May 20, 201114 yr I hope Fitzgerald was a man of his word and did not provide any county help with this move (from a blue collar suburb to one that hardly needs the help).
May 20, 201114 yr ..Take that Eastside Employees of AG! Ha! Well at least we can say they didn't choose the location for the convenience of management. I feel bad for their general counsel who just moved from Bay Village to Hunting Valley. D'OH!
May 20, 201114 yr Yes I agree with you...I always feel bad for those people who have to live in Hunting Valley :wink:
May 20, 201114 yr Yes I agree with you...I always feel bad for those people who have to live in Hunting Valley :wink: LOL. They are deserving of our pity. Mo money, mo problems.
May 20, 201114 yr ..Take that Eastside Employees of AG! Are you really gloating about this? Or was that a joke reflecting on the stupidity of the decision to move so far away from a chunk of its employee base? Either way, although I'm disappointed that they didn't choose a more central location, the truth is that American Greetings is circling the drain. They're talking about 30 year tax deals with the City of Westlake and the Westlake School District, but AG will be lucky to make it another 15 years. Kudos to the geniuses running the company (all Eastsiders, mind you) who made another brilliant business decision here!
May 20, 201114 yr I hate to say this, but I'm now going to apply for jobs there. I've seen some openings I'd be qualified for, but was waiting because if they were moving way east, no way. Google Maps lists Harvard and 271 as 27 min from Middleburg Heights, and Crocker Park as 26 min.
May 20, 201114 yr I hate to say this, but I'm now going to apply for jobs there. I've seen some openings I'd be qualified for, but was waiting because if they were moving way east, no way. Having had to make the drive out to Crocker for another job, it is a PIA! Mind you this was before the Crocker Sterns extension was created, but I can't imagine this commute being any better.
May 20, 201114 yr Having had to make the drive out to Crocker for another job, it is a PIA! Mind you this was before the Crocker Sterns extension was created, but I can't imagine this commute being any better. And this will only make the traffic in that area that much worse.
May 20, 201114 yr I hate to say this, but I'm now going to apply for jobs there. I've seen some openings I'd be qualified for, but was waiting because if they were moving way east, no way. Google Maps lists Harvard and 271 as 27 min from Middleburg Heights, and Crocker Park as 26 min. 480 between 77 and Warrensville is often a hellhole in both directions during both rush hours. Middleburg to Westlake would be a breeze by comparison.
May 20, 201114 yr I hate to say this, but I'm now going to apply for jobs there. I've seen some openings I'd be qualified for, but was waiting because if they were moving way east, no way. Google Maps lists Harvard and 271 as 27 min from Middleburg Heights, and Crocker Park as 26 min. 480 between 77 and Warrensville is often a hellhole in both directions during both rush hours. Middleburg to Westlake would be a breeze by comparison. My point was they're not worlds apart as R&R seemed to think (she seems to have an irrational hatred of the east side). Besides, 480 isn't even a slow down before 7:30. It matters what time you're going through there. I had to go from 77 to 271 on 480 this morning at 8 am and the traffic cost me maybe 5 min. Reagrdless, it should be in the city, where people would have multiple options to get there.
May 20, 201114 yr ..Take that Eastside Employees of AG! Are you really gloating about this? Or was that a joke reflecting on the stupidity of the decision to move so far away from a chunk of its employee base? Either way, although I'm disappointed that they didn't choose a more central location, the truth is that American Greetings is circling the drain. They're talking about 30 year tax deals with the City of Westlake and the Westlake School District, but AG will be lucky to make it another 15 years. Kudos to the geniuses running the company (all Eastsiders, mind you) who made another brilliant business decision here! sarcastic joke. This move blows a whole in the CEO/Executive theory. Just saying, there's a reason crosstown commutes are less desirable. Word. 480 centric commutes in general. Although I am finding my commute to Highland hts/Alpha Park from Lakewood much more enjoyable than my one to Akron for the last 5 years...
May 20, 201114 yr I'm going to be very unpopular with this, but if AG couldn't be in downtown Cleveland or in the central business district of inner ring suburb (Lakewood, Cleveland Hts, etc), then a mixed-use lifestyle center would have been a third-best option. Ranking below that were some of the other options such as a sprawl-campus like they are already on in Brooklyn or, worse, farther out. I realize Westlake is farther out, but Crocker Park is not a sprawl-campus. At least people can walk or bike to work and there is even some limited bus service to CP. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 20, 201114 yr I'd agree with you KJP - all things considered, I think the move is a smart one and will assist in making crocker park that "lifestyle" center they hoped to be.
May 20, 201114 yr I hate to say this, but I'm now going to apply for jobs there. I've seen some openings I'd be qualified for, but was waiting because if they were moving way east, no way. Google Maps lists Harvard and 271 as 27 min from Middleburg Heights, and Crocker Park as 26 min. 480 between 77 and Warrensville is often a hellhole in both directions during both rush hours. Middleburg to Westlake would be a breeze by comparison. Not so much due to the terrible on-ramp to 480 west. I actually believe it was designed that way to keep those south of 480 from going west. It is an absolute nightmare at anytime of day. Throw in extra traffic going to AG and I can envision that area becoming a true clusterf**k.
May 20, 201114 yr What a stupid decision by a lame company. This is a dying industry anyhow, the population that actually buys greeting cards these days is growing smaller by the minute. I mean outside of a few holidays and the internet who needs greeting cards, ask anyone under 25 how many greeting cards they buy each year. If anyone thinks this decision wasn't somehow influenced by the "Families" interest in the real estate is also sniffing glue.
May 20, 201114 yr Good point KJP, they could have done worse, and I don't even think the "lifestyle center" model is as bad as it's made out to be. If the rest of Westlake looked like that we'd all be overjoyed. Say what you will about where they're built, but at least they're a step away from sprawl.
May 20, 201114 yr I'm going to be very unpopular with this, but if AG couldn't be in downtown Cleveland or in the central business district of inner ring suburb (Lakewood, Cleveland Hts, etc), then a mixed-use lifestyle center would have been a third-best option. Ranking below that were some of the other options such as a sprawl-campus like they are already on in Brooklyn or, worse, farther out. I realize Westlake is farther out, but Crocker Park is not a sprawl-campus. At least people can walk or bike to work and there is even some limited bus service to CP. I have not been out to CP in a long while now, but I remember that compared to Legacy Village it felt even less "real". I think this could make CP more viable and possibly make that development more attractive. Maybe it will make Stark so much money he can develop those PS parking lots :drunk: :clap: :drunk:
May 20, 201114 yr I'm going to be very unpopular with this, but if AG couldn't be in downtown Cleveland or in the central business district of inner ring suburb (Lakewood, Cleveland Hts, etc), then a mixed-use lifestyle center would have been a third-best option. Ranking below that were some of the other options such as a sprawl-campus like they are already on in Brooklyn or, worse, farther out. I realize Westlake is farther out, but Crocker Park is not a sprawl-campus. At least people can walk or bike to work and there is even some limited bus service to CP. I have not been out to CP in a long while now, but I remember that compared to Legacy Village it felt even less "real". I think this could make CP more viable and possibly make that development more attractive. Maybe it will make Stark so much money he can develop those PS parking lots :drunk: :clap: :drunk: how could it possibly feel less real than legacy? CP actually has office and residential over retail and uses mostly parking garages. Legacy is an outdoor mall with gigantic parking lots
May 20, 201114 yr I'm going to be very unpopular with this, but if AG couldn't be in downtown Cleveland or in the central business district of inner ring suburb (Lakewood, Cleveland Hts, etc), then a mixed-use lifestyle center would have been a third-best option. Ranking below that were some of the other options such as a sprawl-campus like they are already on in Brooklyn or, worse, farther out. I realize Westlake is farther out, but Crocker Park is not a sprawl-campus. At least people can walk or bike to work and there is even some limited bus service to CP. I have not been out to CP in a long while now, but I remember that compared to Legacy Village it felt even less "real". I think this could make CP more viable and possibly make that development more attractive. Maybe it will make Stark so much money he can develop those PS parking lots :drunk: :clap: :drunk: how could it possibly feel less real than legacy? CP actually has office and residential over retail and uses mostly parking garages. Legacy is an outdoor mall with gigantic parking lots Like I said I haven't been out there in a while. And actually haven't been out to Legacy for even longer. Working downtown everyday really doesn't endear itself to exploring "Lifestyle Centers"
May 20, 201114 yr Yeah, Legacy Village never really made it past phase I. If DisneyWorld is what most lifestyle center designers are looking for, then Crocker Park certainly has LV beat. Both are dumps, however, and I'd take Detroit Road/Coventry Road over either one... I agree with sfbob, AG is dying. Maybe Brooklyn can attract a company with more long-term potential to the old AG site.
June 1, 201114 yr Crain's Chicago Business has learned that large corporations are becoming disenchanted with the giant corporate campuses they started building in the suburbs in the 1970s and are beginning to relocate major parts of their operations, and sometimes the H.Q. itself, back into a traditional urban central business district. The message "Corporate America" is beginning to understand: bright young people don't want to live in suburbs anymore and don't want to waste a lot of time on car commuting, which keeps them out of touch because they can't use their personal electronics while driving. Crain's Special Report: Corporate campuses in twilight By: Eddie Baeb May 30, 2011 Like the disco ball, the regional shopping mall and the McMansion, the suburban corporate headquarters campus is losing its charm. Remote, sprawling and splendidly isolated, such headquarters epitomized corporate America in the last quarter of the 20th century. Fleeing urban decay, companies like Motorola Inc., Allstate Corp. and Sears Roebuck & Co. built fortress-like complexes on the fringes of metropolitan Chicago. Jobs and residential development followed, fueling sprawl and congestion across the region. Today, Sears Holdings Corp. and AT&T Inc. are looking to escape their compounds in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates. A shrunken Motorola has space to let in Schaumburg. Sara Lee Corp. eyes downtown office space after less than a decade in Downers Grove. Companies from Groupon Inc. to GE Capital hire thousands in Chicago while their suburban counterparts shed workers. Read more at: http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20110528/ISSUE01/305289984 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 22, 201113 yr Discuss this project further in the Crocker Park thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2710.0.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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