historic building more palatable. But Hts, we all know this is a straight forward parking garage being proposed. No mention of ground floor retail, food, etc. like in the above pictures. In fact, I'd argue that Parking Garages DO have to result in automatic deadzones. It's retail, residential, parkspace, and commercial that create foot traffic (aside from to and from your car). Parking alone does not yield an active space. It's more likely to look like this street in Cleveland... I have to head out really soon, but at yesterday's meeting, it was mentioned that retail [2 storefronts, adjacent] is being planned for a section of the ground level of parking garage on the southside of prospect, between ontario and e.2. However, that retail space is still going to be dead because pedestrians (for example, from east 4th) aren't going to cross 5 lanes of traffic (the 3 valet lanes and east 2nd) to access those 2 storefronts.
May 21, 201114 yr An article from the PD about the CPC approving the "Welcome Center" Where do I start.... everything I have seen from the mayor on this shows the lack of leadership... yet his below statement would be totally true given the plan that Rock gaming put forth. Quite the visionaire and leader he is. "Ken Silliman, chief of staff for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, expressed the mayor's support for the project at the meeting. Silliman said the administration understood the importance of historic preservation, but added the Columbia building needs to go for the project to move forward." Im guessing by the last name that this may be a certain someone that has posted about the meeting on UO. Valid question, but was that really the only question/objection to this plan at the meeting? Outside of the traffic study there really were no challenging questions asked here? Whatever. "Will Skora, a member of the audience, told the commission it should not approve the plan before seeing a yet-to-be-finished traffic study that will examine how the increase in cars will impact pedestrians around the valet area." Cleveland Planning Commission approves welcome center complex for casino Published: Saturday, May 21, 2011, 5:20 AM Updated: Saturday, May 21, 2011, 9:06 AM By Dave Davis, The Plain Dealer Marcus Glover, general manager of the Higbee casino, explained the parking plan must wow casino customers, providing an initial impression that says, "I'm here. I've arrived." "You want to be able to pull in and get out with convenience and ease," said Glover, who works for Caesars Entertainment Corp., which is developing the Higbee casino with Dan Gilbert's company, Rock Gaming LLC. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/05/cleveland_planning_commissions.html
May 21, 201114 yr THM I'm very glad that you have everything figured out to the point of being the self-appointed arbiter of vintage buildings -- should they stay or should they go? And, interestingly enough, things have got to be done in "your lifetime". WHD 1980s is like a Lower Prospect of today. It'd be nice to have as much of Gateway around for future generations. As of today...5.20.11...the Stanley is staying and the Columbia is sending out an S.O.S. Needless to say, I prefer the Stanley over the Columbia...if I regeretfully have to choose one over the other. Very controversial stance evidently. I think it's the historically more significant building. Shocking. But there should be NO reason to alter our cityscape permanently if this is a temporary Casino. Yes I agree completely. And "temporary" can be used in a more broad sense than either phase 1 or phase 2 ... How many entertainment venues in greater Cleveland have stood the test of time? Galleria, Tower City, The Flats, Euclid Beach, Randall Park Mall, Municipal Stadium, countless theatre complexes, and the list goes on etc, have all been popular for a period of time before dying off. The historical buildings of Cleveland were constructed to last. They offer numerous rehab potentials. Unfortunately once the Casino becomes unpopular or decides it needs to move to a new location (like almost every other major entertainment venue has in the past) we will be faced with a parking garage that cannot be rehabbed into anything else. As typical the city leaders are only looking at short term gains instead of a long term viable plan.
May 21, 201114 yr Author And also, how can nearby pay to park garages and surface lots compete with a massive free structure? I have no problem with something that would make it less profitable to run a parking lot in downtown Cleveland.
May 21, 201114 yr Author I understand some of us sound a bit crazy, but Gilbert will make his money, people will be able to park, and cold weather can be avoided all without demolishing one of the few remaining century old buildings. (Built 1909) Yeah, no one is going to not come to the casino because they have to walk outside for a little bit. There's casinos across the country that have large parking lots where people have to walk outside for a much longer distance to get inside.
May 21, 201114 yr Author The Grand Arcade has over 90 units. The buildings we are talking about are not being considered for any development because at best they would produce only 15 to 25 apartments. In a city with a downtown population of over 12000, they are not profitable for conversion. The casino project in its entirety stands to total close to 1 BILLION DOLLARS!! Why do you keep spouting things that are just wrong? The Columbia Building is NOT in poor condition and it's LARGER than the Grand Arcade was when it was converted. Your arguments would be listened to more if you got your facts straight.
May 21, 201114 yr Lurker here..just had to chime in on how disappointing this all is. I graduate from college in 2 years and I think this will be the straw that broke the camel's back for me. As much as I love Cleveland, I just have no confidence in our leadership to turn this city into the vibrant urban area it could be. We get projects like this, where the city bends over backwards for whatever new development project that is supposed to save Cleveland. Just reading the quotes in the article..it's all about catering to the casino experience..how about catering to the Cleveland experience and investing in the community? It's just frustrating how much potential this city wastes because of this type of short-sighted planning...missed opportunity after missed opportunity..
May 21, 201114 yr I doubt it, but has anyone gotten any response from any of their emails? the planning director responded to me yesterday. It seems doubtful that the Columbia stays.
May 21, 201114 yr Author djunior - I know it can be discouraging but I hope it also motivates you to do something to make this city great. Because Cleveland is really small enough for one person to actually make a difference. We need more young people like you to stay in the city.
May 21, 201114 yr I believe the last person we should blame for this is Dan Gilbert. Yes a developer has some responsibility to the community in regards to a proposed development but it is not Dan Gilbert's responsibility to right the wrongs that we have commited as a community. We are the ones to blame for the state of the Stanley and we should not look to someone to come in and repair what we have negleted. Gilbert just wants to build a garage for his customer, he should not be burdened with the added responsibility and cost of the Stanley and the Columbia. The Stanley has been an eyesore for about 30 years and very few up till now have given it any thought. Besides this deal with the city is about the sale of GatewayNorth and the chance to get out of a very large debt associated with it. I love the Columbia, but the chances of anyone investing in them at this point are not good. They would likely remain vacant for another 10 years. And with the anticipation of added visitors coming to town we cannot let them sit in the condition that they are in any longer. I am not saying we should give Gilbert a free pass but like others in this town he chose Cleveland and not Westlake or the Chagrin Highlands to invest in.
May 21, 201114 yr Do you really feel a handsome building a block away from E. 4th and a block away from the casino, with the recent success of 668, would not be considered a prime candidate for conversion? Probably the only reason it is not being used right now is that developers (i.e. Gilbert) purchased the property on speculation that the casino would be approved, and he could tear it down to build the garage. Using the argument, "well, its not being used for anything" For that matter, when did he buy the building?
May 21, 201114 yr Search 112 Prospect on the Cuyahoga County Auditor's Website. It was originally sold in 2008, and then again in 2010. The owner is now USA Parking Systems. Between 2008 and 2010, though, it was "Columbia Prospect, LLC", whatever that means (or whoever that is a front for). Also it was bought for almost $3 million in 2008 and then sold to USA Parking System in 2010 for just over $1 million. Could these two owners have been in cahoots to lower the perceived value of the property?
May 21, 201114 yr An article from the PD about the CPC approving the "Welcome Center" Where do I start.... everything I have seen from the mayor on this shows the lack of leadership... yet his below statement would be totally true given the plan that Rock gaming put forth. Quite the visionaire and leader he is. "Ken Silliman, chief of staff for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, expressed the mayor's support for the project at the meeting. Silliman said the administration understood the importance of historic preservation, but added the Columbia building needs to go for the project to move forward." Im guessing by the last name that this may be a certain someone that has posted about the meeting on UO. Valid question, but was that really the only question/objection to this plan at the meeting? Outside of the traffic study there really were no challenging questions asked here? Whatever. Cleveland Planning Commission approves welcome center complex for casino Published: Saturday, May 21, 2011, 5:20 AM Updated: Saturday, May 21, 2011, 9:06 AM By Dave Davis, The Plain Dealer Marcus Glover, general manager of the Higbee casino, explained the parking plan must wow casino customers, providing an initial impression that says, "I'm here. I've arrived." "You want to be able to pull in and get out with convenience and ease," said Glover, who works for Caesars Entertainment Corp., which is developing the Higbee casino with Dan Gilbert's company, Rock Gaming LLC. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/05/cleveland_planning_commissions.html Yes, that would be me. It wasn't my only objection and it wasn't the only objection to the plan. As far as I remember, there were 3 (only!) others who had publicly expressed criticism to any portion of the plan: a rep. from the Gateway District, Anthony Coyne, and Norm Krumholz. The three of them and I had a few criticisms including: that the Stanley Building was not incorporated to the overall design of the parking garage, the aesthetics of the garage, that the parking garage will not create any pedestrian vibrancy on Prospect between Ontario and East 4th because of the parking garage will create dead space, and because of the current design, pedestrians will not want to walk from East 4th to the Casino. For what it's worth, I have most of the audio [the quality isn't very good either, but the speaking is audible] from the Rock Gaming presentation although the audio is a bit limiting because the visuals are missing. Link to audio: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17003223/2011-05-20_09-39.flac (warning, 212 MB). some remarks, points, worth noting: Bob Brown: the first view of the courthouse that is even worth seeing isn't until you're already north of the skywalk/bridge (46min into the audio). "it activates the streetscape, it really makes prospect seem like a more exciting and pedestrian friendly area....it adds to the connectivity to the area" - Rock-gaming rep. (I wonder what he's talking about.... /sarcasm). (47min). - City of cleveland will sell the gateway north garage to Rock Gaming for $21 million
May 22, 201114 yr djunior, I hear what your saying... I kindof feel the same way. I was hoping to move back, but I have been a bit wishy washy about the thought this past year. I would imagine its even more frustrating to be there and witness the missed opportunities and lack of leadership than it is from another city. Thanks skorasaurus, I really wasnt dissin you, and Im glad you went and were able to report back. But I was a little frustrated that there were not more people there asking additional challenging questions at least, and a bit frustrated that only 3 people were there critical of the plan. For all the people on here that seem to dislike the plan, and the great input/insight (and convincing arguments) I have read on this board, I really thought there would have been more opposition at the actual meeting. Its not too late to contnue to contact people on the Landmarks Commission. Do people know contacts for any of the others? We had a couple of emails posted for the Chair Jennifer Coleman. I used to know Laura pretty well but I have lost touch.. Cleveland Landmarks Commission: Laura Bala Anthony Brancatelli, City Council Robert N. Brown, Director of City Planning Thomas Coffey Jennifer Coleman, Chair Allan Dreyer Bill Mason Michael Rastatter, Jr. John Torres Robert Vilkas, Manager of Architecture and Site Development
May 22, 201114 yr That would be a shame Willy and djunior. I hope you can look past your disagreement on this issue and do your part to make Cleveland a better place to live. 'Leadership' can always change if you don't like the current make-up of city hall. Of course, without living in cleveland, you won't have any say in that. It is an overreaction IMHO, to say the least
May 22, 201114 yr Yeah I'm with hts. Yes, this is disappointing but it's not the end of the world. The Casino will bring a lot of money to the city. Also, consider the med mart/convention center, flats east bank, flats aquarium, MOCA/uptown, etc. All of which are projects that will be finished within the next few years and bring a lot of potential to the region. Don't let this one thing discourage you. Leadership can and will change in this city and I think you should both try to have a voice in changing it.
May 22, 201114 yr If the buildings were being sacrificed for the casino, that would be one thing. But, they are being knocked down for parking, something the city has no shortage of. There is no NEED for these buildings to come down
May 22, 201114 yr If the buildings were being sacrificed for the casino, that would be one thing. But, they are being knocked down for parking, something the city has no shortage of. There is no NEED for these buildings to come down Exactly, this is not a deal breaker. And it doesn't take much effort/creativity to work around these buildings.
May 22, 201114 yr Thought that I would share this "head's up" with readers of UrbanOhio. Tomorrow morning we are going to announce that the Columbia Building and Stanley Block have been named to the 2011 List of Ohio's Most Endangered Historic Sites. Here's a link to our blog which carries that announcement: http://preserveohio.com/2011/05/downtown-cleveland-sites-among-most-endangered/ Just thought I would pass along that word... Thomas/presOhio
May 22, 201114 yr Thanks presOhio for the link. Has anyone forwarded this to Cleveland Planning Commission and Landmarks Commission?
May 23, 201114 yr Part of my time downtown today was spent actually looking at that intersection including the Columbia building. I've passed by that area for years but have never stopped to look. I must admit, I am far from impressed by the Columbia building. It's not something that I would miss. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a parking garage fan, especially since I'm a huge advocate for public transportation. But I don't see anyway that a "welcome center" can exist in that location without that building coming down, I'm shocked enough that the Stanley block can be saved and incorporated into the plans. Throw in a couple ground level retail stores there and fix up the building just to the east of the current Columbia building for more retail and or restaurants and that intersection should be just fine. This casino is too important to the grand scheme of a new, rejuvenated downtown Cleveland. If this is a necessary evil than I can live with that.
May 23, 201114 yr ^ The casino will be built no matter what. And my problem with the garage is that it will create a nightmare for pedestrians.
May 23, 201114 yr ^ The casino will be built no matter what. And my problem with the garage is that it will create a nightmare for pedestrians. We can only hope that it doesn't create the problems that people think that it will create.
May 23, 201114 yr ^ The casino will be built no matter what. And my problem with the garage is that it will create a nightmare for pedestrians. I've mentioned this before, but just cant get this thought out of my head, I'd love someone who knows the process more to comment. At this point Rock Ventures has spent hundreds of millions on land, lobbying, engineering/architectural planning, and general managerial preparation for the Casino. There is no way that this is not going to move forward. That said, upon presenting this Welcome Center idea to the planning commission one would have to guess that either there is a Plan B for if it is denied OR they knew that it wouldn't be denied. Put another way, I don't know the legality of it, but I think it's very likely that though we've only seen the Welcome Center designs for a few weeks, the planning commission and/or the mayor had given a general promise to allow Rock Ventures to do whatever they need to get this Casino built. I suppose it's strange, to me, that we never heard anyone in power mention an interest in an alternative plan being floated. They said "we want a nicer looking skyway" but couldn't ask for an alternative and a proposal. If an alternative that did not destroy the Columbia Building was offered but cost an additional $2.5 million to build that would detour Rock Ventures from it being Plan A, but of course it would not have ended the Casino development. So either he knew this was fine to begin with, or he had a Plan B and we just didn't ask him to provide it. Does this sound about right?
May 23, 201114 yr Does anyone else think their annual visitors projections seem a bit unrealistic? It does, but this is a 365/24 hour a day business. That comes out to 571 people per hour. That number is about the same as a strip mall with just a Giant Eagle and a WalMart in it. It's also a bit contentious because it doesn't necessarily mean that you will have 5 million new visitors to downtown. e.g. most customers are repeat visitors and many people who come downtown for dinners, games, plays, ALREADY will now visit the casino too, meaning that a decent % of those 5 million visitors are already current downtown visitors. Also as another perspective, a 20 story office building with 150 workers on each floor would generate would generate 720,000 visits to downtown working 5 days a week, 48 weeks per year.
May 23, 201114 yr Here is the Columbia building, and a couple of similar looking building in Chicago's south loop, just so people can picture how it can be renovated for apartments or condos
May 23, 201114 yr I just don't know why all the lip service to "integrating with the city", even well after the issue passed, then tearing down a building and building a skyway to keep people from walking anywhere but from their car to the casino and back. Also, the nonsense about this being a "temporary" casino. I suppose the thought is to hope for something better from the Tower City spot, which I'm now prepared to believe will never happen.
May 23, 201114 yr Many of the older people will be the "through the hamster tube and back" types. I think most young people will look for more to do downtown. I can't count the times I've driven up to Detroit and planned on doing stuff besides gamble, but since their two best casinos are in the middle of nowhere I never really did. The one time I went to Greektown I got out and walked the area and visited a couple places. The key, IMO, will be street directories. People need hand holding like it or not. They need "E.4th street --->" signs and the same with the warehouse district. And inside the casino they need signs directing people towards tower city. Not to mention, the people visiting the city for conventions will probably be walking already, especially during the summer months. Those people will be drawn to that area because of the casino where they may not have even bothered without it. The casino isn't the end all be all of cures to the cities problems, but it's a nice piece of the puzzle, and if you need a slightly bad thing to gain a really great thing, it's not all so bad.
May 23, 201114 yr that is a classically handsome turn of the century building that is in good shape and it would be a mistake to tear it down. ridiculous. so now this new money carpetbagger is trying to tear down cle like its his detroit? not cool.
May 24, 201114 yr Personally I would rather see MORE parking garages because they diminish the value of the many surface parking lots and will only make development of those surface lots more profitable. Right now none of the surface parking lot owners want to sell for development because they are making too much money. Every great city solves this problem by building multi-story parking garages which diminish the money the surface lot owners make. Very good point. I wish we could biuld a stand-alone parking tower, like in Chicago. Flood the market with supply so that surface parking is no longer the "highest and best use" in so many downtown landowners' minds. It is a good point except that this new garage represents new supply as a response to new demand. It only diminishes the demand for surface lots if it changes the equilibrium. As this garage is solely for the new Casino traffic it will do nothing to diminish the demand for surface lots. And depending on how well it satisfies demand, it may in fact lead to spillover parking in the E4th lot perpetuating the lack of development on that lot. It's hard to tell right now, but I think the added supply will be much greater than the demand. It could end up hurting public transit use a bit when people are going downtown for a big event and say, "oh let's just drive and park at the casino, they have a huge 6000 space garage that's free if we use our players club card, then we won't have to pay for RTA passes." I think what prevents a lot of people from using public transit to get downtown more often is that a) we have comparatively minimal traffic b) parking is ample c) said parking is extremely cheap and in many cases free. My cost to drive to work downtown + parking is less than a roundtrip RTA fare! The garage is a double edge sword because it brings more people downtown, but makes parking cheaper faster and easier enticing more vehicles to drive downtown until parking equilibrium is reached again. Which of course makes it less pedestrian friendly and less enticing to use public transit.
May 24, 201114 yr I received an email reply from Robert Brown this morning.. Thank you for your comments regarding the proposed casino welcome center and garage development proposed on the southeast corner of Ontario and Prospect in downtown Cleveland. The City Planning Commission and its staff share the concerns that have been raised over the loss of the historic Columbia Building and the addition of a pedestrian bridge over the Ontario/Prospect intersection. We don’t take either issue lightly. We examined this proposal carefully and critically before choosing to support it. I would like to share with you some of our reasoning and our considerations in reaching this conclusion. Please see the attached document. CITY PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS WITH REGARD TO PROPOSED CASINO WELCOME CENTER AND GARAGE DEVELOPMENT The Downtown Core Location. The City Planning Commission and staff recognize that the casino developer could have avoided the proposed demolitions and pedestrian bridge construction by doing what most casino developers have done – which is to build a new casino building, with an attached parking garage, in an area removed from the downtown core. We are very pleased that this casino developer chose the more difficult and costly option of placing the casino in the heart of downtown Cleveland, right on Public Square, where many of the millions of casino-goers each year will walk the streets of downtown, patronizing our restaurants, our stores and our hotels. Street Life. The proposed “welcome center” project proposes a large retail or restaurant space at the corner of Prospect and Ontario, replacing a long-vacant building that once housed a religious book store. Immediately east of the new retail/ restaurant space on Prospect will be another pedestrian-oriented space, a “welcome center,” with information about the casino and some possible retail sales area. Together, these two people-oriented, non-vehicular new spaces on Prospect Avenue will help connect pedestrian activity from the casino, along Prospect Avenue, to East 4th Street. These new uses can also contribute to the renovation and re-use of the vacant and under-utilized historic buildings on Prospect between East 2nd and East 4th. In addition, the fact that the main street-level entrances to the casino will be directly on Prospect Avenue and on Public Square means that many if not most of the casino goers will enter the casino from the street, rather than on the pedestrian bridge, walking from local hotels and from the Convention Center, Medical Mart and other nearby venues. Historic Preservation. The decision to place the casino in the Higbee Building results in hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in the renovation and upgrading of this historic building, while giving new life to the historic Terminal Tower complex. The proposal also leaves the historic Stanley Block building untouched and preserves its rear loading and servicing access. Competitiveness. It is important to the Cleveland community that the casino succeeds and draws millions of visitors to the city, along with the thousands of jobs associated with the casino. Other successful, first-class casinos offer their patrons convenient parking and valet parking drop-off and pick-up, along with safe, climate-controlled connections to the casino. For the Higbee Building casino, the only location available for this service, including the extensive valet area required for such service, is at the southeast corner of Ontario and Prospect, where the Columbia Building is located. All options have been examined carefully and none of them are workable. Casino Phasing. The casino developer has stated its intent to make the Higbee Building a permanent part of the larger casino complex, which is proposed to be built on the south side of Huron Road, connected to the Tower City complex. Construction of the second phase casino is anticipated for 2015. Pedestrian Bridge Issues. Although the proposed pedestrian bridge will interfere with some views, particularly along Ontario northbound, the fact that Ontario is a relatively wide street and the fact that it bends just south of the proposed bridge significantly limits the impact that the bridge will have on views. The most significant view that will be obstructed is that of the County Courthouse on Lakeside. However, motorists and pedestrians will not be close enough to appreciate the architecture of that building until after passing under the pedestrian bridge. Similarly, the most significant views of Old Stone Church will occur north of the proposed bridge. Recognizing the importance of the design details, the Planning Commission has instructed the developer to return with a refined concept for the bridge’s design before final approval is considered. Parking Supply. The development of the welcome center garage and pedestrian bridge, connected to the existing Gateway North Garage, allows that existing garage space to be used for close-in casino parking and, thereby, reduces the need to construct additional parking. Also, a portion of the proposed welcome center garage will replace an existing surface parking lot. Conclusion. Considering all the issues discussed above, the City Planning Commission and its staff have concluded that the benefits of the proposed casino “welcome center” complex far outweigh its detriments. We are confident that the development will not only increase the casino’s ability to draw visitors to Cleveland and create jobs for Clevelanders but will also add retail and pedestrian spaces to help spread casino-generated activity along Prospect Avenue and to the East 4th Street district.
May 24, 201114 yr I put in a call to Jennifer Coleman, Chair of the landmarks commission. She asked me to e-mail her my opposition to the project, and that way she can demonstate the amount of opposition to knocking down the Columbia. If you would like to do so also, her e-mail is Jennifer Coleman: [email protected]
May 24, 201114 yr I don't mean to post a very long file, but this was the response attached to an email from Robert Brown Director of the Cleveland City Planning Commission. Mods, if you can think of a better way to present this I'm okay with you deleting my post- but I wanted to show everyone what was sent to me: CITY PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS WITH REGARD TO PROPOSED CASINO WELCOME CENTER AND GARAGE DEVELOPMENT The Downtown Core Location. The City Planning Commission and staff recognize that the casino developer could have avoided the proposed demolitions and pedestrian bridge construction by doing what most casino developers have done – which is to build a new casino building, with an attached parking garage, in an area removed from the downtown core. We are very pleased that this casino developer chose the more difficult and costly option of placing the casino in the heart of downtown Cleveland, right on Public Square, where many of the millions of casino-goers each year will walk the streets of downtown, patronizing our restaurants, our stores and our hotels. Street Life. The proposed “welcome center” project proposes a large retail or restaurant space at the corner of Prospect and Ontario, replacing a long-vacant building that once housed a religious book store. Immediately east of the new retail/ restaurant space on Prospect will be another pedestrian-oriented space, a “welcome center,” with information about the casino and some possible retail sales area. Together, these two people-oriented, non-vehicular new spaces on Prospect Avenue will help connect pedestrian activity from the casino, along Prospect Avenue, to East 4th Street. These new uses can also contribute to the renovation and re-use of the vacant and under-utilized historic buildings on Prospect between East 2nd and East 4th. In addition, the fact that the main street-level entrances to the casino will be directly on Prospect Avenue and on Public Square means that many if not most of the casino goers will enter the casino from the street, rather than on the pedestrian bridge, walking from local hotels and from the Convention Center, Medical Mart and other nearby venues. Historic Preservation. The decision to place the casino in the Higbee Building results in hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in the renovation and upgrading of this historic building, while giving new life to the historic Terminal Tower complex. The proposal also leaves the historic Stanley Block building untouched and preserves its rear loading and servicing access. Competitiveness. It is important to the Cleveland community that the casino succeeds and draws millions of visitors to the city, along with the thousands of jobs associated with the casino. Other successful, first-class casinos offer their patrons convenient parking and valet parking drop-off and pick-up, along with safe, climate-controlled connections to the casino. For the Higbee Building casino, the only location available for this service, including the extensive valet area required for such service, is at the southeast corner of Ontario and Prospect, where the Columbia Building is located. All options have been examined carefully and none of them are workable. Casino Phasing. The casino developer has stated its intent to make the Higbee Building a permanent part of the larger casino complex, which is proposed to be built on the south side of Huron Road, connected to the Tower City complex. Construction of the second phase casino is anticipated for 2015. Pedestrian Bridge Issues. Although the proposed pedestrian bridge will interfere with some views, particularly along Ontario northbound, the fact that Ontario is a relatively wide street and the fact that it bends just south of the proposed bridge significantly limits the impact that the bridge will have on views. The most significant view that will be obstructed is that of the County Courthouse on Lakeside. However, motorists and pedestrians will not be close enough to appreciate the architecture of that building until after passing under the pedestrian bridge. Similarly, the most significant views of Old Stone Church will occur north of the proposed bridge. Recognizing the importance of the design details, the Planning Commission has instructed the developer to return with a refined concept for the bridge’s design before final approval is considered. Parking Supply. The development of the welcome center garage and pedestrian bridge, connected to the existing Gateway North Garage, allows that existing garage space to be used for close-in casino parking and, thereby, reduces the need to construct additional parking. Also, a portion of the proposed welcome center garage will replace an existing surface parking lot. Conclusion. Considering all the issues discussed above, the City Planning Commission and its staff have concluded that the benefits of the proposed casino “welcome center” complex far outweigh its detriments. We are confident that the development will not only increase the casino’s ability to draw visitors to Cleveland and create jobs for Clevelanders but will also add retail and pedestrian spaces to help spread casino-generated activity along Prospect Avenue and to the East 4th Street district.
May 24, 201114 yr ^^that reply is absolutely amazing in its bias (it is almost like a propaganda memo rather than a fair weighing of the pros and cons) and clearly demonstrates the fix is in. It does not even attempt to address the various legit points we have addressed on this board which are counter to the demolition and garage construction (I really like the line about it could have been built the casino outside downtown with a parking garage attached...if ruining the downtown core is the alternative, then be my guest)
May 24, 201114 yr ^I find that to be a bit harsh. I don't agree that it 'ruins the downtown core' at all. I'm pretty sure the core will still be there after this project is done. And I personally know people on the planning commission that would not participate in any such 'fix'.... I think they would find your insinuation insulting. These people geniunely care about the City. I know the majority (on here) will not agree with me, but I found the response to be an objective analysis of the pro's and con's without any blatant bias (at least no more bias than we are hearing from the die-hard preservationists). I was encouraged by the specifics on the street level activity that will be brought to the corner of Ontario and Prospect. I still wish that the Columbia could stay and the Stanley Block would be sacraficed in its stead, but I honestly think that I would have begrudgingly voted in favor of approving the plan if I was on the commission. I am trying to think of a several hundred million dollar project in which we did NOT lose something AT LEAST as significant as the Columbia building.
May 24, 201114 yr The Downtown Core Location. The City Planning Commission and staff recognize that the casino developer could have avoided the proposed demolitions and pedestrian bridge construction by doing what most casino developers have done – which is to build a new casino building, with an attached parking garage, in an area removed from the downtown core. We are very pleased that this casino developer chose the more difficult and costly option of placing the casino in the heart of downtown Cleveland, right on Public Square, where many of the millions of casino-goers each year will walk the streets of downtown, patronizing our restaurants, our stores and our hotels. That's a bogus point. The language in the amendment would prohibit them building it anywhere but the areas they've already identified.
May 24, 201114 yr ^I have no problem insulting the Planning Commission. I off course disagree with you as I find the parking garage and "welcome center" a sham. The welcome center is just a lobby for valet parking and will not add to any street life...and as McCleveland has pointed out, the multi lanes going into and out of the garage is going to be a pedestrian nightmare. These are just a few of my many concerns, most of which have been expressed by other posters.
May 24, 201114 yr Pedestrian Bridge Issues. Although the proposed pedestrian bridge will interfere with some views, particularly along Ontario northbound, the fact that Ontario is a relatively wide street and the fact that it bends just south of the proposed bridge significantly limits the impact that the bridge will have on views. The most significant view that will be obstructed is that of the County Courthouse on Lakeside. However, motorists and pedestrians will not be close enough to appreciate the architecture of that building until after passing under the pedestrian bridge. Similarly, the most significant views of Old Stone Church will occur north of the proposed bridge. Recognizing the importance of the design details, the Planning Commission has instructed the developer to return with a refined concept for the bridge’s design before final approval is considered. What about the views on Prospect, walking from E. 4th? From one major entertainment destination in the city to the other? http://maps.google.com/maps?q=44113&oe=&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cleveland,+Ohio+44113&gl=us&ll=41.498019,-81.69164&spn=0,0.002631&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.497971,-81.691877&panoid=b86WGpMBu74btlfD8HaATA&cbp=13,241.21,,0,-16.51
May 24, 201114 yr By the way...I beginning to wonder whether that weekend prophecy about the world coming to an end might not actual be coming up as I see Hts121 and 327 actual agree with each another :wink:
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