I would work to make CSU a more prominent university academically. And to put it on par with Ohio's other above-average state schools so that it is a school of choice for incoming freshmen. At the same time, I would enlarge the CSU campus physically and make it a major player in the downtown / Midtown streetscape with additional housing and dynamic architecture ( yes, there is a lot going now but we could, and we are, going to add to it) . Stretching the eastern boundaries to E. 40th would not be out of the question...possibly in the future all the way to E.55th??

 

I would also lay off on all of these recent and desperate attempts (rather, proposals) to rush development on the Euclid Corridor.

With an enlarged and lively CSU, an expanding Cleveland Clinic campus and a growing UH / CWRU as well , this could become a "University Corridor".

These outposts of universities (like Univ. of Phoenix , Wesleyan , etc.) that we have in town now could re-locate here. And any new ones could too. Even the trade schools and technical colleges could have a Euclid Ave. address.

It would be great to re-locate Tri-C here too but that would be a long shot.

 

Think of how 24/7 and stimulating this would be. IMO, It's a great way to really connect UC and downtown.

I'd build the port its new home..... on the sole condition of a 2010 moving date.

 

I'd buy Scranton Peninsula from FCE and allow an UrbanOhio committee chosen by a poll of the general forum decide the appropriate path of development.  I would do the same thing with Canal Road.

 

 

 

1. Take pride in our lakefront: think investment into our coastal infrastructure ie beaches, wetlands, marinas, houseboat communities and green bulkheads along the river and a vast network of boardwalks.

 

2. Develop the Flats in accordance with our heritage....think wooden shipbuilding historical exhibits, narrow streets, brick buildings, retail and residential.

 

3. Remove all obstacles that block the connection between the Flats, Warehouse District, Whiskey Island and the Lakefront. This includes taming the shoreway, pedestrian bridges over the cuyahoga and a Transit Center serving as a concourse bridging Mall C over the Shoreway to North Coast Harbor. 

 

4. Finishing the towpath trail terminating at the Coast Guard Staion at Wendy Park.

 

5. Remaking Euclid Ave into the finest street in America; a proud showplace of retail, residential and a District of Design that features the latest in technology and artistic achievemant.

 

6. While I'm at it, burn every bus...bring back the trolleys!!!!

 

7. Why stop now...level the Justice Center, and every other building that is damn ugly.

 

 

So if you want to see these changes, vote ME for dictator of the CLE. Even though I live in Lakewood.

Lure high-end brands to open stores in existing downtown storefronts and pay them to stay open if they don't make the profits necessary to do so and continue to pay them until the critical mass is achieved to keep them open on profits alone.

  Ditto that!  Macy's, Crate & Barrel, and others in Tower City. 

Lure high-end brands to open stores in existing downtown storefronts and pay them to stay open if they don't make the profits necessary to do so and continue to pay them until the critical mass is achieved to keep them open on profits alone.

  Ditto that!  Macy's, Crate & Barrel, and others in Tower City. 

 

no not in TC, thats part of the problem.  Put stores on Prospect, Huron, West 3, West 6 and Euclid.

I would spend a great deal of money making the school system by far the best in the country.  I think a lot of the other hopes for the city would follow.

Another thing I would do is get some kind of bottle return policy going here....to help eliminate some of the garbage laying all over the place. Sad it takes a cash incentive to promote less litter, but it would help.

 

I would ban the use of commercial lawn chemicals, and go waaaayyy out there with some wishful thinking and ban fast food from the city, like Tuscany did.... and instead, get back to all we have lost.... promote a healthy populace body mind, soul...start an institution that will show people who think that the fake stuff is food....what real food is and how to prepare it, and hence debunk the pervasive myth that empowers this junk food industry..... that "it costs a lot to eat well and that there is no time to cook, etc".. We would not even be on the obesity list and we will produce a healthier higher quality gross domestic and national product. Clevelanders would be amongst the planets most handsome and brightest and worldly of people.

 

I would give more incentives to help the resurgence of the local/independent, and family owned businesses so that when you come to Cleveland, you would hardly see a big chain entity. We would be very self supporting and have a very diverse economy that would breed stability in it. I'd also create much more greenspace right in the city featuring many native Ohio plants and trees, paying homage to "Cleveland's natural heritage"

 

I would also buy every citizen a pass port and plain ticket to travel the world and get exposed to other cultures so that we may have a better understanding outside the bubble. 

 

I'd pipe in Lawrence Welk music in at bus stops where loitering and littering occur...and add the bubble machine as well as a deterrent. Lastly, I'd make all stockholders in Wal-Mart, be required to live right next to one.  :laugh:

 

 

 

 

 

1. Take pride in our lakefront: think investment into our coastal infrastructure ie beaches, wetlands, marinas, houseboat communities and green bulkheads along the river and a vast network of boardwalks.

 

This is the best point made here. The most ignored one. Just go see the photos on the Edgewater Clean Up thread and it will show why! We should be trying to restore this component of the waterfront. Everyone is too caught up on concrete, and does not understand or realize WHY and HOW restoring this component will enhance our economy and make us attractive for stakeholders who will call the place home and raise a family for years. Maybe we can lean some of this logic or lessons from places like San Fran and Portland or Denver.

Lawrence Welk? Are you trying to promote a mass suicide?

Lawrence Welk? Are you trying to promote a mass suicide?

 

Lawrence Welk and a "plain" ticket to nowhere.  Genius!

^ Ha!

To all of you agreeing that investment in education would improve the city I will suggest that you have the cart before the horse.  In my 1981 graduating class from CRWU out of about 240 undergraduate engineers only about 10 found jobs in Cleveland.  The rest of us left the region and/or went to graduate school primarily because there were no local jobs.  I would guess that CWRU, Cleveland State, U. of Akron alone probably graduate on the order of 1000+ engineers every year.  Add Kent State and you can probably add a total of 100+ graduate level scientist every year.  This is far more than the local regional economy can absorb.  Many of these people would like to stay but again, not enough jobs.  The fact is that the region is and for a long time has been a net exporter of highly qualified engineers and scientist who go somewhere else to grow those economies with new regional export porducts.  I therefore propose establishing a revolving no interest, two year term loan fund at $1,000,000 to relocate 50 light manufacturing companies from outside the region to locate in the city of Cleveland.  These businesses would be complimentary to, but not directly competitive with existing regional businesses.  If each company employed on average 100 people (everything from janitor to CEO) directly and 20 indirectly we would bring in 5,500 new jobs (equal to Cleveland's current direct steel industry employment?).  Since it is a loan, we would get most of the money back.  Then you could start investing in education as there would be something for these people to do other than leave the region so that someone else benefits from our investment. 

^ Makes sense...That is in the ball park of the logic I am promoting with diversifying and making a more playing field for smaller enterprises. Smaller independent/local businesses that grow from the ground up, and creating diversity, holds more stability than dropping all our eggs in one basket for one big manufacturer to come in and feed, clothe, house, and employ us all. They are still the backbone of the economy. We build and revolve all life around a "mono-culture" economy, we will all fall when they fall.

I meant $1,000,000 per business so a $50,000,000 fund would be needed. Sorry.

While it would be nice to ram through a bunch of nice shiny new buildings or rebuild a whole neighborhood in my image, I'd prefer to encourage people to do it on their own:

 

(1) Nickel deposit on cigarette butts. For every empty soda can I encounter, there are at least 20 cigarette butts. COST: ~$30,000,000 / year

 

(2) Five year local tax holiday: no city income tax, no business taxes, no property tax, no fees for building inspections or anything of the sort. The only requirement is that once the tax holiday expires, you must stay in Cleveland the length of time you received said tax break (four years of tax credits would require you to stay an additional four years or taxes must be paid in full) Offer the incentive to any city that chooses to be annexed by the City of Cleveland as well. COST: ~$550,000,000 a year

 

(3)Full reimbursement of tuition at CSU for any graduate who gets a five year full time job in Cleveland. COST: ~$8,000,000 /year

 

(4) Taxation of unused air space up to 100 feet of altitude in Downtown. (runs counter to #2 but hey its an easy way to get more money from surface lots) COST: profitable!

 

(5) Build that damn wind turbine farm on the lake already.

 

 

(3)Full reimbursement of tuition at CSU for any graduate who gets a five year full time job in Cleveland. COST: ~$8,000,000 /year

 

Well as Tedolph indicates, this is certainly easier said than done.  If I was able to find a job in Cleveland after graduation from CSU I wouldnt be in DC. 

Recreate some of the scenes - ranging from street cars to department stores to fine buildings - that I've read in the Cleveland Images for America series.

 

Also institute a juggernaut sales and salt tax

 

Also create a mini Amsterdam  - say in the Flats - where people can smoke bud, hire prostitutes, and gamble.

Creating some of the best schools in the country (which Cleveland had) would create great interest in living in the city.  But what of the current mindset of some individuals who do not value education, nor teach their children to do so?

 

This issue can't be answered with money.  You could throw all the money in the world at this and have little change.  I would therefore start somewhat of a "go to school" propaganda campaign aimed towards city residents which would be driven by the various local news media.  That couldn't hurt... 

How about breaking some corporate welfare to help curb some poverty. I know for some, though, their paycheck depends upon them NOT understanding that.

I think I would probably do at least two things:

 

1) Put as many resources as needed to make the schools incredible.  If I can't make the schools great, then encourage a private partnership to supplement educational opportunities that the schools lack. For example, mentoring and/or life coaches. I think the schools need to be better than any suburb. Unfortunately, the dropping property values in urban areas makes it hard as long as the school's are funded by property taxes.

 

2) Give state/federal and local benefits to businesses that are within one mile of public square. I think this would strongly encourage businesses to relocate to Cleveland and encourage the type of clustering needed to regain that "downtown" feel. This would, in turn, bring in businesses (hopefully) to cater to those businesses.

I would buy out Dillard's, and make them open a Higbee's in TC where it belongs.

I would buy out Dillard's, and make them open a Higbee's in TC where it belongs.

 

 

Higbee's was never in Tower City. ;)

 

And buying Dillards would only lower the brand price point the downtown store commanded.

 

If anything, with the type of people that are moving downtown and in the near downtown nabes, a Nordstrom would be a better fit.

I wholeheartedly agree with the cart before the horse comment.  We could throw hundreds of millions into the schools and not see a significant effect.  Public schools are not designed to turn out great thinkers, entrepreneurs.  And subsidizing college has done little but to increase the costs for everyone.  And what good is it for Cleveland if there is an educated workforce that can't find a job?

 

So I agree with:

 

2.) Five year local tax holiday: no city income tax, no business taxes, no property tax, no fees for building inspections or anything of the sort.

 

Except I would modifiy it to at least 10-15 years (5 years is not nearly enough to generate anything significant), leave the property tax but convert it to a land value tax to encourage smart, dense growth and development of the city's vacant land.  The result - unprecedented influx of businesses, jobs and population growth.  All of which would drive an increase in the quality of the city's public schools, and an increase in the demand for the region's institutions of higher education. 

 

 

^ I agree, but also get the high crime rate down too.

I would buy out Dillard's, and make them open a Higbee's in TC where it belongs.

 

 

Higbee's was never in Tower City. ;)

 

And buying Dillards would only lower the brand price point the downtown store commanded.

 

If anything, with the type of people that are moving downtown and in the near downtown nabes, a Nordstrom would be a better fit.

 

You knew what he was trying to say. It was in its own building, The Higbee Building" but was an important big link to Tower City itself.

I would buy out Dillard's, and make them open a Higbee's in TC where it belongs.

 

 

Higbee's was never in Tower City. ;)

 

And buying Dillards would only lower the brand price point the downtown store commanded.

 

If anything, with the type of people that are moving downtown and in the near downtown nabes, a Nordstrom would be a better fit.

 

You knew what he was trying to say. It was in its own building, The Higbee Building" but was an important big link to Tower City itself.

 

Hence the "smiley face"!  Yes it was a big traffic driver to/from towercity until Dillard's ruined the store.

^ I agree, but also get the high crime rate down too.

 

Exactly.  The cycle of poverty that large swathes of Clevelanders are stuck in are not going to go away by paying them to try to go to college.  Those that ARE educated need more job options.  The region is turning out a fair number of educated people.  We need to bring these young people to CLEVELAND - give them job options in the city and let them take advantage of the housing market and find a place to LIVE in the city.  Get a combination of quality companies moving/starting up here, that doesn't just create jobs that require degrees.  Get an inflow of new population and that generates increased demand for retail, creates jobs for people in that generation or two of poor folks who've been neglected/left behind by our crappy system of schooling.  These people can DO jobs, they can earn a living.  There's just not enough opportunity.  If we're creating a society where you can't earn a living without a college degree, we're in big trouble. 

^Actually, in the worst economic parts of America, it's sometimes better not to have a degree. Good jobs like waiting tables or bartending look down upon it. The uneducated have an advantage in some areas when it comes to getting jobs. They're a clean slate and tend to be more trainable/willing to work so-called "crappy" jobs. In a down economy, "crappy" jobs are usually all that's available for young adults, degree or no degree. College degrees have become a very double-edged sword.

 

So, you have an advantage being an OU grad?  ;)

That's the best line of Animal House!  "Shit, 7 years of college down the drain!"