Post news on any new or existing project in the Greater Cleveland area.
Moderators I'd appreciate it if you could please sticky this thread.


Here's a few to start off with.


Stonebridge Condominiums
Large new condo project being built in phases on the west bank of the Flats in downtown Cleveland.
Stonebridge Plaza is the building inder construction.
http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/5173/awf8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9278/bbd6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/1393/cxk9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img450.imageshack.us/img450/7793/dfu7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Avenue district
A new neighborhood of luxury condominiums, townhomes and lofts adjacent to Cleveland's financial district, Cleveland State University and The Playhouse square theatre district.

Site overview is the blocks highlighted in yellow and numbered 1-3. 1-3 and undergoing site prep right now.
http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/6863/eekx3.png (http://imageshack.us)

A rendering of what site 1 will look like.
http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/774/exb7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Battery park
A new 330 unit project that will ultimately cost more than 100 million. Located just south of the Shoreway on the city's west side, residents will be able to capitalize on Edgewater park and Beach and will be better connected with the lake once ODOT transforms the shoreway into a boulevard suitable for a neighborhood.
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/618/fnz7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

515 Euclid

A new 20-30 story condo tower that has been proposed. The tower will be constructed on top of an existing parking garage that was built as the base of this future tower. Greyish building in photo.
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9056/gzj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The existing parking garage, which has retail spots on the ground level.
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6733/hrt0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Euclid Corridor project
A new transit project bringing Bus-Rapid Transit to Cleveland. Dubbed the "Silver line", the line will run from Public square in downtown to an existing rapid transit station in East Cleveland, and inner ring suburb. The buses will arrive at stops every 5 minutes, have their own designated lanes, with right of way at intersections, have closed circuit television and have stops located in the median of Euclid Avenue that will have real time bus arrival information. The blocks surrounding Euclid have a new zoning overlay that requres new construction to be built at the sidewalk and feature retail on the ground floor with office or residential use above. Obviously this project is the reason why Euclid is in its current condition.
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9428/ivx5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pictures of Euclid as of today
http://img450.imageshack.us/img450/8602/kxa2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img450.imageshack.us/img450/7813/lqy3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The buses to be used
http://img450.imageshack.us/img450/4301/jye0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
East 4th street

A development in the works for a few years now and is adding one entertainment venue and restaurant after another such as The House of Blues Cleveland, Lola Bistro and Pickwick and Frolic. Adjacent to the Gateway sports district and Euclid Avenue. There are plans for three new restaurants to open by summer. The space above is being converted into condos.
The just opened Corner Alley Bowling alley, Martini bar and restaraunt (4th street bar and grille).
http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/5333/ovm1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Down East 4th street
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2803/ooohx1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Down Euclid
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2628/oojq3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
4th street
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9730/zzzzzzif1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


New condo complex on the East side of the city on Shaker Boulevard Between East 116th and Shaker Square. Located directly on one of the city's rail lines.
http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/2359/pqg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Micellaneous new housing
Beacon place/Woodhaven
An expanding development abutting The Cleveland Clinic in University circle. Features townhomes and detached single family dwellings.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1152/ppyd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

St Luke's Pointe
A new development that currently features new single family homes and will eventually feature condos at the site of a closed Hospital located at Martin luther King Jr Drive and East 116th steet.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4236/pppxt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/6260/qvv7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Scattered infill sites.
Some developers are filling in vacant lots with new homes close to downtown the block pictured used to be almost completely vacant now it houses these new homes. Most of these scattered sites are located in the Hough, Fairfax and Central neighborhoods between East 30th street and east 93rd from Hough Avenue in the North, south to Woodland Avenue.
Typical street, though some feature oddly placed Mcmansions.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5822/qqmz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Valley View Homes

This is the redevelopment of former public housing projects into market rate single family and duplex homes as well as townhomes.
Site overview
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5732/rrvt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Renderings of homes
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6749/rxn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Some progress
http://img446.imageshack.us/img446/3503/qqqjb4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

East side transit Center
A new facility near Cleveland State University that will feature a layover facility for RTA, buses as well as a new hotel tower with retail in a large atrium.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7793/ssbz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Flats East Bank Project
A huge 225 million renovation of the Flats-East entertainment district. The project will level most buildings north of the Man Avenue Bridge, realign the street grid and build a new neighborhood of office space, condos, retail, entertainment venues and parkland all with rail access.
Preliminary project rendering
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5601/ttk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Distance shot of new existing neighborhood. Buildings to the far left will be razed.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7766/ttan5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Close up of Buildings to be demolished.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5993/tttrm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Warehouse district super project
Developer Robert Stark has proposed a huge new develomentin the Warehouse district adjacent to public square and the Main Avenue bridge.
The first phase will feature exclusive to the region retail, new condos and office space. Later Phases include making Ohio 2 at grade and extending the city street grid North to Lake Erie and include more shops and residential spaces. It requres the Port of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to relocate to a spot across the Cuyahoga river.

Current neighborhood featuring lofts, entertainment venues and surface parking lots on some of the most expensive real estate between New York and Chicago.
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/1484/uuxr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/2851/uoa5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Preliminary rendering for Phase 1
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/2752/vjp6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Overall Lakefront plan before and after
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/5374/zzzzcm1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Steelyard Commons
A new 1 million sp. ft. plus retail plaza on the site of a forme steelmill. The complex will serve the innercity market that otherwise would have to venture into the suburbs to get whats in some of these stores. This is a suburban style development but its built on a brown field on a site that wouldn't be appealing to new residential or office space. The complex sill also feature an extention of the Tow path trail, a museum on Cleveland steelmills and a stop and extension of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
Site overview
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3576/ypr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Progress
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/861/xxxmt3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Cleveland Clinic expansion
Expansion of the nations 3rd best hospital.
Overview
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/3486/wli3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/2633/wwwbs3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The new Heart center under construction
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/3863/wwml8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Cleveland Museum of Art renovation and expansion
Renovation of existing buildings and addition of more gallery space.
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/426/xxpr2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Cleveland State University Student Center
One of many new projects planned for the campus, which is trying to openi itself up to the street and lesses the effect of its 60's brutalist architecture.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4932/zrb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Lighthouse landing
Once an independent project launched out of defiance is now actually part of the Flats east bank project. IT will feature two condo towers, one of 18 stories and the other of 22 stories.
Proposed site plan
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/131/zzov0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

More to come...

Developers, Case sign memo for 'college town'
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Tom Breckenridge
Plain Dealer Reporter
Two developers making their mark in Cleveland's core are ready to tackle the much-anticipated "college town" development in University Circle.

Developers Nathan Zaremba and MRN Ltd., in a joint venture, have signed a letter of intent with Case Western Reserve University to pursue the $120 million mix of arts, retail and dwellings.

It's planned for about eight acres north and south of Euclid Avenue, east of the Ford Drive-Mayfield Road intersection.

"We're ready to go," said John Wheeler, Case's vice president for Cleveland and regional affairs. "This is the first step in a long process, but we're optimistic."

Case has spent millions acquiring the land and envisions what students, workers and residents in the stodgy, institutional district have long yearned for - a dynamic, walkable mix of arts, dining, entertainment and retail.

MRN earned kudos for its chic treatment of East Fourth Street. Zaremba has built scores of dwellings in the city and recently broke ground on the Avenue District, a $250 million retail-residential development downtown.

On Wednesday night, an executive committee of Case's trustees approved a memorandum of understanding with Zaremba and MRN.

The developers will plumb the prospects for retail tenants, financing and community support before striking a final development pact, Case officials said. They want the deal done by spring.

The unfolding project will be closely watched by community leaders and activists, particularly along Hessler Road.

The neighborhood lies just north of the development area. Residents fear multistory development could detract from their historic street.

Case's proposal for the project calls for more than 100,000 square feet of retail, including a Barnes & Noble bookstore catering to college students, and several hundred apartments and condos.

The Museum of Contemporary Art will be a keystone. MOCA is raising millions for a new home at the high-profile corner of Euclid and Mayfield.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

tbreckenridge@plaind.com, 216-999-4695

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/isedu/1165924555110800.xml&coll=2

Beyond the boardroom
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Q: The Flats project is not a DDR project. It's a Scott Wolstein project. Your critics say that's because the risk is too great for a publicly [fni: no hyphen pls: ]-NT%>traded company. Is that true?

A: It's a Scott and Iris Wolstein project. My mom won't forgive me if I don't tell you that. It was my dad and I, and she's taken over my father's interest.

It's not a DDR project because when we went public, we owned this property in the Flats. It was just land that we owned. You don't get any value putting land into a REIT in an IPO. It's almost impossible to bring it into the REIT later because as soon as you try, you're creating a related-party transaction between management and the company. Investors always look askance at that.

We did a project that's almost identical to the Flats in Long Beach, Calif. So the idea that it wouldn't be doable in DDR is just not true.

Q: Where does the project stand and is it on schedule?

A: We expect to start demoli tion of buildings by the end of the year. We have enough land to build a significant part of the project before we acquire the property in eminent domain. We can literally build two office buildings, 200 to 300 units of residential, movie theater, grocery store, bookstore, fitness center.

I expect that we will be under construction early next year. I don't think we're much behind schedule. If anything, the project scope has expanded dramatically. I never envisioned the office component evolving, and that's a very exciting development because it gives us daytime traffic. It gives us daytime parking, which makes the whole project work much better.

The DFAS thing was something we put in the plan to try to encourage DFAS to stay in Cleveland. Now that DFAS is going to stay and expand, we think we have a good chance of developing a building for them -- a 500,000 square foot building. That's a very significant project and very additive with over 2,000 employees working there, eating in restaurants, parking in parking lots.

Q: Would DFAS take up all that office space or do you have other prospective tenants?

A: We do, but we probably will do them in a separate building. There are also a lot of other users we're in negotiations with.

Beyond the boardroom
Page 2 of 2
Q: If it's true that Baker and Hostetler law firm wants a new building, are they a likely tenant?

A: That's one of the tenants we're in negotiations with.

Q: We understand you plan special trips to commemorate your children's birthdays. Can you describe some of those?

A: This has really been my wife's idea and it's been fabulous. Instead of giving the kids things -- they've got lots of material possessions -- we try to give them memories they'll never forget. We try to come up with something that will feed their passions and it's always a surprise.

My 11-year-old son is really into theater and singing. For his birthday, we took him to Nashville to a professional recording studio and he recorded his own CD and his own music video. The mixing was done by somebody who did the mixing for the Dixie Chicks and the background singers were background singers for Faith Hill. He'll never forget it. We have a CD with his picture on the cover, very professionally produced.

One of my sons, when he was very young, had a passion for dinosaurs, so we took him to this dinosaur museum in Colorado where they do an actual dinosaur experience for a few days. We literally went out and hiked and found dinosaur bones in the rocks. Then we worked in a laboratory and we dusted off the bones and did the actual work with the paleontologist. That was very cool.

My daughter is a rabid fan of "OC," so last year we took her to the set of "OC" and we met Mischa Barton and one of the other actors and took a tour of the studio where they film it.

This year, my oldest son, who is 16, is going to Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. He'll be working with Dickie Betts from the Allman Brothers, Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead, Spencer Davis from the Spencer Davis Group. It culminates in a performance in a nightclub where they all jam together with the stars. He's an avid guitar player and very talented, so this is a lifelong dream for him to meet his idols.

Q: We know a little bit about what it's like growing up as one of Scott Wolstein's children. What was it like for you growing up as Bert Wolstein's son?

A: When I was a child, we were of very modest means. My father didn't become successful until I was almost out of high school. I lived in a small house in Beachwood. In many ways, it's a childhood that my kids envy because I lived in a neighborhood where you'd walk outside and there were all kinds of kids to play with. My father worked very hard and I think I developed a work ethic watching him. He was building houses in Twinsburg in those days. A lot of our family weekends were going in the car with him, where he would stop and see all of his projects. My dad and I had a great relationship. He worked very hard, but he was always there for me.

Q: In your father's book about his career, he described tension between the two of you when you replaced him as CEO. If you could go back, is there anything you would change?

A: I wish we would have com municated better so we both understood what each was saying. I thought we did, but that obviously wasn't the case, and probably one of the saddest parts of my life was the fact that when the company took off and it was really exciting, he wasn't getting as much enjoyment and excitement out of it as I was. That was very hard. But we never let it impact our love for each other. I know he was very proud of everything I accomplished and he was very proud of the company.

Q: Do you hope your chil dren follow you in the real estate business?

A: I hope my kids do what ever they're passionate about, and whether that leads one of them into our business is really not that important to me. The important thing is that my father and I have been fortunate enough to create enough resources that my kids can really pursue a passion. There are a lot of great things they might be able to do in their life that maybe aren't economically motivated. That's fine with me.

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/business/1165743495319330.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

Actually I would like to see a Cleveland Development News. There's a lot of stuff going on over there that I don't know about.

That Warehouse District Super Project sounds sick. Out of curiosity though, what's with the green filter you're using on your photos? I use green filters myself but they're only for black and white film...

Cleveland has articulated buses?

Good to see Cleveland using its waterfront finally to its advantage. Cool to see a city not seen around these parts much.

Good to see Cleveland using its waterfront finally to its advantage. Cool to see a city not seen around these parts much.

I agree. We don't see enough about Cleveland. Looks like some great projects there.

Wow, midwestern cities are really blowing off their tops. I wonder if a boom like this has occurred before in the postwar era. I'd love to have the time and money to travel the midwest and do a photographic "midwestern urban rebirth" tour

This is so encouraging. I'm so glad our beleaguered cities are rising up and surprising everyone.

Bravo! It's about time! Now get some trafic in here and lets sticky this thread.

Cleveland schools renovation/rebuilding project

In May of 2001, city of Cleveland residents passed a 1.2 Billion dollar levy to renovate and rebuild the school buildings that needed repairs.
The newly built John Adams High School
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/483/aur9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Historically renovated 77 year old John Hay High School

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5520/bao9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Miles Park Elementary School under construction

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4687/czf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

New owner eyes condos for former HoJo hotel

By STAN BULLARD



6:00 am, October 23, 2006




A new owner with a new plan, this time for condominiums, is in control of a long-empty, 12-story hotel overlooking the lakefront near downtown Cleveland.

The new owner, Bapaz Real Estate Ltd. of Wickliffe, received a sheriff’s deed Sept. 14 for the one-time Howard Johnson Motor Inn and Restaurant, which now has a weed-covered parking lot and a weed of tree-like proportions rising from its roof at 5700 S. Marginal Road.

“We’re planning to do condos,” said Moshe Bohbot, owner of Bapaz. But, he added, “As of now, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Bapaz paid $633,334 for the foreclosed-upon property in a sheriff’s sale, according to Cuyahoga County land records. Bapaz also coughed up more than $300,000 in cash to pay delinquent property taxes to secure title to the hotel from the sheriff’s office.

Though not ready to talk, even about his real estate development background, Mr. Bohbot is taking steps toward redeveloping the graffiti-pocked eyesore.

Bapaz has applied for a variance from the city of Cleveland that is on the agenda for the Oct. 30 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The variance would allow the planned residential project to proceed despite the property’s industrial zoning.

Councilwoman Sabra Pierce Scott, whose Ward 8 includes the structure, has met with Mr. Bohbot and plans to support the variance. The variance would apply only to the hotel and would have no bearing on the surrounding area, she said.

However, given the unfulfilled projects previously proposed for the building, Ms. Scott said, “As optimistic as I’d like to be, we’re holding our breath and keeping our fingers crossed about the project.” She estimates Bapaz is the eighth group to approach her about the building during her five years in office.

Jamie Blackson Baker, executive director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corp., said the neighborhood group plans to support the variance because it suits the one-time hotel, the views from which she described as “spectacular.”

“Having someone do a quality job there would be catalytic in the neighborhood,” said Ms. Blackson Baker, who has not met Mr. Bohbot. “It’s such a highly visible site. It’s big news. We’ve tried to talk several other developers into considering it.”

The prior owner was Leisure Time Hospitality Inc., a gaming concern in Avon, which paid $1 million for the vacant property seven years ago.

Alan Johnson, president of Leisure Time, at the time planned to renovate the hotel and use it as an exhibition parlor for video pull-tab machines benefiting charities, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in 1999. However, that transformation never happened. Mr. Johnson’s Avon phone number is unlisted.

Cleveland architect Paul Volpe said his City Architecture firm evaluated the building and prepared preliminary drawings for Leisure Time to install a Radisson Hotel at the site.

Despite its forlorn appearance, Mr. Volpe said the building was sound structurally in the late 1990s and that the work that most needed to be done — such as replacing inexpensive glass and walls typical of the building’s 1960s vintage — would need to be replaced anyway.

“The outside looks terrible, but it has great, great views that make it worth considering,” Mr. Volpe said.

City Architecture in 2002 sued Leisure Time for more than $25,000 in unpaid fees in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. The case is still pending.

Prior to Leisure Time’s ownership, the property twice had undergone foreclosure proceedings. At least three other groups have lofted plans for the building since the hotel was closed in the early 1990s.

The hotel today

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7153/dtg2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Case Western Reserve University is working with local developers MRN and Zaremba to rebuild the area known as "The Triangle", an underused retail district near the campus. The Triangle is set to be rebuilt as the centerpiece of a new University Arts and Retail District, intended to give Case more of a college town feel. Anchored by the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), which will be moving to the area as part of the project, the university envisions restaurants, bars, entertainment spots, fashion and specialty clothing stores, as well as general retail, in addition to student housing, in a $120 million development. The current apartment towers of the Triangle development will remain. It will also be home to the university's bookstore which will sell student and general merchandise in addition to books.

The Triangle today.
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5618/dscn1665dc9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

A few scattered condo projects

Larchmere courts

Larchmere Court Townhomes is the latest addition to the Larchmere Boulevard scene. These stylish modern townhomes feature 2-3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, high end finishes and roof decks with skyline views.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6190/eti6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Another project, I forgot the name though.
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6439/fuk3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

City view center. This is a typical run of the mill suburban shopping center that has recently opened just outside the city limits of Cleveland, but the thing that makes this place unique is its view and the fact that its built on a landfill. The facility has lots of methane gas detectors and has had to close a few times due to methane scares.
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7638/gqt2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5950/hih1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The view from City view center

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/996/ijw9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

That Warehouse District Super Project sounds sick. Out of curiosity though, what's with the green filter you're using on your photos? I use green filters myself but they're only for black and white film...

The filter was a tint setting on my camera I forgot to turn off, I didn't want those pictures to come out Green.


Naptown
Cleveland will have those buses in 2008 when the project is complete, those were there for a "media day" of sorts showing off the new buses. When added they'll add to the light rail and metro lines of Cleveland.

I don't think there has been an intown-urban boom like this since the city's golden years. Most of the "boom" has been in the 'burbs for so long. The whole midwest is coming back and I can't wait 'til all the cities are officially "back.

State awards Cleveland Clinic $60 million for cardio center



1:25 p.m.
Updated 3:32 p.m.

Ohio's Third Frontier Commission today awarded $113 million in state grants to jump-start several Northeast Ohio-based technology projects, topped by $60 million for the Cleveland Clinic to establish a Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center.

The Clinic will receive its money though the Third Frontier's Wright Mega-centers of Innovation program.

The commission also approved:

-- $23.8 million for the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering, led by Cleveland State University.

-- $8 million for UA's Commercialization of Functional Polyimide Films and Nanocomposites project.

-- $5.5 million for Swagelok's Commercialization of Low Temperature Carburization project.

-- $7.9 million for GrafTech's Next Generation of Electronic Devices project.

-- $8 million for the Flexible Displays for Electronic Devices project led by Kent Displays Inc. of Kent.

The commission met in Columbus to decide how to parcel out money under various Third Frontier programs -- the Wright Mega-centers of Innovation, the Wright Centers of Innovation in Engineering and Physical Sciences, and the Research Commercialization Grant program.

The National Research Council of The National Academies ranked the projects according to how well they answered the criteria set forth in the commission's request for proposals.

The Cleveland Clinic will collaborate with University Hospitals Case Medical Center, three Ohio universities and numerous medical technology companies to establish the cardio center.

It will focus on developing devices and therapies for heart failure and spin off new companies. Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. also is part of the effort.

In approving the Cleveland State-led sensor project, commission members noted that it appears to overlap with another sensor center being established by a group including the University of Dayton. The commission awarded $28 million for that proposal.

After some discussion, the commission decided that the Dayton center would develop new sensors and that the Cleveland center would develop applications for sensors in industry.

"There needs to be one proposal," said commission member Richard Fearon of Eaton Corp. "Separating these, I'm, concerned we're setting ourselves up for less than robust success."

Taft's sceince and technology adviser, Frank Samuel, said the flow of grant money will be conditioned on cooperation between the Cleveland and Dayton centers.

The University of Akron's polyimide project, in partnership with the University of Dayton, is an extension of a currently funded 2005 Wright Center led by Ohio State University establishing the Center for Multifunctional Nanocomposites, the Ohio Department of Development said.

"Polyimides are a high-performance polymer with a wide range of properties. Polyimides can be easily adapted to enable manufacture of functional devices that can withstand extreme thermal, electrical and mechanical environments while maintaining their desired performance," the department said in a written statement.

The $8 million grant will enable the "scale up, prototyping, manufacture and commercialization of current and next-generation polyimide products.

Also collaborating on the project are the University of Dayton, Kent State University, Akron Polymer Systems, Centallus Microsystems, GrafTech International, Kent Displays, Lockheed Martin and Maverick Corp.

Swagelok, which makes industrial valves and fittings, has a patented process of carburizing steel a a low temperature.

Carburization is the process by which the carbon content of steel is increased by introducing carbon to a steel surface at elevated temperatures, the development department said. Carburization increases surface hardness of steel by a factor of four to five. Corrosion, wear and fatigue resistance of steel also are improved.

The $5.5 million grant will provide for the research, infrastructure development, manufacturing capacity and market presence necessary to convert the patented technology into a commercially viable metals treatment business based in Ohio, the department said.

Swagelok will collaborate with Case Western Reserve University on the project.

GrafTech's project is aimed at strengthening Ohio's presence in the lightweight, high-performance and cost-effective electronic device market, the development department said, adding:

"The challenge of the market is managing the heat generated by the devices. The challenge increases as the size of the devices gets smaller. The award gives GrafTech the ability to synthesize nanocomposite technologies with graphite-based materials for improved thermal and electrical conductivity."

GraphTech will collaborate with Case Western Reserve University, the University of Akron, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Applied Sciences Inc., Maverick Corp., the National Composite Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute.

Kent Displays, in partnership with the Flexible Liquid Crystal Film Manufacturing Alliance, will develop specialized flexible liquid crystal displays and liquid crystal eyewear, the development department said.

By Mary Vanac, mvanac@plaind.com

Cleveland, Akron projects win millions in state money


4:58 p.m.

A technology center proposed for downtown Cleveland and an office park planned for Akron are among 18 projects that Gov. Bob Taft has recommended to split more than $50 million in site-improvement grants.

Matrix Realty Group of New York would receive $2.5 million toward its $29 million rehabilitation of an old lighting factory at 1425 Rockwell Ave.

The city of Akron is expected to receive $1.7 million for the White Pond Office Park, which according to the city's application is a $69.3 million project.

Both Matrix and Akron had asked for the maximum $5 million grant.

In a September news story, The Plain Dealer reported:
From the outside, it's about what you'd expect from an old warehouse that once housed a lighting factory.

Lots of brick, not a lot of personality.

But it's what's inside and underground that makes these three blocks of industrial real estate an intriguing investment for New York developer Glen Nelson.

The former Frankelite campus, a downtown Cleveland fixture on Rockwell Avenue, has enjoyed a second life as a tech park. A fiber-optic network running below has made it attractive to telecommunications companies looking for extra space to stash data centers.

Nelson, whose Matrix Realty Group bought the four-building complex about a year ago, has big plans for the site. Matrix wants to demolish the property's lone vacant building and construct in its place a new building at what's known as the Cleveland Technology Center.

Supporters say the $29 million project could bring or retain 300 to 500 jobs downtown.

"It's going to cost me a significant amount of money," said Nelson, whose firm plans to put up about $23 million, according to a grant application to the Ohio Department of Development.

The tech center is among five Cuyahoga County projects requesting assistance in the first funding round of the state's new $150 million Job Ready Sites program.

The money, part of a $2 billion economic development bond package passed last year, will be allocated over seven years.

In November, the state plans to award $60 million for the 2006-07 period, spokesman Merle Madrid said. Matrix has applied for the maximum $5 million grant.

"This is our single best shot at retaining data centers and tech centers downtown," said Kenny Coven, a senior associate at the Cleveland office of CB Richard Ellis. The commercial real estate services firm is the leasing agent for the Rockwell building.

"The only way this will happen is with public and private investment," Coven said.

Cuyahoga County has pledged a $1 million loan for the redevelopment, and the city of Cleveland is prepared to offer its own $250,000 loan. If the state awards Matrix the full $5 million, public-sector financial help would represent about 21 percent of the project's cost.

Click here to see a full list of projects being funded across the state.

- Henry Gomez, hgomez@plaind.com

More From The Plain Dealer | Subscribe To The Plain Dealer
State aids projects in Akron, Cleveland
Site-improvement grants target tech center, offices
Friday, December 15, 2006
Henry J. Gomez
Plain Dealer Reporter
A technology center proposed for downtown Cleveland and an office park planned for Akron are among 18 projects expected to split more than $50 million in state site-improvement grants.

Matrix Realty Group of New York would receive $2.5 million toward its $29 million renovation of an old lighting factory at 1425 Rockwell Ave. Akron is expected to receive $1.7 million for White Pond Office Park, a $69.3 million project.

"The projects that have been recommended for funding will enable Ohio to compete for large-scale investments that are likely to have an immediate impact in communities across the state," outgoing Gov. Bob Taft said in a written statement released Thursday.

The State Controlling Board must approve Taft's recommendations, but its blessing is likely to be a formality. Regional steering committees and state officials already have vetted the projects.

The grants are part of the state's $150 million Job Ready Sites Program, established to help improve properties and prepare them for use by large employers. The money is from a $2 billion economic development package approved by voters in 2005 and will be allocated over seven years.

Both Matrix and Akron had asked for maximum $5 million grants.

"But this is still good news," said Kenny Coven, a senior associate at the Cleveland office of CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate services firm working on the Matrix project. "Even if it's not the full $5 million, the amount helps keep us competitive with suburbs" for tenants.

Matrix, led by developer Glen Nelson, bought the property last year for $12.5 million. Nelson initially wanted to build condos on a vacant, grungy-looking piece of the land but ultimately decided on a three-story parking deck topped by at least three floors of office space.

Supporters say the project could bring or retain 300 to 500 jobs downtown.

Nelson is targeting high-tech tenants for the new building. In an earlier interview, Nelson said Matrix had planned to put up about $23 million of the project's costs.

One tenant interested in the new building is CGI Group, a huge information-technology firm based in Montreal that has about 250 local employees at the Tower at Erieview.

CGI would sign a 15-year lease at $25 a square foot and rent 150 parking spaces at $150 a month, according to Matrix's grant application. Coven said competitive lease rates depend on how much financial help comes from the public sector. Cuyahoga County has pledged a $1 million loan, and Cleveland could step in with a $250,000 loan.

In Summit County, the White Pond project includes the construction of more than 100,000 square feet of office space on 76 acres near Frank Boulevard and Interstate 77. Akron's application had pegged the project's cost at more than $69 million.

Statewide, 56 applicants sought more than $250 million in this funding round. Steering committees in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Summit counties submitted 14 projects. Recipients outside the region include projects in Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

hgomez@plaind.com, 216-999-5405

Cleveland schools renovation/rebuilding project

In May of 2001, city of Cleveland residents passed a 1.2 Billion dollar levy to renovate and rebuild the school buildings that needed repairs.
The newly built John Adams High School
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/483/aur9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Historically renovated 77 year old John Hay High School

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5520/bao9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Miles Park Elementary School under construction

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4687/czf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The architecture on those schools is great!

I for one am glad that someone is representing cleveland here,
it is midwestern RIGHT?????

Sticky sticky sticky...

Sticky hydrogen or jman?? Yea or nay??

Btw Mabcle, thank you SO much for this...I love Cleveland developments!!

Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tom Breckenridge
Plain Dealer Reporter
Developer Scott Wolstein hopes to start razing buildings next month in pursuit of his $230 million project on the Flats east bank.

The Cleveland Planning Commission on Friday approved demolition of eight buildings. But the move is likely to face legal challenges from nearby property owners who have refused to sell to the developer and are targets of an eminent domain action.

The Wolstein Group owns the eight buildings, mostly south of Old River Road. They include Joe's Crab Shack, Fado's, the Beach Club, Dick's Last Resort and Amsterdam, formerly known as Kindler's, records showed.
The city more than a year ago approved a Wolstein plan to revitalize the once-popular entertainment district.

Wolstein has lined up private and public financing for a project that would bring 300 dwellings, retail, entertainment, a park and a boardwalk.

But a number of property owners have rejected Wolstein's asking price, so the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has filed lawsuits in county Probate Court to take the land by eminent domain.

Lawyers for the hold-out property owners and their business tenants asked the commission to table the vote.

If the eminent domain action fails, the city could be left with vacant lots and no development plans in hand, said lawyer Gerald Phillips.

Phillips also said his clients need to study the eight buildings to challenge the city's declaration that they are blighted.

Representatives of several businesses, including the Beachcomber bar and a nearby strip club, said the demolition would impede traffic and parking for their customers.

A Wolstein representative said the eight buildings would be available for Phillips and others to study.

The commission approved the demolition, with conditions that Wolstein ensure safety of the site and that traffic and on-street parking won't be blocked.

Phillips said he would probably appeal the Planning Commission decision and seek a protective court order to delay demolition.

A spokeswoman for Wolstein said the demolition request was not a tactic to pressure property owners who won't sell.

"We need to continue making progress," said Nancy Lesic. "This is the next step."

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1166348507101340.xml&coll=2

It's good to start hearing about what's happening in Cleveland on this forum.

Ohio is seriously underrepresented here.

It's good to start hearing about what's happening in Cleveland on this forum.

Ohio is seriously underrepresented here.
yeah, truly. cleveland is definitely a gem. i'm glad this thread finally came into fruition.

wow great pics and development! can't wait to see more.. hope this thread gets stickied

Nov. 30, 2006
Brooklyn Sun Journal
Living on the Square
Condos eyed for two buildings
By Ken Prendergast
Staff Writer

If city approvals are given, housing could be offered on Public Square for the first time since the 1800s.
Developer Matthew Howells will present plans this week to the Cleveland Planning Commission for converting two historic office buildings at the corner of Ontario Street and Public Square into more than two dozen condominiums. Plans include adding a penthouse to the nine-story, 103-year-old Park Building which fronts Public Square.
Behind the Park is the Southworth Building, built in 1882. Howells, through his Howells & Howells Enterprises Limited Liability Corp., purchased both buildings and an adjacent parcel last winter for $1.7 million, according to the Cuyahoga County Auditors office.
"I'm just really excited about this development," said Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes downtown. "It has just a historical and psychological draw for residents. You couldn't get more downtown than living on Public Square."
The Park and Southworth feature working fireplaces in some suites. The office buildings are mostly vacant, but have occupied storefronts, including Jake's deli at the corner of Public Square and Ontario. Howells recently added exterior lighting to the Park facing upward from the second floor.
Howells did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story. Potential sale prices for the condominiums were not available.
"He (Howells) has a lot of experience with developing projects around the country," said Cimperman, who also is council's representative to the planning commission and chair's council's Planning Committee. "He wanted to do something here and is moving heaven and earth to get this done. That building had to be developed by him. He sees the value in it."
Cimperman said plans for the project will also have to go before the Landmarks Commission, likely in December, given the age of the two buildings and their location. Despite their historic status, he said he supports Howell's plan to add the penthouse level because he was certain the penthouse would sell.
In related news, CRM Development Research Inc. reported this week that Cleveland issued the most for-sale residential building permits in the first nine months of 2006 in Cuyahoga County. Cleveland issued 183 permits, with Westlake and North Royalton tying for a distant second at 79. In the seven counties of Northeast Ohio, only North Ridgeville and Avon issued more permits, 283 and 201 respectively, than Cleveland.

I thought it was time to give Northeast Ohio some light here and let everyone know Cleveland is taking part in this midwest "boom" to. Thanks for all the responses so far.

Collinwood High school got a new roof, new windows, interior renovations as well as a track and field as part of the Cleveland Schools project.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1201/dscn1683ww2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Kings terrace luxury condominiums on the West side of the city. These feature 2400 square feet and an ok view of the lake.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4524/dscn1684mx2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4712/dscn1686bw4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Picture of part of the condo component of the Battery Park development mentioned before.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2015/dscn1687jn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

West Tech Lofts is what happens when a developer devides to convert a closed High School (West Tech Highschool) into lofts for sale. The inside features lofts, but still has lockers from when the building was a school. The lofts in the building aren't selling well. The athletic fields that were voncerted, however are selling good and are a mix single family homes and attached condos.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2827/dscn1688fg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3893/dscn1690ud7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The athletic fields

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4530/dscn1689yv3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Construction of a new 5 million dollar rapid station (Metro rail) on West 117th street.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/70/dscn1691yj5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1355/dscn1692mi5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

An example of the many former warehouses being converted into lofts in downtown Cleveland.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6674/dscn1694gw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Here are a few projects in Cleveland Heights. This site was once one of the region's first suburban shopping malls. After its decline developers turned it into a power center. Some of the outparcels are being developed into new condos.

This was once a Kaiser outpatient center, now its condos.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9229/dscn1695io9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1971/dscn1696am4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

There was an office building on this site, it was demolished and these were built.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5981/dscn1697gy7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4826/dscn1698fq4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

UHHS Commits More Than $1 Billion for Wide-Reaching Vision 2010 Plan
Five-year Plan Calls for Major Expansion Throughout Northeast Ohio
January 18, 2006


CLEVELAND - The Board of Directors of University Hospitals Health System (UHHS) has unanimously approved core elements of its strategic plan, called Vision 2010. The plan, calling for investments of more than $1 billion over five years, includes significant commitment to the University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC) campus, new facilities and considerable expansion of services at several System hospitals, additional suburban ambulatory centers and more than $100 million in technological enhancements, including system-wide electronic health records.

"Our Vision 2010 plan represents a milestone for University Hospitals Health System," said Thomas F. Zenty III, President and CEO of UHHS. "Vision 2010 will be the single largest endeavor that UHHS has undertaken in its history and, as we celebrate 140 years of service to patients, will leave a lasting impression on our community and our health system for decades to come. The new construction, expansion of current services and the introduction of a new electronic health records system exemplify our commitment to our patients, physicians and employees. By approving this plan, our board of directors recognizes that we have returned to solid financial performance and need to plan for our future."

The first phase of the plan includes the construction of a 200-bed, freestanding cancer hospital on the University Hospitals of Cleveland campus, major renovation and expansion of the Pediatric and Adult Emergency Department at UHC, and a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the internationally recognized Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Plans also call for the construction of Ambulatory Medical Centers in Twinsburg and Aurora. Further, the cardiovascular facilities at UHHS Geauga Regional Hospital, UHHS Richmond Heights Hospital and UHHS Bedford Medical Center will be expanded, along with orthopaedic facilities and services at UHHS Geauga Regional Hospital.

"An extensive amount of planning went into this vision, as we considered the changing needs of our patients, our communities, our physicians and our employees," said Christopher M. Connor, Chairman of the UHHS Board of Directors. "This strategic plan truly is a watershed moment in the rich history of University Hospitals Health System, and board members were excited to take a leadership role in developing it."

Vision 2010 considered patient needs, population demographics, and the responsibility to continue developing leading services and facilities - all with an eye toward promoting an environment that provides patients the high level of care that they have come to expect from UHHS.

The 200-bed, 320,000-square-foot cancer hospital will provide access to all of University Hospitals of Cleveland’s nationally renowned inpatient and outpatient oncology services in a single, state-of-the-art, patient-centered facility. The new multi-story hospital will be home to the Ireland Cancer Center and will include radiation therapy, mammography, chemotherapy, surgical oncology, diagnostic services, wellness spaces and counseling, and physicians’ offices. The building will feature specialized clinical areas for specific patient needs while promoting an environment for optimal patient care, cancer research and education. Plans call for construction to be completed by October 2009.

"The building of this cancer hospital helps to further establish our position as one of the premier cancer programs in the nation, where the latest research and therapies are available to all patients," says Stanton Gerson, MD, Director of the Ireland Cancer Center. "Patients travel from all over the country to receive treatment here, and this building will both reflect and promote the level of care they seek."

In an effort to continue to serve Cleveland and patients in need of emergency treatment, UHC will renovate and more than double the square footage of the emergency departments at UHC and Rainbow. The combined emergency departments, which together are the second busiest in Cleveland, have an annual patient volume of 73,000 adult and pediatric patients.

The 23,000-square-foot emergency department will be expanded to 54,000-square-feet, and the number of available beds will increase from 41 to 70. The emergency department also will have improved patient access and state-of-the art diagnostic and laboratory capabilities to expedite and improve patient care. Construction is expected to begin in July 2006 and will take approximately two years to complete. The UHC Emergency Department project comes amid significant emergency department enhancements at UHHS Geauga Regional Hospital, UHHS Memorial Hospital of Geneva and UHHS Richmond Heights Hospital - all of which were made possible by the considerable financial support of the UHHS donor community.

The new 38-bed NICU at Rainbow, the premier children’s hospital in the Midwest, will unite advanced technology, research and clinical services in a home-like environment with private space for parents to sleep at their child’s bedside. Adjacent to the Level III NICU will be a 44-bed Neonatal Transitional Care Unit that allows babies to graduate from the intensive care setting and transition into a home-like setting where parents learn to handle their medical needs before leaving the hospital. Combined, the units form the largest and most advanced NICU in Ohio. The new NICU will feature a surgical suite and imaging capabilities that enhance the ability to diagnose, treat and, if necessary operate on the tiniest patients near their rooms. World-famous neonatologists at Rainbow are leaders not only in patient outcomes but in groundbreaking research. This project will enable them to continue providing the highest level of care for newborns. The project will start in March 2006 and is expected to be finished in Fall 2007.

"Our 140th year of serving the city of Cleveland promises to be an historic one, and the impact of these projects will reverberate throughout the region and our System for decades to come," said Fred C. Rothstein, MD, President and CEO of UHC. "We are investing in our nationally recognized programs, such as cancer and pediatrics, while responding to the needs of Cleveland by expanding our emergency department."

The Vision 2010 plan includes targeted expansion of services throughout the region. A 40,000-square-foot outpatient medical center will be constructed just off State Route 82, near Interstate 480, to meet the needs of our Twinsburg-area patients and to accommodate a growing UHHS physician presence. Offerings by this innovative primary care facility will include an urgent care center and pediatric, OB/GYN, family and pain management practices. In addition, it will feature advanced radiology and laboratory services and an expanded corporate health department. A second outpatient center will be located on State Route 43 in Aurora. This facility, still in the planning stages, will provide a significant UHHS presence to serve this growing region.

UHHS Geauga Regional Hospital is embarking on two major initiatives to enhance service capabilities for treating orthopaedic conditions and cardiovascular disease. A new joint and spine surgery unit, slated to open in May 2006, will feature advanced technology for patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery, or reconstructive spine procedures. Patients will benefit from computerized navigation guidance systems and special clinical protocols to improve their outcomes in a dedicated 18-bed inpatient center. Outpatient services will include specialized programs in sports health and injury prevention. A new cardiac intensive care unit and renovated cardiac inpatient facilities will strengthen Geauga Regional Hospital’s ability to provide comprehensive care for patients with heart disease. And later this year, UHHS Richmond Heights Hospital and UHHS Bedford Medical Center will open new cardiovascular centers, following extensive projects to enhance and expand services at those hospitals.

Another key component of Vision 2010 is the installation of an electronic health record system that uses new technology to develop and maintain electronic records of patient health information. The system will enhance the quality and safety of patient care by creating a centralized record of relevant medical information, including patient demographics, medication usage, progress notes, past medical history and laboratory data. The system will offer clinical features that prevent duplication of medications and testing and check for allergies and drug interactions.

Vision 2010 was completed following significant, System-wide operational changes that resulted in UHHS’ bond ratings being upgraded by both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The projects will be financed through a combination of operational funds, government funding, long-term debt, and support from UHHS’ donor community.

"Over the past two years, we have introduced an organizational and financial discipline that has helped create a foundation for our future," said Mr. Zenty. "The realization of Vision 2010 is a credit to the commitment of our board members, physicians and employees in their desire to continue to provide the best care to our patients and support the Greater Cleveland community."

http://www.uhhs.com/Article_Detail.aspx?ID=263&MID=152

Case enters into exclusive negotiations with Forest City as developer for the west quad


August 26, 2005 | For more information: George Stamatis 216-368-3635

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Forest City Enterprises have signed an exclusive, 90-day conditional designation agreement to develop program and financial terms for the development of Case’s new West Quad campus. Forest City was chosen by Case from a pool of six national developers. In addition to Forest City, developers responding to the School of Medicine’s request for qualifications included Higgins Development Partners, Hines, Slough Estates USA, Spaulding & Slye in partnership with Colliers International and Townsend Capital.

With this agreement, the School of Medicine will exclusively negotiate with Forest City the business and legal terms of this project. If these negotiations are successful, at the end of this 90-day period the parties will execute a formal Memorandum of Understanding, clearly outlining the terms of the final development agreement.

Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine, said, “We were highly impressed with the ideas proposed by Forest City and the company’s depth of experience in the development of university-affiliated biomedical research parks.”

Gayle Farris, President of Forest City’s Science & Technology Group said, “We are very grateful to Case for this opportunity to work with them towards developing a vision for the West Quad Campus that will build upon the strengths of Case’s academic prowess and its partnership with Cleveland’s leading medical institutions to establish a cluster for life science research and development.”

The West Quad, site of the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center and already home to the Cleveland Center for Structural Biology, is a 14-acre parcel owned by Case. The university seeks to develop the West Quad into a mixed-use campus and research park with up to 2 million square feet of laboratory and office space dedicated to transformative research in individualized genomic medicine and the quantitative biosciences. The West Quad will also be home to joint research projects and education programs with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals of Cleveland, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and MetroHealth Medical Center.

The West Quad will make Cleveland a national leader in a new wave of medical care and research focused on developing individualized medical treatment based on the patient’s genes, proteins and disease susceptibility.

Further, the research and programs planned for the West Quad will be a source and driver for significant economic development in this region.

Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is a $7.4 billion NYSE-listed national real estate company. The company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, acquisition and management of mixed-use projects, retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and land development projects throughout the United States.

http://www.case.edu/news/2005/8-05/forest.htm



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is the West Quad?
A: The West Quad is a 14-acre campus owned by Case Western Reserve University, one of the nation’s leading research universities. The university plans to work with a developer to develop this campus into an innovative research park focusing on “individualized” genomic medicine.

Q: Where is the West Quad?
A: The West Quad is on Cleveland’s east side, in University Circle. It is on the former site of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, bounded by Mt. Sinai Drive, Ansel Road, Silver Park, and East 105 th Street.

Q: How will the West Quad help Cleveland?
A: The West Quad will make Cleveland a leader in a new wave of medical care focused on developing medical treatment based on the person’s genes, proteins, and disease susceptibility. Cleveland’s leading health care institutions – the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals of Cleveland, the Louis Stoke Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and MetroHealth Medical Center – are working together to advance medicine, research, and clinical care. In addition, the West Quad holds the promise of serving as a source and driver for economic development in the University Circle, as well as across Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

Q: How will the West Quad advance medicine?
A: The overarching objective of the West Quad development will be to unlock the potential of “individualized” genomic medicine, or personalized care that is based on – and tailored to – an individual’s genome, the proteins the genome manufactures, and the disease susceptibility created by the interactions between these biological factors and the external environment. Presently, many therapeutic strategies are approved and endorsed because they offer benefits based on statistical evidence for improvements in groups of patients. Currently, however, when a particular therapy is shown to be effective for a percentage of a sample population, no methods exist to determine which individuals within that population are responsive to that therapy and which are not.

Q: Has the city of Cleveland been supportive?
A: The West Quad has received enthusiastic support from the mayor, the council people representing the neighborhood wards – Council members Britt, Lewis, Scott, and Conwell – the Department of City Planning, and others.

Q: Will the project create jobs?
A: The West Quad will create significant economic opportunities for Clevelanders. At the build-out of the entire campus, it is anticipated that the project will create between 4,500 to 6,000 new jobs at a variety of skill levels and ancillary growth in the University Circle area.

http://westquad.case.edu/faqs/

SUMMIT SOCCER STADIUM PLAN UNVEILED
Public dollars part of financing
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer

Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal
Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta looks at an artist rendering of the proposed soccer complex during a press conference in the Macedonia City Center Community room Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006.
More photos
About the complex
Outdoor retailer could be key to development
Map: Location of the complex
MACEDONIA: - I t is the perfect site: the crossroads of Northeast Ohio.

That's what drew Paul Garofolo and Scott Wolstein to northern Summit County as the proposed site for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium with a retractable dome and grass surface.

On Thursday, Wolstein Sports & Entertainment Group of Moreland Hills unveiled a project estimated at $327 million that would have the stadium -- to be home for an expansion Major League Soccer team and other events -- two retail developments, a medical complex, at least one hotel and up to 15 restaurants.

The 450-acre site is on the east side of state Route 8 between I-271 and the Ohio Turnpike in the city of Macedonia and Northfield Center Township.

The project hinges on construction of the stadium, they said, and the stadium will require public tax dollars to make it work.

The financing plans call for the stadium to be owned by the Summit County Port Authority, adoption of a cigarette tax of 30 cents a pack for Summit County smokers, and $14 million in state grants.

Summit County Executive James B. McCarthy said he was ``100 percent behind the project,'' including the cigarette tax. ``It would be great for our community and great for our region,'' he said.

Dan Colantone of the Greater Akron Chamber called the plan ``an incredible project.''

An `uphill battle'

Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta said he supports the project but fears it faces an ``uphill battle'' to win support for the needed financing.

The Wolstein company unveiled a Web site -- www.neoprosoccer.com -- to get people in Northeast Ohio to help win support from the Ohio Legislature on two key money issues: $14 million in state construction money and permission to levy a cigarette tax.

A proposed cigarette tax of about 30 cents a pack in Summit County would raise about $7 million a year for 30 years.

McCarthy said $6 million a year -- or $180 million over 30 years -- would go toward the stadium and $1 million a year would go to arts and culture projects.

Those funds are ``extremely important'' for the financing of the soccer stadium, Garofolo said.

The Ohio Legislature will be asked to approve the cigarette tax. It could then be adopted by Summit County Council, bypassing voters.

If, however, the revenue is raised by a sales tax, voter approval would be required.

Garolofo's company had looked at seeking state approval to impose a new fee on real estate transfers in Summit County, but that plan drew strong opposition from real estate agents and was dropped for the cigarette tax, he said.

The $14 million in state aid would be requested from the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, the state agency that has funded stadiums in Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, Eastlake, Columbus and Cincinnati.

The initial request for $3 million must be approved by Ohio legislators and the governor.

Jobs to be created

The stadium and surrounding development would create 1,600 construction jobs and 1,825 jobs when the complex opens, said Garofolo, who is president and chief executive of the Wolstein group.

The plan calls for the Wolstein group to lease the stadium from the county port authority, said Christopher Burnham, president and director of the authority.

His agency will only go forward on the project once it is confident that the Wolstein cash flow will be sufficient to pay for the bonds that would be issued by the port authority, he said.

The Wolstein group would be putting up $15 million of its own money. Private developers have pledged an additional $157.5 million.

There would be a $2 surcharge on every ticket sold. That would raise $2.2 million a year or $66 million over 30 years to help fund the stadium.

The Wolstein group has worked out a tax-increment financing agreement with Nordonia Hills schools. That would provide an $8.5 million payment to the school system and $7 million a year toward paying off the stadium bonds.

The stadium, designed by architect Gino Rossetti, would have 20,000 seats, expandable to 30,000. It could accommodate another 2,000 persons in suites and 3,000 in standing room.

The roof would retract and the natural grass field could also be moved out of the stadium so that other events could take place inside.

It would have administrative offices, restaurants, television production center, retail shops and meeting rooms.

The Wolstein Sports and Entertainment Group is confident that if the stadium is built, it will receive the right to an expansion professional soccer team in 2009, Garofolo said. ``There have been high-level negotiations, but nothing is official,'' he said.

Proponents said they hope to use the facility 90 to 100 days a year by hosting national and international events and by adding women's soccer and lacrosse.

Other facilities under consideration are 25 lighted soccer fields, two ice skating rinks and a fieldhouse with an indoor soccer field.

Retail development

Retail development would include a 425,000-square foot shopping complex on 45 acres. It would be similar to Crocker Park in Westlake and Legacy Village in Lyndhurst.

The second retail development would cover 250,000 square feet on 30 acres. It would house a major retailer new to Ohio, believed to be Cabela's Inc., a chain, based in Nebraska, selling hunting, fishing and outdoor gear.

The medical complex would have a 24-hour urgent care center, a medical office building, a sports rehabilitation facility and a wellness center.

Garofolo said the commitments of the retail and medical projects are firm, assuming the stadium can be built.

Cleveland was not interested in being home to the soccer stadium and Akron is too close to Columbus, home of the Columbus Crew team, Garofolo said.

His company needed approval from the Columbus team to locate in Macedonia because the league prohibits teams from being within 75 miles of each other.

Garofolo, quoting the late developer Edward DeBartolo, said the Macedonia site was the perfect location and its development will strengthen ties between Akron and Cleveland.

He said the state Route 8 corridor from Macedonia to Stow is ripe for economic development.

``It's ready to explode,'' he said.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16138870.htm

Suburbs talk of sharing income taxes
Mayors group OKs cities splitting revenue when company relocates
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thomas Ott
Plain Dealer Reporter
Turf-minded Cleveland suburbs are poised to do what seemed impossible: Share income taxes when a company pulls up stakes in one community and sets them down in another.

The Cuyahoga County Mayors and City Managers Association overwhelmingly agreed Thursday to have winning and losing communities split the taxes of transplanted workers for up to five years.

With few corporations moving into Northeast Ohio, cities and villages have scrapped over those that shuffle within the region. Supporters say sharing taxes will let the cities and villages work together on economic development.


The vote was 24-2, with three abstentions. The group has 57 members, but in such a politically divided county, the result was cause for advocates to celebrate.

"The status quo is not working," Shaker Heights Mayor Judy Rawson, one of the plan's authors, told the group. "If we don't move to a new regional model, we're going to fail, and we're going to fail together."

The plan applies to companies with payrolls of at least $500,000 a year. The mayors and city managers also intend to negotiate caps on property-tax breaks given to companies and abolish rebates on income taxes.

Supporters declared the action historic, but sizable hurdles remain. Thursday's vote is not binding.

City and village councils will consider the plan and could reject it.

Even if the councils approve the plan, cities where employers move would not have to share taxes unless they also participated in other regional agreements. For example, cities may have to agree to share their taxes to get money from a proposed multimillion-dollar redevelopment fund.

The agreement approved Thursday is not the same as the deals Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has negotiated with suburbs served by the city's Water Department. In those agreements, the Water Department would take over waterlines in suburbs that promise not to poach employers from Cleveland

Page 2 of 2
Jackson, a leading proponent of regional cooperation, voted yes on the tax-sharing plan Thursday, as did representatives of the largest suburbs: Parma, Lakewood, Cleveland Heights and Euclid. Perhaps fittingly, the group met in Cleveland City Council chambers.

Solon and Oakwood opposed the plan, while Bedford Heights, Brook Park and Westlake abstained. Representatives of the five communities expressed support but said they wanted to move more cautiously.

Solon Mayor Kevin Patton voted no, while his brother, Brooklyn Mayor Kenneth Patton, said yes.

Kevin Patton said restricting tax breaks would leave Solon vulnerable to raids from three neighboring counties: Summit, Geauga and Portage. Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough said he faced the same threat from Lorain County.

The regional business group Team NEO will try to expand tax sharing throughout Northeast Ohio, said Chief Executive Officer Thomas Waltermire. He said elimination of infighting will make Northeast Ohio more alluring to business.

Edward "Ned" Hill, an urban studies professor at Cleveland State University, has long advocated tax sharing, which he said would end no-win competition.

Until Thursday, he had given up hope of seeing the idea become reality.

"The mayors here are a bunch of adults," Hill said. "Let's stand up and applaud them."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

tott@plaind.com, 216-999-5739


http://www.cleveland.com/economy/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1161938791225110.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

Stark Enterprises to Develop Master Plan for Warrensville-Van Aken


(May 31, 2006) On May 30, Bob Stark of Stark Enterprises presented to Shaker Heights City Council his preliminary vision for the redevelopment of the Warrensville–Van Aken area into a vibrant heart of the City and a catalytic crossroads for the region.
At the end of the meeting, Council authorized Stark to begin development of a Master Plan for the 60 acres surrounding the intersection. Stark, in partnership with members of the Weiss and Ratner families, has a dynamic vision for the area. Click to read the proposal. Key components are:

A train station/piazza at the end of the Rapid’s blue line, surrounded by a mix of retail, offices, recreation, outdoor cafes, housing lofts and cultural/educational amenities.
Fixing the traffic pattern of the intersection, commonly regarded as hugely problematic. “Let’s face it, it stinks,” said Stark in his presentation.
A commercial area with structured parking and design quality to match Shaker’s famed residential areas, to which businesses will happily move from sterile commerce parks.
A hub for the entire east side, to fight urban sprawl and to rival Stark’s Crocker Park development in Westlake.
Phase One, of 5-10 years duration, costing approximately $200 million. Phase One in Crocker Park cost approximately $150-200 million including garages and roads.
Stark believes that higher density is critical to increase the City’s tax base and to achieve the vibrancy found in busy, urbane places. For additional information, contact Patrick Campbell, 491-1334. Click to read the City’s May 11 Press Release regarding the RFQ process.

With our powers combined ...

UA considers joining forces to form Northeast Ohio 'super university'

by Aaron Stark
Buchtelite News Reporter
Staff
news@buchtelite.com
Print Story E-mail Author Discuss






What happens when you combine all four of Northeast Ohio's four-year universities into one hybrid super university?

No, it probably won't generate an institution poised to rival Harvard academically and Ohio State athletically. However, some are hoping it will generate better cost management and increased efficiency.

Efforts are being made to create collaboration among Northeast Ohio's major universities: Kent State University, Youngstown State University, the University of Akron and Cleveland State University.

Each school would maintain its separate identity, but would work together to find ways to create better opportunities for students and lower tuition.

"We're in a lame-duck session right now, so it will either have to be passed during this session, or we will have to start all over with the new session," said Dick Pogue, a member of the University of Akron's board of trustees.

The collaboration may or may not include the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and community colleges, Pogue said.

The proposal to create a committee to look into creating a "super university" has yet to be addressed by Ohio's General Assembly, but supporters are hoping the legislation will be passed and funded by Ohio Legislature. The committee would be made up of representatives of each university and legislators.

Pogue said the proposal would demonstrate that Ohio universities are not oblivious to how they are perceived.

"The proposal would show legislators that schools recognize issues raised by them for years; that schools are ineffective and duplicative," he said.

In a Nov. 1 article of the Youngstown Vindicator, David Sweet, president of Youngstown State University, spoke out against the idea of collaboration among Northeast Ohio universities.

"He may have been mis-quoted," Pogue said. "If you read the article for the Vindicator on Nov 18., he said that none of the (Youngstown State board of trustees) members were against it. He sounds more supportive of the idea in that article."

Pogue said there was likely a lot of misunderstanding about the collaboration after the initial news conference.

"About a week or so ago, legislators in Mahoning Valley opposed the legislation before they really knew what it was all about," Pogue said. "But I'm sure if you were to ask them now, they might have a different attitude."

Pogue said that the Ohio Board of Regents is behind the commission.

"Northeast Ohio could be a pilot," Pogue said. "If we do it successfully, other regions could follow."

Pogue said that although nothing can be certain, he believes that collaboration would provide an economic boost for Northeast Ohio universities.

"I'm biased, but I think that maybe if we work together, we can save money."

http://www.buchtelite.com/2006/1121/news_02.shtml

Ford sells Lorain Assembly Plant
Linked articles
» Duo makes pitch for Ford plant




By STAN BULLARD

5:02 pm, December 18, 2006



Lorain’s post-Ford future drove into town today.

Ford Motor Co. announced today that it has sold the massive Lorain Assembly Plant. The buyer is a joint venture formed by Industrial Realty Group of Los Angeles and Chris Semarjian, a local investor.

Neither Ford nor the buyer disclosed terms of the sale.

The two are likely to recycle the plant to an industrial complex housing multiple companies. The plant has 4 million square feet of factory and office space. It sits on 264 acres at 5401 Baumhart Road.

Jay Gardner, vice president for development and strategy at Ford Land, said in a Ford news release that the automaker is pleased Industrial Realty Group is the buyer because the firm has a track record for redevelopment projects and “will bring tax revenue and jobs to the surrounding community.”


Stuart Lichter, Industrial Realty’s president, said in the prepared statement that the site is one of the few options in the industrial Midwest for large industrial tenants. “We’ll be hopeful we’ll be able to announce the arrival of new companies and jobs to the city of Lorain in the near future,” he said.

The duo has nearly a one-year start on recycling the plant to new use. Soon after Ford idled the plant and transferred van production to its newer Avon Lake plant, Mr. Semarjian began showing prospective tenants through it, Crain’s reported March 16.

Records at the Lorain County recorder’s office indicated a deed was transferred for the property, but sales documents with sales information did not show the sale by 4:57 p.m.

Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin said in the statement that Ford has shown a willingness to work with the community in the sale.

Industrial Realty Group is a nationally known specialist in adapting real estate, from former factories to military bases, to new use.

Mr. Lichter is a familiar figure in Ohio. He belonged to the partnership that bought the former B.F. Goodrich Co. factory and headquarters in 1988 in Akron and converted it into an award-winning, multitenant industrial and office complex. His company also converted the former Caterpillar plant, which is more than 1 million square feet in size, to multitenant use in Mentor.

During the past decade, Mr. Semarjian, a senior vice president at the NAI Daus brokerage, and Mr. Lichter have worked together on a plethora of projects. Those projects include converting a one-time former Spiegel warehouse in Columbus, which is 4 million square feet in size, to multitenant use, and putting Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co. into the onetime Kmart Supercenter in Euclid.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061218/FREE/61218011/1004

Pertaining to the Warehouse district super project
Cleveland’s Warehouse District Gets A Lift
Stark Enterprises pitches development plan that will take Cleveland’s Warehouse District to the next level.

Susan H. Fishman

Cleveland’s historic Warehouse District has been a work in progress for about 10 to 15 years. It began with the conversion of historic warehouse buildings into loft living and working spaces on the upper floors and has grown to include cafes, restaurants, coffeehouses and clubs along its streetscape. But the Warehouse District is missing two key components to be a sustainable and ultimately successful urban neighborhood, says Bob Stark of Stark Enterprises, who is spearheading an initiative to take the Warehouse District to the next level.

“It needs much more density,” he says. “There have to be a lot more people on the streets, which is what attracts people to an urban neighborhood and keeps them there. It’s what urbanity is about, and not just in terms of numbers of people, but because there are too many wide open spaces in the form of surface parking lots, those properties need to be developed in order to eliminate these big gaps; it’s like teeth missing in a smile.”

The other missing component in the Warehouse District is mixed-use, says Stark. “The great urban neighborhoods that we all have been to, whether it’s SoHo or Tribeca or Georgetown, have a very interesting and interactive retail format that characterizes and defines the street, and we don’t have much, if any, of that in the Warehouse District,” he notes. “So if we could fill those gaps with significant density and put many more thousands of people on the streets, and if we can provide a character by the right kind of retail and development of the streetscape aesthetically, then I believe we will have a great urban neighborhood.”
Stark Enterprises has acquired some of the most prime real estate in Northeast Ohio and developed commercial properties from small community-based shopping centers like Brooklor Plaza in North Olmsted, Ohio, to major suburban shopping districts like the Montrose area of West Akron where Rosemont Commons, The Shops of Fairlawn, OfficeMax Plaza, West Market Plaza and Lowe’s Plaza comprise 1 million square feet. Over the years, the company has established a new vision of establishing identities for communities by employing mixed-use density and commanding architectural design to create distinctive, pedestrian-friendly commercial districts. An example is Crocker Park, a $480 million mixed-use development in Westlake, Ohio, that vertically integrates retail with residential, office, dining and entertainment venues, all executed around an inviting streetscape. The project encompasses 12 city blocks with great design in public spaces, streetscapes, parks and alleyways and features a mix of locally owned shops, cutting-edge office buildings, street-interactive restaurants, loft-style apartments and city homes and work/live townhouses. It also includes one of Ohio’s first boutique hotels, a community college, a regional medical hub, regional transit services, civic space and a community arts theater center.

With its community-based philosophy, Stark Enterprises is perfectly positioned to head up the current development plan for the Warehouse District — a massive undertaking that’s impact is so transformative, it requires the collaboration of all of the key civic-interested organizations in town, from foundations to groups like the Greater Cleveland Partnership. The first phase of the project alone, which is scheduled to open in 2010, is estimated at $1 billion. With the development potential of all of the land that will be north of the Warehouse District, it could ultimately be close to $20 billion, says Stark.
“There are all kinds of developers who are supportive of the plan, and I’ve made multiple presentations to the Downtown Cleveland Partnership, which consists of the key developers in Downtown. They seem to be nearly unanimously in favor of what we’re proposing.”

The Plan

Still in its infancy, the current Warehouse District development plan begins with a site that consists of all surface parking lots that, with one small exception, do not require tear down of any existing buildings, historic or otherwise.

“This is simply realizing the plan of the Warehouse District, which is to build mixed-use buildings on those lots that once had such buildings and not to exceed certain height limitations,” Stark notes.

Stark Enterprises has designed a prospective tenant mix for the streetscape, which will feature 1 million square feet of retail and, above that, approximately 3 million to 4 million square feet of mixed-use space, including office, residential and hotel tenants.

At the same time, Stark Enterprises is advocating the expansion of the Warehouse District. The Cleveland Port Authority is in the process of moving its operations and extending the urban grid of the Warehouse District north to the water’s edge of Lake Erie and west to the Cuyahoga River. The proposal includes bringing the Lakeshore Freeway down to grade between West Ninth and West Third, so there is no longer a separation between everything south of the freeway and everything north of the freeway.

“That freeway is nothing but a shortcut through the middle of the city that was built with little regard for how the water should be connected to the center of the city,” Stark notes.

Today, the Warehouse District is a self-contained urban community that is home to a residential population of 2,800. The current average income of the Warehouse District resident is $75,000 annually with a median income of $54,500. There is a daytime business population of 167,000. In total, the entire market serving the Warehouse District from Rocky River to the West, Parma to the South and Bratenahl to the East approaches a population of 800,000.

With both the further renovation of existing buildings in the Warehouse District and the new construction by Stark Enterprises, the Warehouse District population is expected to increase to approximately 12,500. The daytime populations (business and tourist) will more than triple to 566,000 office workers and visitors daily over the next 5 years. These numbers could be even greater with the proposed construction of new gaming facilities and a new convention center.

There are also numerous major residential developments underway in the immediate vicinity that will increase the new residential population by an additional 13,000. Those projects include The Flats East Bank Neighborhood, by Scott Wolstein of Developers Diversified (331 housing units that include apartments and townhouses slated for 2007), The Avenue District Development on 12th Street, by Zaremba, Inc. (400 condominiums that include lofts, penthouses and townhouses slated for 2007), The Euclid Corridor Project, by The City of Cleveland (4,000 residential units along the corridor slated for 2008), Lighthouse Landing, by Walnut Grove Ventures Development Corporation (228 condominium units in two towers of 18 and 22 stories slated for 2008), East 4th Street Corner Alley, by MRN Ltd. (163 rentable housing units slated for 206/2007) and 515 Euclid Avenue, by Golberg (28-story condominium tower).

The greatest appeal of the Warehouse District lifestyle is to young professionals and empty nesters — by far the largest segment of American society. This segment is creating the demand for dense, mixed-use living that the Ohio suburbs, with its 30-year-old housing stock and office supply, cannot provide. By 2010, the Warehouse District will meet the need in the Ohio market for a more dynamic, urban lifestyle.

http://www.shoppingcenterbusiness.com/articles/SEP06/story16.shtml

500 jobs for Lorain

By DAVID BENNETT

1:51 pm, December 20, 2006



Few locations outside Wall Street and Las Vegas are witness to large losses followed by large gains.

However, the reuse of the shuttered Lorain Assembly Plant at 5401 Baumhart Road will bring at least 500 jobs to Lorain next year with the promise of more to come, said Christopher Semarjian, a partner in the redevelopment project along with Stuart Lichter, president and CEO of Industrial Realty Group LLC of Los Angeles.

Mr. Semarjian, senior vice president at the NAI Daus brokerage in Beachwood, said at a news conference this morning in Lorain that Industrial Realty Group has agreements with two manufacturers to occupy portions of the 4.1 million-square-foot plant. He declined to identify the companies. He said a 300-person manufacturer has designs to occupy space on the northern end of the plant, and a Lorain-based company plans to set up a 200-person manufacturing operation in another part of the building.

Though much of the space is still untapped, Mr. Lichter estimated that the building, when totally renovated, will accommodate a total of six to eight industrial and distribution tenants. He estimated the two manufacturing outfits that will occupy the building first will begin operations in fall 2007.

Demolition work on part of the plant, which sits on 279 acres, is scheduled for January or February, Mr. Lichter said.


Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin said the deal gives a real spark to the community of 68,000, which has been hit hard by the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs during the last decade.

“This shows that Lorain has turned the corner and is on the road to recovery,” the mayor said.

More than 700 jobs were lost when the automaker closed the plant at the end of 2005. The factory employed 1,600 when it was producing Ford’s Econoline van line.

Industrial Realty Group has spearheaded 75 development projects in 22 states and has a track record of transforming large industrial buildings into business spaces, including the redevelopment of the former B.F. Goodrich Co. plant in Akron into multitenant industrial and office complex Canal Park.

Upon hearing plans that Ford was closing the plant and shifting production of Econoline vans to Avon Lake, Mayor Foltin and city officials worked out a plan with Ford to close the plant in December 2005, getting an earlier jump on efforts to find a buyer.

“Very often we find that local governments are an impediment, but here we worked step in step (with Lorain),” Mr. Lichter said.

Mr. Lichter said the reuse project has moved along at a fast pace in part due to his company’s willingness to take on any environmental liability found on the property. He said environmental testing will begin soon, but he wouldn’t estimate the cost associated with cleaning up the hulking structure.

Mayor Foltin said the sale price of the plant site was $2.4 million — about one-tenth of its appraised value by Lorain County. Mr. Lichter said such industrial structures typically are over-appraised.

Several identifiable Ford and Mercury models were assembled in the plant, which opened in 1958. Those models included the Ford Falcon, the Mercury Comet, Ford Fairlane, Mercury Cougar and the Ford Thunderbird.

the reason you don't see much action on SSC for Cleveland (or any of the other Ohio cities) is because we all hang out at UrbanOhio, where people are actually "in the know" instead of posting a bunch of Plain Dealer Articles (no offense directly to you mabcle)

^None taken, its true, plus I'm tryin to get this thread stickied.

well i'll probably only post to make fun of cleveland.

Well if it bumps the thread up that's ok.:lol:

For smaller cities, I like to wait and gauge their level of activity before stickying them. But for a major city like Cleveland, I'll just go ahead and stick it.

:applause: :drunk: Welcome!

I really had no idea that much development was going on in the city. Amazing!

More From The Plain Dealer | Subscribe To The Plain Dealer
New, redone theaters to anchor Gordon Square Arts District
Friday, December 29, 2006
Joe Guillen
Plain Dealer Reporter
From the outside, the old Capitol Theatre on West 65th Street is practically invisible.

The theater's anonymous set of green doors, boarded-up ticket booth and archway lined with empty light bulb fixtures easily are hidden among the surrounding storefronts in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.

But beyond its nondescript exterior, the Capitol Theatre is a cornerstone of an ambitious plan to revive the once-struggling neighborhood with a new arts and commercial project, called the Gordon Square Arts District.

It will become the Capitol Movie Theatre and screen independent and art films. Renovations are to be finished in early 2008.

Labeled the West Side's version of the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights, the Capitol is among a trio of theaters that will anchor the venture, which is on a half-mile stretch of Detroit Avenue, from West 58th Street to West 73rd Street.

The Gordon Square Arts District can become as identifiable as New York's Greenwich Village or Washington's Dupont Circle, boasts the leadership team behind the project.

Cleveland Councilman Matthew Zone, whose ward includes the district, said it is the neighborhood's "single most important economic development project" in nearly 90 years, since the Gordon Square Arcade was built.

"I don't believe there is a more catalytic project going on than the arts district," he said.

A variety of shops, restaurants and art galleries will complement the core of theaters. With the district's proximity to downtown and decades-old buildings, Zone compared it to an authentic version of Westlake's Crocker Park.

The community's face lift is already under way, with an art gallery in place and a coffee shop and an Irish pub set to open.

Page 2 of 4
"We have a real identity; it's not a place that's created," Zone said.

Plans for the Gordon Square Arts District also call for the Cleveland Public Theatre to be renovated, construction of a new building for the Near West Theatre and a new Detroit Avenue streetscape.

Cleveland Public Theatre founding Director James Levin said he envisioned such an intersection of culture and commerce when he chose the site of the theater on Detroit Avenue more than 20 years ago.

"Now it feels, after all these years, the Gordon Square Arts District is really going to happen," said Levin, who also is co-founder and executive director of Ingenuity, Cleveland's festival of art and technology.

The plan gained momentum, Levin said, when the Near West Theatre decided to relocate to the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. The new location for the theater will be on West 67th Street, within walking distance of the two other theaters.

The Near West Theatre - now in a cramped space at St. Patrick's Club Building in Ohio City - uses theater to build awareness and self-esteem in young people, Executive Director Stephanie Morrison-Hrbek said.

Construction of the new Near West Theatre hasn't started, but the goal is to open the 300-seat facility in 2010.

The entire Gordon Square Arts District project carries a price tag of around $20 million. Three organizations - Cleveland Public Theatre, Near West Theatre and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization - are uniting to drive a fund-raising campaign.

"Competition in Cleveland for philanthropic dollars is tough," said Joy Roller, director of the Gordon Square Arts District committee.

Some of the money for the project is on the cusp of being secured, or is already in the bank.

Page 3 of 4
Restoration of the Capitol Movie Theatre, owned by the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, will cost $6 million. A "prominent" Cleveland bank is in negotiations to provide most of the money in exchange for tax benefits, said Jeffrey Ramsey, executive director of the organization.

The new Detroit Avenue streetscape will cost about $3 million, which is in the coffer. Improvements include a narrower street, wider sidewalks and buried utility wires. Construction will begin next summer.

Exact costs to restore Cleveland Public Theatre and build a new Near West Theatre aren't yet nailed down.

Zone, Ramsey and other stakeholders said the Gordon Square Arts District is a can't-miss venture, pointing out the public and private investment in the neighborhood. Examples include:

Battery Park is a $100 million housing development under construction at the former Eveready Battery Plant site. The development will include more than 300 housing units with prices starting at about $170,000.

City and state officials are drawing up final designs for a $50 million to $70 million project that will convert the West Shoreway (Ohio 2) into a 35-mph boulevard by 2011, providing residents better access to Lake Erie and sparking interest from residential and commercial developers.

The city is also chipping in $500,000 toward the Detroit Avenue streetscape improvements, Zone said.

Despite what appears to be a widespread, concerted effort to reinvigorate the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, a reputation for drugs and crime that developed decades ago lingers.

In August, a string of five homicides in a week's time shook the neighborhood. Among the victims were two artists shot by a neighbor in their condominium building at the corner of Detroit Avenue and West 75th Street.

Community leaders said the violence is not typical of the neighborhood, nor did it ding the confidence of investors. "That was something very freaky," Ramsey said.

Page 4 of 4
Zone recalled how the community banded together during the turmoil. More than 300 people gathered for a peace vigil to remember the victims.

While striving to erase any indications the area is unsafe, community leaders are adamant about maintaining other aspects of the neighborhood.

A priority of the Gordon Square Arts District steering committee is to maintain the neighborhood's economic and racial diversity and preserve its affordable housing options.

The Gordon Square Homes project is one of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization's affordable housing programs. It will provide 85 housing units, some of which already are rented by artists in a building adjacent to the site for the Near West Theatre.

"What we believe we're doing here is the new American neighborhood," Ramsey said.

Buzz about the project is beginning to spread.

Nate Coffman, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland, has lived in the neighborhood for about seven years. He said the new Capitol Movie Theatre is "going to be immense."

"I think it's one of the hottest neighborhoods for new development and rehabilitation in the city," he said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jguillen@plaind.com, 216-999-4675




http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1167385350132270.xml&coll=2

Thanks for the comments and thanx for stickying this thread hydrogen!

Park Lane Villas Project

Park Lane villas were once a residential Hotel. The building is now being renovated to include 96 rental units priced from 1000-2200 a month. In addition to the apartments a restaurant is to be placed in what was the former Ball room of the Hotel. This 29 million dollar project will be completed in mid 2007.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/866/dscn1745ki5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/1581/dscn1746tk6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/949/parklaneucitj8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

AUDIO: Cleveland office space in short supply



11:43 a.m.

Downtown Cleveland's office market has become so tight that little is available for companies that want the best space, according to a review by Grubb & Ellis. Hear the real estate company's roundup of local markets in the latest Weekend Diary audio report.

To listen to the report and find an archive of previous Weekend Diary entries, click here. http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/business/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_business/archives/2007_01.html#224599

Developers: Abatement drives downtown projects
Thursday, January 11, 2007
By Ken Prendergast
West Side Sun News

Just as one construction project on the Flats' West Bank concludes this spring, another will start.

But, developers involved in both projects cautioned the pace of construction may stop if the city does not continue giving tax abatements.

An 11-story, 109-unit Stonebridge Plaza condominium tower could be ready for occupancy as early as late March. Next to it is Stonebridge Square, in the former Cantina del Rio restaurant, which will add 30,000 square feet of retail and offices this summer. The former restaurant was built as a machine shop in 1870.

Stonebridge's co-developer Bob Corna said leasing is "95 percent complete" for Stonebridge Square. The ground floor of the sky-lit plaza will feature a coffee shop, delicatessen, family-style restaurant and a mini market. Corna's partner in the project is Doug Price of K&D Corp.

Another 35,000 square feet of office space in a new four-story building is being built between the former Cantina and the historic Superior Viaduct. The stone viaduct is the source of the name for the Stonebridge complex.

"I love working with these old buildings," Corna said. "That's what I like about building downtown. Cleveland has a tremendous amount of unique, old buildings. There's a market for that and you can't get that anywhere else."

More offices will be coming to Stonebridge, following the developers' purchase of the recently vacated Tenk Machine & Tool Co., 2111 Center Street. The Tenk Building will be renamed Stonebridge Commons, to be renovated and expanded with 285,000 square feet of office space inside and retail along the sidewalks.

"The market for offices is hot right now," Corna said."

Plans show the commons would be connected via an enclosed walkway above Washington Avenue to Stonebridge Place, a planned, 68-unit loft condominium building. Corna said he and Price hope to start construction on this next phase this spring.

"We'd like to have it coincide with the opening of our new building (Stonebridge Plaza)," Corna said.

The current and upcoming phases of construction will double the amount of housing and quintuple the amount of office and retail space. Long-range plans are even more ambitious another 1,200 housing units are sought along Center Street toward the old river channel.

On Dec. 10, City Council granted Stonebridge a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement for 200 housing units in its next phase. Corna said if City Council curtails its use of tax abatement for new projects, the next phase of Stonebridge may be its last.

"We would not have built Stonebridge without it," Corna said. "I doubt we would be interested in building in Cleveland anymore. Tax abatement is a major, major factor."

He explained that tax abatement allows a homebuyer to save up to $100,000 over the life of the abatement, thereby allowing someone to buy a home they otherwise might not be able to afford.

"There's great interest in seeing them (Corna and Price) succeed," said Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes Stonebridge. "These guys are drivers. You've got to support your economic engines."

Developers: Abatement drives downtown projects
Thursday, January 11, 2007
By Ken Prendergast
West Side Sun News

Just as one construction project on the Flats' West Bank concludes this spring, another will start.

But, developers involved in both projects cautioned the pace of construction may stop if the city does not continue giving tax abatements.

An 11-story, 109-unit Stonebridge Plaza condominium tower could be ready for occupancy as early as late March. Next to it is Stonebridge Square, in the former Cantina del Rio restaurant, which will add 30,000 square feet of retail and offices this summer. The former restaurant was built as a machine shop in 1870.

Stonebridge's co-developer Bob Corna said leasing is "95 percent complete" for Stonebridge Square. The ground floor of the sky-lit plaza will feature a coffee shop, delicatessen, family-style restaurant and a mini market. Corna's partner in the project is Doug Price of K&D Corp.

Another 35,000 square feet of office space in a new four-story building is being built between the former Cantina and the historic Superior Viaduct. The stone viaduct is the source of the name for the Stonebridge complex.

"I love working with these old buildings," Corna said. "That's what I like about building downtown. Cleveland has a tremendous amount of unique, old buildings. There's a market for that and you can't get that anywhere else."

More offices will be coming to Stonebridge, following the developers' purchase of the recently vacated Tenk Machine & Tool Co., 2111 Center Street. The Tenk Building will be renamed Stonebridge Commons, to be renovated and expanded with 285,000 square feet of office space inside and retail along the sidewalks.

"The market for offices is hot right now," Corna said."

Plans show the commons would be connected via an enclosed walkway above Washington Avenue to Stonebridge Place, a planned, 68-unit loft condominium building. Corna said he and Price hope to start construction on this next phase this spring.

"We'd like to have it coincide with the opening of our new building (Stonebridge Plaza)," Corna said.

The current and upcoming phases of construction will double the amount of housing and quintuple the amount of office and retail space. Long-range plans are even more ambitious another 1,200 housing units are sought along Center Street toward the old river channel.

On Dec. 10, City Council granted Stonebridge a 15-year, 100 percent property tax abatement for 200 housing units in its next phase. Corna said if City Council curtails its use of tax abatement for new projects, the next phase of Stonebridge may be its last.

"We would not have built Stonebridge without it," Corna said. "I doubt we would be interested in building in Cleveland anymore. Tax abatement is a major, major factor."

He explained that tax abatement allows a homebuyer to save up to $100,000 over the life of the abatement, thereby allowing someone to buy a home they otherwise might not be able to afford.

"There's great interest in seeing them (Corna and Price) succeed," said Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes Stonebridge. "These guys are drivers. You've got to support your economic engines."

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/westsidesunnews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1168537995195200.xml&coll=3

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/949/parklaneucitj8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
nice conversion!!!!^^

The Ohio Hub

The Ohio Hub is a plan to build an 860 mile network of rail line that would provide High-Speed passenger train travel to residents of Ohio, SE Michigan, Western Pennsylvania, Western New York and Toronta in Canada.

Proposed routes

Cleveland=>Columbus=>Dayton=>Cincinnati

Cleveland=>Pittsburgh

Cleveland=>Toledo=>Detroit

Cleveland=>Buffalo=>Niagra Falls=> Hamilton, Ontario=>Toronto.

Map of project:
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8895/ar1168747085492973my.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

You can find more info on this project at this link: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/Ohio%20Hub/Website/ordc/index.html

I love this idea...would be a great way to increase business in almost all of these cities too.

You're right. The trains would be able to quickly and efficiently get suits back and forth between cities and could lead to greater collabo between the cities that are connected. Also I think its terrible that if you want to take the train to get to Cincinnati from Cleveland and vice versa you have to connect in Chicago or Washington D.C. to do so. This (project)is a ways off though.

I have a question: Does the City of Cleveland currently have a rail system enabled?

Do you mean rapid transit or Amtrak?

Cleveland gets Amtrak service by the Lakeshore limited route

and has 3 (and a half) rail lines for intra city travel as well as that bus rapid transit line u/c.

^^Oh cool. I'm going to have to get up there sometime and visit!

Just curious Naptown, did you not know Cleveland has Amtrak service, intracity rail service or both?

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson unveils a plan to rebuild the city neighborhood by neighborhood.


Jackson presents wish list, to-do list
Mayor outlines wide range of plans to improve Cleveland, one neighborhood at a time Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Susan Vinella
Plain Dealer Reporter
Mayor Frank Jackson on Monday offered two visions for Cleveland, one grand and expensive, the other practical and within the city's means.

On his wish list, Jackson includes a first-class convention center and a corporate business park for Burke Lakefront Air- port.

On his reality list, Jackson proposes bicycle lanes through neighborhoods, more-aggressive demolition of rundown buildings and a pedestrian bridge over North Coast Harbor.


"A great city connects its citi- zens to great choices in housing, education, employment, services, shopping and culture," states the overview to Jackson's long-term vision.

At the unveiling at a City Hall news conference, Jackson spoke of creating safe and family-oriented neighborhoods and a Mecca for arts and culture.

The mayor proposes to spend $1.5 billion over five years on projects that include the pedestrian bridge connecting Voinovich Park and Dock 32 downtown near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

He also proposes to spend $5 million to make changes at the traffic circle at East 105th Street near University Circle to improve safety.

In addition, the mayor said he wants to spend at least $3 million annually to demolish vacant houses, a citywide problem that lowers property values and fosters crime.

Council President Martin J. Sweeney said council will ask Jackson to increase that amount to $6 million annually, and he expects the mayor to agree.

About two-thirds of the spending - $1 billion - will come from the city's income tax and elsewhere in the city's budget, said Jackson's chief of staff, Ken Silliman. The city will seek the rest from state and federal sources.


The capital plan should help the city secure more state and federal dollars because it shows where Cleveland intends to spend its money, Silliman said. A commitment of money from a local government often brings matching taxpayer dollars from Columbus or Washington.

Jackson wants to put more than $12 million toward building roadside bike routes and off-road bike trails that connect the city's neighborhoods to each other and to the Towpath Trail, which will soon stretch into downtown.

He also promises about $4 million for the cleanup of the former International Steel Group site.

His grander vision, covering the next 13 years, focuses on developing all 36 of the city's neighborhoods.

"I'm not going to pit downtown against neighborhoods," Jackson said. "We're going to rebuild this entire city."

The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each city neighborhood. Kamm's Corners and Old Brooklyn on the West Side are listed as stable, for example, and Kinsman and South Collinwood on the East Side are described as fragile and distressed.

The mayor also proposes that he take control of the parks and recreation capital spending, which traditionally has been in control of individual council members. Ken Johnson, chairman of council's Parks and Recreation Committee, said he opposes that idea.

The full capital spending and city development plans can be found on the city's Web site: www.city.cleveland.oh.us.

Plain Dealer Reporter Olivera Perkins contributed to this report.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

svinella@plaind.com, 216-999-5010

http://www.cleveland.com/mayor/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1169546380103940.xml&coll=2

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/892/jackson01233cv.gif (http://imageshack.us)

See more detail at this link:
http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/pdf/CIPDraft-20070122.pdf

Just curious Naptown, did you not know Cleveland has Amtrak service, intracity rail service or both?
I knew that Cleveland had Amtrak but I was referring to the local rail/light rail.

Cleveland has an awesome rapid transit system... I take the RTA trains almost everytime i go to Cleveland. just park somewhere like w 150th n puritas park n ride and go where you need to be. Saves gas and if your going to a game the 3 dollar ride all day is a lot better than paying for parking.

Hey guys... new to the forums here. I found you on google, while doing my research before putting a deposit down on one of the stonebridge condominiums (first picture in this thread).

I just so happen to be a railroad conductor, as well.

Most of the time I'm working in the yard in cleveland, but I also spend quite a bit of time running from cleveland to buffalo (and back) on that corridor that the map illustrates (the one that runs along lake erie, of course).

I am told the line we run on (goes all the way from chicago to new york city) is the fastest, most efficient in the entire industry right now. I've heard it reffered to as the "cheetah lane" and such. It's double tracked the entire way, and signaled in both directions. I can vouch for at least that part of the railroad as a possibility for the "ohio hub" because I see amtrak blow through there almost every day at 80mph.

thanks for the good info guys

oh, also... on a side note... have you guys priced amtrak tickets lately? before any of this can happen, they need to find a way to do it inexpensively. a lot more inexpensively.

I get 50% discounts for amtrak tickets, and it still isn't economical for me to travel that way.

^Welcome its good to have another Ohioan on here. I haven't been on the Amtrak in a while. I probably would be if there were a line directly between Cleveland and Cincinnati since I am in school now at OSU and transferreed from UC in Cincinnati, but am from C-town.

Congrats on your new buy. I like those condos to. What made you decide on one of those.

Also if you haven't already check out Ubanohio.com and go to the forums section. That site is obviously alot more ohio centric and has news, insight and opinion on just about everything going on in Cleveland and Ohio.

MABCLE,

thanks, I checked out UO and posted some on there. I don't have a whole lot of input with stuff like this, but I've done a hell of a lot of reading. good info on these websites.

I chose stonebridge because I think they're nice, the salespeople were very polite and low pressure, and I honestly believe that in another 5-10 years the flats will be a desireable place to live/be. plus the view from the 11th floor corner unit is freakin' sweet. :) Who can argue that?

You're right you'll have an excellent view of Cleveland being reborn. Did they give you a projected move in date?

From Crains Cleveland business

________________________


Outward bound
Clinic teams with Fairfax group to rejuvenate surrounding area


By SHANNON MORTLAND

6:00 am, January 29, 2007


Much of the neighborhood surrounding the Cleveland Clinic is badly in need of surgery to repair its boarded-up buildings and crumbling housing — and the hospital system is ready to take an active hand in mending it.

The Clinic is pairing up with the nonprofit Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. and government entities in an effort to restore the old Fairfax neighborhood in order to make it more attractive to businesses, potential residents and visitors. The outreach initiative is being undertaken by the Clinic’s government and community relations office, which now is headed by noted attorney Oliver “Pudge” Henkel Jr.

“We wanted to bring heightened attention to the community in which we live and work,” said Mr. Henkel, who was a partner at Cleveland law firm Thompson Hine LLP before joining the Clinic last August. “We want to change the complexion from being seen as an institution that looks inward to one that instinctively looks outward.”

To accomplish that goal, Clinic CEO Dr. Delos “Toby” Cosgrove has identified three main functions for the government and community relations office — to work with local and state politicians to create health care policy, to raise money for outreach initiatives and the Clinic’s own projects in areas such as research, and to be more involved in the nearby community.

In its efforts to fulfill that latter role, the Clinic is taking tips from the playbook of Johns Hopkins Medical Center, which has put in place a $1 billion plan to rebuild its campus and to revitalize the dilapidated East Baltimore neighborhood surrounding it.


Mr. Henkel said the Clinic is working on plans with Fairfax Renaissance to improve the Fairfax neighborhood by refurbishing existing housing, building new residential units and recreating a once-vibrant retail strip along Cedar Avenue from East 79th Street to East 105th Street.

The redevelopment initiative will be launched by the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, a planned, 60,000-square-foot research building that will be used to develop ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease. The Clinic recently received a $60 million state Third Frontier grant to build the center, which will be the state’s first Wright Mega-Center of Innovation. The Fairfax development group will develop, own and manage the building.

The center will be the cornerstone of the Fairfax revitalization, much like Johns Hopkins is building a science and technology park to kick off its own efforts, Mr. Henkel said.



Block by block

Vickie Johnson, executive director of the Fairfax Renaissance group, said the cardiovascular center will be located on Cedar Avenue between East 100th and East 101st streets. Ms. Johnson said her group and the Clinic have identified those two streets as “model blocks,” where home improvement projects, landscaping, safety and security initiatives, wellness and construction will be a priority.

The idea is to rebuild the community slowly.

“At the end of the day, you can transform blocks and eventually a community,” Ms. Johnson said.

Dr. Cosgrove said he hopes the neighborhood revitalization will entice new businesses to the area.

“Look at Harvard. People would put their businesses right up next to it if they could. Nobody has done that here,” he said. “We think (the transformation) will enhance our appeal and enhance the community.”

Dr. Cosgrove said the Clinic is dedicated to the project but would not disclose how much money the hospital system would contribute. Ms. Johnson said the Clinic’s contribution likely will depend on how much money comes from public and private entities, such as the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a representative from which will visit Cleveland in mid-February to discuss the projects.

The Clinic and Fairfax Renaissance are in talks with city officials and the Cleveland Foundation regarding their possible participation in the overall revitalization effort, Ms. Johnson said. Mayor Frank Jackson recently announced that one of his goals is to rebuild Cleveland’s neighborhoods.

Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc., said he’s glad to see what seems like a second attempt at public and private partnerships to rebuild Cleveland. The first such wave came in the 1980s, when various entities collaborated to revitalize parts of downtown.

“It’s very important that this next wave is kind of neighborhood-based,” said Mr. Ronayne, whose nonprofit group promotes University Circle, the arts, education and health care district east of downtown Cleveland.

Over the years, the neighborhoods surrounding University Circle declined, but the hospitals, cultural institutions and colleges couldn’t just pick up and leave, Mr. Ronayne said. Such situations occurred across the country, but there now are nationwide efforts to restore inner-city areas, he said.



Going in circles

The level of construction envisioned by the Clinic is likely to lead to more traffic, which is why the Clinic already is trying to address that concern by working with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority to create traffic circles at the Euclid Avenue intersections of East 89th and East 100th streets.

The traffic circles will eliminate the need for left-hand turns in front of the Clinic and will slow down traffic, which is what the Clinic wanted, said Mike Schipper, deputy general manager for engineering and projects at RTA. The plans are being incorporated into the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, a $200 million attempt to improve Euclid Avenue between Public Square and University Circle by constructing a rapid transit line.

The traffic circles will have one lane of car traffic and bicycle lanes going each way on Euclid Avenue, with a bus lane traveling through the middle, Mr. Schipper said.

“We’re in agreement on the concept,” Mr. Schipper said. “We’ve come up with a concept that meets RTA’s needs and fulfills requirements with federal transit.”

The hospital system last year proposed detouring all car traffic off Euclid Avenue in front of the Clinic, but RTA shot down that idea, as well as an idea to put a traffic circle on Euclid Avenue at East 105th Street, Mr. Schipper said. The Clinic also at one time wanted left-turn lanes at all intersections along Euclid Avenue in front of the hospital campus, but new construction changed those plans, he said.

“They came to the conclusion that they needed the campus to be more pedestrian-friendly and more campus-like,” Mr. Schipper said.

The Clinic is footing the bill for the redesign of that portion of the Euclid Corridor project, but Mr. Schipper said he is unsure how much the change will cost because plans are still on the drawing board. If the design inflates the cost of the project, the Clinic will pay for that, too, he said.



Policy matters matter

Though cooperation seems ready to bloom in Cleveland, don’t expect it to happen within the federal government anytime soon, Mr. Henkel said. Last November’s election, which gave Democrats control of Congress, has caused the Clinic to shift most of its government relations resources to local and state health care policies because the Clinic believes issues such as covering the uninsured will be solved faster at the state level.

“Health care reform at the federal level, as we saw in the Clinton administration, is very difficult because you’re dealing with difficult issues and it will take a long time for the government to do,” Mr. Henkel said.

“We could probably make more headway with policy initiatives with the state of Ohio because the Legislature, although Republican, is going to want to work in a bipartisan way with the new governor,” Mr. Henkel added.

Mr. Henkel said Gov. Ted Strickland will be turning to places such as the Clinic — which he described as “the 800-pound gorilla” — for help with issues such as covering the uninsured, health care disparity among ethnic groups and the bulging Medicaid budget.

Though the Clinic always has been involved in policy making, Dr. Cosgrove said it’s time to do more, especially because nearly half the revenues related to the delivery of health care come from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

“We should have a seat at the table and can contribute” on policy issues, Dr. Cosgrove said. “We need to make (legislators) understand the issues from a physician, clinical and research standpoint.”

Developer Nathan Zaremba’s $250 million Avenue District project, which calls for more than 400 for-sale condos and townhomes along downtown Cleveland’s northeastern edge, could be larger than originally planned. (Link: Avenue District site)

Zaremba Inc. has obtained an option on 1.4 acres of land at the southwest corner of St. Clair Avenue and East 12th Street and is considering adding another building with 100 units.

The vacant property is east of One Cleveland Center and in between two sites already secured for the Avenue District. Projects coordinator Joe Del Re said the developer has a two-year option on the land, which is owned by various entities under a tenancy-in-common structure. Zaremba is dealing with property manager Meridian Realty Investments of Louisville, Ky.

“We’re really encouraged by the market,” Del Re said. “This would enhance the whole experience of a great urban walkable neighborhood with residential at three of four corners.”

Pre-sales have been strong for the Avenue District, the first of several large for-sale housing projects to break ground. Construction is underway on Phase One at 1211 St. Clair Ave. and Phase Three along Rockwell Avenue, between St. Clair and Superior avenues.

Last month, The Plain Dealer reported:Nationwide, developers worried about the volatility of residential real estate are shying away from for-sale housing projects.

But not in downtown Cleveland. There, realty firms can't buy and dig up land fast enough.

In 2006, Nathan Zaremba began construction on his $250 million Avenue District neighborhood on downtown's eastern edge. On Public Square, Matthew Howells undertook the restoration of the Park Building, which will reopen with 27 condominiums.

"If you look at what's happening in other cities of similar size -- St. Louis, Milwaukee, Kansas City -- the downtown for-sale housing markets have been very aggressive," said Zaremba, whose three-phase project includes more than 400 condos and townhomes.

This year promises more activity locally. The Wolstein Group is about to begin demolition on the east bank of the Flats, where a $230 million mixed-use community is planned.

Meanwhile, Doug Price and Bob Corna plan to add more than 1,000 condos and apartments to the Stonebridge neighborhood they have started on the west bank. Closer to Tremont, the Ferchill Group wants to build 88 condos on the Cuyahoga River's Scranton Peninsula.

And 2007 should bring more details about Bob Stark's vision for the Warehouse District, where the Crocker Park developer hopes to replicate his suburban-lifestyle center concept.

These projects and others planned could add at least 1,500 to 2,000 for-sale units to the market and help the city climb toward its goal of 25,000 downtown dwellers. The city's latest estimates peg downtown's population at 10,000 to 12,000.

"It's like the perfect storm coming together in a good way," said Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes downtown and its adjacent neighborhoods. (Link: Map of downtown housing)-- Henry J. Gomez, hgomez@plaind.com

Welcome to the forum SJK1! ! !

Updated rendering for the proposed Lighthouse landing residential towers:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/2264/lighthouseperspective2svo8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

You're right you'll have an excellent view of Cleveland being reborn. Did they give you a projected move in date?

July 31st. It sounds like they are planning on finishing them from the bottom, up. No big suprise, if you look at the condition of the building right now.

Next big thing?
Key Tower. 200 Public Square. Could the oversized needs of Eaton Corp. and law firm Baker Hostetler spawn another downtown Cleveland skyscraper?

By STAN BULLARD
6:00 am, February 12, 2007
Chances just got better for a new office building to climb skyward in downtown Cleveland, although it’s way too soon to count on seeing the city’s skyline change.

Another huge, marquee tenant unlikely to find many alternatives besides staying put or going into a new skyscraper has entered the fray. Eaton Corp., the big diversified manufacturer based at the namesake Eaton Center office building, 1111 Superior Ave., needs about 300,000 square feet of office space and is circulating a request for proposals among developers that are pondering downtown projects.

A tenant Eaton’s size is large enough to justify construction of a new tower, particularly if the same developer also bags the Baker Hostetler law firm as a 200,000-square-foot tenant. Insiders in realty circles say Baker was ready to sign a lease to take empty space at the 200 Public Square office building, but it recently has extended its search.

Eaton spokeswoman Kelly Jasko said the company doesn’t comment on rumors. Baker also will not comment on the status of its talks. However, Pat Lott, senior vice president of office leasing at Forest City Enterprises Inc., said he has discussed Eaton’s space requirements with Robert Roe, president of Staubach Co.’s Cleveland office, who is handling the Eaton listing.

Mr. Lott said he does not believe companies in Cleveland will pay rents high enough to justify construction of a new office building. However, he refused to say if Forest City would respond to the request for proposals from Eaton.
The normally talkative Mr. Roe wouldn’t discuss the Eaton matter. George Elliott, a principal at Staubach’s Cleveland office who has fielded Eaton engagements for years, also declined comment.

Jeff Cristal, a senior vice president and director of Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Cleveland office unit, recently has been predicting a developer by late 2008 would break ground on an office building in downtown Cleveland. “For any tenant over 100,000 square feet, a new building has to be considered, whether it’s Eaton Corp. or ABC Company,” Mr. Cristal said. That’s because such large volumes of empty floors in the same area can be found in only one building, 200 Public Square, the former BP Tower.

Moreover, if Baker does commit to 200 Public Square, it means there is no other newer building to house Eaton. Eaton’s only shot would be to consider new construction or a massive upgrade at a Class B building — generally defined as a structure over 50 years of age. However, the latter scenario is unlikely, because it would be a step back from the 1980s-vintage tower Eaton currently enjoys.

Just when Eaton’s lease expires at Eaton Center is unknown. Ms. Jasko said the company does not disclose such terms. However, the lead time for a typical downtown office building is a year to design it and two years to build it.

It’s also possible that Eaton’s request for proposals from developers is a way for a tenant representative broker such as Staubach to create a stalking horse to drive a sharper deal at Eaton Center. Securing a tenant such as Eaton would help a developer obtain construction loans from lenders, which typically require a tenant for 50% of a building’s available space, although terms vary depending on the market and the financial strength of the developer.

Developers with plans for downtown office towers in Cleveland include Richard E. Jacobs Group, which has a plan for a tower on Public Square; Robert L. Stark Enterprises Inc. of Woodmere Village, which has discussed a mixed-use project between Public Square and the Warehouse District; and Wolstein Group, which plans a $250 million, mixed-use project in the Flats. Retail and housing plans Wolstein Group and Stark Enterprises have laid out would get a big boost from the 500-plus people Eaton would bring to an office tower at their locations.

Stark Enterprises and a spokeswoman for Wolstein Group declined comment. Richard E. Jacobs Group did not return two calls. Even with a modestly improving downtown office market, only the bold would undertake such a project. Grubb & Ellis reports Class A vacancy at year-end 2006 was 11% downtown, although total downtown office vacancy is still high, exceeding 20%. To construct a new downtown building likely would require a rent in excess of $25 a square foot; the average rent downtown is just below $21 a square foot.

Article from Crainsclevelandbusiness.com

Population drain continues in region
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County and most of the metropolitan region show continued trends of modest population loss, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau reported yesterday that the county's population was estimated at 1,223,411 as of July 1, 2006, a drop of 9,625 from the year before and 58,255 from the last formal census head count in 2000.
Allegheny remained the 30th largest county in the nation. Wayne County in Michigan and Cook County in Illinois showed bigger population losses in the past year than Allegheny, according to the estimates, but only Wayne had a more severe percentage loss of residents.
Within the seven-county metropolitan region, only Butler County showed any significant population increase between 2005 and 2006, a net gain of 1,375, to 182,901. Washington gained an estimated 14 residents, to 206,432.
Other counties losing population were Armstrong, down 431 to 70.096; Beaver, down 1,089 to 175,736; Fayette, down 446 to 145,760; and Westmoreland, down 693 to 366,440.
The Pittsburgh metro area's population was estimated at 2,370,776, down 10,895 from 2005 and 60,309 from the year 2000, with Allegheny's net loss representing most of the decline in both cases.
All of the counties except Butler have more deaths than births occurring on an annual basis, and only Washington has been able to make that up with more people moving in than moving out.

Cuyahoga's exodus rivals that of Katrina counties
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Robert L. Smith
Plain Dealer Reporter

A new census report exposes more of the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, showing sharp population declines in waterfront counties of Louisiana and Mississippi. But it may also leave some observers wondering what natural disaster struck Northeast Ohio.
Cuyahoga County saw the sixth-largest drop in population among American counties, losing about 16,000 people between July 2005 and July 2006.
Four of the five counties with steeper losses lay in the path of a hurricane in August 2005. Absent their calamity, Ohio's largest county would likely rank second nationally in population decline, behind only Detroit's Wayne County.

The census bureau's recent survey of the 3,141 counties with populations greater than 10,000 - released today - presents a regional problem in Northeast Ohio.
The seven-county metro area also lost population last year, despite continued growth in Medina and Lorain counties.
Planners see the perseverance of a trend that began in 1973, when the regional population peaked, and a challenge that the civic leadership has been slow to address.
"Clearly the trend is not at all favorable or positive," said Paul Oyaski, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.
"But given the number of vacant homes in the city and the county, the numbers are not surprising."
He said ideas like a proposed new interchange off Interstate 90 in Avon will only encourage sprawl and speed people out of Cleveland and its older suburbs. What's needed, Oyaski said, are regionwide strategies for reviving old neighborhoods and attracting new people, business and industry.
Northeast Ohio's population loss, while statistically small, bucks a national trend. Almost all other major metro areas either held steady or grew in recent years, said William Frey, a demographer for the BrPart of the answer may be immigration," Frey said. "As these [immigrant] waves continue to move outward from the coasts, they'll find places like Cleveland, which holds some promise with its cheaper housing."

Cuyahoga County has lost about 80,000 residents, or 6 percent of its people, since the 2000 Census, and the seven-county region lost about 28,000 people in the same span, according to the census bureau.
Many likely moved somewhere warm. Seven of America's 10 fastest growing counties between 2000 and 2006 were in the South or Southwest, and Maricopa County, surrounding Phoenix, Ariz., grew faster than anywhere else, the census bureau reported.
Closer to home, Medina remains the fastest-growing county in Northeast Ohio.
It added 2,300 people last year. Columbus' Franklin County led Ohio, as it grew by 6,200 people.


Getting a fix on Buffalo area population drain

There’s little doubt that Erie County is still losing population. How fast it’s losing residents might be up for debate. Erie County’s population has declined by 28,875 since 2000, a 3 percent drop, or an average loss of 4,800 people a year, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
No other county in New York State lost more people than Erie County since the start of the decade. Niagara County lost about 3,700 people since 2000, a 1.7 percent decrease, estimates show.
In fact, there were losses in seven of the eight counties of Western New York over the same period.
But while Erie County has grown accustomed to the losses year after year, a drop of nearly 29,000 people in six years might raise some eyebrows.
That’s more than the combined 19,000 lost by Erie and Niagara counties during the entire decade of the 1990s.
“Keep in mind they’re estimates,” said Kathryn A. Foster, director of the Regional Institute at the University at Buffalo. “They’ve been wrong before.”
Prior to the 2000 census, Foster said, the Census Bureau underestimated Erie County’s population by more than 24,000.
“A little mistake at the beginning of the decade becomes more and more magnified as the decade goes on,” she said. “The correction comes with the census at the end of the decade.”
Other counties across New York, in fact, have questioned the methodology the Census Bureau uses and have successfully challenged estimates in recent years, according to Warren A. Brown, a senior research associate at Cornell University, which contracts with the state to review census data.
Erie County hasn’t been one of them.
A 3 percent drop in population since 2000 doesn’t seem out of line, considering other evidence across the county, such as vacant housing units, said Andrew M. Eszak, Erie County’s commissioner of environment and planning.
“Three percent doesn’t surprise me,” said Eszak, whose department keeps tabs on the local numbers. “The economy, women of childbearing age, out-migration: Those are all factors that come into play.”
Unlike the decennial head count, the Census Bureau updates county figures each year using birth and death records and migration data from tax returns, which can be tricky in areas with concentrations of military personnel, college students or recent immigrants, Brown explained.
Brown has worked with county and city planners — armed with local housing data to support their case — to successfully challenge census estimates in Bronx, Jefferson, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland and Westchester counties.
While he doesn’t doubt that Erie County is still losing population, Brown defers to local planners to question whether the county is losing people as fast as the Census Bureau says it is.
“If Erie County [officials] complained to the Census Bureau, they would refer them to me,” Brown said. “If they’re not complaining, then I and the Census Bureau probably think the numbers are right.”
Counties challenging the estimates often fear losing federal funding based on census figures, but the 28,000 residents the census estimates Erie County has lost isn’t large enough to affect county aid, Eszak said.
Counties also worry about what the figures do for their image, Brown said.
“Image is just very important to economic development, recruitment and so forth,” Brown said.
The Census Bureau today is releasing 2006 population estimates for 3,141 counties nationwide.
While New York State’s population loss was about 9,500 from 2005 to 2006, there actually has been overall growth in the state’s population — 1.7 percent — since 2000, according to the data.
Losses since 2000 dropped Erie County’s population to 921,300 and Niagara County’s to 216,130, according to estimates.
Since 2000, the population dropped by 3.1 percent in Chautauqua County, 2.9 percent in Cattaraugus County, 2.6 percent in Genesee County, 2.2 percent in Orleans County and 1.9 percent in Wyoming County, estimates show. During the same period, according to the data, Allegany County’s population increased by less than 1 percent.


Rochester Region's population slips

Census data show people still leaving Monroe, most surrounding counties


Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer

(March 22, 2007) — As high-paying jobs dwindle in the Rochester region, so does the population.

U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today show that the population of the six-county region dropped by 4,595 from 2000 to 2006.
"People follow jobs, and we know that we've been losing jobs in this region," said Ellen Rosen, vice president of marketing, communications and membership for the Rochester Business Alliance.
While thousands of workers have been laid off at major employers such as Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp. during the past decade, many high-skill manufacturing jobs offering good salaries are being created in upstate New York, said Warren A. Brown, a senior research associate at Cornell University's Institute for Social and Economic Research.
"But they're not enough jobs to offset all the jobs that have been lost from the old economy," Brown said.

The new census data show:
• Monroe County's population dropped 1,250 from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006.
• Ontario County is the only county in the region that gained population between mid-2005 and mid-2006. The county added 135 residents during that single-year period and 3,940 from 2000 to 2006.
• Statewide, the population dropped 9,538 from 2005 to 2006 and increased 306,048 from 2000 to 2006.
• From 2000 to 2006, Monroe County had a net loss of more than 27,077 residents who moved to other locations in the United States and a net gain of 12,424 residents from outside the United States.
The shrinking population of the region affects state and federal funding that is often allocated on a per capita basis.

The Census Bureau's estimates are based on records of births, deaths and federal tax returns to track domestic migration.
Cool on Rochester

Michael Cipolla isn't surprised that a steady stream of people are leaving Monroe County. The 41-year-old registered nurse moved from Rochester to Orlando, Fla., in April 2004.
"I actually like Rochester overall. If the weather was more consistently warm, I wouldn't hesitate to move back there," said Cipolla, who moved to Fort Myers, Fla., in September.
Jim Crider, 33, moved from Rochester to Florida in 1996, then to Atlanta in 2000. He moved back in 2001 and now owns a home in Gates.

But he expects that his career as a customer service supervisor for Verizon Wireless will require that he move back to Florida or Georgia within a few years.
Monroe County experienced a larger drop in population than the five adjoining counties, but Genesee County lost a higher percentage of its population.
Genesee County's population dropped by 1,509 or 2.5 percent from 2000 to 2006.

With about 35 percent of Genesee County's work force commuting to jobs in Rochester and Buffalo, a fragile job market in either city has a significant impact on Genesee County, said County Manager Jay A. Gsell.
While many former Monroe County residents have settled out of state, a fair portion moved just over the county line to Ontario County. From 2002 to 2003, about 1,467 Monroe County residents moved to Ontario County.
Ontario County Administrator Geoffrey Astles said his county's population is rising in contrast to its neighbors because of its successful marketing of the county's natural assets, such as the Finger Lakes.
"It attracts tourists. Some of them stay, but it attracts people who want to live here because of the variety of lifestyles," he said, noting that the county offers a choice of rural, suburban and small city communities.
New residents

While Monroe County's population loss is notable, it would be even higher if not for the 12,000 international residents the Census Bureau estimates moved to the county since 2000.
The Catholic Family Center sponsors about 400 refugees who move here annually. Monroe County offers plentiful entry-level jobs and inexpensive housing, said Colleen Knauf, director of Saint's Place, a joint ministry of St. Louis Church in Pittsford and the Catholic Family Center.
"It's all about helping people get started all over again," Knauf said.

One of those people starting over is Hawa Msanda, who left war-torn Somalia in 2004.
With help from Catholic Family Center's refugee resettlement programs, Msanda settled here with her five children and is attending classes at the Family Learning Center on Hart Street.
Msanda, who is still learning English, said she came to Rochester so her children could have a better life than they would in Somalia.

On weekdays, Msanda practices her new language and computer skills in third-floor classrooms at the learning center while her two young sons, Ibrahim Osman, 3 and Ali Osman, 5, attend the Saint's Place child care on the center's first floor.
"I like it here," she said. "It is a good place."

Osman Abdulkadir, 27, came to Rochester from Somalia in 1997.

"In my country, there is war and people killing each other and no jobs," he said. "That's why I came to America."

80,000? That seems a bit high.

^nap its probably right as the suburbanization of Northeast Ohio continues. These people may not neccesarily be leaving the region, but are leaving Cuyahoga to Lake, Summit, Portage, Lorain, Ashtabula and especialy Medina counties.

High-tech jobs go begging in Northeast Ohio
Posted by Mary Vanac March 29, 2007 19:38PM
Categories: Business
It was bound to happen.

Northeast Ohio and the state have invested some $800 million in the last five years to develop the region's high-technology sectors.

Now, some of the region's employers have developed shortages of high-tech workers.

An analysis of help-wanted postings in Northeast Ohio by development organizations BioEnterprise and NorTech points to about 5,000 health care and information technology jobs that are unfilled.

Not a bad problem for a region to have.

But continued growth of high technology in Northeast Ohio will be "constrained" unless solutions are found, said Baiju Shah, president of BioEnterprise, the health care business developer in Cleveland.

"From the numbers we've seen, finding talent may be our growth-limiting step," said Dorothy Baunach, president and chief executive of NorTech, the technology development organization.

The Fund for Our Economic Future is expected to propose some short- and long-term solutions Friday in Akron as it unveils an economic action plan for Northeast Ohio. The fund is a collaboration of philanthropic organizations formed three years ago to frame economic development priorities for the region.

Originally intended to disband after those priorities were identified, the fund now plans another three-year phase to monitor and report on the region's economic development progress, said Chris Thompson, marketing, communications and civic outreach director for the fund.

One of the fund's workforce preparation and educational excellence initiatives planned for this year is a high-tech jobs portal, which BioEnterprise and NorTech are developing.

The portal -- a Web site that eventually would offer a broad array of resources -- initially will focus on posting health care and information technology jobs that are available in the region.

The portal is expected to open by April 15, said Baunach, whose organization initially will host the site at www.nortech.org.

EmployOn LLC, the Beachwood company that creates real-time search and match technologies for human resources clients, is supplying the information and the technology for the portal.

EmployOn uses a "Google-esque" Web crawler that aggregates job openings from major job posting sites, such as www.monster.com and www.careerboard.com, Shah said.

In its initial foray in the Northeast Ohio high-tech jobs market, EmployOn found 8,105 job openings, 3,689 of which -- nearly half -- could be viewed as high-tech jobs, he said. These open job totals don't yet include the ones from individual company Web sites. When those jobs are included, the total could reach 5,000.

University Hospitals Health System, which is building a cancer hospital and a suburban hospital, is always in recruitment mode, said Tom Snowberger, senior vice president of human resources for the regional system.

"Yes, it's challenging finding the employees we need," Snowberger said.

Fewer people are choosing health care careers, he said. And local hospitals compete fiercely for workers who have the right skills, he said.

Nurses, radiation technologists, pharmacists and physical therapists top the list of unfilled jobs at the health system that employs 21,000 people in the region, Snowberger said.

The Cleveland Clinic has developed unique ways to attract nurses, who use a lot of high-tech medical devices and equipment to do their jobs, said Claire Young, the Clinic's chief nursing officer.

For instance, the Clinic has a program for nurses who return after being out of the industry. The nurses ease their way back in, doing two- to six-hour shifts that can be scheduled around child care. "It's working fabulously," Young said.

The region's information technology sector also is challenged to find the right workers, having bounced back from the dot-com bust early in the decade. Often, skills of job seekers don't match with those sought by employers, Shah said.

"It was hard, five years ago, as a database programmer to find a job in Cleveland," said Brad Nellis, executive director of NEOSA, the IT association that is part of the Council of Smaller Enterprises in Cleveland. "It's completely at the opposite end of the spectrum right now."

Demand for IT workers, specifically mid-range and highly skilled computer programmers, is strong among small and large businesses in Northeast Ohio, Nellis said. Lack of skilled workers "is the Number One brake on growth in the high-tech sector right now," he said.

That's true for Brulant Inc., the interactive marketing and Web design company in Beachwood. Brulant has opened offices in Boston and Chicago in the last year just so it could recruit the workers it needs to grow, said Len Pagon Jr., the company's president and chief executive.

"Recruiting talent -- the right talent for the right job at the right time -- is a critical factor in the growth of our portfolio companies," said Thom Ruhe, chief marketing officer for JumpStart Inc., the region's venture development organization, whose portfolio companies range from software to medical device developers.

Valtronic USA Inc., the Solon maker of miniature electronics for medical, communications and industrial devices, has recruited workers to run its high-tech machines from outside Ohio, said Jim Ohneck, the company's director of sales and marketing.

Shah hopes the high-tech jobs portal can help local employers quickly find some of the workers they need.

"Step two is coming up with strategies for many people in the community to direct traffic to the Web site," he said. Those people include educators and managers of ethnic networks and trade associations.

Eventually, the portal could recruit high-tech workers for Northeast Ohio, said Shah, who hopes the state gets involved in supporting long-term worker recruitment.

The portal might even become a marketing tool for the region. "We've done a terrible job of marketing ourselves as a booming tech region," Shah said.


http://blog.cleveland.com/earlyedition/2007/03/hightech_jobs_go_begging_in_no.html

The worker shortage one is interesting. A lot of these Midwest cities believe that they are suffering a brain drain because of a lack of jobs, but I've argued it is more likely the reverse. That is, the problem is attracting people, not jobs. If the highly educated wanted to live in these cities, the jobs would follow.

I also think its a lack of marketing that these cities are suffering from. Every article about Cleveland always has to mention "this rustbelt city" or "this former rust belt city." people think there are no jobs for educated people when Cleveland is a large law, banking, insurance and somewhat medical center. If more people knew about these "hidden" job opportunites maybe they would flock here instead of the proverbial job markets.




That said.......

Cleveland Clinic buys former MBNA property
Posted by Henry J. GomezMary Vanac March 30, 2007 19:25PM
Categories: Business
The Cleveland Clinic, running short on space at its main campus, has found a solution in the suburbs, acquiring 53 acres in Beachwood once occupied by the former MBNA Corp.

The deal includes five buildings and about 707,000 square feet of office space. The Clinic will lease more than half of that back to Bank of America Corp., which bought credit card giant MBNA last year.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but two sources with knowledge of the deal said the price was $115 million.

In a prepared statement, the Clinic said as many as 700 Northeast Ohio employees -- mostly in administrative positions -- could relocate to the two buildings the Clinic will occupy. That number includes 250 from the main campus on Euclid Avenue.

"Cleveland Clinic's main campus is undergoing tremendous physical expansion accompanied by unprecedented growth in services, patients, physicians and other employees," Chief Operating Officer Michael O'Boyle said in the statement.

At last count, about 2,000 Bank of America employees worked on the campus, located on Science Park Drive and along Interstate 271. Those workers were consolidated into two buildings after Bank of America bought MBNA.

A spokesman for Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate services firm that represented Bank of America in the deal, said the company will continue to occupy about 400,000 square feet there.

The fifth building on the site houses a day-care center.

Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden said he was pleased to learn that the deal, rumored for months, had closed. He said the city would work cooperatively with the Clinic, but "they have not approached the city for anything special. I think it's still early."

The Clinic routinely applies for exemption from paying property taxes on buildings and areas of buildings that it uses for nonprofit work -- that is, for patient care and related services -- spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said. So it is expected that the Clinic will apply for a property tax exemption on the Beachwood buildings.

That tax exemption would not affect payroll taxes, Sheil said.

The Clinic is "growing like crazy," she said. "We're running out of space on the main campus for non-patient work."

The Clinic is building a $495 million Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Pavilion, which includes a heart and vascular institute. It's spending $107 million to build Glickman Tower, $60 million for a global cardiovascular center and $190 million for a service center and 4,000-car parking garage, all on the main campus.

In its recent annual report, the Clinic said an increased patient load was straining its space, forcing the main campus to divert people to other hospitals in its system. Because of that, the Clinic also is building a $25 million emergency department and critical care bed tower at Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights and plans a $163 million expansion at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights.

Moving some workers to the suburbs should create more space on the main campus for patient care. On average, the Clinic gets about 700 new employees each year, Sheil said.

The workers who will relocate to Beachwood do "many of our business support functions," the Clinic said in its written statement. Sheil declined to be specific about the functions because affected employees have not been notified about their imminent move.

Putting employees who work in the same business lines under one roof is likely to result in "better integration of administrative services and enhanced patient care support, research and education," the Clinic's statement said .

"We're excited to be growing in Cleveland and excited to be growing in Beachwood," Sheil said.




http://blog.cleveland.com/earlyedition/2007/03/cleveland_clinic_buys_former_m.html

A preliminary overview for the plan that will be the core for Case Western's arts and retail district at the Intersection of Mayfield road, Euclid Avenue and Ford road. The area as previously mentioned will have retail stores including the new University book store, entertainment venues, The new Museum of Contemporary Art, condos and apartments.

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4494/thetrianglebz0.png (http://imageshack.us)

Cleveland+
Akron + Canton + Youngstown


Cleveland+ equals marketing tag for 16-county region
4/26/2007, 7:48 p.m. ET
The Associated Press



CLEVELAND (AP) — Adding a plus sign to Cleveland equals a new marketing campaign for a 16-county area in northeast Ohio.

Cleveland+ is the regional slogan selected by the Greater Cleveland Marketing Alliance after months of research and focus group comments.

It will soon appear on everything from out-of-state newspaper, magazine and radio advertisements to area billboards and public service announcements.

The alliance decided to use Cleveland as an anchor for the brand because most people already recognize Cleveland and its attractions, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Clinic hospital.

The plus sign is meant to convey geography (as in Cleveland+Akron+Canton+Youngtown) and a positive attitude.

"Akron really isn't going to be successful unless Cleveland is successful," Dave Lieberth, Akron's deputy mayor, said Thursday. "Cleveland has a major league status that gives it a better known name around the world.

"While none of us think this is perfect, it's the best that we've seen in regional branding."

Canton Mayor Janet Weir Creighton said the slogan was an acknowledgment "that we are a region." She also said the campaign could be localized, for instance, to advertise Canton+Alliance+Massillon+Louisville.

"There's strength in numbers," she said.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the state's largest chamber of commerce, suggested the idea of forming a marketing alliance in 2005. Tourism and development officials from the region joined the partnership and began developing the campaign concept about a year and a half ago.

They're targeting everyone from tourists and meeting planners to businesses looking to relocate.

The group raised $3.5 million for the campaign this year from its three main partners, area corporations and the Ohio Business Development Coalition. Another $5 million has been pledged for the next two years.

Pooling resources should lead to bigger results, visitors bureau President Dennis Roche said.

The bureau will introduce the brand in its summer tourism campaign with newspaper, radio and magazine ads running in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Columbus, beginning next month.

Giving potential visitors options beyond Cleveland — from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, to a Broadway show in Akron or a museum in Youngstown — could encourage longer visits to the region, said Tamera Brown, bureau vice president of marketing.

Cutting through the clutter of pitches with a simple, solid message makes sense, said Joe Roman, president of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. "The whole region needs to grow."

Campaigns incorporating the plus theme include "Just add you" for tourism efforts and "It all adds up" for business advertisements.

A similar campaign in Kansas City, called OneKC, covers an 18-county area in Missouri and Kansas.

The decision to launch OneKC about three years ago solidified a commitment to regionalism, said Bob Marcusse, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council.

"Our clients across the country and around the world see us as a region," Marcusse said. "They don't know where the state line is and they really don't care."

Using a $4.6 million annual budget, the campaign targets major employers to relocate or build in the region.

Last year, the region attracted 16 major new employers with an annual payroll of $103 million. The average payroll increase was $64 million a year in the five years before the campaign, Marcusse said.

To measure the Cleveland+ campaign's success, the alliance will keep track of development, inquiries from meeting planners and business owners, hotel nights booked and national media attention.

___

On the Net:

http://www.clevelandplus.com


http://www.cleveland.com/ap/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1177597498277420.xml&storylist=topstories

Stark moving to Warehouse District
Friday, May 11, 2007Henry J. GomezPlain Dealer Reporter
Developer Bob Stark, who for a year has been pushing his vision of a revitalized Warehouse District, is preparing to uproot his own firm's suburban headquarters and move to the downtown Cleveland neighborhood.

According to the Cuyahoga County auditor, a Stark entity has paid $1.3 million for a five-story building at 1350 West Third St. The property, previously home to a failed restaurant, is flanked by parking lots that Stark wants to transform into homes, retail and office space.

Darryl Whitehead, a spokesman for Stark Enterprises Inc. of Woodmere, said a "major announcement" is planned for next week with city officials. Andrea Taylor, press secretary for Mayor Frank Jackson, said she is "aware that they are moving their head quarters down here."

Stark Enterprises, which is now based at the firm's Eton Chagrin Boulevard retail and office devel opment, has more than 50 employees, White head said. Stark's port folio also includes the Crocker Park retail cen ter in Westlake and The Strip, a Canton retail complex.

Known mostly for such large suburban projects, Stark commanded attention last spring when he announced a $1 billion makeover for the Warehouse District. He wants to replicate in an urban environment the elements that have made Crocker Park and Eton successful.

He is working to sign up well-known stores and, with leasing on his mind, will travel to Las Vegas this month for the annual International Council of Shopping Centers' spring convention.

Stark is known around Northeast Ohio as an animated personality of big ideas and bluster. At a March event, for example, he called out rival developers such as Dick Jacobs and Al Ratner as being part of the "old guard" and suggested it was "time for them to move on."

Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the Warehouse District, joked that Stark's moving downtown was a mixed blessing. "Now I have to deal with him as a constituent."

But, more seriously, Cimperman added, "People always look for signals like this. Bob Stark is putting his money where his mouth is. His move to downtown will prove he's committed."

Joe Marinucci, president of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, said Stark's commitment "communicates a good message to the retailers and others he wants to attract."

Marinucci's not-for-profit booster group has closely followed the developer's proposal, which could better connect the Warehouse District with Public Square and the lakefront.

Initial plans call for 1 million square feet of street-level retail and a 6-million-square-foot mix of residential and office space. Stark has not announced specifics on how much the housing will cost and has yet to announce a signed tenant. Whitehead said Stark has had conversations with retailers and "it's just a matter of collecting letters of intent right now."

As for Stark's new headquarters, fliers posted on the building announce a public auction of restaurant and bar fixtures scheduled for May 22. Ground-level space there had been used for the Titanic restaurant, which opened and quickly closed in 2004.

A later attempt to revive the well-known Captain Frank's eatery at the site also was unsuccessful.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

hgomez@plaind.com, 216-999-5405

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business-2/117887296512050.xml&coll=2

From Crains Cleveland business

In its efforts to fulfill that latter role, the Clinic is taking tips from the playbook of Johns Hopkins Medical Center, which has put in place a $1 billion plan to rebuild its campus and to revitalize the dilapidated East Baltimore neighborhood surrounding it.

Crains is just a little off! The Cardio and Childrens hospitals alone at Johns Hopkins costs $1.3 Billion. They are UC.

The Bio-Park costs $700 Million. It to is UC.

The housing portion of the neighborhood costs $800 Million.

And other campus facilities UC cost more than $500 Million

For a grand total of: $3 Billion, 300 Million. ;)

Photos here if anyone is interested: http://www.baltimoreguy.com/photogallery/02%20Baltimore%20Buildings/10%20Fells%20Point%20And%20East/Photo%20Album.html

Previously announced project, the only renderings I've seen. Looks like construction will start soon.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5710/memorialdayweekend20070qz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/892/jackson01233cv.gif (http://imageshack.us)

See more detail at this link:
http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/pdf/CIPDraft-20070122.pdf

So, will this plan cause Cleveland's population to rise again? You know Cleveland's population has shrunk since 1950 (the population was 914,808 at that year).

^^Who knows for sure? I'd say its a decent map towards getting Cleveland back to where it was once though.

So, will this plan cause Cleveland's population to rise again? You know Cleveland's population has shrunk since 1950 (the population was 914,808 at that year).

Has Cleveland’s population really decreased by half in the last 50 years when you include the flight to the suburbs? I don’t have the figures but I would guess not as that would mean the metro population would have been over 6 million people and I don’t think this region has ever been so high in terms of population.

Cleveland's population with the inner ring suburbs is over 1 million people and Cleveland is like 50 square miles. A city like Columbus that is technically larger than cleveland in terms of population is like 200 square miles.

In my view a much better indicator of a cities size is its metro region. This is certainly the case with cities like Cleveland.

All that being said, the only thing that will bring more people to this region are jobs. The state and region really need to get their act together to get competitive in terms of taxes and incentives to bring new business and industries to the region. That means deals that can’t be refused because they are so good for the businesses.

P.S. Cleveland's metro population is in the range of 3 million people.

the 50% reduction in population applies only to the city proper.

Much in the same way that our other midwest cousins (Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc.) suffered large drops in city proper population.

Been a while since this has been updated. I'll post a few new projects announced. Its getting to be that there are too many projects to keep up with.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------



Downtown Cleveland to get new hotel
Posted by Henry J. Gomez June 15, 2007 14:20PM


After a decade of scrapped plans and false starts, a hotel finally could open in an abandoned downtown Cleveland office building.

Staybridge Suites, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, plans to refashion historic property along Rockwell Avenue, between East Sixth and East Ninth Streets, into 126 suites. Developers have been eyeballing the land for condos or a hotel since the late 1990s.

Dan Henretty, InterContinental's regional director of franchise sales, said construction should start by year's end with a 2009 opening in mind. Staybridge, with more than 100 locations in the Americas, caters to extended-stay business travelers. Each suite will have a full kitchen.

"We like Cleveland because of how many companies are in that downtown area, and the amount of corporate training goes hand in hand," Henretty said.

The building, which sits on the northeast corner of East Sixth and Rockwell, once housed WKYC-TV, Channel 3. Built in 1916, it originally was home to East Ohio Gas Co.

John Ferchill, president of the Ferchill Group real estate development firm in Cleveland, long ago had talked about bringing a high-end hotel to the property. Another developer, Lewis E. Wallner III, later came forward with a plan for about 50 condos.

The Cuyahoga County Auditor's office assigns the property -- still controlled by yet a third developer, Richard Osborne -- a $5.4 million value for tax purposes. A Staybridge spokeswoman would not identify the franchsior who will build the hotel there. Osborne could not be reached.

Samantha Fryberger, spokeswoman for the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, said there are 15 hotels and about 3,900 rooms downtown.


_________________________________________________________________


University Circle initiatives detailed

By SHANNON MORTLAND

2:54 pm, July 11, 2007

University Circle Inc. this year is launching seven new initiatives, one of which is a $7 million effort to restore the vitality of Euclid Avenue and University Circle.

The Euclid Gateway Vision Project will focus on creating new pedestrian lighting, signage, prominent gateways and a visitor center along Euclid Avenue, said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc., which is a nonprofit group that represents the institutions within University Circle. Mr. Ronayne spoke today at the City Club of Cleveland about development efforts in and around University Circle.

“Euclid Avenue is where it’s at,” he said. “It’s our best bet for the future.”

Mr. Ronayne said he sees Euclid Avenue tying six districts — Public Square, Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals — together stretching from downtown to University Circle.

Housing also will play an important role in and around University Circle as the area is redeveloped.

Mr. Ronayne said University Circle Inc. is working with local developers to create 1,000 new homes over the next five years within the arts, education and health care district. Some of that housing would include projects already announced, such as the 250 housing units that are part of the Uptown housing and retail district slated for the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road.

Though there’s room and demand for upscale housing in and around the circle, Mr. Ronayne said it wouldn’t be built at the expense of the poor already living in the area.

“We need to continue to provide that step-up housing,” Mr. Ronayne said.

Though local foundations have committed a lot of money for projects in University Circle, he said large developments can’t be done without state and private funds.

“It’s not all going to be found at the city of Cleveland bank, because the city of Cleveland bank is dry,” Mr. Ronayne said.
___________________________________________________________

E. Side lures Fla. developer
Finch Group’s success at Park Lane Villa leads to proposed mixed-use project in upper Chester area

By JAY MILLER

4:30 am, July 9, 2007


A joint venture that involves local interests and a Florida real estate developer is preparing to unveil a mixed-use development proposal for the upper Chester Avenue area of Cleveland’s East Side, north of the Cleveland Clinic.

Under the plan by Finch Group of Boca Raton, Fla., and Heartland/HKS Consultants, new housing and retail development would be integrated among existing homes and commercial buildings in the area bounded by East 89th and East 101st streets and Chester and Hough avenues.

Heartland/HKS Consultants is a partnership between Heartland Developers LLC and HKS Consultants. Heartland Developers, led by developer Gordon Priemer, has built residential projects in Cleveland and the inner suburbs. HKS Consultants is headed by former Cleveland City Council member Helen K. Smith.

Ms. Smith said architect Paul Volpe of City Architecture Inc. in Cleveland is within weeks of finishing a master plan for the area, but she was reluctant to go into detail “because nothing is finalized.” Ms. Smith could not say how much acreage was involved, in part because the developers do not anticipate acquiring all the property in the target area.

Once the master plan is in place and the developers commit to moving forward, the first phase would be on the block of Chester between East 93rd and East 97th streets.

Cleveland City Council last month authorized the rezoning of a stretch of upper Chester from residential to retail. At the same time, City Council approved the sale to Finch Group of seven properties that had been abandoned and retained by the city within the rezoned area and beyond.

Wesley Finch, chairman of Finch Group, said the plan is to have retail along Chester with housing running along the side streets.

Mr. Finch cautioned that the project is “in the planning stage and nothing is set in stone.” But, he added, “I would expect that the first phase, because of the requirement for critical mass, to be in excess of 100 dwelling units.”

Signs of support

The area of upper Chester came to the attention of Finch Group because of the company’s redevelopment beginning last year of the Park Lane Villa apartment building on East 101st Street. Mr. Finch said the first tenants already are moving into Park Lane and that units are renting faster than he had anticipated.

Mr. Finch said he believes the large number of well-paid workers at the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland are a good base for residential development.

Daryl Rush, Cleveland’s director of community development, said the initiative would be consistent with the city’s goal of redeveloping housing in that neighborhood. He said it would be an important element of the city’s 2020 Citywide Plan, the city’s master plan for development.

The city’s five-year capital budget includes $2.5 million for infrastructure development for the upper Chester area. Mr. Rush described that number as “a placeholder,” but said the city is committed to improving the neighborhood’s infrastructure as new development unfolds.

Councilwoman Fannie Lewis, whose ward includes the upper Chester area, supports the project.

Many of the properties in the target area are vacant and owned by the Cleveland Clinic, the city of Cleveland or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ms. Smith said other properties are in the hands of private owners whose properties would not be acquired.

“An awful lot of the real estate is in really good shape,” she said.

In a statement e-mailed last week to Crain’s, the Clinic said it “supports the efforts of the Upper Chester redevelopment initiatives and continues to keep its options open relative to the property it owns in the Upper Chester neighborhood.” Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove last year told The Plain Dealer that the medical center’s plans would dovetail with whatever is planned for the area north of Chester.

High-rise office buildings on the horizon in Cleveland

Several major companies are exploring new construction to meet needs as leases expire Friday, August 31, 2007Henry J. GomezPlain Dealer Reporter
For the first time in almost two decades, one or more new office buildings could rise above downtown Cleveland.

At least five big companies with leases soon to expire, including accounting giant Ernst & Young and global manufacturer Eaton Corp., are shopping for new digs.

With the central business district's highest-quality buildings short on space, these major employers are exploring the possibility of new construction with real estate developers.


Others in the market include Huntington National Bank, which has a 200-employee regional base here, and the large law firms Baker & Hostetler and Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

Competition among developers to land one or more of these marquee tenants is fierce. Scott Wolstein and Bob Stark each covets a big name for his mixed-use project -- Wolstein's on the east bank of the Flats, Stark's in the Warehouse District. Also in the mix are John Ferchill, Forest City Enterprises Inc. and Richard E. Jacobs Group, all major players during Cleveland's last construction boom.

Decisions from some tenants are expected within six months. According to some estimates, it could take two to four years to have a new office complex ready for occupancy.

Though the prospect of new construction has been the hottest topic in commercial realty circles this summer, the notion would have seemed absurd a year or two ago.

"I didn't really foresee this 12 months ago," said David Browning, managing director in the Cleveland office of CB Richard Ellis Inc. Among other contracts, his commercial realty staff handles leasing at Eaton Center, home of Eaton Corp., and represents Ernst & Young in its office search.

Browning said the tenants in the market are looking not only for more space to grow, but also for more modern space to attract the talent needed to grow.

Cleveland is short on both. Today, downtown's top-dollar office space - referred to as Class A - is about 11 percent vacant, according to data used by two local brokerages. That's down sharply from the 16 percent CB Richard Ellis recorded for last year's second quarter.

Browning and others noted that the only downtown building with enough space for a large new tenant is the 200 Public Square complex, the former BP America Tower. But Browning said it would be difficult for a tenant to lease consecutive floors there.

As for the most modern space, the newest complex is Key Tower, a Jacobs Group project that broke ground in the 1980s. By the time it opened in 1991 (under the name Society Center), a string of other new buildings had Class A vacancy rates well over 20 percent. Meanwhile, the region was suffering the effects of a nationwide recession.

The sharp downturn left several developers holding plans for office buildings that never came to fruition. Jacobs, for example, planned the 60-story Ameritrust Center on a parcel west of Public Square. It would have become the highest of downtown's high-rises.


Today, it is a parking lot. Jacobs Group still hopes to build an office building there.

Bill Fullington, spokesman for the Jacobs Group, declined to comment about any development possibilities.

Fullington also would not discuss his company's lease, set to expire in 2012, to Squire Sanders & Dempsey, which is one of Key Tower's original tenants.

As for Ferchill and Forest City, both are pitching property in familiar areas.

Ferchill said he is considering a 240,000-square-foot building in front of North Point Tower, an office project he helped develop at East Ninth Street and Lakeside Avenue.

"We are not prepared to discuss who we've been talking to," Ferchill said.

Pat Lott, Forest City's senior vice president of office development and leasing, said his company is offering two sites near Tower City Center. One includes parcels on the south side of Huron Road, near the federal courthouse, on land set aside for a possible convention center. The other is a triangular piece of land that Lott said is near the Renaissance Hotel's ballroom.

Wolstein and Stark are creating the most buzz.

Wolstein's $400 million Flats project calls for 475 residential units to be mixed with retail and office space. In an interview late last year, he acknowledged talks with Baker & Hostetler. In an e-mail last week, his spokeswoman acknowledged negotiations with other large companies.

"A long-term lease with one of these tenants can certainly anchor a new office building," Nancy Lesic wrote.


Stark is proposing a much-anticipated makeover of the Warehouse District. The huge, $1 billion project calls for a mix of retail, housing and at least 1 million square feet of office space.

Darryl Whitehead, a spokesman for Stark Enterprises, confirmed that Stark is trying to secure large office tenants, including Ernst & Young, to anchor a building.

Ernst & Young, with a downtown payroll of 1,400, has set a six-month timetable to make a decision. The company's lease at the Huntington Building on Euclid Avenue expires in 2011.

"We are not going to drag our feet," said Donald Misheff, the Northeast Ohio managing partner for Ernst & Young, which needs about 200,000 square feet of space.

Browning, of CB Richard Ellis Inc., stopped short of identifying which developer is the front-runner in the quest for a big tenant, but added that Stark "certainly has captured a lot of people's imagination with the boldness of his plan."

"I wouldn't count that project out," he said. "When you look at the number of tenants out there, it's more than likely that Bob Stark will be able to land one and get something out of the ground." Browning and Rob Roe, president of Staubach Co.'s Cleveland office, both said they believe more than one new office building is possible. Staubach, which specializes in tenant representation, lists Eaton and Squire Sanders & Dempsey among its local clients.

Roe's prediction: "At least two new buildings will be announced in the next six months."

But Browning also said office developers should tread cautiously and remember what happened in the late 1980s and early '90s, when the new buildings cannibalized the old.

"The problem there was we brought five new projects on at once," Browning said.

"In a market this size, that's crazy."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

hgomez@plaind.com, 216-999-5405

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business-3/118855050175300.xml&coll=2&thispage=3

ravens-20, browns-13. would you agree, MABCLE? :okay:

^Didn't see that before, but um, NO!!!:)

Update on The Avenue District:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9760/avenuepic07110818292700kn6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Pix from July at The Battery Park neighborhood In the West 60s on the west side of town:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6830/junejuly2007207yt8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/299/junejuly2007208ei8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Part of Euclid Corridor is barrel-free today
Posted by Donna J. Miller November 26, 2007 07:22AM
Categories: Traffic

No more orange barrels on Euclid Avenue this morning from East 17th Street to East 55th Street.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is opening that stretch of road a year ahead of schedule, spokesman Chad Self said in a news release.

"Initially, it may be a bit different to some people, but once folks get the hang of it, traveling the corridor will be second nature," general manager Joe Calabrese said.

The RTA expects to open the stretch between East 55th and East 82nd streets early next year.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/11/part_of_the_euclid_corridor_is.html

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5274/euclidave1126rz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/2204/junejuly2007491jq5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/8941/junejuly2007490rj2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Older article, forgot to post here.

Flats east bank project expands as interest grows
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tom Breckenridge
Plain Dealer Reporter

A developer of the $400 million Flats east bank project says plans for quality office space are expanding because of high interest.

Adam Fishman of Fairmount Properties LLC says the project calls for two office buildings totaling 800,000 square feet of space, up from the 500,000 square feet originally envisioned.

"There's been a remarkable amount of interest," Fishman said. He declined to identify possible tenants.


Fishman gave a brief update on the mixed-use project Tuesday to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board. The authority is helping with property acquisition and financing.

Fishman is teaming with developer Scott Wolstein and his mother, Iris, on the project, which will rise on 24 acres north of the Main Avenue bridge.

Evolving plans call for 500 to 600 dwellings, up from the 475 announced in late August.

The riverfront neighborhood is to include a marina, park, 150-room hotel, cinema and 280,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

tbreckenridge@plaind.com, 216-999-4695

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1192610208273970.xml&coll=2

I really like the Silver Line. It's a great cost-effective option for certain urban corridors that may not be dense enough to warrant significant spending on rail rapid transit. I sure wish Indy had something like it.

Even better, it may help lay the groundwork for more easily turning that corridor into a light rail line in the future.

This is a great idea, and should be implemented elsewhere.

Planners originally wanted a subway line running under Euclid as long as 27 years ago, but bickering and redtape along with a 200MM grant fron the Government gives us this corridor. Lots of investment is already going on along this corridor due in part to the silver line. There is also talk about putting in other BRT lines in other, denser parts of the city. Overall this should benefit RTA riders, bring in more new investment and be an alternative to the rail and bus services already offered in the city.

I like it, but to many its a waste of money. Guess time will tell.

Cuyahoga County set to build $160 million juvenile justice center on Cleveland's East Side

Friday, March 21, 2008
Joe Guillen
Plain Dealer Reporter

Cuyahoga County awarded $40 million in contracts Thursday to build a juvenile justice complex on the East Side of Cleveland - a project 20 years in the making.

Construction of the $160 million juvenile justice center, including a new detention center and a court complex, is scheduled to begin in May. The new complex is expected to open in 2010.

The county will issue bonds to pay for the project. More contracts will be awarded this spring.

Advertisement
The county's current juvenile facilities are cramped and outdated. An East 22nd Street detention center, built to house about 80 children, had 193 inmates Thursday morning, Juvenile Court Administrator Ken Lusnia said.

Planning for new facilities began in the late 1980s. Commissioners and Juvenile Court judges considered more than 30 locations before deciding in 2000 to buy 13 acres at East 93rd Street and Quincy Avenue for $2.7 million.

Construction plans stalled after the purchase because judges didn't want to move from their downtown court. However, an agreement was reached in August 2006.

All six contracts awarded at Thursday's county commissioners meeting went to either the lowest or only bidder and met requirements to subcontract with small businesses.

Here's a breakdown:

$14.3 million to Smith & Oby Co. of Walton Hills for heating, vent and air conditioning work.

$11.9 million to Lake Erie Electric of Westlake for electrical work.
$8.9 million to West Third Street Construction of Cleveland for masonry.

$4.6 million to Phoenix Cement of Berea for concrete.

$672,000 to Commercial Appliance Contracts of Grove City, Pa., for kitchen equipment.



$133,000 to Perk Co. of Cleveland for sidewalks.

Four of the six contractors are required to award 30 percent of the work to qualified small businesses. The masonry contractor must award 10 percent of the work to small businesses. The county waived the small-business requirement for the kitchen contractor.

The county imposed the hiring requirements to give minority- and women-owned businesses a share of the work. Deputy County Administrator Lee Trotter said the county went "much further than we've traditionally gone" to promote diversity.

Trotter said the county will monitor construction to make sure hiring goals are met.

Commissioner Tim Hagan stressed favoritism played no role in awarding the contracts. "None of us are going to jail on our effort to make this work," he said.

Medical Mart company to build convention complex with Cuyahoga County loan

Friday, March 21, 2008
Sarah Hollander
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Chicago-based company that plans to run Cleveland's new convention center and Medical Mart will also build the complex using a county loan and will own it for at least the first 20 years.

Cuyahoga County commissioners unanimously approved an agreement Thursday with Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.

The county plans to issue about $400 million in bonds and lend the proceeds to MMPI, which will be in charge of design and construction. MMPI will then pay down the debt using lease payments from the county - $40 million a year for 20 years.


MMPI would be responsible for any cost overruns.

The county avoided competitive bidding requirements by structuring the deal in this way.

State law allows counties to make loans for economic development projects that private companies will build and own, said David Lambert, civil division chief of the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office.

If the new center isn't public, though, it may be subject to substantial property taxes. Lambert said the county is researching that issue.

At the end of the 20 years, the county would assume ownership, unless both parties decided to extend the partnership.

The agreement calls for two optional 20-year extensions.

The agreement also includes the following:

The $40 million a year will come from a sales tax increase that the county started collecting in October. If the bond payments are less than $40 million, MMPI must apply the money to the project in other ways.

The county will pay MMPI at least $103 million over the 20-year agreement to operate the center - $6 million for each of the first three years and $5 million for each of the remaining 17.

The county will try to sell naming rights for the center and would keep all proceeds.


MMPI will contribute $20 million, which will be used to market the project and attract tenants, through lease incentives, construction of showrooms or other means.

MMPI will collect all revenue from the complex but will also pay for all maintenance and repair.

Commissioners said they insisted on delegating capital responsibilities to MMPI, noting lessons learned from the Gateway project. The original leases between the Indians and the Cavaliers, particularly for what is now Quicken Loans Arena, left city and county taxpayers responsible for much of the cost of needed repairs.

The county also pushed for an escape clause. If MMPI can't sign at least 10 mart tenants and five medical trade shows or conferences during a one-year development phase, either side can pull out. The minimum requirements are a fraction of the business both sides expect the complex to attract once fully operational.

Commissioners must now draft operation, development and lease contracts and decide on a location.

Two sites are front-runners - renovating or expanding at the current Lakeside Avenue convention center on and under the Malls, or building along the Cuyahoga River behind Tower City, with a connection to a Medical Mart in the old Higbee Building.

Commissioners now plan at least one public forum and will consider suggestions from MMPI and a site selection committee appointed by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region's largest chamber of commerce.

The Cleveland City Council should be drawn into the discussions sooner rather than later, Councilman Mike Polensek said. The city owns the current convention center as well as the International Exposition Center and would be affected no matter what site is chosen, he said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

shollander@plaind.com, 216-999-4816

This should be real interesting to follow and find out which site is chosen. I've been following some of the news for a year or two from out of town and am real curious about which site will be best for Cleveland. I'd be interested in hearing local views on which site you think is best for Cleveland. The site along the river looks like a little bit of a squeeze and wouldn't seem to allow much opportunity for potential future expansions - but it might be best for tying into the retail and entertainment opportunities that are more in that area (I believe?). What are the pluses for the mall site? Potential room for expansions? Is it closer to the Cleveland Browns stadium? (btw, whatever happened to that idea about building a retractable roof on the Browns stadium? If that happened, it could add 100,000 sq. feet or so to the convention space in that area - although if my memory serves me correctly, I don't think the stadium is really very close to the mall area). Where are most of the downtown hotels? That is key to having a successful convention center. Ideally, for a 400,000 sq. foot convention center, you would want to have 4,000 - 5,000 hotel rooms within five or six blocks of the center (or closer) to make it as attractive as possible.

Just saw this news story today - its not real new news but I don't think anyone else posted on it.

"Ernst & Young LLP won naming rights to a 21-story office tower that will be known as Ernst & Young Tower as it committed to keeping its offices in downtown Cleveland as part of the Flats East Bank Neighborhood."


http://crainscleveland.com/article/20080508/FREE/430421822

Cleveland leads big cities in population loss, census figures show

Posted by Robert L. Smith July 10, 2008 05:38AM

John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer

As civic leaders try to spark a Cleveland renaissance by attracting businesses and residents downtown, they face a challenge convincing the hometown folks of the city's prospects.
More people left Cleveland last year than any other major city in America, the U.S. Census Bureau will report today. Since 2000, only hurricane-ravaged New Orleans weathered a sharper rate of population loss.

Cleveland's descent slowed last year and the numerical loss -- about 5,000 people between July 2006 and July 2007 -- compares favorably to the 1970s, when the city at times hemorrhaged 15,000 people a year.

But the rate of decline remains alarming for America's 40th-largest city, which has dipped to an estimated 438,042 people, and the neighbors are not faring so well, either.


Database: City and Village Populations, 2007

Graphic: Biggest gains and losses, 2000 to 2007

Graphic: Percent change in population, 2000 to 2007

Graphic: Moving away

In March, the Census Bureau reported that Cuyahoga County suffered the greatest population loss of America's large counties between 2000 and 2007, while the population in the seven-county region also fell.

Today's report, which offers population estimates for all municipalities, indicates much of that loss is occurring in Northeast Ohio's cities and older suburbs.

Since 2000, Cleveland has bled 8 percent of its population, or about 40,000 people. In that same time, 22 suburbs lost an even greater share of their residents, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of census data. The shrinking bedroom communities include Bay Village, Lakewood, Euclid, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Mayfield, Chagrin Falls and Garfield Heights.

Meanwhile, population loss accelerated in Akron last year. No suburban community is rising fast enough to make up the difference. And so the whole region tilts downhill.

"It's an obvious fact. It's been an ongoing trend," said Mark Salling, director of the Northern Ohio Data and Information Service at Cleveland State University. "There's no longer surprise. I think even our angst has been diminished."

Salling is unsure of the population impact of the foreclosure crisis, which has hollowed out many urban neighborhoods.

Where do people who lose a home through foreclosure go?" he asked. "Do they move to the suburbs?"

Maybe not, he speculated. But boarded-up houses probably spur better-off neighbors to move.

While the census report offers sobering statistics for Ohio's largest metropolitan area, it also contains some hopeful news.

Cleveland's rate of decline slowed in 2007, a year when several major cities -- including Baltimore and St. Louis -- saw rates of decline accelerate. And the numerical loss was the lowest in five years.

On the national scene, New Orleans staged the most dramatic comeback. The Big Easy was America's fastest-growing large city last year, swelling by nearly 14 percent after experiencing the nation's greatest rate of loss the previous six years.

Some see Cleveland poised for a new day.

Pointing to massive investment in University Circle hospitals and in downtown housing, Ken Silliman, chief of staff for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, said the city will soon look more attractive to new and current residents alike.

"We are very optimistic about where we are heading," Silliman said.

Edward "Ned" Hill, acting dean of CSU's Levin College of Urban Affairs, said a revived downtown could lift the entire region.

"Take a breath. We didn't get here overnight," Hill said. "It's going to take a good 15 years to get out of it. But we need to do this through growth, through creating opportunity."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

rsmith@plaind.com, 216-999-4024

Congrats Cleveland!

From the RedEye - a free Chicago Newspaper:

http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-express-busjul11,0,5994624.story

By Jon Hilkevitch
Chicago Tribune reporter
Published July 10 2008, 11:37 PM CDT

Chicago set to test its own express lanes, which are cheaper than rail projects

CLEVELAND -- Don't dare dismiss the new $200 million transit service starting up here as just another bus line.

Officials certainly aren't at the Chicago Transit Authority, which is studying Cleveland's experiment before launching its own "bus rapid transit" here in about a year.

Extra-long, hybrid diesel buses featuring stylized touches that resemble sleek high-speed trains pull up to platforms at shiny steel-and-glass stations in the median of a major Cleveland thoroughfare.

The street has undergone a remake, including bus-only lanes and new traffic-signal technology that will give buses the green light for almost 10 miles from downtown to the city's east side.

The transit corridor, called the Health Line, is geared toward attracting professionals, many of them doctors and other health-care workers who commute to a medical district anchored by the renowned Cleveland Clinic. Medical companies are paying the city's transit authority $12 million for the naming rights.

The challenge facing Cleveland—and ultimately Chicago—is how to set the new service apart from the stereotype of bus travel as slow, outdated and used mostly by society's have-nots.

"In Cleveland, suits don't ride buses. We are out to change that," Joseph Calabrese, chief executive officer and general manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority, said last week as he rode on one of the buses with a Tribune reporter.

The bus-only lanes are still under construction along Cleveland's Euclid Avenue but are scheduled to be completed along a 9.4-mile stretch of the road by late October. The 4-mile section already in operation has drawn commuters from cars by providing a first-class travel experience that trims trip times and eliminates gas and parking expenses, officials said.

The buses pass cars in adjacent lanes where the speed limit is lower and traffic is thicker. The cost to ride the Health Line: $1.75, the same as the regular transit fare.

"I can't wait for the full service to get here," said DeAnna Poindexter, 32, who works in management technology. "The car drivers are so inconsiderate talking on their cell phones while they block the buses."

At the CTA, whose buses average a snail-like 9 m.p.h., bus rapid transit has been earmarked as the No. 1 near-term priority. Armed with a $153 million federal grant, the CTA plans to test bus-only lanes on four Chicago routes—portions of Chicago Avenue, Halsted Street, 79th Street and Jeffery Boulevard—starting mid-year 2009. The project would start with about 10 miles of bus-only lanes and eventually expand to more than 100 miles.

As in Cleveland, CTA riders will see upgraded vehicles, specialized stations and corporate sponsorships.

CTA buses will also be equipped with transponders so buses can breeze through intersections on green lights. And much like Cleveland, bus stops will be spaced farther apart—about a quarter-mile—to help cut travel times.

The key difference from Cleveland, though, will be the CTA bus-only lanes will operate only during the rush hours—one lane inbound in the morning and one lane outbound in the evening on each of the four routes. Off-peak, the lanes will be open to all traffic.

On most of Cleveland's Health Line corridor, one lane in each direction is dedicated to only buses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

That makes more sense in Cleveland because its congestion isn't as bad as in Chicago, which ranks No. 2 in the nation for traffic gridlock. It also helps that two major streets that parallel Euclid Avenue can handle additional car traffic, officials said.

When a Cleveland rapid transit vehicle stops at a median station, a large door opens on its left side and passengers stream aboard without having to climb any stairs, making it wheelchair accessible.

When construction is completed, riders will pre-pay their fares at the stations to avoid delays, a strategy that the CTA plans as well.

The wider bus interior gives it an airy feel, and the seats are deluxe by transit standards.

Traffic signals at intersections will be automatically programmed to extend the green light so buses can travel at a consistent 35 m.p.h. in the bus-only congestion-free lanes. The 25 m.p.h. speed limit for cars in adjacent lanes is designed to encourage drivers to use alternate streets.

When the construction is completed, travel times are projected to decline by more than 25 percent over existing bus service, Cleveland officials said.

In Chicago, CTA officials are even more hopeful, projecting that travel times on the bus-only lanes could be cut in half when bus rapid transit reaches full speed by 2010.

In addition to its transportation benefits, the Health Line is extending an economic lifeline to neighborhoods on the route that have been in need of resuscitation for many years. The city has lost almost half of its population of 1 million-plus when it was a bustling manufacturing center during the first half of the 20th Century.

Young professionals and empty-nesters are slowly returning to the city center and to a blighted warehouse district, where restaurants, neighborhood bars, boutiques and other businesses are sprouting.

"This is the next wave. There is housing and entertainment and a new demand for downtown living and economic integration," said Michael Taylor, president of the National City Community Development Corp., a bank that is supporting investment along the Health Line corridor.

A plan had been on the books for years in Cleveland to build a downtown subway, but efforts languished due to the project's estimated $1 billion cost.

In the Chicago area, big-ticket rail projects—ranging from the CTA's proposed Circle Line stretching around the city to Metra's suburb-to-suburb STAR Line—would cost billions of dollars to build. Currently, no funding has been identified.

If Chicago's upcoming experiment pays off, it's possible that bus rapid transit networks, costing as little as one-fifth the price of heavy rail projects, would make a more viable alternative.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com

Proposed new Cleveland port takes on a different look
Posted by Peter Krouse August 05, 2008 16:02PM
Categories: Breaking News, Economic development, Impact
Meet the new port -- not the same as the old port.

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/08/port.jpg

A conceptual draft for a proposed new Port of Cleveland, to be located at East 55th Street, was revealed today. Gone are the finger docks that characterize the current port at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

The new port would be shaped more like a rectangle, with berthing locations on three sides.

Containers and general cargo such as steel would be handled along the eastern third of the port, served by rail-mounted gantry cranes. Bulk cargo such as limestone and fertilizer would be unloaded onto the middle section. The western portion would include warehouses and handle more general cargo.

The rectangular design is more befitting a modern port, said Steve Pfeiffer, vice president of maritime services with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. The finger docks, or piers, at the current port were built when much more of the unloading was done by hand.

The port's administration buildings would be located south of the secure area, making it easier for the public to come and go. Land would be set aside for port-related businesses.

Pfeiffer showed the draft to the port's maritime committee this morning. He also gave an update on the timing of the project. The port anticipates reaching an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by August 2009 on building a new dike, with construction to begin in 2012. Work on the port, which would be built atop the dike, would not begin until 2020.

What wasn't discussed today is the role freight railroads CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. would play. The Port Authority would like both railroads to serve the new port. But the only main line running past the site is owned by CSX, and it may not want to share.

"It is a CSX line and a busy one," CSX spokesman Garrick Francis said, "and it would be difficult to accommodate two railroads."

But Pfeiffer believes that's little more than posturing on the part of CSX, which already cooperates with Norfolk Southern when it comes to serving the current port. He ultimately sees a deal being worked out between the port and the two railroads.

"I think it's called negotiations," he said.

One of the major benefits of a new port would be the economic development it could attract. The St. Clair Superior Development Corp. is analyzing an area bounded on the west by East 18th Street, on the east by Martin Luther King Boulevard, on the south by St. Clair Avenue and on the north by the lake for the creation of an international trade district.

The area being studied has about 12 million square feet of rentable space, said Jamie Baker, executive director or the St. Clair Superior Development Corp., with about 5 to 12 percent currently vacant. As for the physical condition of buildings in the area, 16.9 percent are rated poor or worse, she said, with 8.2 percent considered good or better.

One property owner already hoping to cash in is Mitchell Schneider, president of First Interstate Properties. He bought the former White Motor complex at East 79th Street and St. Clair Avenue several years ago with designs on converting it into a retail mall similar to his Steelyard Commons south of downtown Cleveland.

But Schneider said he couldn't get enough interest from major anchor tenants. Now he wants to tear down some buildings and develop property for industrial use. He said he has applied to the Ohio Department of Development for a $5 million grant that would pay to demolish buildings, remove environmental hazards and lay a rail spur to the property.

Double post

This is so sad!

Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood suffers 'growing pains'
Arsons a reminder diverse neighborhood in flux

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
Joe Cimperman sifted through the rubble of his firebombed home in Tremont Tuesday and wondered aloud if there was anywhere else where he could have found such an outpouring of gallantry and affection.

But the attack on the Cleveland city councilman has rattled some of those good people who make up one of the city's oldest and proudest neighborhoods.

"I never knew there were so many mean people around here," said retiree Fay Wagner, Cimperman's neighbor, who sat on her front porch Tuesday morning and stroked her pet Chihuahua. "I want to get out and move into a nursing home.

Perched atop a West Side bluff overlooking downtown, Tremont is an area in transition. It's an eclectic mix of Bohemians and Appalachians, young professionals and immigrant retirees, blacks, whites and Latinos. Rows of Victorian homes line streets shaded by sycamores and maples, with Porsches parked behind rusted pickups.

Stately avenues attract urban pioneers in search of real estate bargains close to downtown and within walking distance of hip bars and gourmet restaurants. Yet, at its front doorstep is Lincoln Park, where homeless men sleep on benches and empty bottles litter the lawn.

"They're having growing pains there that make it a little tougher to police than established neighborhoods," said 2nd District police Cmdr. Keith Sulzer.

Those growing pains included two other arsons in the summer of 2007, targeting homes in the 2800 block of West 12th Street, two blocks from Cimperman's home. Both victims were black families. Cimperman, who is white, organized a rally in support of the families, which sparked a new wave of racially charged diatribes against him.

Those crimes remain unsolved, and both families have since moved away.

From 2002 through 2007, the census tract that includes the portion of Tremont where Cimperman lives had 106 burglaries, 37 robberies, 25 assaults, 12 rapes, five arsons and one homicide, according to police statistics.

"Any place that is that culturally and racially diverse has to meld and mix together, and when they do, it's better for us," Sulzer said. "People have been living there for years and now they have yuppies coming into the neighborhood. Some of them don't like the changes, and vice versa."

The big-hearted community that Cimperman witnessed coming to his aid in the past week contrasts with the series of ugly verbal and written attacks that preceded the firebombing and the vandalism Friday of his wife's car.

Across the brick street from Cimperman's century home, Stan and Mildred Polansky relaxed on their front porch and reflected on the 38 years they have lived there.

"It's just like anyplace else in the city of Cleveland," said Stan Polansky, 71. "It used to be a whole lot safer."

A few doors down, Carmen Cintron said she trusts her neighbors to watch over her home and her daughters, Kimberly, 14, and Gloria, 18, while she is at work at a janitorial service in Strongsville.

"Everybody here respects everyone else," she said. "It's quiet most of the time."

On the far corner, a half-dozen buddies from Lincoln-West High School pulled up on their bicycles after a morning spent toiling in the community garden where they grow produce for local restaurants and soup kitchens.

The teens were in good spirits, still basking in media attention they received for helping rescue the Cimpermans and four women who rent the first level of the home. On the night of the fire, Luis Santiago, 17, was talking on a cell phone with his girlfriend on the front porch at 2 a.m. when he saw the initial burst of flames.

"I feel like a billion bucks," said Christian Santiago, 15, who joined his brother and their father, Ismael, in rousting the Cimpermans from their sleep.

Some elderly residents have grumbled about the local youths' occasional late-night revelry, but Cimperman wasn't one of them.

"We're the luckiest people in the world to be alive because we had these people looking out for us," Cimperman said. "My neighbors are my heroes."

Plain Dealer reporter Gabriel Baird and computer-assisted reporting editor Rich Exner contributed to this story.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jmccarty@plaind.com, 216-999-4153

Financing reconsidered for convention center, medical mart
Site selections exceed $400 million

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Sarah Hollander
Plain Dealer Reporter

Business leaders appear to be cobbling together alternative financing to help make a new riverfront convention center and medical mart possible.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region's largest chamber of commerce, expects to recommend a location to Cuyahoga County commissioners Thursday.

Commissioner Tim Hagan said he heard that the partnership's site selection committee favors a riverfront center behind Tower City. This option appears to be much cheaper than the other top contender -- a renovation and expansion at the current Lakeside Avenue location.

Attorney Fred Nance, the committee's chairman, wouldn't comment.

He did, however, confirm that the 12-member committee voted unanimously for a favorite.

At last count, estimates for both locations exceeded $400 million, the amount supported by a countywide sales tax increase. Since then, plans for both sites have been revised to cut costs.

Nance wouldn't release the latest estimates, saying they wouldn't become public record until submitted to the county.

However, sources familiar with the project say the Tower City site might come in at $60 million to $100 million over budget. And the mall site could cost up to $600 million, mainly because of anticipated water problems. Drillings on downtown's grassy malls indicate unstable soil, which would add to the cost of foundation work.

The report to commissioners is likely to include various financing options for the top choice.

"We wouldn't make a recommendation to build something without making a recommendation about how to pay for it," Nance said. He wouldn't elaborate.

Cleveland owns the current convention center. But to expand nearby, the county is likely to need to buy private property - including an office building and parking garage.

Forest City Enterprises owns the riverfront land and would sell its property to the county. The company wouldn't comment on a possible asking price, but has agreed to lease 200,000 square feet in the old Higbee Building for a connected medical mart for $1 year, not including renovation costs.

Sam Miller, Forest City co-chairman, said he wants to strike a deal that's good for both the community and the company.

Dennis Roche, a member of the partnership's site selection committee and president of Positively Cleveland, the region's convention and visitors bureau, wouldn't comment on his favorite site. He did, however, say that a successful convention center needs to be downtown, close to attractions and connected to a hotel.

Other members of the 12-person site selection committee declined to comment or didn't return phone calls.

Hagan said he understands the partnership will present alternative financing ideas for covering any gap between the estimated cost and the county's tax money. And he said he's open to hearing the ideas, but insists that the county should not exceed its cap.

"We've got to be realistic," he said.

Angry riders pack RTA hearing on proposed cuts

Residents, public officials say service cuts would hurt poor, elderly

Wednesday, August 06, 2008
James Ewinger
Plain Dealer Reporter

Pack a small village onto dozens of buses and you'll have the scope and horsepower of public ire over RTA's proposed service cuts.

Nearly 1,500 people have jammed Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority hearings since Monday.

No other issue has so animated RTA ridership in nearly a decade. Even the fare increase two years ago - the agency's first significant one in 13 years - did not draw as many protesters.

Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek of Collinwood set the tone at Tuesday's midday hearing when he told RTA officials, "The cuts you are proposing are falling on the backs of working men and women, the elderly and the poor."

He said elimination of some circulator routes would harm riders and the businesses that serve them, and he noted that RTA would stand for "Return to Automobiles."

Speaking at a packed gathering of about 500 people in Cleveland Public Library's Main Library auditorium downtown, Polensek blamed RTA's budget problems on what he termed "million-dollar articulated buses," the $200 million Euclid Corridor project and the underused Waterfront Line extension of the RTA rapid system.

At issue is RTA's proposal to cut or reduce service on half its bus routes and eliminate community circulators. Fare increases also are possible.

The authority says it faces a $20 million deficit and has to find more money or cut service. Rising fuel prices and declining tax revenue are the culprits.

Pat Harrett lives in Cleveland but has family in Garfield Heights. He said he knows people in that suburb who rely on public transportation to get to their life-sustaining kidney dialysis treatments.

Another speaker suggested that riders boycott RTA trains and buses. "If everyone stops riding, how much money would you lose then?" asked the woman.

Page 2 of 2
Similar sentiments of anger were voiced at Tuesday night's hearing at Cleveland City Hall, where more than half of the 450 people in attendance signed up to speak.

Many riders spoke in defense of maintaining circulator service as an irreplaceable means of getting to work, school, doctor's visits, shopping and connections to other RTA services.

June Crawford lives in Cleveland's Archwood-Denison neighborhood and said in the afternoon hearing that the Denison circulator is the only way she can connect to other farther-reaching RTA services.

When RTA's PowerPoint presentation listed all the affected routes, the audience at the public library let out a horrified gasp of choral intensity.

One woman drew resounding applause when she suggested a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the riders.

Before the public commentary, RTA Chief Executive Officer Joe Calabrese and his staff spent at least 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon laying out the transit authority's budget crisis and their arguments for increasing fares or cutting service.

At times, Calabrese reminded the outspoken, angry crowd that the law requires that he make his case before the public, and that if he could not do that, then he would end the meeting.

Dominic Libertore, a former member of RTA's citizen advisory board, said state subsidies for Ohio's 60 public-transit systems have dropped by 63 percent since 2001 - from about $42 million then to $16 million last year. He urged people at the hearing to contact their state legislators to restore the money.

State Rep. Eugene Miller urged those at Tuesday night's hearing to flood Columbus with letters if they are upset by the proposed changes.

Cleveland Councilman Kevin Conwell read a letter from a woman who said children and seniors would be hardest hit by the reduction in services.

"We are prepared to fight," Conwell said. He told the crowd he was willing to "go as far as Washington, D.C.," with their concerns.

Plain Dealer reporter Sarena McRae contributed to this story.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jewinger@plaind.com, 216-999-3905

hmm..

http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/americas-fastest-dying-cities.html

Jewish Federation of Cleveland weighs move from downtown to Beachwood

by John Horton
Thursday August 07, 2008, 11:25 PM

WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS -- Stay downtown or go?
Officially, the plan called for tabletop dialogues held within Northeast Ohio's Jewish community the past two nights to avoid directly asking that question.

In reality, however, the topic dominated the conversations. It's why more than 250 people gathered to talk, after all.

The issue behind the meeting is this: The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland is weighing whether to uproot from its cramped Euclid Avenue headquarters and move to Beachwood. The federation's board of trustees expects to make a decision Sept. 11.

Supporters say a move would sensibly place the federation closer to the area's Jewish community, which is concentrated in Beachwood and other eastern suburbs.

Detractors fear that a relocation signals, at least symbolically, an abandonment of downtown. A shift east out of Cleveland would leave the city without a major, full-time Jewish institution for the first time in more than a century.

The debate started last year. It shows no sign of waning.

So the forums held at the City Club of Cleveland on Wednesday and at Corporate College in Warrensville Heights on Thursday took a different approach. The goal here, according to a federation flier promoting the event, was to set priorities for a "future Jewish presence downtown."

The headquarters issue, federation marketing director Annie Becker said, "isn't the point of this. It's not really pertinent."

That didn't make sense to some in attendance.

"I don't know why else we're here then," Pauline Leber, 82, of Beachwood, said before Thursday night's dialogue. "It really is about where we are physically."

So the here-or-there headquarters question flowed throughout the table talk. The topic served as a launching point when discussing how a Jewish presence downtown impacts Cleveland's economy, community and culture.

At Table 2 on Wednesday, the eight-person group kept coming back to the importance of a federation headquartered in the urban center. If anything, those ringing the table wanted more activity out of the office, with downtown-based programs encouraging community partnerships and interaction.

They also spoke of Cleveland's woes and the Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, the Jewish duty to repair the world.

"We need to be in the community to be involved with the community," said Jonathan Leebow, 32, of Beachwood. "We need a foothold here. We need to show a commitment."

Out of more than two dozen people interviewed over the two nights, only one spoke for leaving for the suburbs: "People don't go downtown anymore," said Marlene Goldstein, 58, of Cleveland Heights, as she shared her thoughts Thursday.

Others sitting at Table 3 with Goldstein countered quickly.

"That's part of the problem," said Ann Garson, 45, of Shaker Heights. "We want to be part of the solution."

The question, then, is can that be done from Beachwood?

The chairman of the federation's board of trustees said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon that it's possible. Harley Gross said a downtown presence can be maintained no matter where the headquarters lands.

"It doesn't matter where the federation is," Gross said. "It can do things well from either location."

Tower City site recommended for Medical Mart

Posted by Joe Guillen August 07, 2008 14:55PM

CLEVELAND - A riverfront site at Tower City is the proposed location for Cleveland's new convention center and medical mart -- the project billed as the region's best shot at economic revival.
The estimated $536 million cost is already $26 million over budget, and groundbreaking is a long way off.

But in return for the public investment, backers say the development would create thousands of jobs and entrench the region as a top health-care hub.



The preferred downtown location also would dovetail with other economic undertakings, such as the rejuvenation of the east bank of the Flats.

Before the deal is set, though, hurdles remain, not the least of which is bridging the gap between projected income and costs. Cuyahoga County commissioners and their partner in the deal -- Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. -- must agree to the numbers and the site. MMPI has committed $19 million to the project. It is unknown if the company will dig any deeper.

Commissioners raised the county sales tax a quarter percent last summer to provide the bulk of the money needed to build the mart and center.

They also gave MMPI a loan of $40 million a year for 20 years that will be used to pay down the debt. And the county will pay the company at least $103 million over the 20 years to operate the center.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership Site Selection Committee made its choice public for the mart's location on Thursday, shortly after briefing commissioners.

Most surprising of the information provided, said Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, was the committee's forecast that the sales-tax hike will generate $490 million over its 20-year life, rather than the $400 million county officials estimated.

"I'm hopeful that figure stands up," Jones said.

One option being mulled by commissioners to find more money for the project is a 2 percent increase in the county's hotel tax.

"I have no objection to the location at all," Commissioner Tim Hagan said. "We're going to get this done." He said, however, they will not pick a site objectionable to MMPI.

Construction could begin late next year.

Hagan said MMPI will take a hard look at the costs because it is responsible for overruns.

MMPI is slated to meet with site selection committee members next week.

The committee recommended that the medical mart be placed in the Higbee Building on Public Square - space the county will lease from Forest City Enterprises for $1 a year. The convention center would face Huron Road, overlooking the Cuyahoga River.

The county would buy space for the center from Forest City for up to $40 million, said Fred Nance, the selection committee chairman. The property must be appraised before a price is negotiated.

The Tower City site beat out the other location under consideration - Cleveland's current convention center on Lakeside Avenue - because it was estimated to be $47 million cheaper and has better access to downtown's assets.

To illustrate the Tower City site's luster, Nance described a conventioneer landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in the dead of winter and hopping onto public transportation directly to the new facilities without exposure to the elements.

A Team NEO study included with the recommendation said building could create more than 1,500 jobs during each three years of construction. The work is expected to spur $334 million in spending on goods and services, and $297.3 million in total payroll.

Once the convention center and medical mart are running, the study expects the complex to generate $205 million each year in spending and tax revenue.

http://www.cleveland.com/medical/wide/index.ssf?/medical/wide/080908_medmart.html

Medical mart's cost jumps $136 million, tax revenue estimate rises $90 million

Posted by Joe Guillen August 08, 2008 22:44PM

Cleveland's new medical mart and convention center will cost $136 million more than advertised, and last year's sales tax increase to pay for the project will generate -- all of a sudden -- $90 million more than expected.

Confused?

The figures released on Thursday varied wildly from original estimates because, officials now say, construction costs were not fully studied. Also lacking was a detailed review of how much the quarter-cent sales tax increase would yield.

"It's fair to say that all the numbers used were guesstimates," Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan said on Friday. Hagan said the county's figures were provided by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the region's chamber of commerce.

A site selection committee on Thursday estimated the project will cost $536 million. Since spring, commissioners have said the cost would be $400 million and could not go higher. Their estimates were solely based on how much they thought they could raise through sales tax collection, a number that turned out be underestimated.

The only reference for construction costs used by commissioners was a 2005 study that showed a convention center could be built in Cleveland for $368 million, said Steve Friedman, head of the construction group at the law firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

"That $400 million was on their misimpression that the quarter percent rise in sales tax would only support a $400 million bond issue," Friedman said.

It turns out the tax increase can supply money for a $490 million project, according to the selection committee.

Wachovia Securities Managing Director Timothy Offtermatt, who prepared an analysis of the tax for the committee, said on Friday that the county did not account for what will be a smaller construction loan. Less money has to be borrowed because Cuyahoga will have collected about $60 million in tax money before bonds are sold.

Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones said the $400 million figure came from county staff. "We didn't draw that number out of a hat," he said.

He said the amount was never questioned by Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., the county's Chicago-based partner in the deal, and local business leaders, who have backed the project.

The selection committee has recommended a riverfront site at Tower City for the medical mart and convention center. The complex is touted as a economic boon to the region with the promise of jobs and out-of-town visitors.

Commissioners and MMPI still must agree on the location and the cost estimates. MMPI will supply $19 million for the project and pay cost overruns. Based on the numbers provided Thursday, the project is short $26 million.

Confusion over the numbers risks adding to the public's apprehension about county building projects. A federal corruption investigation, exposed by raids on the homes and offices of Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo on July 28, may go on for months.

"Under the current climate, I think everything has to be looked at extremely carefully," said Deborah Sutherland, who is running for commissioner in November against Jones.

But Hagan said commissioners won't approve construction contracts in the medical mart/convention center deal. MMPI will award that work privately, based on an agreement reached with the county in March.

Hagan criticized skeptics who associate the project with the ongoing investigation. Nobody has been proven guilty, he said.

Construction would take about four years and could begin by the end of 2009.

The price of the medical mart/convention center includes $461 million for construction, $35 million for design and engineering and $40 million to buy Tower City property from Forest City Enterprises.

I tried to get the video that came with the article to upload but its being difficult for some reason. Here is the link. Sorry.

http://videos.cleveland.com/plain-dealer/2008/08/cuyahoga_valley_scenic_railroa.html

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad bike program helps park go green

Posted by Michael Scott August 08, 2008 18:37PM

Jeff Peters of Garrettsville rode his bike Friday afternoon right up to cutting edge of a growing trend in America's national parks: Keep the cars out.

"Hey, the roads don't go where the nature is -- but I can if I bike there," said Peters who had just bicycled about 10 miles Friday morning on the Towpath Trail from Peninsula to Independence.

He returned in the afternoon by loading his bike on a baggage car and hopping a passenger train on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

Peters and other the bicyclists represent what park officials say is a renewed environmental hope-- that auto-dependent Americans can help make their national parks more climate-friendly.

That's right -- the national parks are going green.


"Sounds logical, doesn't it?" said Mary Pat Doorley, a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. "This is part of an overall effort to have visitors to national parks -- including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park -- think about using alternative transportation when they can."

Railroad officials started the "Bike Aboard" program last summer, which allows cyclists to bike the Towpath Trail in one direction and ride the train in the other for $2. The fare is a drastic reduction from the usual $15 boarding fee ($10 for kids) for traveling anywhere along the length the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

It has tripled bike-and-train use this summer.

The National Park Service began funding alternative transportation programs in 1998, but is increasing its emphasis as public awareness increases about the connection between the burning of fossil fuels and global warming.

The Park Service is now expected to spend $78 million a year through 2020 to develop ways to reduce automobile traffic in the nation's parks.

In other parks around the country, that emphasis has meant adding natural-gas fired buses or other mass-transit vehicles to bring visitors in and out of areas like Zion National Park in Utah or Acadia National Park in Maine.

But Cuyahoga Valley National Park -- which covers 33,000 acres from Akron to Cleveland -- is trying to better take advantage of the railroad and Towpath that literally run right down its middle.

Overall, ridership on the Scenic Railroad is up 20 percent this year from 2007, when more than 150,000 people rode the train either on daily excursions or on special events, said Railroad President Steven Wait.
Wait said the railroad also added a more flexible schedule this summer at the advice of an expert the park hired last summer as part of a grant program with The Ford Foundation. Researchers work on improving and promoting alternative ways of getting around the national park.

"If you think about it, the national parks are a perfect place to start changing the public mind-set about driving and pollution because they're iconic," said Robin Clancy of Brecksville, a University of Akron graduate student, who is one of two hires this summer.

"Not only that, but the parks directly feel the effects of auto pollution as well."

But what seems like a logical course is actually a significant turnaround.

National Parks officials say that since the 1920's, they've built their transportation systems "primarily for the private auto."

Today, nearly 300 million people visit America's national parks each year. More than 4.4 million people visited Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona alone in 2007.

That iconic site also had what most regard as the worst example of a car-crazy public descending on nature: On Memorial Day 2002, a line of cars more than a mile and half long waited to enter the park.

There are now more than 8,055 miles of roads and parkways in the National Park Service's 400 American parks, according to federal records.

But federal officials said there are also now 110 visitor transit systems in 98 parks that vary in size, ranging from single vehicle and bus fleets to water transit -- 12 of those exclude cars entirely.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park -- ranked in the top 10 nationwide with nearly 2.5 million visitors a year -- will never be completely car-free, of course, Doorley said.

"But look around, there are hundreds of people who see that there are other ways to get around this park, too," said train passenger Craig Alderman, who came to the park with his wife and two children. "Biking and taking mass transit are probably just healthier and that's good for the nation as a whole".

I just thought this was a cool article. There are photos but since I don't have permission to use them, I'll add the link.

http://www.cleveland.com/living/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/cleve/view_gallery.ata?g_id=9697

Moreland Courts' posh living spaces are timeless

by Evelyn Theiss

Sunday August 10, 2008, 12:00 AM

ELEGANT CLEVELAND / This ongoing series looks back at the finest elements of Cleveland's stylish history, as shown in architecture, fashion and other cultural touchstones.

If you lived at Moreland Courts in the 1930s, '40s or '50s, you didn't have to mix it up with the hoi polloi at a gas station: A valet would fill your tank from the Sohio pump in the basement garage. You'd never run into your live-in servants on the passenger elevators, because they'd take the service elevators. You wouldn't even have to go outdoors to dine at the Shaker Tavern at the Square -- a long hallway and a special key would get you in.

That's the signature experience Moreland Courts, which arose in the late 1920s, offered. By design, the luxurious apartment complex emanated a mystique. If you were welcome to live at Moreland Courts in the 1930s, you'd know about it. Otherwise, there wasn't so much as an exterior sign naming the edifice you were gazing upon.

The block-size complex at Shaker Boulevard and Coventry Road evokes big-city living at its finest, as you would experience on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It was -- and continues to be -- home to people with the means to afford enormous houses but who instead choose to live in a spacious abode that is part of a community of 15 buildings.

The very creation of Moreland Courts, at the edge of Shaker Heights, occurred because that city's exclusive zoning code did not allow for apartments at the time. So, the complex was built just over the border in Cleveland, as an integral part of the development of Shaker Square's retail complex.

All the individual units here were at least 1,500 square feet and ranged up to 4,000. Most were single-story, but there were two-story apartments with leaded-glass windows to match. One thing you wouldn't find back then: a small studio or one-bedroom apartment, because when the complex was constructed, it was feared smaller units would draw bachelors, wayward husbands or, heaven forbid, their mistresses.

Privacy reigned. Inside most buildings, there weren't common gathering areas; even the elevators were shared by only two or four units on a floor. You'd be more likely to see your neighbors at the private clubs to which you belonged or in Palm Beach, Fla., in the winter.

Moreland Courts' unofficial slogan in the days when Cleveland bustled as America's fifth-largest city was "Where the wealth of the world resides."

For many families, though, this architectural wonder has meant the warmth of home for many decades. William Bruner, for example, is the third generation of his family to live here. His father, Clark, and mother, Polly, moved in in 1937; his grandfather lived with the family until his death at 94.

When Bruner was a teen, his friends loved to visit his family's apartment before they all headed to Shaker Square to Marshall's Drug Store for a malt or John Wade's record shop to listen to 45s.

John Greene, then president of Ohio Bell, lived just below the Bruners, and Polly Bruner liked to warn her son that if he and his friends were too noisy, "Mr. Greene will have our phones disconnected."

Still elegant but not exclusive

Then and now, Moreland Courts is an anomaly in Northeast Ohio. The level of urban elegance it offers is said to be unparalleled between New York and Chicago -- both when the complex opened and today.

In Northeast Ohio, where people live in apartments and condos on their way to buying a house, the Courts always have been anachronistic: People aspire to them, and when they get in, they tend to stay. On many occasions, residents' children have taken the space upon their parents' deaths.

In recent years, Moreland Courts has become a far more diverse and democratic place. Where once it housed only captains of industry and families found in the social register, it now attracts people with the finest cultural pedigrees as well: Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-Most, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland director Jill Snyder, former Western Reserve Historical Society director Ted Sande.

But also making their homes at Moreland Courts are Cleveland's building and housing director, Ed Rybka; Cleveland State University urban-policy professor Norm Krumholz; and environmental activist David Beach.

Where once there was homogeneity, there is ethnic, racial and religious diversity -- adding a draw is the fact that the complex is in Cleveland, making it attractive to people who must live in the city for professional reasons, but it's part of the Shaker Heights school district.

And, in a nice bit of circularity in these environmentally minded times, Moreland Courts residents like to talk about how they can be without a car for days or weeks at a time. Besides the restaurants and shops at Shaker Square and in the nearby Larchmere District, residents easily can take the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's rapid downtown, to University Circle and even the airport.

How a classic takes shape

This one-time bastion of bluebloods got its financial footing from Josiah Kirby, a colorful fellow who was flagrantly successful at making money, at least for a time.

At the start of the 1920s, Kirby had the $30 million that was the estimated cost for what was to be a massive project of apartments and retail in and around Shaker Square, then referred to as Moreland Circle.

And then his money was gone, and he went to prison for mail fraud and jury fixing. As Sande puts it, "He was a shady character who hired a brilliant

The architect was Alfred W. Harris, and he had conceived of a complex that would in effect be a narrative of English architecture. Harris had served as an aviator during World War I and found himself enchanted by the medieval towns he saw in England. It shaped his architectural creations when he returned home.

He designed several houses in Shaker Heights, a community with street names that paid tribute to English life, and Moreland Courts was to be a masterwork that would reflect all the best elements of distinct eras of English architecture: Elizabethan, neo-Gothic, Tudor, Jacobean and Georgian.

But then Kirby's empire collapsed, and the Van Sweringen brothers picked up the project. Soon they had their own architecture firm: Small and Rowley, which designed the Van Sweringens' Daisy Hill estate in Hunting Valley.

The visionary Van Sweringens were business-minded. Beauty was well and good, but only to a point. So their architects adopted a more streamlined approach to Moreland Courts.

Exterior embellishments were kept to a minimum. So were those inside. The walls were still several feet thick, to be sure, but the suites did not have the millwork or plasterwork detailing seen in the Harris-designed suites at the Point Building, the first and still most lavishly appointed portion of the Courts.

Filling the apartments was not a problem, not even during the Depression or World War II.

Back then, most of the residents still had live-in servants, who had their bedrooms on the far side of the kitchen. Each apartment had two phones: one for the family, one for the servants.

In the 1940s, there were uniformed doormen and a 24-hour switchboard. A number of fine shops lined the long hallways known as the Gallery -- a women's boutique, a men's shop, a tobacco shop and the linen shop called Isabel Barry's.

These were days of extreme privilege and wealth. One woman who lived at Moreland Courts in the '40s, Katherine Holden-Thayer (the Holden family owned The Plain Dealer), had six cars at the Courts and seven more at her estate in Gates Mills. In an interview conducted for the Cleveland Restoration Society in 2007, Lou Hubach, who worked as doorman and switchboard operator in the 1940s, said with a chuckle, "She liked cars."

Then there was Mildred, a switchboard operator who, as everyone who remembers her agrees, couldn't help but listen and learn secrets.

Graham Grund, a well-known arts patron, lived in Moreland Courts as a young woman in the 1940s. Like many families of the time, her parents also had a home in the "country," in Gates Mills, where they spent the summer.

She moved back to the Courts seven years ago after the death of her husband, having lived in Gates Mills for many years.

"I don't think there's anyone alive here but me who would remember the shops we had here," she says. "I wasn't old enough to buy the things they offered, but Mother did."

Her parents moved into Moreland Courts in 1940 or 1941, she says. "Life was lovely. It was home. But everything changes -- and everything really changed after the Korean War."

Except, she allows, "this is still one of the most beautiful sets of buildings anywhere. Nothing has ever matched it."

Residents old and new soak up the atmosphere

James Irving, an interior designer who has lived in the Courts since the late 1960s, couldn't agree more. He lives in the Point Building, though he didn't always. He moved from one of the Tudor buildings after several years when one of the sought-after suites opened up.

His suite combines his professional artistry, personal taste and the best of Moreland Courts' interior construction -- so much so that it became a must-see for actresses and writers who came to the Shaker Square Bookshop.

Joan Fontaine stopped by when she was in town to talk about her autobiography, "No Bed of Roses." So did the fashion writer Eugenia Sheppard and Stephen Birmingham, author of an acclaimed book on Manhattan's Dakota Building.

Moreland Courts, Birmingham told Irving, compared most favorably to that storied building.

Rayleen Nanni is one of Moreland Courts' newest residents. She owns the Metropolitan Galleries at Shaker Square, a furniture and art gallery. She lived in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood for 15 years before moving to Northeast Ohio several years ago.

She lived for a time in Ohio City. "But I always dreamed of coming to the square and living here," she says.

It has the urban feel of Manhattan to her, if on a smaller scale. On Sundays, she and her husband buy the paper, walk to Shaker Square for coffee, perhaps have brunch at one of the restaurants.

"You can walk, and you see people," she says. "I like looking outside my apartment and seeing the rapid trains. It's just a very urban feel."

Irving, too, can't imagine being at home anywhere else. Anyone who loves history and hearing people's stories -- especially the anecdotes of well-traveled residents -- couldn't live in a richer place, and Irving was a friend to many of the grande dames who lived at the Courts.

People remember their names: Mrs. Ziesing. Mrs. Eells. Oh yes, Mrs. Eells, whose luggage would be stacked shoulder-high at the entrance of the Point Building as her driver and car approached. Her staff would line up and stand at attention as she left the building to winter in Palm Beach.

That time -- that extravagant lifestyle -- largely has vanished, at Moreland Courts and elsewhere. As Irving points out, "Who can afford live-in help, even if you could find help that would be willing to live in?"

Life with servants has passed into history. But the stories of Moreland Courts? For now, there are still a few people who can tell them.

Or keep the secrets.

CLEVELAND — Emmett Fryer maneuvers the futuristic rapid transit vehicle around a corner of Cleveland’s Public Square.

The sleek 63-foot machine appears part bus and part train. It elegantly bends in the middle, its backside returning in line as it completes the turn with a pack of sidewalk onlookers watching. It moves swiftly toward Euclid Avenue, the city’s main downtown thoroughfare.

The $860,000 hybrid vehicle, and 20 others like it, serve as the centerpiece of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s new bus rapid transit project, a nearly $170 million undertaking expected to generate a hefty $4.3 billion worth of downtown economic development and demonstrate the city’s commitment to public transportation.

More At:

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080812/NEWS16/78160778

Euclid is looking great!

anyone know where i can get some photos of cleveland prior to the "Q" and jacobs field? Id like to see that area before they did all the work.... I was youtubing videos yesterday and found one where buildings were being tore down for the key bank (society) building..... And also does anyone know when Terminal Tower started renovating the top of the building?? Seems like they have been working on it for a few years now.... Im hoping they will re open the observation deck sometime soon... If anyone has anything id definatly apprieciate it

This is hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY&feature=related

Im not even from Cleveland and it pisses me off.....

Not nice for someone from milwaukee to post that on the Cleveland web site.

I hope the kid that made this video gets brutally beatin by one of those poor people ridin the bus...... The only people who use the word douche bag are douche bags themselves.

Thats ok, I would live in Cleveland over Milwaukee anyday. Cleveland is much more widely known here in Australia and New Zealand than Milwaukee is. ;)

Me too! I lived near Cleveland, in Aurora, for only three months but I like it there. I was in Cleveland every week. I would go there again. Greetings form Slovakia guys. :)

Thats ok, I would live in Cleveland over Milwaukee anyday. Cleveland is much more widely known here in Australia and New Zealand than Milwaukee is. ;)

That must be because Cleveland has 7 whole pages of development news on this site dating back to '06. There really is a lot of exciting stuff happening in Clevelandtown! Also probably because it is such an exciting city, as evidenced by TripAdvisor. http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/10446

That must be because Cleveland has 7 whole pages of development news on this site dating back to '06. There really is a lot of exciting stuff happening in Clevelandtown! Also probably because it is such an exciting city, as evidenced by TripAdvisor. http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/10446

There actually is a lot of exciting things happening in Cleveland, however, ew are underrepresented on this forum. Take for instance the development of the medical mart by the merchendise mart company, and the convention center, the Avenue district and the lsit goes on. Hopefully I will get time to post some of this exciting stuff.

There actually is a lot of exciting things happening in Cleveland, however, ew are underrepresented on this forum. Take for instance the development of the medical mart by the merchendise mart company, and the convention center, the Avenue district and the lsit goes on. Hopefully I will get time to post some of this exciting stuff.

I would love to see that stuff, I was just being a dick. I'm sure there's plenty more going on in Cleveland than what's on here, and yeah whenever you get the time definitely post that stuff up. Avenue district sounds cool.

Hey, I'm new here. I'm planning on living in Cleveland in the future and I'd love to here about the progress of some of these plans so far.

How is the Flats East project going? and how about the Avenue District and 515 Euclid?

It would be nice to see some pics of construction if possible. thanks!

That new office tower on the current site of the parking lot west of Public Square has only 21 floors, which I believe is too insufficient. City of Cleveland should have gone for air rights on that site.

I have not done my part to rep cleveland and now we have people from Milwaukee talking smack? Wow, Ok, game time.

$600 Million dollar, urban intergrated Casino to begin before the year is out.

Dan Gilbert talks about Cleveland casino plans
By Evelyn Theiss, The Plain Dealer
February 18, 2010, 3:11PM

Casino developer and Cavs' majority owner Dan Gilbert says he expects to select a casino operator in the next 30 to 60 days.

"Since November, we've been to Las Vegas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Florida, looking at casinos, at operations," he said, speaking to a record crowd of 700 at the Corporate Club luncheon at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven. "We're looking at two or three finalists."

Gilbert also said that he won't make a decision on opening a temporary casino in Cleveland until he's settled on the casino operator, since whoever that is will have input on the decision.

READ MORE AT:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/02/dan_gilbert_talks_about_clevel.html

Museum of Contemporary Art MOCA is building a new home, near one of the finest Museums of Art in the nation, CMA. It is to be the centerpiece of a new development called up town including townhomes, apartments and retail... in an urban setting.

Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland is nearly ready to build a dramatic new home in University Circle
By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer
February 08, 2010, 8:34PM
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, long a foil to the bigger, richer and more conservative Cleveland Museum of Art, is on the verge of a breakthrough.

After renting less-than-visible space for 20 years in the Cleveland Play House complex in Midtown, it's nearly ready to build a dramatic black-glass-and-steel building in University Circle.

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2010/02/museum_of_contemporary_art_cle_2.html

Flats East Bank, the main tower has secured TENANTS AND FINANCING, to begin construction soon.

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority approves bonds for Flats project
By Thomas Feran, The Plain Dealer
January 20, 2010, 10:55AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A $278 million development on the east bank of the Flats won its next-to-last piece of public financing today, when the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority voted to approve more than $34 million worth of authority-issued bonds.

Adam Fishman and Steve Strnisha, representing developers Fairmount Properties and the Wolstein Group, said approval is expected within 60 days for the final piece of public money, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Fishman said that private financing of the project should be complete at the same time.

READ MORE AT:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/01/cleveland-cuyahoga_county_port_8.html

I got most of these pictures from MAYDAY at UrbanOhio.com or check out his website Clevelandskyscrapers.com
All of these buildings are within 1 square mile. University Circle neighborhood is the center of culture and learning (Cleveland Orchestra, top 5 in the US, top 10 in the world, CMA, one of the best and most respected art museums in the US and world, Cleveland Clinic, #1 heart center in the world 14 years in a row, UH another top hospital, CIM Cleveland Institute of Music, top 10 music school in the nation, Case Western University, first to measure light speed and top 50 schools in the US.)

UH Ireland Cancer center:
Mid 2009:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/uhcancercenter0309.jpg

Current:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/uhirelandcancercenter021910.jpg

Cleveland Museum of Art Expansion by Raphael Vinoyl:

East Wing, completed in late fall of 2009:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/cma-1.jpg

This shot is of the central atrium (which will be enclosed by glass) and about 100 yards across is the West Wing under construction:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/cma_021910.jpg

This is a zoomed out shot with the completed East Wing in the forground with the Atrium begging to peak up, West Wing is not visible from this angle...:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/cma_021910_2.jpg

These are two condo/rowhouse developments in the area, 27 Coltman and Euclid/ 118th respectively... they are the first wave of a much larger project that includes the new MOCA building at the cross roads of Euclid and Mayfield:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/ClevelandCircle118.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/27coltman_021910.jpg

This is the first major phase of the Flats East Bank that was just approved and financed, will begin construction in the next 6 months:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/Flats_East_Bank_IMG_06.jpg

Someone asked about The avenue District, street work pretty much completed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/avenue.jpg

About 400 yards from the Museum of Art to the North West is the new VA Hospital Expansion:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/FerrariEnzo/VA.jpg

Good to see the latest in Cleveland. I hope you can get that Medical Mart up and going soon - so your facility will become the dominant location -- ahead of New York and Nashville. Good Luck.

Why did Forbes magazine rank Cleveland as the most miserable city in the U.S.?
The winters on Lake Erie can't be as bad as the ones else where in the Midwest
what gives?

Flats hotel looks awesome!!!!! How many stories is that? bout 20? and srry if im mistakin im from toledo... but is that blue steel the shoreway?

History Buffer: "The winters on Lake Erie can't be as bad as the ones else where in the Midwest - what gives?"

They sure can be. They're probably a lot worse than quite a few other Midwest cities. Indianapolis, St. Louis, Columbus and Cincinnati are much further south - and are located out of the way of most of the Lake Effect snow. Cleveland gets clobbered with Lake effect snow -- and is probably one of the few major midwest cities to get a lot of Lake Effect snow. Since the winds usually blow from the west and often the northwest -- cities that are south and east of the great lakes - and close to them --- are the ones that get hit by large amounts of lake effect snow. Minneapolis, of course gets plenty of snow -- and usually it sticks around for a long time. Milwaukee and Chicago get their share -- as does Detroit. But Cleveland probably gets more than its fair share - largely due to its location. So --- to answer your question --- I'd say Cleveland does actually have winters that are as bad --- or actually worse --- than most other major cities in the Midwest.

Really only a few areas of cleveland get hit hard.... The Area near Mentor probly gets hit the worst. A lot of other areas around cleveland have average winters...

Anything on the east side from Shaker Heights :) east bound is considered the snow belt which extends past Buffalo. The West side might have a light dusting of 1-2 inches and we will get pummeled by 8 inches. Lets not forget that Cleveland has more overcast days then Seattle, Boston and London... doesn't help matters.

That being said, it makes us tough. You ever seen a Bone Thugs music video? You think cats like that come from Orlando?? haha

CLEVELAND IS ON THE BANNER TODAY!!!!! April 13 2010!!!! LETS GO CAVALIERS!!!!!

Economic development, Real estate, Real-Time News, Technology »

Cleveland's abandoned Warner & Swasey complex could become a tech center

By Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer May 27, 2010, 5:34PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A local developer could revive the former Warner & Swasey Co. facility, a dilapidated and boarded-up complex that looms over East 55th Street and Carnegie Avenue.

The city of Cleveland, which owns the property, is working on a deal with Hemingway Development and HzW Environmental Consultants LLC. Hemingway, a division of the Geis Cos. of Streetsboro, wants to restore the 130-year-old buildings for offices, labs and warehousing or manufacturing space -- uses that fit with an effort to brand and promote the Midtown area of Cleveland as a health and technology corridor.

The city's economic development department plans to apply for up to $3 million through the Clean Ohio Fund, a state program that provides grants for environmental assessments, demolition and cleanup on potentially contaminated land. Cleveland's City Council could vote early next month to make way for the Clean Ohio application and a development agreement and purchase option with Hemingway.

The Warner & Swasey buildings, at 5701 Carnegie Ave., have been vacant since 1985. They housed a machine-tool shop, where thousands of Warner & Swasey Co. workers made lathes used to produce tanks, guns, ships and airplanes during World War II. The workers also built telescopes, a passion of company co-founder Worcester Warner.

Cleveland acquired the property in 1991. The windows are covered with bricks and boards, and the buildings are a favorite haunt of urban explorers who sneak in to document the decay.

"It's terrible," said Fred Geis, a principal with Hemingway. "The roof is gone, the copper's been stolen, people broke out all the windows and stole all the aluminum. Anything that's not attached to the concrete has been stolen."

By the end of this year, Hemingway and HzW, an environmental consultant in Mentor, hope to study the property, collect soil and water samples and determine how much cleaning is necessary. The cleanup could take 18 to 24 months, and Hemingway hopes to reopen most of the building within three years.

Without knowing the cleaning costs, it's impossible to estimate the cost of a redevelopment. Hemingway hopes to create 180,000 square feet for offices, labs and warehouses or manufacturing -- space Geis would like to lease at low rates, of less than $8 to $10 per square foot. The project also would include parking in an area now occupied by a building with a sawtoothed roof.

Hemingway's designs complement plans for the Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor, a business- and real estate-development effort being shepherded by MidTown Cleveland Inc. and BioEnterprise Inc., a University Circle nonprofit that cultivates biomedical companies. Corridor partners aim to nurture new businesses, relocate suppliers for institutions including the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, fill vacant buildings and assemble property for redevelopment.

"Right now in Cleveland we have seven incubators, the most recent being the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, and when that opened it was 75 percent occupied," said Tracey Nichols, the city's economic development director. "We have very little space available. So we are looking for more properties that are ready to go, especially where companies need an entire building and not just a piece of the building."

The city would sell the Warner & Swasey property to Hemingway for $1 and would put $35,000 toward the environmental survey and plan. Cleveland would not provide additional money or tax abatement. If Hemingway does not complete the project within three years of buying the facility, the city would take the property back.

Geis, his brother Greg and the Coyne family also hope to build a technology center at Euclid Avenue and East 69th Street, in the heart of the Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor. The partners shared updated drawings of that project with city design officials last week. The Euclid Tech Center would target biotechnology and health care companies.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/05/clevelands_abandoned_warner_sw.html

i hear theres plans to renovate Progressive Field.... anyone have anything on what they may do? I love this park and im glad its being well kept and the organization is trying to keep it up there with the best parks in the league.... Lots of new fan anemities have been made at stadiums since Jacobs field opened in 1994 so im sure we will get somethin cool

The Randall Park Mall was a troubled mall throughout its entire existince. The entire mall is closed except for two stores and a satellite campus of the Ohio Technical campus. I think the last remaining tenants should move out so that the mall can be demolished and the land put to ther uses.

I know yall are tired of hearing it but this is comin from a toledoan..... UFCk LEbron James.... $150 million a season will be lost for the Cavs now that James isnt going to be there to draw people....

Any guesses to AVG attendance next year at the Q?

Gund Foundation gives $2.5 million in cash and loans to Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland building project

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The George Gund Foundation has pushed the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland closer to its dream of building a new home in University Circle with a $500,000 grant and a $2 million loan. Deena Epstein, the foundation's senior program officer for the arts, announced the grant and loan today.

"We really feel this is a catalytic building," Epstein said. "We want to see this happen, and it's important that they break ground this year. We hope this gives them the boost to make that happen." The $2.5 million in cash will push MOCA to within $4.5 million of the $26.5 million it needs to raise by October to break ground.

Meeting the deadline would enable the museum to qualify for $4.5 million in federal New Markets tax credits, which will be applied to its $6 million goal for an endowment, said MOCA Director Jill Snyder.

The Gund donation and loan, which would be repaid by future fundraising, come on top of $2.1 million the foundation donated to the project several years ago in the early stages of fundraising.

"I'm elated," Snyder said.

"The original leadership gift [of $2.1 million from Gund] was a pivotal gift," she said. The new gift and loan "come at another pivotal time for the institution."

MOCA trustees are scheduled to vote Tuesday on several options for the project, including whether to announce a groundbreaking in October and whether to release designs for the new building, created by internationally renowned architect Farshid Moussavi of Foreign Office Architects in London, England.

At the moment, MOCA is scheduled to go public for the first time with the Moussavi design at meetings of the Cleveland Design Review Committee and City Planning Commission, respectively on July 15 and 16.

Behind the current activity lies a bigger deadline: MOCA needs to vacate its present home at 8501 Carnegie Ave. in the Cleveland Play House complex by late 2011 because the Cleveland Clinic bought the complex in 2009.

MOCA, founded in 1968, is Northeast Ohio's leading venue dedicated to contemporary art from around the globe. It has occupied space in the Play House complex since 1990.

The new MOCA building would become the key focal point of Uptown, a $150 million-plus development on eight acres at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road.

Launched by Case Western Reserve University and University Circle Inc., Uptown is designed to include apartments, restaurants, retail shops and attractive outdoor plazas and gathering places.

The MOCA building "is really the gateway to the whole development," Epstein said.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/07/gund_foundation_gives_25_milli.html

A new Group Plan Commission for Cleveland has a chance to revise Daniel Burnham's historic vision for downtown

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Chicago architect Daniel Burnham left a colossal imprint on Cleveland more than a century ago with his 1903 Group Plan for downtown.

The charismatic, blue-eyed architect led a three-man commission, which recommended that a huge swath of downtown "slums" be replaced with palatial government and civic buildings grouped around a central mall, flanked on the north by a train station overlooking Lake Erie.

The proposal, modeled closely after Burnham's vision for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, established the location and neoclassical style of Cleveland's City Hall, Public Library, Public Auditorium and other key civic buildings.

Now, in 2010, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is asking a new Group Plan Commission to revisit the grand but sterile mall and the zone around it. The area has never lived up to Burnham's original vision, in part because the train station ended up in the Terminal Tower complex.


Inspired by more than $1 billion in new downtown projects on the horizon, including a casino, medical mart and convention center, Jackson sees an opportunity to improve a large swath of downtown, from Public Square to the Lake Erie waterfront, including the mall.

The commission will need to address everything from parking to parks, from pedestrian bridges to bus stops. It will also have to solve problems that have defeated city administrations for decades -- namely, connecting the downtown core to the lake.

In June, at the request of Anthony Coyne, chairman of the City Planning Commission, Jackson appointed a new, 15-member Group Plan Commission to tackle these and other challenges.

Coyne, a veteran real estate lawyer, will lead the body.

The question is whether the new commission, which meets for the first time Thursday at 7:30 a.m. in Room 514 at Cleveland City Hall, can rise to the occasion or whether it caves to pressures that have led to mediocre planning and civic design in the city's recent past.

Cleveland has a long tradition of treating streets, parks and public spaces as threadbare afterthoughts. It hasn't had the money to design, build and maintain outdoor spaces on par with those of the world's great cities, and the private sector hasn't stepped up in a big way.

Speed is vital, because the commission is behind the curve even before it starts.

Jackson wants a report by the end of the year, but MMPI Inc. of Chicago, which is developing the medical mart and convention center with Cuyahoga County, wants to break ground in October on the publicly funded $425 million project.

That means the mall, which stretches three blocks north from Rockwell Avenue to an overlook north of Lakeside Avenue, needs attention, pronto.

The mall is critical because it lies at the heart of Burnham's vision for downtown. It also functions as the roof of the existing convention center, which will be demolished to make way for a new convention facility. The medical mart will rise next door, just west of the convention center, and north of St. Clair Avenue.

When the convention the new center is built, the northern two-thirds of the mall, known as Malls B and C, will be rebuilt from scratch.

Therein lies a key tension: Should the city, the county and MMPI strive for a nostalgic re-creation of what Burnham intended but never achieved, or can a revised mall embrace the 21st-century?

In its agreement to sell the convention center to Cuyahoga County for $20 million, a precondition for the project, the city simply required that the Mall be restored to its present condition.

If that's what we get out of a $425 million investment, it will be a waste of time and money, because the mall today is bland and lifeless.

Architect Mark Reddington of LMN Architects in Seattle, which is designing the convention center and medical mart, said last week that the surface of Mall C, which lies between City Hall and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, will remain virtually at the same elevation. That's great, because it will preserve a century-old lakefront view from the sidewalk at Lakeside Avenue.

Mall B, however, will have to change, although how much is not clear. To accommodate industry-standard 30-foot ceilings in the convention spaces below, Mall B may need to rise as much as 6 feet above its present elevation. Today, the existing convention center pokes out of the ground with an eight-foot-high retaining wall on the south side of Lakeside Avenue.

Reddington said his firm's preliminary concepts for the new convention center, not yet made public, show the firm will keep vertical retaining walls around Mall B to a minimum. Instead, it will use gentle ramps and stairs to make the transition in grade from surrounding sidewalks to the center of the space.

Still, if Mall B is a hump that rises a dozen feet or more above surrounding sidewalks, it will need an X-factor, something to lure pedestrians so it feels lively, populated, safe and beautiful.

Millennium Park in Chicago, parts of which rise above surrounding streets, has sculptor Anish Kapoor's shiny "Cloud Gate" sculpture, better known as the Bean, and architect Frank Gehry's stunning concert pavilion. The mall may need something equally original, confident, brilliant and lively.

As discussions proceed, the new Group Plan Commission needs quickly to see what LMN's Reddington is drawing for MMPI, make it all public and figure out how to make the most meaningful contribution.

Among other things, this will mean creating a clear and logical division between what's covered under the $16 million base budget for the mall in MMPI's plans and what needs to be funded separately.

Other issues facing the commission include:

• Parking: The medical mart and convention center are likely to create new demand for parking in a part of downtown where garages are already packed during the day. Developers may be tempted to build more garages in the area. The city needs to consider "overlay" zoning to require that new garages be wrapped with offices, housing or retail shops to avoid creating new dead zones in areas around the mall.

• Connections: The medical mart and convention center present a fantastic opportunity for bridges or other connections that could leap over the lakefront railroad lines from the mall to North Coast Harbor and a proposed intermodal transit center. The commission needs to figure out the best locations for such walkways.

The commission also needs to consider the best thinking available on this topic, including results of the Cleveland Design Competition last year, in which young architects from around the world came up with dramatic proposals to link the convention center to the lake.

• Public Auditorium: Built in the 1920s as a great assembly hall with a music hall and little theater, the auditorium building will need extensive updating when it is first separated from the existing convention center and then reattached to the new one.

The commission needs to consider what the future may hold for Public Auditorium and all buildings that edge the mall, including the existing county offices on the west side of the mall at Lakeside Avenue and the Cleveland Board of Education building on the east side of the Mall at Rockwell.

• Public Square: Burnham's Group Plan established a relationship between Public Square and the mall, but the two spaces have never felt connected. The new commission needs to consider how to strengthen the relationship and how changes to one will affect the other.

Last winter, for example, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and ParkWorks unveiled proposals by landscape architect James Corner, which called for radical alterations to the square. The commission needs to look at the bigger picture before any more moves are made at the square.

• Money: Coyne said Friday that a subcommittee of the new Group Plan Commission will tackle questions about how much money can be raised for the improvements, and who can pay. The trick is not to let the lack of obvious financing at the outset crimp the discussions about design. An exciting vision could help the commission find new sources of cash, whether public or private.

•Transparency: Coyne said Friday that all meetings of the commission will be public, while subcommittees may or may not be open. What counts most is that the public feels the commission's work is timely, high in quality, logical and as transparent as possible.

If it produces great ideas -- and results -- the commission could leave a mark that would do Burnham proud, without pretending he's still around to give all the answers.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/07/group_plan.html

A new Group Plan Commission for Cleveland has a chance to revise Daniel Burnham's historic vision for downtown

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Chicago architect Daniel Burnham left a colossal imprint on Cleveland more than a century ago with his 1903 Group Plan for downtown.

The charismatic, blue-eyed architect led a three-man commission, which recommended that a huge swath of downtown "slums" be replaced with palatial government and civic buildings grouped around a central mall, flanked on the north by a train station overlooking Lake Erie.

The proposal, modeled closely after Burnham's vision for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, established the location and neoclassical style of Cleveland's City Hall, Public Library, Public Auditorium and other key civic buildings.

Now, in 2010, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is asking a new Group Plan Commission to revisit the grand but sterile mall and the zone around it. The area has never lived up to Burnham's original vision, in part because the train station ended up in the Terminal Tower complex.


Inspired by more than $1 billion in new downtown projects on the horizon, including a casino, medical mart and convention center, Jackson sees an opportunity to improve a large swath of downtown, from Public Square to the Lake Erie waterfront, including the mall.

The commission will need to address everything from parking to parks, from pedestrian bridges to bus stops. It will also have to solve problems that have defeated city administrations for decades -- namely, connecting the downtown core to the lake.

In June, at the request of Anthony Coyne, chairman of the City Planning Commission, Jackson appointed a new, 15-member Group Plan Commission to tackle these and other challenges.

Coyne, a veteran real estate lawyer, will lead the body.

The question is whether the new commission, which meets for the first time Thursday at 7:30 a.m. in Room 514 at Cleveland City Hall, can rise to the occasion or whether it caves to pressures that have led to mediocre planning and civic design in the city's recent past.

Cleveland has a long tradition of treating streets, parks and public spaces as threadbare afterthoughts. It hasn't had the money to design, build and maintain outdoor spaces on par with those of the world's great cities, and the private sector hasn't stepped up in a big way.

Speed is vital, because the commission is behind the curve even before it starts.

Jackson wants a report by the end of the year, but MMPI Inc. of Chicago, which is developing the medical mart and convention center with Cuyahoga County, wants to break ground in October on the publicly funded $425 million project.

That means the mall, which stretches three blocks north from Rockwell Avenue to an overlook north of Lakeside Avenue, needs attention, pronto.

The mall is critical because it lies at the heart of Burnham's vision for downtown. It also functions as the roof of the existing convention center, which will be demolished to make way for a new convention facility. The medical mart will rise next door, just west of the convention center, and north of St. Clair Avenue.

When the convention the new center is built, the northern two-thirds of the mall, known as Malls B and C, will be rebuilt from scratch.

Therein lies a key tension: Should the city, the county and MMPI strive for a nostalgic re-creation of what Burnham intended but never achieved, or can a revised mall embrace the 21st-century?

In its agreement to sell the convention center to Cuyahoga County for $20 million, a precondition for the project, the city simply required that the Mall be restored to its present condition.

If that's what we get out of a $425 million investment, it will be a waste of time and money, because the mall today is bland and lifeless.

Architect Mark Reddington of LMN Architects in Seattle, which is designing the convention center and medical mart, said last week that the surface of Mall C, which lies between City Hall and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, will remain virtually at the same elevation. That's great, because it will preserve a century-old lakefront view from the sidewalk at Lakeside Avenue.

Mall B, however, will have to change, although how much is not clear. To accommodate industry-standard 30-foot ceilings in the convention spaces below, Mall B may need to rise as much as 6 feet above its present elevation. Today, the existing convention center pokes out of the ground with an eight-foot-high retaining wall on the south side of Lakeside Avenue.

Reddington said his firm's preliminary concepts for the new convention center, not yet made public, show the firm will keep vertical retaining walls around Mall B to a minimum. Instead, it will use gentle ramps and stairs to make the transition in grade from surrounding sidewalks to the center of the space.

Still, if Mall B is a hump that rises a dozen feet or more above surrounding sidewalks, it will need an X-factor, something to lure pedestrians so it feels lively, populated, safe and beautiful.

Millennium Park in Chicago, parts of which rise above surrounding streets, has sculptor Anish Kapoor's shiny "Cloud Gate" sculpture, better known as the Bean, and architect Frank Gehry's stunning concert pavilion. The mall may need something equally original, confident, brilliant and lively.

As discussions proceed, the new Group Plan Commission needs quickly to see what LMN's Reddington is drawing for MMPI, make it all public and figure out how to make the most meaningful contribution.

Among other things, this will mean creating a clear and logical division between what's covered under the $16 million base budget for the mall in MMPI's plans and what needs to be funded separately.

Other issues facing the commission include:

• Parking: The medical mart and convention center are likely to create new demand for parking in a part of downtown where garages are already packed during the day. Developers may be tempted to build more garages in the area. The city needs to consider "overlay" zoning to require that new garages be wrapped with offices, housing or retail shops to avoid creating new dead zones in areas around the mall.

• Connections: The medical mart and convention center present a fantastic opportunity for bridges or other connections that could leap over the lakefront railroad lines from the mall to North Coast Harbor and a proposed intermodal transit center. The commission needs to figure out the best locations for such walkways.

The commission also needs to consider the best thinking available on this topic, including results of the Cleveland Design Competition last year, in which young architects from around the world came up with dramatic proposals to link the convention center to the lake.

• Public Auditorium: Built in the 1920s as a great assembly hall with a music hall and little theater, the auditorium building will need extensive updating when it is first separated from the existing convention center and then reattached to the new one.

The commission needs to consider what the future may hold for Public Auditorium and all buildings that edge the mall, including the existing county offices on the west side of the mall at Lakeside Avenue and the Cleveland Board of Education building on the east side of the Mall at Rockwell.

• Public Square: Burnham's Group Plan established a relationship between Public Square and the mall, but the two spaces have never felt connected. The new commission needs to consider how to strengthen the relationship and how changes to one will affect the other.

Last winter, for example, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and ParkWorks unveiled proposals by landscape architect James Corner, which called for radical alterations to the square. The commission needs to look at the bigger picture before any more moves are made at the square.

• Money: Coyne said Friday that a subcommittee of the new Group Plan Commission will tackle questions about how much money can be raised for the improvements, and who can pay. The trick is not to let the lack of obvious financing at the outset crimp the discussions about design. An exciting vision could help the commission find new sources of cash, whether public or private.

•Transparency: Coyne said Friday that all meetings of the commission will be public, while subcommittees may or may not be open. What counts most is that the public feels the commission's work is timely, high in quality, logical and as transparent as possible.

If it produces great ideas -- and results -- the commission could leave a mark that would do Burnham proud, without pretending he's still around to give all the answers.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/07/group_plan.html

Landscape architect James Corner and Field Operations firm appointed to design public spaces in Cleveland's Uptown project

It's been clear for years that project sponsors in Cleveland's Uptown development have been aiming high in architectural standards for new buildings in the pivotal project.


Architects with international reputations working on various aspects of Uptown include Farshid Moussavi of London, England; and Stanley Saitowitz of San Francisco.

Now, at long last, public spaces in the eight-acre development will also have a distinguished author. Ann Zoller, director of the nonprofit ParkWorks, announced today that James Corner of New York and Philadelphia, head of the landscape architecture firm Field Operations, will design outdoor spaces at Uptown.

Corner, one of the nation's leading landscape architects, led the design of the High Line, a highly acclaimed park mounted atop an elevated rail line on the lower West Side of Manhattan in New York.

"We're really excited," Zoller said. "To have a team of this stature really befits the vision of this project."

Uptown will include more than $150 million worth of projects, including apartments designed by Saitowitz for developer MRN Ltd. of Cleveland, and a Moussavi-designed building for the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

The MOCA project, for which the design could be unveiled July 15 at a meeting of the Cleveland Design Review Committee, will occupy the strategically important corner at the western end of the triangle formed by Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road in University Circle.

Corner's assignment will include designing a plaza around the MOCA building site, plus an alley south of a row of Saitowitz apartments on the south side of Euclid Avenue.

He'll also design sidewalks and public spaces on both sides of the avenue, plus parking and public spaces north of the Saitowitz-designed apartments on the north side of Euclid.

The Mayfield Avenue frontage at Uptown and the area known as Lot 45 are not part of Corner's scope, Zoller said.

Corner's contract is officially with ParkWorks, which represents MOCA, MRN and Case Western Reserve University, the main sponsors of Uptown. Zoller said her organization will also work with other stakeholders in the University Circle area, including University Circle Inc.

The landscape project will include temporary and long-term uses for spaces throughout Uptown, including the parking areas at the west end of the "Hessler beach" parking lot, at the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Ford Drive.

MRN plans a second phase of apartments on the site, after initial phase is complete.

Zoller said she expects a "schematic" design package from Corner by the end of September.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/07/james_corner_and_field_operati.html

The design for the new station is god awful! Hopfully over time it will evolve and improve!

Cleveland, developer work out unusual financing for Third District police station project

Published: Friday, July 16, 2010, 5:45 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A police station project in Cleveland could move 195 officers to Midtown and open up two city properties -- one in University Circle and the other near Cleveland State University -- for private development.

The city wants to build a new Third District police station on the former Ward Bakery property, about 3.8 acres between Chester and Perkins avenues, west of East 55th Street. The building, the city's first new police station since the 1970s, would replace a 50-year-old facility at East 107th Street and Chester.

Share For the Third District police, who cover territory from the east bank of the Flats to University Circle, the project would be a much-needed upgrade to a modern building in a central location. But from an economic perspective, the development is about more than a three-story, 64,000-square-foot building to house safety forces.

By moving to Midtown, the police would create a prominent security presence in the middle of the city's burgeoning health and technology corridor. And by shifting police officers and downtown communications operations, the city would enable the redevelopment of the existing police station site and the renovation of a historic police building on Payne Avenue.

On Friday, Cleveland's City Planning Commission approved legislation allowing the city to assemble an unusual financing package for the new station. City Council will vote on the legislation in August, but economic development officials already are working out the details and negotiating a multi-part deal with developer John Ferchill and MidTown Cleveland Inc., a nonprofit community development group.

The city hopes to combine sources including New Markets Tax Credits and a federal loan to make the $14.5 million police station a reality. But cities are not eligible users of New Markets Tax Credits, federal income tax credits that help developers attract investors. Banks and large companies buy the credits and use them to offset what they owe in taxes.

To seek and obtain credits, a property owner can be a non-profit or for-profit entity. So Cleveland, which owns the land where the new police station would stand, plans to sell it to MidTown Cleveland.

MidTown would own the police station for at least seven years, the life of the credits. The city would lease the police station, with its rent payments going to repay project debt, and could buy the facility after the seven years are up.

"The city of Cleveland has not used New Markets for any type of public facility," said Economic Development Director Tracey Nichols. "We believe this is a way to fund the police station in a difficult economic time that will give us a tool for our men in blue."

Cleveland also is hoping to obtain a low-interest loan of more than $7 million through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city has secured similar loans, known as HUD 108 loans, for private developments including the first phase of the planned Flats East Bank office and hotel project.

Cities including St. Louis and Seattle have combined New Markets and HUD 108 loans, but Cleveland might be the first city to meld those sources for a police station, said Tom Jackson, a director with the National Development Council, a nonprofit community development organization in New York.

"It's a very creative way for the city to make its funds go further," he said.

The project also would include:

• $1.6 million of federal economic development grant money held by the city.

• $700,000 currently set aside for repairs to the existing police station.

• Money from the sale of the existing station, which has been appraised at $3.2 million.

Ferchill, a Cleveland developer well-versed in complex financing deals, and the Geis Cos., based in Streetsboro, have signed on to build the new station, which will have more interview rooms, more work spaces and the infrastructure to support evolving technology.

The station will be designed to qualify for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, with energy-efficiency features that could cut monthly utility costs by $10,000, Police Chief Michael McGrath told planning officials Friday.

Once the police move, Ferchill intends to redevelop the property on East 107th Street -- on the edge of the city's health and technology district.

"We're finalizing the plans for the 107th site," he said, declining to elaborate. "We don't like to talk about things when we don't have all the details finalized."

And Ferchill could pick up a third, related project. McGrath and Public Safety Director Martin Flask said the city wants to upgrade and consolidate its emergency, fire and police communications, currently housed in a former police station at Payne Avenue and East 19th Street. The 184 communications employees could move to the third floor of the new station in Midtown, leaving the Payne building empty.

"We anticipate trying to reuse that property on Payne once they move out," Ferchill said.

CSU also has expressed interest in the building, McGrath said.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/cleveland_developer_work_out_u.html

Developer MRN Ltd. to break ground Monday on Uptown project in University Circle

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/chadoh21/Development%20Thread/uptown1jpg-ddad10e5919d65a2.jpg

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After decades of discussions and nearly five years of planning, a developer finally is ready to build homes, stores and restaurants along Euclid Avenue in University Circle.

MRN Ltd. closed today on its financing and plans to break ground Monday for the $44.5 million first phase of its long-anticipated Uptown project. Two buildings, comprising 102 apartments over retail space, will sit at the heart of $300 million-plus in ongoing and planned development radiating from Euclid at Mayfield Road. The apartments will replace a dusty parking lot and a dingy shopping strip at East 115th Street, across from the expanding Cleveland Institute of Art.

At Mayfield, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland has designs for a new building. Town houses in the neighborhood are selling despite the troubled housing market. And stakeholders and developers are planning projects that include a mixed-use transit center, a hotel, new and renovated student housing, luxury apartments and offices.

For University Circle, putting shovels in the ground for Uptown marks a tipping point. The project is smaller than the proposals floated several years ago. It specifies apartments instead of condominiums and will be built in phases, rather than one big bang. But Uptown survived a recession and a financing crisis that turned other potential developments to dust.

"In this economy, we don't take anything for granted. Right up until ground-break, there's always been concern that something wouldn't come together," said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc., a community development group that partnered with Case Western Reserve University to assemble land for Uptown. "I think if we've done it here, some of our plans can be taken off the shelf and other shovels can hit the ground in Cleveland."

MRN, the development arm of the Maron family, turned East Fourth Street into an entertainment district. The Marons also are reviving the old United Bank Building in Ohio City, near the West Side Market, and turning the imposing Tudor Arms building at Carnegie Avenue and East 107th Street into a Doubletree hotel.

At Uptown, the Marons plan to build apartments aimed at nurses, doctors, graduate students and professors. A Barnes & Noble bookstore and other, unidentified businesses will fill the ground floor of the building north of Euclid, while restaurants ranging from quick food to fine dining will line the south side of the avenue. The Marons envision tucking an entertainment alley between that building existing residential towers owned by CWRU.

Partner Ari Maron said MRN hopes to erect the building shells before winter and to open the buildings in fall 2011.

"The credit is to an unprecedented group of private banks, civic organizations, nonprofit organizations and amazing community partners coming together and really sticking with this thing for, in some cases, almost three years," he said.

The complex deal involves loans from KeyBank and FirstMerit Bank; loans and grants from the Cleveland and Gund foundations; a loan from Village Capital Corp. of Cleveland; $5 million in loans from the city of Cleveland, which separately will spend $2 million to build the entertainment street; and New Markets Tax Credits from Enterprise Community Investment, a national lender, and from Cleveland Development Advisors, an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

Those federal income tax credits, awarded to community-development entities by the U.S. Treasury, can be sold to bring more equity to a project. That equity, in turn, lowers the risk for banks that provide loans to the developer. In the case of Uptown, New Markets also helped MRN secure a $9 million loan from KeyBank at a lower interest rate.

"It's important in real estate, I think, to build on strengths," said Steve Luca, managing vice president for Cleveland Development Advisors. "Putting a drop into the river and hoping that things happen is kind of difficult. You're using limited resources, and you have to make sure that the environment you're putting them into can succeed. And that's what you see here with Uptown."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/developer_mrn_ltd_to_break_gro.html

University Hospitals receives $35 million gift for cancer research and treatment

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The estate of Dr. Donald J. Goodman and Ruth Weber Goodman has paved the way toward distinguishing the new Cancer Hospital at University Hospitals Case Medical Center from other cancer hospitals in the country.

In honor of the estate's $35 million gift, the largest single donation in UH's 143-year history, the couple will have 3,700 square feet of space for clinical cancer research and treatment, and the floor on which it will be housed, named in their honor.

The Goodman family became forever linked to UH in 2000 after oncologists at the Ireland Cancer Center successfully treated Dr. Goodman with an experimental drug for acute myelogenous leukemia. In 2004, the Pepper Pike couple -- both inaugural members of UH's National Cancer Leadership Council -- made arrangements to include UH in their estate plan, setting the stage for the gift.

The Dr. Donald J. and Ruth Weber Goodman Discovery Center for Clinical Research will be housed on the third floor of the 10-story Cancer Hospital when it opens in May 2011.

The Discovery Center will feature dedicated space for all their cancer clinical trials. It also will feature dedicated office and laboratory space and four treatment rooms designed with patients' comfort in mind.

The rest of the floor will include a transplant lab, a 30-bed in-patient unit and in-patient pharmacy.

At any given time, UH's Ireland Cancer Center offers roughly 300 different clinical trials. The Discovery Center will make it easier for patients and their physicians to participate in those trials, said Ireland Cancer Center director Dr. Stanton Gerson.

"The more important issue is that we will [able to provide] the most important trials from a cutting-edge point of view," Gerson said. Such dedicated space to clinical cancer research and treatment at the center is significant because it's a rare feature at hospitals in the United States, he said.

"Very few cancer centers [have been designed] with research space right in patient care areas," Gerson said.

Dr. Goodman, a retired dentist, was a longtime investor in the stock market. His wife inherited the estate of her father, who founded the Triplex Screw Corp.

Before the Goodmans' deaths in 2007 and 2008, respectively, they created a philanthropic fund that eventually totaled more than $70 million and is among the largest gifts ever received by the Cleveland Foundation. The gift to UH was directed through that fund.

Apart from the large UH gift -- part of the $114 million in foundation and private donations for cancer research and programming that UH has received between 2004 and 2009 -- the fund earlier directed money to research and care of patients; health programming on local public television; and gifts to Case Western Reserve University's medical and dental schools.

The Goodman family has faithfully carried out the couple's wishes to help others, especially those diagnosed with cancer.

"Their main goal was to have hope and to give that hope and pass it along to others," said Kayleen Goodman McDowell, the Goodmans' granddaughter who serves as co-trustee of the estate.

"They were just very giving people," McDowell said. "They would help anyone in need. Both of them had such big hearts."

LMN Architects will propose sloping the downtown Cleveland Mall to create a dramatic new convention center entry

The architects of the new Cleveland convention center have something radical in mind for the downtown Mall -- a grassy slope topping a glassy new convention center entrance on the south side of Lakeside Avenue. Under a proposal from LMN Architects of Seattle, the middle section of the Mall – known as Mall B – would gradually rise from south to north, culminating in a 27-foot-high viewing platform from which visitors could survey the lakefront to the north.

Passersby would feel naturally lured to climb the slope and enjoy the view, giving the Mall a sense of activity and liveliness it lacks today, the designers said Wednesday evening in an interview. The slope would also create natural amphitheater facing south for outdoor performances, movie screenings or civic gatherings.

"This is a creative approach that would solve a number of issues in a truly imaginative way," said Cleveland attorney Jeffrey Appelbaum, who is representing Cuyahoga County in its partnership with MMPI Inc. of Chicago, developer of the convention center and Cleveland medical mart.

Appelbaum will unveil the proposal today at a meeting of the Cuyahoga County Commissioners. It will be reviewed Friday in a public meeting of the Cleveland Design Review Committee, Landmarks Commission and City Planning Commission.

The slope and the convention center entrance would depart dramatically from the original concept of the Mall as a more or less continuous horizontal park stretching three blocks north from Rockwell Avenue to a Lake Erie overlook.

But the convention center architects said their idea would also honor some of the deepest principles of the 1903 Group Plan for downtown, led by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham.

Burnham originally proposed building a large train station at the north end of the Mall to pump life through the park. The train station, however, was built at Tower City Center, depriving the Mall of its primary activity generator.

Placing a convention center entrance on the Mall, on the south side of Lakeside Avenue, would accomplish what Burnham originally intended with the train station.

"It both honors it [the Group Plan] and reinterprets it in an optimistic vision of what Cleveland will become," said Rafael Vinoly of LMN.

Vinoly is the nephew of the more widely known Rafael Vinoly who is designing the expansion of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The new proposal for the Mall deals with the reality that the surface level of Mall B, which doubles as the roof of the convention spaces below, will have to rise six feet above its present height to accommodate industry-standard 30-foot ceilings.

Mall B already rises 5 feet above Lakeside Avenue, so the new convention center will actually rise roughly 11 feet above the avenue. The entrance proposed by LMN Architects would have a glass facade 20 feet high, with the viewing platform and the crest of the grassy slope rising a total of 27 feet.

In addition to the entrance, Appelbaum said he'll describe ways in which the interior spaces of the convention center are designed to provide maximum flexibility for conventions and trade shows related to the adjacent medical mart, which will rise just west of Mall B, north of St. Clair Avenue.

Appelbaum said the convention center would be seriously impaired if the only major entrance were located at the medical mart.

With an entrance off Lakeside Avenue, convention planners could hold two major events simultaneously. With only one major entrance, the facility would lose flexibility.

The architects from LMN studied options for placing a northern entrance to the convention center on Mall C, the northernmost section of the Mall, but rejected the idea because it would have blocked views of the lakefront looking north from Lakeside Avenue.

It also would have turned much of Mall C into a traffic loop for cars, buses and emergency vehicles.

The architects also studied using Public Auditorium, just east of the Mall, as an alternative entrance to the convention center, but found that the entrance would have been too far from the main exhibit areas and that it would have muddled the identity of the new convention facility.

Having concluded that the convention center entrance had to be positioned on the south side of Lakeside Avenue, the architects then studied whether to create two entry pavilions rising on either side of Mall B.

The architects prefer the single, large entry with the sloping "green" roof because it eliminates the duplication of escalators and stairwells that would be necessary with twin entries, and would provide a single controlled entry at street level.

If the facility were designed with double entrances at the Lakeside Avenue level, it would have to have a single control point in the convention center below, which would consume valuable exhibit space, Appelbaum said.

Appelbaum said the single, sloped roof was the most economical idea and was achievable within the $425 million budget for the project, funded by a quarter cent increase in the county sales tax.

"This is all within the budget," Appelbaum said.

Vinoly and architect Mark Reddington, also with LMN, said that at Friday's meeting with city officials they'd discuss how the Mall design could be enhanced in the future, and how connections could be added to link the convention center to the lakefront.

"This should evolve forever," Reddington said. "We're trying to establish the armature for continued enhancement and evolution."

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/08/lmn_architects_will_propose_sl.html

University Circle study shows opportunities for residential development

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hospitals, institutions and other nonprofit groups have been creating jobs and fueling construction projects in University Circle, laying the foundation for more apartments and other private development in the neighborhood.

Since 2005, 17 organizations in the Greater University Circle area have added the equivalent of 4,540 full-time jobs, according to a study scheduled for release this week. Those organizations could create 2,900 more jobs within five years, expanding their collective workforce to a projected 36,758 full-time positions.

The study was jointly paid for by community development group University Circle Inc. and the Finch Group, a Florida developer that has been investing in the area. Projecting growth through 2015, the research could be a valuable tool for developers considering projects between East 90th and East 120th streets.

"It's hard to find anywhere else in the region or the state of Ohio, for that matter, that has incurred growth in a down period," said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc. and a candidate for the new Cuyahoga County Council.

Several years ago, UCI commissioned a report that predicted 10,000 new jobs and $3 billion in construction and capital improvements in the neighborhood from 2005 to 2015. This new study, conducted by Real Estate Strategies Inc., found that the area likely will exceed that construction goal but could miss the 10,000 jobs mark.

The updated research forecasts more than $3.1 billion in construction, according to an executive summary obtained by The Plain Dealer. But the 17 institutions will create the equivalent of 7,440 new full-time jobs between 2005 and 2015 -- about 75 percent of what UCI expected a few years ago. The 17 organizations surveyed represent approximately 95 percent of employment in the area.

Ronayne called the job creation an "enormous success" and attributed the reduced projections to the economy. He added that projects at the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and other institutions are supporting, on average, more than 3,000 construction jobs each year.

"We do both real estate advisory work and economic consulting across the country, and there aren't many places that have the number of cranes that University Circle does," said Elizabeth Beckett, senior vice president at Real Estate Strategies, based near Philadelphia.

The 17 organizations have 31,984 full-time workers and 6,245 part-time workers. Tack on indirect employment, such as businesses that open or expand because of Case Western Reserve University or the Cleveland Museum of Art, and you get the equivalent of 82,611 full-time jobs, or about 12 percent of employment in Cuyahoga County.

Collectively, those jobs have an economic impact of more than $14 billion a year in Cuyahoga County. Add in jobs and paychecks tied to University Circle construction projects, and the annual economic impact surpasses $20 billion.

Several developers already are building on that growth. Buyers are snapping up townhouses at 27 Coltman in Little Italy. WXZ Development, of Fairview Park, is putting up townhouses along Euclid Avenue and has plans for 60 apartments on Hazel Drive. And construction recently started at Uptown, a mixed-use project at Euclid and Mayfield Road that includes apartments, stores and restaurants in its first phase.

Development opportunities prompted Wes Finch, chairman of the Finch Group, to partner with UCI and pay for the market study. Finch owns Park Lane Villa, a high-end apartment building off East 105th Street. The building is constantly at or near capacity, teeming with medical residents, graduate students, specialists and researchers spending a few years in Cleveland.

For several years, Finch has been eyeing a 97-acre development site known as Upper Chester, at the edge of the University Circle, Hough and Fairfax neighborhoods. He hopes to build 240 apartments on 3 acres just west of East 101st Street, along Chester Avenue. Another developer, NR Investments Inc. of Miami, recently has been floating a competing mixed-use proposal for the property.

Finch believes the Real Estate Strategies report will help developers attract lenders to projects like Upper Chester.

According to the study, nearly 10,500 of the employees from the 17 organizations live in six nearby ZIP codes, in Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Beachwood, Lyndhurst and Pepper Pike. Earlier this year, more than 2,800 employees were in University Circle on limited-term contracts, typically one to three years.

"This shows demand that is greater than our capacity to produce," said Finch, who is looking at other development opportunities around University Circle. "This whole area really does not have a significant amount of quality housing. It's ripe to grow."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/university_circle_study_shows.html

Local group raising funds to build Fisher House at Cleveland's University Circle for wounded veterans

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Construction is probably a few years off, but a local group pledged Friday that the region will have a Fisher House -- lodging for the families of wounded warriors being treated at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.

The goal is a 20-suite home with a communal sitting and dining areas. A tentative site has already been identified at East 105th Street and Wade Park Avenue, adjacent to the VA hospital in University Circle.

"A Fisher House in Cleveland has no opposition," said Tom Sweeney, a Vietnam veteran and former TV newsman here who chairs the local task force.
The objective is to raise $3 million, he said.

"When you raise half the funds that is our benchmark, we will provide the rest, put a shovel in the ground and begin building said, said Cindy Campbell, a retired Navy officer with the Fisher House Foundation.

Share "We know we can't do it this year, but maybe next year," Sweeney told a group of supporters who met Friday afternoon at the Stokes VA center.

Campbell told them the fast they raise the money the higher a priority Cleveland becomes for the foundation.

There are 47 of these houses near military or VA care facilities in the U.S. and abroad, including one in Cincinnati and two at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton.

All were built with local money and matching funds from the Fisher Foundation, a Maryland based private non-profit founded 20 years ago by philanthropist Zachary Fisher.

Susan Fuehrer, the center's acting medical director, said it provides 42 percent of the VA health care in Ohio.

Campbell said that permanently injured veterans must go to a VA center once a year to validate their disability payments. If they have to travel for that or for out-patient treatment, the VA is not in a position to provide lodging for them and their families.

Sue Tewksbury of Mentor spoke with special authority Friday when she said "the military knows wounded soldiers heal better and faster when family members are there."

She said her son, Justin Kalenit, who was with 11 other airborne soldiers in Afghanistan in 2007 when they were ambushed, half dying and the other half suffering serious wounds.

When her son was strong enough to be airlifted to a military hospital in Germany, the Army flew her there and she stayed in a Fisher House across the street.

There were others at the house "for the same reason I was," she said.

When her son was moved to a Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. , there was no room at the Fisher House and she stayed a local hotel. "But there were no other people (at the hotel) like me."

David Pristash of Brecksville was an officer with the Army's Special Forces in Vietnam. He said he suffered burns over more than 60 percent of his body when he was in a mortar position near the Cambodian border and enemy fire set off the mortar rounds nearby. His heavy weapons sergeant suffered similar burns.

"There were no Fisher Houses then," he said.

Pristash said when he and his sergeant were being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, their wives were house in an old wooden barracks and had to fend for themselves. The sergeant's wife had to leave to tend their family "and he died two days later."

"There's no doubt in my mind that if my wife would have left, I wouldn't have made it out," Pristash said.

Sweeney said the task force is forming a board of directors, and is pressing ahead with fund raising. "This is good for the soul of Northeast Ohio," he said.

For more information call Sean Nelson or Ashley Trimble at the Stokes VA center, 440-526-3030, ext. 6720, or go to www.fisherhouse.org.


http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/a_foundation_of_support_for_wo.html

Developer John Ferchill plans University Circle tech center

By JAY MILLER
2:45 pm, September 14, 2010

Developer John Ferchill today unveiled plans for a $98.6 million tech center on a University Circle site currently occupied by the 3rd District police station and a Cleveland Public Library branch.

To make the project work, the Ferchill Group is negotiating with the city of Cleveland to build a new 3rd District station at 4501 Chester Ave., the site of the former Ward Baking Co.

Mr. Ferchill unveiled his plan at a Cleveland City Council hearing this morning. City council must approve the sale of the city-owned Ward Baking land and approve the complex financing for the new police station.

The new construction, which is described as an “innovation center campus,” effectively replaces the MidTown Technology Center that Mr. Ferchill's development firm planned at East 61st Street and Euclid Avenue. That project never got off the ground and the building that the Ferchill Group bought in 2003, the former Knitting Mills building, has been demolished.

The tech center will be built in phases. The first phase is a five-story, 100,000-square-foot office building at Chester Avenue and Stokes Boulevard. A second 100,000-square-foot building, on the library property would be built to the south. Mr. Ferchill told council that he has plans for a third building, but to accomplish that would require moving an Illuminating Co. substation at East 105th Street and Chester.

Mr. Ferchill said he has had interest from potential tenants but he did not name names.

He said he chose the site because it is in what he called a “demilitarized zone” — neutral territory between Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland, three health care and technology centers that have a variety of startup technology businesses in their orbits.

He said his first choice for a tech center years ago was John Hay High School, which the Cleveland Metropolitan School District has renovated and transformed into a school with a health care focus.

The Ferchill Group already is in the tech center business. It developed the $46 million Bridgeside Point II at the Pittsburgh Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20100914/FREE/100919937

Cultural gardens to say 'Welcome Armenia' on One World Day: Global Village

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One World Day, the signature annual event of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens will introduce a new community to the landmark garden chain Sunday.

The Armenian ambassador to the United States, Tatoul Markarian, will help to dedicate an Armenian Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Drive at the north end of Rockefeller Park.

Three years in the making, the eye-catching garden celebrates the distinct identity of the Armenian people. Its centerpiece is an alphabet block-like granite sculpture depicting the Armenian alphabet, one of the oldest alphabets in continuous use in the world.

Share "The alphabet is part of the secret code of being Armenian," said garden president Berj Shakarian, a retired architect.

At the 1 p.m. dedication, a blessing will be presented by Rev. Martiros Hakobyan, pastor of St. Gregory of Narek in Richmond Heights, the only active Armenian church in Ohio and the cultural anchor of the local Armenian community, which numbers about 2,500 people.

The dedication will launch a busy afternoon in a garden chain that now embraces 26 cultural groups. Marchers in the traditional Parade of Nations, many of them in native dress, will leave from the Polish Cultural Garden at 3:30 p.m. and carry national flags along East Boulevard to the Hungarian Cultural Garden. The One World Day program will unfold at 4 p.m. on the Hungarian garden's lower level on MLK Drive, about midway between St. Clair and Superior avenues.

Rocco Scotti will sing the national anthem and dozens of new Americans will take the oath of citizenship with U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Perelman at an outdoor naturalization ceremony.

Many of the gardens will be offering ethnic foods and cultural performances. Lolly the Trolley makes it easy to sample the fare. Trollies will shuttle passengers from the parking lot of the Cleveland VA Medical Center to the garden sites.

A Syrian flag will finally fly: Summoning the resources and enthusiasm to build a cultural garden can take decades, even generations, as the Syrian community can attest. Eighty years after being awarded a garden site, the Syrian community is building a cultural garden in Rockefeller Park, across from the India Cultural Garden on MLK drive.

The Syrian Cultural Garden Committee will introduce its work at a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Gov. Ted Strickland at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Theirs will be the 27th garden in the chain and the first representing an Arab American community. To join the effort, call 216-475-2666.

Why the man on the moon is smiling: That man on the moon enjoys a lady, according to Chinese mythology, and her beauty shines brightest on the day of the Moon Festival, which this year falls on September 22.

You can partake in this ancient rite of autumn at Cleveland's newest Asian-themed mall. A public Moon Cake Festival begins at noon Saturday at Asian Town Center, at East 38th Street and Superior Avenue, featuring moon cakes, music and cultural performances.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/cultural_gardens_to_say_welcom.html

Charter One grants to help build up West Side Market neighborhood

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An investment from Charter One will help support development of businesses in the West Side Market and the surrounding neighborhood.

The bank will provide $130,000 in grants to nonprofit groups that are focused on building up the neighborhood as a Market District.

Those grants, to be announced at a news conference today, are the first of several potential Charter One investments in the district between now and late 2012, when the West Side Market will celebrate its 100th birthday.

As the city and community groups prepare for the centennial, attracting outside investment and development to the neighborhood is a major priority. The district, several blocks around West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, already includes Great Lakes Brewing Co., popular bars, restaurants and the old United Bank Building, which has been redeveloped for offices and retail space.

The Market District plan involves establishing and marketing the area as the epicenter of the local food movement, driven by the diverse vendors at the market, a 6-acre urban farm, prominent local chefs and noted brewers.

Charter One's money will support grants for small businesses, including market vendors and farmers; a competition for start-up grants for new businesses; farm stands at the Ohio City Farm, at West 24th Street and Bridge Avenue; promotion of local food and sustainability efforts; education programs about healthy eating and nutrition; financial literacy and workforce programs; and public art in the neighborhood.

"This is just a beginning," Ken Marblestone, president of Charter One in Ohio, said of the $130,000. "We see Ohio City and the West Side Market as a great opportunity to take a tremendous amount of energy and take it to the next level. The timing is just so perfect, with the 100-year anniversary coming up in two years."

The money comes from the Charter One Foundation, which awards about 150 charitable grants each year in Ohio. The average grant is about $5,000. During the past few years, the bank has invested in areas including University Circle and the Gordon Square Arts District in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

In Ohio City, $75,000 of Charter One's investment will go to a single organization, the Ohio City Near West Development Corp. The neighborhood nonprofit has partnered with the city of Cleveland to plan for the West Side Market's birthday. The remaining $55,000 will go to Cleveland Public Art, Neighborhood Progress Inc., Entrepreneurs for Sustainability and the Refugee Response, which helps refugees adapt to Northeast Ohio and find jobs at places including the Ohio City Farm.

In a prepared statement, Mayor Frank Jackson said the investment will help "position Ohio City as the neighborhood that feeds the city." That includes giving residents access to more local food at the West Side Market -- one of many topics being discussed by members of a centennial commission the mayor formed earlier this year.

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the Market District, hopes Charter One's commitment will attract additional investors to the neighborhood.

"It's seed," he said. "It's going to encourage other kinds of development. I'm sure that, after the announcement, other people are going to pay attention."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/charter_one_bank_to_award_gran.html

How does Cuyahoga County reach a $490 million budget for the $465 million medical mart and convention center?

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So how did Cuyahoga County come up with a budgt of $490 million for building a $465 million downtown medical mart and convention center?

Well, for one thing, analysts assume you won't be buying much in the next two decades. From cars to Cavs jerseys, they figure, sales will stagnate at 2010 levels until 2027 -- a slump experts say hasn't happened before. And sales taxes are paying for the project.

Commissioners in 2007 imposed a 20-year, quarter-cent sales tax hike to pay for a four-story showplace for medical technology and a connected, L-shaped convention center beneath Malls B and C in downtown Cleveland.

$465 million, a big bump up from the $425 million budget commissioners had long publicly pledged. The county's partner, Chicago-based MMPI, will kick in $8.5 million, leaving the county with more than $33 million in reserve.

What goes into the project piggy bank?

The $490 figure is made up of $135 million the county has so far collected in the increased sales tax, plus money the county will borrow. Future collections of that sales tax increase will pay off the loans.

Tim Offtermatt, a financial consultant who has worked on the analysis for more than two years, predicts county residents will spend the same amount of money on purchases every year for the next 17 years.

That would mean $40 million a year from the quarter-cent sale tax increase of 2007.

In 2008, the tax brought in $42.1 million, according to county figures. Last year, in a weakened economy, it collected $38.5 million, and this year it's projected to bring in $40.1 million.

The estimate is certainly conservative, said John Kohlstrand, a spokesman for the state department of taxation.

"We think it's pretty unlikely that any county would, over the course of 20 years, not see an increase in the nominal number of taxable sales," Kohlstrand said.

In 1989, a quarter-percent of Cuyahoga's sales tax generated $23.8 million, he said. In 2009, it generated $38.8 million.

What about inflation?

The county is not banking on inflation to boost tax collections, based on recent history.

Adjusted for inflation, Cuyahoga's sales tax revenues have dropped 4.2 percent since 1990, said George Zeller, an economic research analyst in Cleveland.

"Any gains you get out of inflation don't pay for much," Zeller said.

But he acknowledged that the county has been mired in an extraordinarily bad stretch.

"It would be a big surprise if it stayed that bad for another two decades," he said. "Why would it? It never has in the past."

Still, Offtermatt, senior vice president of public finance for Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., said the county can't rely on any significant inflation, or growth.

"I'm hopeful that I'm wrong and that the county can squirrel away a lot of money to pay for capital improvements and pay off bonds early," he said. "There's no guarantees in any of this stuff. But being conservative will give the county the best chance that it will not have to dip into the general fund to pay medical mart bonds."

Paul Komlosi, president of P3 Development Advisors who consults for the county's land bank, thinks being conservative in the predictions is smart.

"By keeping it static, that's a much more prudent way to go, without question," he said.

So shouldn't $40 million over 20 years generate $800 million, instead of $490 million, for the project?

The county would collect $800 million over 20 years, but much of that will be used to pay interest on $350 million the county plans to borrows now to build the medical mart and convention center.

It works like a mortgage. People who borrow $100,000 for a house through a 30-year mortgage end up paying close to $300,000 by the time the mortgage is satisfied.

Is there any extra money available?

The county has $18.5 million left in its $50 million contingency fund. There's another $15 million of the $490 million that also is not allocated. It could be needed if interest rates change or sales tax collections fall short.

"It gives us the flexibility to meet any challenges," said Matt Rubino, the county's interim budget chief. "There will be challenges. That's the nature of these large-scale projects."

If the county ended up using the entire contingency fund and the extra $15 million and needed more, the politically unpopular idea of extending the quarter-cent sales tax increase could be an option. But commissioners say they have no plans to extend the tax past 2027, and nearly every candidate for a new government that will replace the county commissioners has promised not to raise taxes without asking voters for permission.

If voters gave that permission, an extra five years of collections would be enough to let the county borrow another $65 million to spend on the project now, according to the county's analysis.

That, perhaps, could foot the bill for fancy extras on the mall above the convention center.

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2010/09/how_do_you_get_490_million_for_the_medical_mart.html

i love the look of these buildings, particularly the first rendering. it is beautiful, and i usually like more traditional buildings. i like so much of what i see in cleveland. i have never been there, but i am going to make a point to go w/in the next year. i have relatives and friends who live in cincy, and its seems i never get away to other areas.

i noticed one proposed project that seems a bit related to one just announced in memphis. perhaps, it is the idea of adaptive reuse. in our downtown medical center there is a 20 story building that is being gutted and a hyatt extended stay is being planned. it is located smack in the biomedical development baptist research park. until it was purchased by the group that is developing the research park, it was a parking garage from 14 stories and below, but 15 to 20 it was a holiday inn. from what i have seen of initial drawings, it will look pretty nice. as most know, so many changes can occur from the conception of a building to its end, one can't always know the appearance of the final product.

just wanted to say that i thought the stonebridge project is beautiful, and it certainly looks good for your city. i'm pulling for you guys and the medical trade center complex. best to your city.

Changes considered for historic West Side Market in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Street cars have given way to buses and automobiles. Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood has grown, then collapsed, then bounced back. But through nearly a century of tumult and triumph, the West Side Market has been a beacon at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue.

The market's centennial in 2012 is reason to celebrate, but it's also an opportunity for change, a time to ask how the city-owned market and its neighborhood can be preserved for the next 100 years.

Should the market open on Sundays? Does it offer the right mix of foods? Is there room for more locally grown food, nutrition programs and education?

More broadly, can development in Ohio City increase business at the market? And in turn, can the market attract investment to the neighborhood and region?

These are some of the questions a centennial commission assembled by Mayor Frank Jackson is considering. The discussion has just started, but the prospect of change already has prompted whispering - and sometimes shouting - among vendors who are wary of sudden attention from the city, which has a tortured history with its tenants.

Despite the potential for controversy, public officials and several tenants say the centennial, recent publicity from the Food Network and the Travel Channel and a nationwide movement toward homegrown food make this the perfect moment to tackle ambitious plans to protect the West Side Market.

"There couldn't be a better time for markets," said David O'Neil, a senior associate with the Project for Public Spaces. "They're seen as opportunities for the city to invest in their own people, their own economy."

City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the market, puts it bluntly: "We've got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we waste it, we're fools."

Hours of debate

Public markets are fragile, complicated things. They're steeped history and culture, nourished by outspoken vendors and a diverse group of shoppers.

Those qualities can make a market a maelstrom when changes are afoot.

"You're dealing with fears and emotions," O'Neil said. "You're dealing with competition. And that goes to the very heart of what makes these markets tick."

Just walk into the West Side Market and ask tenants about their hours, specifically on Sunday. It's a top grocery-shopping day across the country, according to trade groups. Yet the market, which has kept the same hours since 1912, is not open.

The central building and the L-shaped produce arcade are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, a schedule that dates to when Cleveland had several public markets and blue laws, rooted in religion, prevented Sunday shopping.

For most vendors, that's just fine. More than a million people visit the market each year, trickling in throughout the week and flooding in on Saturdays.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," said Don Whitaker, who owns D. W. Whitaker Meats and has been working at the market for 30 years.

Ken Silliman, the mayor's chief of staff, stressed that the city intends to listen to vendors. The commission, which includes community members, city officials and a few tenants, is not rushing to a decision on any schedule change, he said.

"The tenants are not bashful, and they are very direct," he said. "They are very forceful in expressing their business interests. We welcome directness, and we welcome forceful discussions."



Shoppers examine herbs, grains and dried beans at the market Wednesday. The interior market building, with 100 stands, is filled with vendors selling beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, baked goods and prepared foods. The outer, L-shaped building is largely occupied by produce vendors. David Wible, executive director of the North Market in Columbus, said hours are the trickiest topic for markets. Vendors typically favor keeping things the same, he said, and the passionate debate can sometimes lead to tenants focusing on their needs rather than what shoppers want.

At the West Side Market, many longtime vendors who sell beef, pork, poultry and sausages said extended hours would hurt their businesses. They're worried about higher costs, the need to train help and the challenge of getting meat and other supplies more frequently. They say longtime customers expect the business owner, not hired help, to choose their steak, slice their pork or wrap their chicken.

Their stands are open 40 hours each week, but these vendors say they easily work 70 hours, cutting meat in the basement and preparing for the shopping days. They want Sundays to spend with their families, to go to church, to rest.

"This market's hours have been the same for 100 years," said Vince Bertonaschi, the owner of Vince's Meats and a representative on the centennial commission. "If you start juggling these hours, you're going to take confusion and make it mass confusion."

He and other tenants insist that Saturday shoppers will migrate to Sundays, leaving the vendors with the equivalent of one day's sales for two days of expenses.

That's possible - each public market has a unique location, vendor mix and clientele. But the experiences of other public markets show that Sunday can be a boon. The Findlay Market, owned by the city of Cincinnati but managed and leased by a nonprofit group, required vendors to open on Sundays in 2005. Tenants threatened to move to Kentucky, but they did not actually leave. Saturday business held steady, and overall sales have increased.

"I think it's very difficult for a city to make changes like that," said Bob Pickford, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Corporation for Findlay Market. "We have thicker skin. We don't have to run for re-election."


It is nearly impossible to compare public markets, which have different histories, vendors and communities. But as the West Side Market approaches its centennial, other public markets could offer some examples of what works, and what doesn't, at these complicated facilities.
At the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, a nonprofit market manager added optional Sunday hours in late 2006. About a third of the vendors initially signed on, and more than two-thirds are now open all weekend.

Several West Side Market vendors are open to change. Many of these tenants sell prepared foods, or what some longtime vendors disdainfully refer to as "fast food."

Bob Holcepl, owner of City Roast coffee and the neighboring Crepes de Luxe stand, would like to be open six or seven days a week. If the market sticks to 40 hours, he thinks those hours should be on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tom Dunderman, who runs the Basketeria produce stand, would rather not be at the market on Sundays. But he and his wife would hire additional help and make the extra day work -- if the city aggressively promoted Sunday to shoppers.

Gary Thomas, owner of the Ohio City Pasta stand and wholesale business, wants to know what shoppers think. The Ohio City Near West Development Corp., a neighborhood development group taking a key role in the centennial effort, is talking to consultants and Cleveland State University about surveying customers.

"We do not have any preconceived notions of what changes, if any changes, should take place," said Eric Wobser, executive director of Ohio City Near West. "I have no idea whether it makes sense for the market to be open hours other than it's currently open. What I will say is that I don't want to avoid the conversation just because it's sensitive."

Mending trust

Joe Cimperman wants the vendors to make more money -- potentially 10 percent to 15 percent more within two years of the centennial. Before tackling major changes like hours, though, he thinks the city needs to build trust by addressing persistent problems at the market and in the neighborhood.


Kate McIntyre places price tags next to her fish Wednesday at the Kate's Fish stand.The market runs on an annual budget of about $1.1 million, covering its costs some years and requiring city subsidies during others. The vendors say the basement, where they store food and cut meat, needs major updates. The plumbing is outdated. The elevators used to transport pallets of food keep breaking. And the bathrooms are dingy.

"If this thing is going to be the economic juggernaut for the market and the neighborhood, we need to run it more efficiently," Cimperman said.

The city has set aside about $230,000 for basic improvements, including new cooler doors, light fixtures, boiler room repairs and new ramps for trash compactors.

Some tenants would like to see an unused space above the West Side Market caf converted into a demonstration kitchen for events and educational programs, something the city and Ohio City Near West are considering. Others are enthusiastic about the city's focus on sustainability, which could bring more composting, recycling and local food programs into the market and might equip the building with more efficient electricity, plus a heating-and-cooling system.

But many longtime vendors doubt that the cash-strapped city can pull off anything ambitious, when problems with plumbing and climate control have persisted for years. And some past improvements, including new display cases, have led to city lawsuits against contractors and vendor complaints about equipment.

"They've been the same problems written on a piece of paper, and we get nothing back from the city," said Tom Boutros of Boutros Bros. Produce.

Larry Schade, owner of Kaufmann Poultry, wants the city to re-illuminate the market's clock tower and repair the clock, which rises over West 25th and Lorain. Those repairs, he says, are the least the city can do to reward vendors who bring diversity and recognition of Cleveland.

"That's what we would ask of the city as a birthday gift," Schade said. "And to get off our back about the hours."

Not an island

At 11 a.m. on a Saturday, the market's parking lot is a logjam. Drivers are circling, ignoring the arrows painted on the pavement to direct traffic. As one car stops to wait for a space, a line of vehicles stretches out behind it.

Parking has become a bigger problem as restaurants, bars and other businesses have sprung up and expanded. The market has a dedicated lot, which the tenants association rents from the city, but parking is free and no one patrols to restrict spaces to shoppers or enforce the posted two-hour limit.

The parking crunch is a huge concern for vendors, now that Ohio City Near West is trying to brand the neighborhood as the Market District, a collection of stores, restaurants and events built around the region's food culture. Last week, Charter One announced $130,000 in grants for nonprofit groups in the Market District, for initiatives including small business-creation, education programs, urban farming and integration of more local food at the market.

The city has budgeted $1.5 million to improve the small park across from the market. Cleveland developer MRN Ltd. has been remaking the old United Bank Building, where the offices are nearly full and the popular Crop Bistro & Bar plans to move into the lobby.

"They want all these businesses here, they have to show us some parking," Bertonaschi said, adding that market shoppers often complain about parking problems.

The vendors are discussing ways to police their lot. Meanwhile, Cimperman is talking about the possibility of adding angled parking spaces on Lorain Avenue, from the market to the Hope Memorial Bridge. He also wants to prevent vendors' employees from occupying spaces that shoppers could use.

Ohio City Near West has long-term plans to build a parking garage in the neighborhood. But garages are expensive and difficult to finance, and that project could be several years away. As a short-term solution, the group is talking to several Ohio City businesses about letting market shoppers use their parking lots on Saturdays.

Development in the neighborhood, home to Great Lakes Brewing Co. and a cluster of popular bars and restaurants, has made some vendors nervous. The people who flock to the brewery or head to Market Avenue for Sunday brunch are not traditional market shoppers, Schade said. He believes the centennial commission is really a strategy to promote Ohio City, potentially to the detriment of the market.

"They think all our customers are just going to spill out into the neighborhood and fill the streets," he said, calling Ohio City Near West's materials about the Market District "Madison Avenue B.S."

Creating vibrant neighborhoods is a priority for public-market owners and managers across the country. In some places, like the tourist-heavy Pike Place Market in Seattle, there's plenty of activity. Other market districts, like Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood around the Findlay Market, are slowly rebuilding after years of population loss and neglect.

O'Neil, of the Project for Public Spaces, said markets can bring people back to neighborhoods to shop, to live, to open small businesses and to go out on Saturday nights. Ideally, a public market will bolster a neighborhood, and new businesses, homeowners and events will bring more customers to the market.

"The door's got to swing both ways," said Gary Thomas of Ohio City Pasta. "I understand the fears of certain people, but on the same token, there should not be a disconnect, either. The market's not an island. It's a big building in a neighborhood."

Making a better market

As the centennial approaches, the city faces a considerable challenge: Promoting the market without diminishing its authenticity and turning it into a tourist attraction.

Cities are moving away from the model of running public markets like real estate. Instead, they are looking at markets as a way to preserve local culture, to educate residents and children about nutrition and to nurture small businesses.

Many cities -- Cincinnati, Columbus and Detroit, to name a few -- have ceded control, handing management of their markets to nonprofits. Holcepl and some other vendors would like to see Cleveland follow suit, but public officials say private ownership or management of the West Side Market is not on the table.

Christine Zuniga Eadie, the new market manager, walks through the produce arcade at the West Side Market on Wednesday. The city of Cleveland recently hired Zuniga to replace the market's longtime manager, who retired. The city has formed a public-private partnership with Ohio City Near West, which will receive $20,000 a year for three years for planning events and promotions and seeking grants and potential donors for the market. In August, the nonprofit hired Amanda Dempsey, formerly Cimperman's executive assistant, as a liaison to the vendors and as director of the Market District. She will work closely with Christine Zuniga Eadie, the city's new market manager.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Eadie is 28 years old, has a master's degree in urban planning from Cleveland State and was an executive fellow with the Cleveland Leadership Center. Eadie might represent a changing of the guard at the market, whose last manager, a former butcher, recently retired after more than two decades.

The city would not make Eadie available for an interview.

With so many people paying attention, the West Side Market could be primed to attract investment and assert its place as one of the foremost -- if not the top -- public markets in the country. But with the market's delicate balance old-world and new, of fresh and prepared foods, of local shoppers and tourists, any changes will require great care and communication.

"We can do better. We will do better," Cimperman said. "Ultimately, that has got to be an asset that taxpayers and customers feel is working more in the direction that they need it to. We owe it to the people to give them a better return on their investment."

Cleveland: Tri-C opens Culinary Arts campus on Public Square

CLEVELAND -- Cuyahoga Community College officially opened its newest campus Tuesday evening. The 25,000-square-foot Hospitality Management Center will occupy the ground floor of the former May Company Department store on Public Square.

The $6 million project created a state-of-the-art education and training facility for the College's hospitality and culinary arts programs.

It aims to prepare students of all ages for careers in the fastest growing field -- hospitality -- and is complete with vast kitchens, classrooms, and high-tech equipment.

"Restaurants, casinos, sports venues, event management. We have health care, we have catering, we have private catering we have all those needs," says the dean of the new program, Gregory Forte.

"Demand is so great at all times, because the industry is growing and growing and growing and growing."

Mitch Mzik completed a culinary arts program at Tri-C's other campuses and has been working as a chef at Don's Pomeroy House in Strongsville.

He can't say enough about the preparation he received at the community college.

"You've got to have the skills, and you get the skills at Tri-C from all the hands on experience and from all the teachers, and you learn a lot of new things," Mzik told WKYC.

"So coming to Tri-C is a good bet for me, at least, instead of spending three times as much to go out of state."

It is estimated that 1.3 million new jobs in the hospitality field will be created nationwide in the next 10 years. Cleveland is expected to have a growing demand for professionals in the field.

"The casino is going to be opening up in the next year or two," Forte pointed out. "The Medical Mart in the next couple years, and as those things open up in the downtown area, opportunities in the hospitality industry will simply expand."

He sees the Hospitality Management Center downtown as a perfect example of what a community college should be.

"We're here to change people's lives," he said, while helping to prepare for Tuesday evening's grand opening. "We're here to give them the skills to go out into the field and get what they need and learn what they need."

"You learn by doing," he went on, "you learn by touching, you learn by tasting, you learn by making a mistake in a kitchen environment where it's not going to affect anybody."

Interestingly, Tri-C's new campus opens on the same day President Barack Obama held the first White House Summit on community college.

"I have a goal," the president said, at the summit, "that by 2020, America will once again lead the world in producing college graduates and I believe community colleges will play a huge part in meeting this goal."

Cuyahoga Community College president Jerry Sue Thornton was among those in attendance at the White House summit.

She hurried back to Cleveland in time for the dedication of the Hospitality Management Center, where the traditional ribbon-cutting was replaced by the slicing of an 8-foot long piece of French bread.

© 2010 WKYC-TV

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=152073&catid=45

This is so stupid and a waste of time and money. I like the mall the way it is!

Cleveland's new Group Plan Commission has a year to build a new vision for the downtown Mall

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Imagine native prairie grasses rustling in lakefront breezes, luring butterflies and migratory birds to the downtown Mall.

Picture outdoor basketball games, volleyball tournaments, a splash park, playgrounds and a reflecting pool. Or think of striding along a five-kilometer loop at lunch on tree-shaded promenades with views of Lake Erie. All this and more could be in the works for the Mall, most of which will be rebuilt as part of the $465 million effort to construct a medical mart and new convention center in Cleveland.

The problem is that the basic budget for the project, sponsored by Cuyahoga County in partnership with MMPI Inc. of Chicago, includes $21.5 million for the Mall, an amount that won't buy much more than trees, turf and concrete.

If the plan evolves from the basic proposal to a more elaborate and expensive vision, Cleveland will need more money from sources other than the quarter-cent sales-tax increase imposed by the county to pay for the core project.

"We have an opportunity in front of us to do something really extraordinary," said Anthony Coyne, chairman of the city's new Group Plan Commission.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson appointed the 15-member body in the summer to create a new vision for the Mall and the surrounding parts of downtown -- and find new sources of money.

The commission, which includes sports-team executives as well as civic and business leaders, is holding its first large-scale work session this morning. Jackson recently extended the deadline for recommendations from Jan. 1 to Valentine's Day.

Demolition of existing structures to make way for the medical mart, which will rise immediately west of the Mall and north of St. Clair Avenue, could begin between mid-November and Jan. 1, said Jeffrey Appelbaum, the Cleveland attorney representing the county in its partnership with MMPI.

The existing and outmoded convention center built under the northern two sections of the Mall in the 1920s and '60s will be removed, although part of the foundation will be reused.

As in the past, the roof of the new convention center will double as the surface of Malls B and C, which extend two blocks north from St. Clair Avenue to the lakefront overlook north of Lakeside Avenue.

MMPI will operate and maintain the convention center and medical mart, while the Mall will be treated as public property maintained by the city.

Planners recognize that the project presents a huge opportunity to rethink downtown's largest public space, a monumental if threadbare legacy of the 1903 Group Plan for downtown led by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham.

Burnham and partners conceived the 12.6-acre Mall as the grand centerpiece of a district of neoclassical government buildings, including City Hall and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Today, the space is chilly and lifeless most of the time.

Designs for the steel trusses that will support the new convention center roof -- aka the Mall -- are too far along to allow a large fountain or giant sculpture, like Anish Kapoor's shiny "Cloud Gate" at Chicago's Millennium Park, known as "the bean."

But officials from the county and MMPI Inc. say there's plenty of time -- up to a year from the start of construction -- to make changes and additions without adding to the cost of the basic project.

Coyne, who also chairs the city's planning commission, said that a revitalized and more beautiful Mall -- one that goes far beyond the initial, bare bones concept -- will bring more immediate benefits to the general public than either the medical mart or the new convention center. It would, for example, boost the housing market and make downtown a more attractive place to visit.

Those benefits would justify financial contributions from businesses and foundations, the sale of naming rights or deals in which property owners or civic groups improve and maintain sections of parkland, Coyne said.

The design challenge is whether the commission can come up with something original without imitating widely hailed new urban parks, such as Millennium Park or the High Line park in New York City.

Designers involved in the Cleveland project say the first step is realizing the Mall's enormous potential.

"All the ingredients are there," said Shannon Nichol, a partner of the Seattle landscape architecture firm of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. The firm is collaborating with LMN Architects, also of Seattle, in the design of the convention center and medical mart.

GGN designed the highly acclaimed Lurie Garden at Millennium Park, where tall prairie grasses and wildflowers create a striking contrast to the Michigan Avenue skyline.

LMN and GGN have agreed to provide additional design services to the new Group Plan Commission, above and beyond their work for MMPI, Coyne said.

The commission will spend $60,000 to $100,000 to develop plans, with money or in-kind services coming from sources including the Cleveland Foundation, ParkWorks and the city, Coyne said.

As part of the first wave of planning for the convention center and medical mart, LMN and GGN devised two separate concepts for the Mall, both made public in August. Both will be starting points for the Group Plan Commission.

Recent design modifications required increasing the estimated cost of the overall project from $425 million to $465 million. As a result, the amount allocated to the basic plan for the Mall jumped from $16.2 million to $21.5 million, Appelbaum said.

The "Baseline" plan calls for planting Malls B and C with large areas of grass.

The roof of the convention center would peel up like a raised carpet at the north end of Mall B to reveal a 20-foot-high wall of glass enclosing the north lobby entrance to exhibit spaces below.

The roof above the lobby would support a new overlook with views of Lake Erie to the north. The south-facing slope created by the rise of the Mall, just to the south, could be used as a public amphitheater.

The Mall would be flanked by double rows of trees, re-creating the shaded promenades specified by Burnham in 1903, but long since removed.

The "Master Plan" goes much further, although its cost has not yet been estimated.

Nichol said the plan would unite the best aspects of Burnham's original design with elements that would portray Cleveland as a Great Lakes city devoted to medicine, healthy living and environmentally sustainable development.

The proposal calls for framing areas of lawn and flanking City Hall and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse with drifts of native Ohio prairie grasses. The golden grasses would attract migratory birds and contrast with the blue of the lake, Nichol said.

The social promenades would be enhanced as prototypical "complete streets," to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists and cars.

The outer sides of the promenades would flanked with "Active Urban Edge" gardens, including sport courts, playgrounds or splash parks.

The inner edges of the promenades, adjacent to the central lawns on the Mall, would be lined with "Cleveland Gardens," filled with flowers, seating, public art and other amenities.

A large area north of the Lakeside Avenue entrance to the convention center would receive special paving, creating a court for public events.

Nichol said it might be difficult to include water features, but she did not rule out the possibility of shallow wading or reflecting pools.

As the plan evolves, Nichol said, the emphasis should be on "giving it a unique character you wouldn't find anywhere else in the world."

Coyne envisions a series of public meetings and brainstorming sessions throughout the fall, with dates to be announced. The commission will also explore issues including pedestrian connections to the lakefront and enhancements to Public Square.

"We'll be able to have discussions about locations for components like a dog park, a splash park, a place to play chess, places to recreate and enjoy the outdoors," Coyne said.

"This is for Clevelanders," he said. "This is something we really want to tackle."

Developers lined up to build 150-room hotel in University Circle

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Chagrin Falls developer and a North Carolina hotel manager have signed on to build a $27 million hotel in University Circle, across the street from University Hospitals's new cancer center.

Snavely Development Co. and Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. plan a 150-room, eight-story hotel off Cornell Road, behind a retail strip that runs along Euclid Avenue. The brand of hotel has not been announced.

The project capitalizes on the job growth and tourism in University Circle and the surrounding area, home to major hospitals, museums, the Cleveland Orchestra and educational institutions. At a time when development remains challenging, University Circle is one of the few markets where a hotel project could push forward.

On Wednesday, a review board affiliated with University Circle Inc., a nonprofit community group, took steps toward allocating $12 million to $15 million in highly prized New Markets Tax Credits to the hotel project.

The federal income tax credits, awarded by the U.S. Treasury to stimulate development in low-income areas, can be sold to banks or other profitable businesses to help fund projects.

"It's very important to meet the market for a business-friendly, family-friendly hotel that's in the mid-price range," said Chris Ronayne, president of University Circle Inc. and a member of the board that voted on the New Markets request.

University Circle Inc. and University Hospitals teamed up in 2008 to seek proposals for the hotel. Demand for rooms in the area is high, and hospital patients' families, visiting doctors and tourists often end up at hotels in downtown Cleveland or the eastern suburbs. In the University Circle area, the only options for overnight visitors are the InterContinental hotels, the Cleveland Clinic Guest House and Glidden House, a small hotel on the Case Western Reserve University campus.

With University Hospitals remaking its main campus and building a cancer hospital on Euclid Avenue, the need for hotel rooms has only been growing. Last year, Cleveland developer MRN Ltd. announced plans to turn the former Tudor Arms Hotel at Carnegie Avenue and East 107th Street into a Doubletree.

On Thursday, Snavely will present plans for the University Circle hotel to city design and planning officials. Guests at the property will pay an average rate of $140 a night and will park in a University Hospitals garage off Cornell Road.

President Peter Snavely hopes to start construction in early 2011 and open the hotel in late summer or fall 2012. The project will create roughly 200 construction jobs, just as University Hospitals is wrapping up several nearby projects, and the hotel will employ about 50 people when it opens.

Snavely still has to acquire the land, a parking lot owned by University Circle Inc. and University Hospitals. He plans to buy the property for about $33 per square foot -- roughly $425,000 for University Circle Inc. and $150,000 for University Hospitals. The deal will eliminate about 50 parking spaces, most of them used by University Hospitals permit-holders. The remaining parking lot will be refashioned, with 50 metered parking spaces, landscaping and an improved back side for the nearby stores and restaurants.

Snavely and Concord will jointly own the hotel, which will be managed by Concord, a hotel operator based in Raleigh, N.C. The developer also has to secure financing, no small feat. On top of the tax credits, the financing could include loans from sources including Cuyahoga County. Snavely has discussed additional New Markets Tax Credits with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which has an allocation.

The port has had preliminary talks with the developer, said Chief Financial Officer Brent Leslie. Tracey Nichols, Cleveland's economic development director, said the developer has talked to the city about Tax Increment Financing, an arrangement in which debt on a project can be repaid using increased property-tax revenues created by the development.

"We are really moving very fast today," said Snavely, who hopes to close on financing by the end of the year. "It's exciting to be in the flight of a development process that can actually happen."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/10/developers_lined_up_to_build_1.html

I find it amazing - and really sad that there needs to be $12 million to $15 million in tax credits provided to build a 150 room hotel - in an already busy area of the city. And the developers still think they may need to receive additional funds through loans from Cuyahoga County, possible additional New Markets Tax Credits --- and maybe tax increment financing as well!! Just for a puny little, 8 story, 150 room hotel!! Thats really sad.

New Student Center and Julka Hall at Cleveland State University add life to Euclid Avenue

If there were a prize in Northeast Ohio for the most-improved college or university campus, Cleveland State University would win it hands down.

The citys big urban university has steered firmly away from defensive-looking architecture that once made the 70-acre campus, founded in 1964, look like a cross between a prison and a factory. In recent years, CSU has embraced the notion that it should open itself up to the surrounding city with buildings that aim for a welcoming sense of transparency and even (gasp!) beauty.

The most dramatic evidence of this turnaround comes in the form of two sizable new buildings on Euclid Avenue, the citys historic main street.

One is the $44 million Student Center, designed by the venerable New York architecture firm of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, and the other is the $36 million Julka Hall, which houses the College of Education and Human Services and the School of Nursing.

Both are well-designed; both make strong connections between their interiors and the surrounding city; both are flooded with daylight; and both do a lot to improve the appearance of Euclid Avenue.

They're also an outcome of a new master plan devised under former CSU President Michael Schwartz, who led the university from 2000 to 2009.

That vision, devised by Kent State Universitys Urban Design Collaborative in Cleveland, showed how CSU, traditionally a commuter school, could develop into more of a residential campus. It also showed how CSU could ameliorate the harsh, Brutalist-style architecture of its earlier buildings with renovations and a fresh approach to new buildings.

The Student Center and Julka Hall follow a string of other projects that grew out of the plan. These include a $29.5 million Recreation Center, finished in 2006 along Chester Avenue at East 24th Street, and a more recent group of administrative offices along Euclid Avenue at East 24th Street.

Step in the front door at the new CSU Student Center and you see the campus bookstore plus a snack bar with soaring ceilings, shown here.
The Student Center, which occupies a strategic location at East 21st Street and Euclid Avenue, is the capstone to the Schwartz era, even though it was completed under his successor, Ronald Berkman.

If theres anything to regret about the center, its that CSU could have made a bolder choice of an architect and earned more attention for itself and Cleveland.

The building is a suave, polished and very late performance by Charles Gwathmey, a leading American architect, who died in August 2009 at age 71, while the center was under construction. Gwathmey had done buildings similar to CSUs around the country, including a large student center at the University of Cincinnati.

If CSU had wanted to make a bigger splash, it could have followed the example of Bowling Green State University, which is enjoying global attention for having chosen the Oslo, Norway-based firm of Snohetta to design its new Wolfe Center for the Arts. The building is the firms first in North America.

By hiring Gwathmey, whose buildings were often excellent but not cutting-edge, CSU made a solid choice, but not one calculated to garner wide attention.

Gwathmey rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the New York Five, a group of architects that included Michael Graves, Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier and John Hejduk.

Their goal was to breathe fresh life into the classic early 20th-century modernist architecture of Le Corbusier, who invented a new style inspired by the primal geometric shapes and the industrial forms of factories, ocean liners and airplanes.

While his erstwhile colleagues later veered in more radical directions, Gwathmey took a middle course. His Student Center at CSU nods gently in Le Corbusiers direction with features such as a towering entry pavilion with a facade that curves like the side of a piano, one of the earlier masters favorite forms.

The building is also full of ideas recognizable as vintage Gwathmey. These include the use of the square as a basic building module, which appears in the grid of rough textured granite tiles that frame the buildings entrance and in the robust steel framework of the buildings southwest facade, which functions both as a sun screen and as a large-scale, abstract sculpture.

A three-story central atrium in the new Student Center at Cleveland State University pulses with life, as it was designed to do.
With its large central atrium, the new building eerily echoes the basic form of the previous University Center, built in 1974 on the same site and designed by former Cleveland architect Don Hisaka.

The university replaced Hisakas building with Gwathmeys because the older one was an energy hog and because it would have been too expensive to adapt for use as a student center.

The atrium of Hisakas building felt vast and chilly because it faced north and was flooded with cool northern light. The central atrium of Gwathmeys building is far livelier and brighter.

Light spills in through skylights as well as square and ribbon-shaped windows on every side.

The atrium is flanked on the first two floors by open seating areas interspersed with amenities including the campus bookstore, a snack bar, a cafeteria, a Quiznos and a Pizzeria Uno. On the third level, offices and meeting areas for student organizations overlook both the central space and surrounding streets.

A large ballroom on the third floor faces west toward the downtown skyline, with windows framing a terrific view that creates a very obvious visual link between CSU and the city.

High walls on the east side of the ballroom have been decorated with beautifully restored murals by Elmer Brown, a leading Depression-era African-American artist in Cleveland. (Former CSU architectural historian Walter Leedy, who died in 2006, fought to have the murals salvaged from the now-demolished Valley View Homes Estate in Tremont.)

Seating areas throughout the building are abundant, and they range from quiet zones with carpeting and leather chairs to bustling spaces resembling those of a food court at a shopping mall. Students can hang out, study, people-watch. And theyre using the building heavily.

"I love it," said Sarah Ewing, a freshman from Eastlake who camps out every day to study at a table with a view of Trinity Cathedral across Euclid Avenue. I think its modern and artsy and colorful and very bright.

Julka Hall at Cleveland State University follows the new campus emphasis on transparency and lots of daylight.
The mood at Julka Hall, mainly a classroom building for students of education and nursing, is more subdued, although the building also emphasizes abundant daylight, lots of glass and a strong connection between inside and outside.

Designed by the Columbus office of NBBJ, a national firm, its shaped like a large letter V with one arm roughly paralleling Euclid Avenue, and the other cutting across the site diagonally. The spaces between and around the arms of the V are filled with handsome terraced gardens that seem less likely to be used for sunning and studying than to be enjoyed from inside.

The buildings big visual signature consists of glassy facades framed by yellowish panels of glass-fiber-reinforced concrete arranged to create strong vertical stripes. The panels give the building a snazzy, assertive look and make a handsome contribution to Euclid Avenue.

In the complaint department, however, it must be said that the building lacks a sense of fine detail.

An exposed diagonal steel beam in the buildings atrium meets a vertical column with an ugly, clunky joint. Air ducts, ceiling trusses and steel beams covered with fireproofing are left visible. Screws are visible on copper panels on the facade, in places where they ought to be hidden.

Such details create the cumulative sense of a building that didnt get enough love in the final stages of design. They also create a type of visual noise, which detracts from the overall experience.

Still, the building is a solid contribution to a campus that has come a long way in 46 years. Its one more sign of CSUs determination to turn itself into a 21st-century campus that truly looks the part.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2010/10/new_student_center_and_julka_h.html

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=13464964

Gov.-elect seeks end to OH passenger rail deals

PlayhouseSquare stars in its own real estate revival

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Behind the marquees of PlayhouseSquare, a real estate machine is chugging along.

The PlayhouseSquare Foundation, which has revived historic venues and attracted Broadway shows and more than 1 million people a year to Cleveland's theater district since the 1970s, owns roughly 1 million square feet of real estate.

The nonprofit corporation also manages office buildings, industrial facilities, bank buildings and retail strips across the region and expects to grow through property acquisitions, a major theater redevelopment and an expansion into leasing and tenant representation.

Today, roughly 30 percent of the foundation's revenue is tied to real estate. This week, PlayhouseSquare will buy a vacant building at 1317 Euclid Avenue. Within the next two months, it will acquire a building on East 13th Street for Cleveland State University's theater, dance and arts classrooms and offices for the Cleveland Play House.

By the end of this year, PlayhouseSquare will control most of the block between East 13th and East 17th streets, north of Euclid Avenue.

The nonprofit's model -- part performing-arts presenter, part economic-development engine -- has been mimicked by arts groups from New Jersey to London.

And while PlayhouseSquare's pursuits might seem at odds with running the nation's second-largest performing arts center, (Lincoln Center in New York City is No. 1) real estate has provided the foundation with a way to subsidize arts and education programs and to create what Art Falco, the chief executive, refers to as a "working endowment" to ensure the nonprofit's survival.

"We're not aware of any other organization, particularly in the performing arts, that has taken this approach," Falco said. "It's just been an evolving strategy, as we have moved from renovations of the theaters to operations of the theaters to being a catalyst for neighborhood development."

Tom Schorgl, president of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture in Cleveland, said arts groups across the country are looking for innovative ways to build on their strengths and shore up their finances.

"Arts and cultural organizations are looking at what they have in terms of endowments, cash reserves, everything that they can consider as potential increases in their equity as an organization," Schorgl said.

Running a real estate business wasn't part of the plan in 1970, when the Playhouse Square Association, the precursor to the PlayhouseSquare Foundation, became a nonprofit group. A grassroots operation, the association fought to save five historic theaters -- the Ohio, the Palace, the State, the Allen and the Hanna -- from demolition. Opened in the early 1920s, the theaters deteriorated as Clevelanders moved to the suburbs and the glitter of television made the stage seem pass .

As the theaters slowly re-opened in the '80s and '90s, PlayhouseSquare expected developers to pile on with plans for restaurants, stores, offices and apartments in the district. Some private investors did buy buildings, but projects never materialized. So the nonprofit took charge, acquiring parking lots and office buildings and teaming up with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to build a 205-room hotel at Euclid Avenue and Huron Road.

"It's a big leap of faith for trustees to take on that kind of debt and development," said Larry Wilker, who led the foundation before Falco and still works in the theater business.

But buying and redeveloping real estate has allowed PlayhouseSquare to reap the financial benefits from people who stay at the hotel, work in the office buildings, eat at the restaurants and park in the theater district -- money that, Wilker added, might otherwise have landed in private developers' pockets.

In 1999, longtime real-estate hand Tim Luli left a consulting job to open a property-management operation for PlayhouseSquare. That division, now called PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services, started out running the nonprofit's properties. Since then, it has picked up real-estate consulting gigs for clients including Progressive Insurance, ShoreBank, Automated Packaging Systems and the Center for Children and Family Services. It provides maintenance and other services to private property owners, and it manages more than 1 million square feet of other owners' properties in communities including Cleveland, Fairlawn, Middleburg Heights and Twinsburg.

PlayhouseSquare has $155 million in assets, with about $47 million in debt. The foundation runs on a budget of $60 million to $65 million a year and covers roughly 90 percent of its costs through ticket sales, real estate and other internally generated cash -- in an industry where the average is about 74 percent. Donations cover the rest.

Each of the commercial properties is owned by a separate limited liability corporation, a set-up meant to buffer the foundation from risk. These corporations are responsible for $1.3 million in annual real estate taxes, a number that will go up with acquisitions and the upcoming end of a tax-abatement period on the hotel.

PlayhouseSquare today is scheduled to close on the purchase of the two-story 1317 Euclid building, a former F.W. Woolworth department store that most recently housed the Haig Avedisian carpets business. Falco would not disclose the specific purchase price, but he said it is more than $1 million. He expects to finance a $3 million renovation of the property using PlayhouseSquare's line of credit and federal and state tax credits for preservation of historic buildings.

The first floor of the building could accommodate offices and a destination restaurant, something PlayhouseSquare has been coveting for more than a decade. With Euclid Avenue restored through a rapid-transit bus project, Cleveland State University growing and the Cleveland Play House moving downtown, the district finally might attract a restaurant that is not dependent on theater traffic, said Tom Einhouse, vice president of the real estate division.

At 1309 Euclid Ave., PlayhouseSquare is remaking a two-story building long occupied by the Cowell & Hubbard Co. jewelry business. Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, a combined master's program and community service organization, has taken much of the second floor. The ground floor could be used for another restaurant and, potentially, CSU's student art gallery, said Jack Boyle, the university's vice president of business affairs.

A 60,000-square-foot floor of the Middough office building once was used to park cars. PlayhouseSquare is buying the five-story building and will lease it to Cleveland State University, which plans to move its theater, dance and arts classrooms there. CSU will sublease space to the Cleveland Play House, which is moving downtown. Case Western Reserve University also plans to take space in the building, for a graduate theater program.
CSU and PlayhouseSquare are putting together a deal for the five-story Middough building, at 1901 East 13th St. The office building will complement a $30 million overhaul of the Allen Theatre, which is being transformed from a 2,500-seat theater to a three-venue, 1,000-seat complex for the Cleveland Play House.

PlayhouseSquare plans to pay an undisclosed amount for the Middough building and lease the entire property to CSU. The university will then sublease space to Middough Inc., an engineering company that currently occupies two floors, and to the Play House. Case Western Reserve University plans to move its graduate theater program into the building.

The $10 million project will bring 700 students, faculty and staff to PlayhouseSquare and will open up CSU property along Chester Avenue for residential development. PlayhouseSquare expects to finance the improvements using bonds, federal historic preservation tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits, which are meant to spur development in low-income areas.

"This is something you don't see anyplace else in the country, a facility that houses this many live theaters as well as the theater departments of two major universities as well as a major art department," Boyle said.

Along with the CSU and Allen Theatre projects, PlayhouseSquare still hopes to be an integral part of Cleveland's District of Design, a swath of consumer-product makers, showrooms and stores along Euclid Avenue. The design district plan, led by the Cleveland Institute of Art and CSU, fell dormant during the recession as businesses stopped expanding, financing dried up and several potential tenants walked away. Now Einhouse is once again talking about filling empty spaces in PlayhouseSquare.

Boosting occupancy is a focus for Allen Wiant, a longtime real estate broker who left CB Richard Ellis in April to become a part of PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services. His first priority is to promote PlayhouseSquare's portfolio and market the neighborhood and district amenities to potential tenants. The Idea Center building, home to WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN, is about 91 percent leased. The Bulkley Building, where PlayhouseSquare has its offices, is 86 percent occupied. The Hanna Building, at 80-percent occupancy, is more of a challenge, and Wiant plans to pitch it to companies in need of small spaces, flexible leases and shared services.

By mid-2011, PlayhouseSquare's growing real estate division could offer leasing and tenant-representation services, in addition to project consulting based on the foundation's experience obtaining tax credits and other financing, restoring historic buildings and tackling complicated development deals. Wiant does not expect to compete with major brokerages. But he believes PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services can create a niche working with local and regional companies.

"The reputation that PlayhouseSquare Foundation has and the work experience that we can point to is phenomenal," Wiant said. "It really allows us to talk to people in a very different way than coming from the for-profit world. They realize that we're a very fiscally responsible organization, and we tend to look at things on a very conservative basis."

Falco said he has no interest in creating a real-estate empire. He sees real estate as a way to build security for PlayhouseSquare, which has focused most of its fund-raising on capital projects. The foundation has an $11 million endowment, far less than the standard for an organization its size. Eventually, Falco said, PlayhouseSquare will sell off properties and put at least part of the cash toward its endowment.

If real estate services become responsible for the majority of the foundation's income, the nonprofit PlayhouseSquare might have to spin off its real-estate subsidiary for tax purposes. Falco admits that could happen within the next few years. For now, though, he is focused on making projects happen.

"Area development is part of our mission, and if we don't do it, it doesn't occur," Falco said. "It's been entrusted to us and supported by our board that we should do this. At some point in the future when the market can support itself, we won't have to do this sort of thing."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/11/playhousesquare_stars_in_its_o.html

Port Authority OKs financing package for Cleveland's Flats East Bank neighborhood

By JAY MILLER
2:16 pm, November 17, 2010

With the help of large amounts of equity from members of the Wolstein family, the financing for the $275 million Flats East Bank development is set to close by the end of the year.

A multilayered package of debt was approved this morning by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which will be the conduit for much of the debt. It will allow construction to begin in December on an 18-story office tower, a hotel, parking garage and retail space on a former parking lot on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River. Construction is expected to be completed by spring 2013.


Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties, a co-developer of the project with the Wolstein family, told Port Authority board members that the financing they were asked to approve includes $108 million in first mortgage bonds placed with Wells Fargo Bank, the Ohio Realty Development Fund, a carpenters' union pension fund and the Cleveland International Fund. The Cleveland International Fund is an investment fund created by Eddy Zai, a Pepper Pike business consultant, to attract foreign investment.

Developers Scott Wolstein and his mother, Iris Wolstein, are contributing $50.4 million in equity. Mr. Wolstein and the Iris Wolstein Trust also will guarantee at least $20 million of the bond issue until the Cleveland International Fund commitment is fully financed.

The deal must close before the end of the year to win the bonds their tax-exempt status under the federal government's stimulus program.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20101117/FREE/101119700

Investors plan $55 million hotel project in historic Euclid Avenue buildings

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An out-of-state investor group plans to open a hotel on Euclid Avenue, in a $55 million project that could eliminate a dead zone in downtown Cleveland.

JHB Hotel LLC, an entity tied to investors in New York, California and Colorado, expects to buy the John Hartness Brown Building at 1001-1021 Euclid Ave. and the neighboring building at 1101 Euclid Ave. before the end of the year. The vacant properties could be plucked from the early stages of foreclosure, thanks to a surge of interest in hotels to complement Cleveland's planned medical mart, new convention center and casino.

Those large projects, more than $1 billion worth of development, have sparked a hospitality race. Real estate experts say only a few hotels -- ones that secure financing first -- will be built.

On the east bank of the Flats, developers hope to start construction soon on an Aloft hotel. A Kimpton Hotel could occupy part of the former Schofield Building, at East Ninth Street and Euclid. An investor is trying to buy the former Cleveland Athletic Club Building, at 1118-1148 Euclid Ave., for a hotel project. And properties including the Huntington Building, also at East Ninth and Euclid, have been mentioned as potential hotel sites.

The investors behind JHB Hotel have a signed letter of intent with an upscale brand, said Pete Whiskeman, a partner in the project. He declined to identify the brand but said the project would involve a 200-plus-room hotel, indoor parking and 12,000 to 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The hotel would open in 2013, timed to the debut of the casino, the convention center and the medical mart, a planned showplace for medical devices.

"If those things were not happening, this would not be happening," said Whiskeman, a principal with Hospitality Development Capital Group in Colorado.

Western National Capital Partners, a California company, likely will hold the majority stake in JHB Hotel LLC. The investors are working with hospitality consultant Lonnie Burghardt, who is based in Sandusky. Collectively, they have decades of experience in hotel development and financing.

This week, the group was trying to wrap up a deal with Eli Mann, an elusive Cleveland Heights investor who bought the Euclid Avenue properties in 2007 and talked about filling them with apartments and stores.

Mann's plans never materialized. Public records show he owes more than $346,000 in property taxes on the buildings. Cuyahoga County filed to foreclose on the properties this year. The tax delinquencies must be resolved before JHB Hotel can take possession of the buildings and begin construction, Whiskeman said.

When reached by phone this week, Mann said he was in a meeting and might call back. He never did. His real estate broker, Richard Sheehan of Grubb & Ellis, confirmed the basic outlines of the deal with JHB Hotel and said he believes it will happen. He declined to comment further.

A similar story has been playing out at the empty Cleveland Athletic Club Building. Mann bought that property in 2007 and has a contract to sell it to Ned Weingart, a local investor who is also working on a hotel deal.

David Sangree, a hotel consultant who has done studies for Weingart and the Aloft developers, said he was not aware of the JHB Hotel plan. "That would raise our new hotel count downtown from about 500 new rooms to about 700 or 800 new rooms," said Sangree, president of Hotel & Leisure Advisors in Lakewood.

According to Smith Travel Research, hotel occupancy in downtown Cleveland was 60 percent through October -- up 4.5 percent over the first 10 months of 2009. The medical mart and other projects will create demand for hotel rooms, Sangree said, but "there hasn't been much information provided in terms of exactly how much demand."

The JHB Hotel project would involve reuniting the John Hartness Brown Building, which was built in 1901 and later divided into separate office buildings. The restored building would house hotel rooms, with lobby access and retail on the first floor. The building at 1101 Euclid, which is not considered historic, could provide ground-floor access to indoor parking. The hotel would use the upper levels.

Whiskeman provided few details on JHB Hotel's financing plans. In 2007, the state awarded $5.8 million in historic preservation tax credits to help Mann redevelop the John Hartness Brown Building. Such credits, which can attract investors to historic buildings, are driving development along Euclid Avenue from Cleveland State University to Public Square.

The credits for the John Hartness Brown Building are valid until September 2012 and will be lost if they are not used. The state cannot award them to a different building but can work with Mann to transfer the credits to a new owner, said Mark Lundine, urban revitalization coordinator with the Ohio Department of Development.

Cuyahoga County development officials said they have not offered any subsidies. Public documents show that the city of Cleveland is considering tax-increment financing, a structure that taps anticipated increases in property-tax revenues from a project to pay for construction. Tracey Nichols, the city's economic development director, declined to comment on the financing.

"We're very interested in seeing the project in more detail," she said.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/11/investors_plan_55_million_hote.html

Howdy Cleveland posters...I am moving to your lovely city next week! I accepted a job in Richmond Heights (I will be the mgr of the mall there) but hope to live downtown. Is this reasonable? I will be in the area for 2 weeks starting on the 10th working and getting acclimated with the area prior to signing a lease. Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks

Howdy Cleveland posters...I am moving to your lovely city next week! I accepted a job in Richmond Heights (I will be the mgr of the mall there) but hope to live downtown. Is this reasonable? I will be in the area for 2 weeks starting on the 10th working and getting acclimated with the area prior to signing a lease. Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks

Depends on your definition of "Reasonable". The Warehouse district is nice. There are also apartments and condo on East 4th Street and Euclid Ave. If you want tio live outside of DT, Ohio City, Treamont, and University Circle has some good properties! All depends on how much you want to spend.

Cleveland's Flats East Bank project gets $32 million loan guarantee from HUD

Published: Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 2:45 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide $32 million in long-anticipated loan guarantees to support development on the east bank of the Flats.

The federal agency has agreed to provide a $30 million loan to the city of Cleveland and a $2 million loan to Cuyahoga County, as part of a complex financing package for the Flats East Bank project.

The low-interest loans, known as HUD 108 loans, will help the Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties build the $275 million first phase of their long-delayed development.

HUD's role in the project is not new. In fact, the developers have factored these loans into their elaborate funding scheme for more than a year. But the deal was not certain until Wednesday, when U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown's office announced the formal approval - a necessary step to move the Flats financing toward closing.

"We are getting there, and this is a very important piece to have in place so that we can close,"said Steve Strnisha, a financial consultant working on the Flats East Bank project.

The HUD 108 loans will pass from the federal government to the city and county, and through to the developer. The loans will be repaid using parking revenues from the project, which includes a parking garage, and a tax-increment financing agreement, which taps increased property-tax revenues from development.

"We appreciate HUD's approval and the assistance of our Congressional delegation," Mayor Frank Jackson said in an e-mailed statement. "This will be an unprecedented project that will help revitalize our river and lakefront and will keep two major employers in the city of Cleveland."

The initial phase of the Flats project includes an office building, an Aloft hotel, parking, retail and restaurant space. Accounting firm Ernst & Young, law firm Tucker Ellis & West and the CB Richard Ellis brokerage - all tenants in downtown Cleveland buildings - plan to move to the office tower.

The Flats project stalled when the economy collapsed, but it appears close to re-emerging, thanks to a web of public and private support. The developers hope to close on their financing this year and start construction soon, with an anticipated opening date in spring 2013.

"This news will keep over a thousand good-paying jobs in Cleveland and create hundreds more construction jobs," Brown said in a written announcement about the HUD guarantees. "The Flats East Bank development is just the latest sign that our state is ripe for business development, and this project signals a major turning point for the revitalization of downtown Cleveland."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/12/clevelands_flats_east_bank_pro.html

Thanks for the repsonse...I'm not looking to pay more than $800 as I have a mortgage here in Indy and it will take a couple of months to rent it, would like to be in a nice walkable neighborhood where I can have a neighborhood pub to call my own, and perhaps near a transit line. It doesn't have to be downtown, but if not then towards the east side!

Thanks

edit- I have zero'd in on a loft in right near Ohio City at 58th & Detroit Ave.

^^ Good to hear. I hope you enjoy your time in Cleveland/Northest Ohio.

Federal funds to help 17 Northeast Ohio street and trail projects

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Streetscape projects and walking and bicycle trails in the area will get a $9 million boost from the federal government over the next three years.
Regional planners picked 17 projects across Northeast Ohio on Friday to split the money over that time, ranging from street beautification in Cleveland's Warehouse District and Tremont neighborhood, to trails connecting parks or linking existing paths in Geauga and Lake counties.

About $5 million will go to projects in Cuyahoga County.

The "Transportation Enhancement" projects are designed to improve the aesthetic or environmental aspects of transportation systems and are mandated by the federal government, said Michelle Johnson, a team leader for the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

"It's an improvement of quality of life, as it relates to transportation," she said.

Local governments or donors must pay at least 20 percent of each project. NOACA capped its contribution to any individual project at $600,000, paid as work is completed.

Work must be started by 2014. Full costs of individual projects were not available Friday.

The projects, by city or sponsoring agency, are:

Avon: Widen a bridge over Ohio 611 by 10 feet so residents can walk or bicycle to the YMCA or All Pro Freight Stadium, where the Lake Erie Crushers play. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Chardon: Build a half-mile all-purpose trail to close part of a 1.3-mile gap in the much larger trail network that runs from Lake Erie in Fairport Harbor south to Trumbull County. The addition will run from Fifth Avenue south to Water Street. Federal contribution: $521,200.

Cleveland Metroparks: Create a half-mile trail connection from Garfield Reservation to Mill Creek Falls for the Mill Creek Connector, Phase II. It will connect Garfield Reservation to the Towpath Trail. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Cleveland: Redesign the Professor Avenue intersection at Fairfield Avenue and West 10th Street, adding landscaping and pedestrian improvements. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Cleveland: Extend Warehouse District streetscape improvements already on West Sixth Street north of Superior Avenue, across to Lakeside Avenue and to Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority property. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Cleveland: Make landscaping and streetscape improvements on Larchmere Boulevard from East 121st Street to East 130th Street. Federal contribution: $587,041.

Cleveland: Help buy a 21/2-acre property along the Cuyahoga River in the Flats for Rivergate Park, which will include a boardwalk and boat launch. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority: Create 41/2 miles of bus-only lanes and add bus shelters on Clifton Boulevard from the east end of the Shoreway at Lake Avenue to the west end loop in Lakewood. The curb lanes will be bus-only, similar to those downtown, but just in peak hours. Federal contribution: $600,000.

RTA: Reconfigure the University Circle Rapid Station and improve the connections from the station to adjacent bus routes. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Kirtland: Complete first phase of a plan to build a trail along Ohio 306 linking Lakeland Community College to historical sites and schools. This first step will create a 1,200-foot path that includes a 150-foot pedestrian bridge over the South Branch of the Chagrin River. It will run from Maple Street past Markell Road. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Lyndhurst: Put in audible street-crossing signals for the visually impaired, that have vibrations for the deaf. These will go on U.S. 322/Mayfield Road at the intersections with Brainard and Richmond roads and the joint crossing of Winchester and Irene roads. Federal contribution: $58,153.

Madison: Add extensive landscaping as the state reconstructs Interstate 90 at Ohio 528 in Lake County. The improvements will go in open areas created by highway ramps and are intended as a gateway to the community and nearby wineries. Federal contribution: $127,509.

Mayfield: Add more than a mile of trail parallel to Ohio 91/SOM Center Road and between Wilson Mills Road and White Road. It would complete a 2.1-mile trail linking civic areas, an elementary school and businesses to the North Chagrin Reservation. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Medina County Park District: Create a 1.32-mile path along the west edge of Lake Medina to the intersection of Ohio 3 and Granger Road. Federal contribution: $587,138.

Mentor: Build a 5-foot-wide bike trail on each side of Jordan Road. The 3,000-foot-long path will go from Corduroy Road to Rambler Drive. The path, connecting to existing trails, is Phase II of the Morton-Mentor Headlands connection. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Painesville: Narrow Main Street for parking spaces and wider sidewalks from State Street to Park Boulevard, along with other streetscape improvements downtown. Federal contribution: $600,000.

Willoughby: Build a multipurpose trail along the Chagrin River connecting Daniels Park, Todd Field, Chagrin River Park and Gilson Park. It includes two pedestrian bridges. Federal contribution: $600,000.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/12/streetscape_and_trail_projects.html

Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center to Break Ground in January

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 by Diana Rowe

After years of planning and negotiating, the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center (Cleveland MMCC) set a ceremonial groundbreaking date for January 14, 2011 at 11 AM on the historic Cleveland Malls. Construction will begin on January 3, and the complete facility is targeted to open in September 2013.

The Cleveland MMCC is a new concept in meetings and event space and the only facility of its kind in the world directed at the medical and healthcare industries. The Medical Mart will offer 120,000 square feet of permanent showrooms for major medical manufacturers and service providers. This facility will complement Cleveland’s healthcare institutions, one of the largest customers of medical products in the world. The city’s healthcare institutions are located just 15 minutes from the facility, and in addition, more than 400 bioscience companies are located in Northeast Ohio.

The trade show facility will add approximately 300,000 additional square feet of exhibit space, including high ceilings and the ability to host simultaneous events. The Cleveland MMCC will also feature another 100,000 square feet of high-tech, flexible meeting rooms in its conference center for medical conferences, meetings and conventions, and the possibilities for this Cleveland meeting venue are extensive.

http://blog.cvent.com/blog/destination-insider-3/0/0/cleveland-medical-mart-convention-center-to-break-ground-in-january

FYI, Cleveland ROCKS! Such a great City...much more cultured than Indy - better sense of place here. People take pride in their 'hood, lots of independent neighborhood pubs & cafes. I really like my nieghborhood. I'm smack dab in between Gordon Sq & Ohio City. Very close to Edgewater Park - for when it gets warm - and close to numerous places within walking distance.

Was sitting at the Parkview Inn last night for Taco Tuesday and two german-speaking people having a conversation. Something you RARELY experienced in Indy. Total homer, but Indy is far too new of a city to have the ethnic-slant that Cleveland has.

Cant wait to see MMCC construction start! This and the casino are huge for Cleveland and the State of Ohio! Hope All deadlines are met and these projects go smoothly. Did i read somewhere that they are going to redo or connect the MMCC to the Lake front RTA? or will this alreay have pretty much direct access to it?

FYI, Cleveland ROCKS! Such a great City...much more cultured than Indy - better sense of place here. People take pride in their 'hood, lots of independent neighborhood pubs & cafes. I really like my nieghborhood. I'm smack dab in between Gordon Sq & Ohio City. Very close to Edgewater Park - for when it gets warm - and close to numerous places within walking distance.

Was sitting at the Parkview Inn last night for Taco Tuesday and two german-speaking people having a conversation. Something you RARELY experienced in Indy. Total homer, but Indy is far too new of a city to have the ethnic-slant that Cleveland has.

Good to hear that you are enjoying youself. If you are interested in German or German Culture in Cleveland, there is a German Club. However, it's out in the burbs (I think it's in Olmstead Falls or something). I thought about joining but I didn't due to moving back to Columbus. I now belong to the one here. There is also a Church in Ohio City which once a month does Mass in German. Unfortunately the name escapes me right now. I went to a mass there once, but it wasn't the Sunday they do it in German.

Money secured, work to start next week on Flats aquarium

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A whole lot of fish from around the world are expected on Cleveland's shores in the fall.

Jacobs Entertainment announced Friday that it had secured the $33 million needed for the first phase of a long-discussed aquarium in the Powerhouse on the Flats' west bank. Officials hope to start construction next week and expect the attraction to open later this year.

They're also designing an eventual second phase estimated at more than $40 million.

Mayor Frank Jackson said in a news release, "The Greater Cleveland Aquarium is one of the many new projects that will help reinforce downtown Cleveland as a destination for residents, visitors and businesses."

Patrick J. McKinley, executive vice president of Jacobs Entertainment, said, "We expect this to serve as a catalyst for additional development for years to come."

Officials hope for synergy among the aquarium and other downtown attractions, including the planned casino and the Flats East Bank project that recently broke ground.

The aquarium will be a U.S. first for Marinescape NZ Ltd., which has developed 21 aquariums in Europe, Asia, Australia and its home country of New Zealand. The Flats aquarium will occupy more than 70,000 square feet in the historic Powerhouse at Jacobs' Nautica Entertainment Complex, which opened in the late 1980s.

The aquarium will include a "SeaTube" of clear acrylic for a walk-through view of marine depths. It will also offer environmental education, with classrooms, full-time teachers and research projects. Officials hope for more than 400,000 visitors annually. The average ticket price is set at under $14.

Last November, the City Council let Jacobs reduce the number of guaranteed full-time jobs from 40 to 20 in return for a $2 million city loan for Phase 1. But Jacobs officials still predict 40 full-time jobs, which would have $1.6 million in wages per year.

Phase 1's financiers include FirstEnergy Corp. and AMPCO, which operates Nautica's parking lot. Officials are still exploring Phase 2's financing, timetable and more. They foresee a new building with glass atriums along the river.

Phase 1 will occupy much of the Powerhouse. The building will still house Lolly the Trolley's headquarters and Windows on the World, a recently expanded banquet facility. It will add an aquarium-themed restaurant.

The Cleveland Improv comedy club will move this month from the Powerhouse to bigger, renovated space in Nautica's old Sugar Warehouse, which also is the site of Shooters on the Water. Nautica Charity Poker Festivals will move next to McCarthy's Ale House in a historic Nautica building across the street. Officials hope to move the Powerhouse Pub and the adjoining Howl at the Moon bar elsewhere in the complex.

The complex also includes the Nautica Queen dock, the Nautica Pavilion amphitheater and the Apartments at Nautica. It does not include the somewhat intermingled Christie's Cabaret and Harbor Inn.

The previous Cleveland Aquarium closed at Gordon Park in 1986, and its fish were moved to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Several local groups have talked about opening other aquariums.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/12/post_410.html

great news! Ill definatly be checkin this place out when it opens... sounds like a reason to leave even earlier to go to a game in cle... (I like patronizing the local spots around your venues) But yea an aquarium definatly catches my attention! Hopefully they have a decent section dedicated to fish native to our area.. Toledo Zoo is renovating there aquarium currently so it looks like Northern Ohio will have 2 fine aquariums to boast

Well I post on another forum, but here's my listing of Cleveland's projects:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/17256143-post203.html

Cleveland is simply BOOMING as of late.

I'm very excited about the aquarium and look forward to visiting often. I surprised at how quickly it is going to be open, that just seems quick for what I would think would be a tough build-out.

Cant wait to see MMCC construction start! This and the casino are huge for Cleveland and the State of Ohio! Hope All deadlines are met and these projects go smoothly. Did i read somewhere that they are going to redo or connect the MMCC to the Lake front RTA? or will this alreay have pretty much direct access to it?

Although work unofficially began on Jan 3, TODAY was the MMCC "ground-breaking."

Here is the article from the Cleveland PD:
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/01/officials_break_ground_for_cleveland_medical_mart.html

And the announced tenants and shows so far:
http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/01/cleveland-medical-mart-the-first-announced-tenants/

Getahn Ward: Cleveland scores first in medical mart race with Nashville

A list of 57 prospective tenants rolled out last week by a rival project in Cleveland, Ohio, didn't exactly strike fear in the heart of the developer of the proposed Nashville Medical Trade Center.

"It's a much more targeted market in our opinion than the Nashville medical mart, which is national and international in scope," said Jeff Haynes, a leasing consultant to the developer of the mart planned for the current Lower Broadway location of the Nashville Convention Center.
But in the public relations battle, Cleveland scored major points even if its initial lineup lacked a lot of big health-care names.

"Cleveland is doing it. Nashville is talking about it," said Jorge Lagueruela, president of Trinity Furniture Inc. of Trinity, N.C., which leased space in the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center. "From the standpoint of the health-care industry, Cleveland is going to become the hub in the United States, and this new center is going to be the beacon for that."

Among the few big fish that Cleveland signed to letters of intent for permanent showroom space were $34 billion-a-year in revenues Johnson Controls Inc. and the well-known Cleveland Clinic.
But Dallas-based Market Center Management, meanwhile, has shrugged off comparisons between its Lower Broadway project and Cleveland's, which it says will be 1/10th the size of the Nashville medical mart.

Haynes said he isn't concerned about falling behind Cleveland, even though the local project still has few commitments.
"Historically, Nashville hasn't been a pre-leasing market," Haynes said. "In any asset class, people normally want to see the brick-and-mortar and to touch the facility. As the new convention center nears completion, then your leasing velocity will intensify and increase for the medical mart."
In addition to its nearly five-dozen tenants, the mart developers in Cleveland also announced 31 conferences, conventions and trade shows planned for the $465 million mart and convention center, which is expected to open in 2013.

Michael Hughes, the managing director of research and consulting at Red 7 Media LLC in Scottsdale, Ariz., called that list of conventions and meetings impressive, adding that a successful medical convention and meetings business probably will drive permanent showroom leases.
Overall, Hughes branded leasing efforts in Cleveland as great progress in what is still a weak commercial real estate market.
"But this is a good time to be marketing to the convention industry, which is recovering well from the recession and forecasting 6 percent attendance growth in 2011," Hughes said.

Getahn Ward covers the business health care for The Tennessean. Reach him at 615-726-5968 or at gward@tennessean.com.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110119/COLUMNIST0304/101190337/Getahn+Ward++Cleveland+scores+first+in+medical+mart+race+with+Nashville

Tudor Arms building being restored

CLEVELAND -- A piece of Cleveland history is coming back to life. A developer with a vision is restoring the Tudor Arms building to its former glory. The transformation will be nothing short of a labor of love.


The Tudor Arms was built in the late 1920's- early 30's and it has been many things over the decades, from the exclusive Cleveland Club to the Tudor Arms Hotel to the Cleveland Job Corps offices.

When developer MRN Limited got their hands on the Tudor Arms building, they say it was in amazing condition.

But the white paint on the walls was hiding the extravagant detail work of the molding. Those working on the project say it took a lot time and testing many different types of paints and glaze to bring the detail out.

And they took a chance on using non-traditional colors to give this historic building a contemporary yet classic look.

"It is elegant. It is a quiet elegance with the grays and the creams and the silvers versus a more common gold. I think the pewter is very calm and quiet," says artist Nicolette Capuano.

Interior Designer Cindy Cohen says, "everything that is old so the wood carvings the stone carvings and to be able to bring them back to the original quality with the edge without the edge it is just an amazing detail."

The $22 million renovations are expected to be done in March 2011. That is when the Tudor Arms building will reopen as a 157-room Doubletree Hotel.


© 2011 WKYC-TV


http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=170487&catid=3

Cleveland Museum of Natural History to build high-tech 'SmartHome' that stays warm without furnace

A skeptic might say it would be impossible in cold, snowy Cleveland to build a house that can stay warm without a furnace. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History plans to demolish such doubts this summer, when it builds the city's first passive house designed to use high-tech windows and insulation plus the power of the sun to stay cozy in the worst weather Northeast Ohio can throw at it.

The traditional-looking house, which will be built on the museum grounds in University Circle, will accompany an international touring exhibition on climate change, which explores the science of how human activities have contributed to global warming -- and how individuals can reduce the output of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

"I want to bring something in that really gets people's attention and gets them thinking differently," Evalyn Gates, the museum's new director, said Thursday.

Designed by Doty & Miller Architects of Bedford, "SmartHome Cleveland" will be built on the museum grounds not far from the beloved statue of "Steggie," a prehistoric stegosaurus ungulatus, and then moved a quarter-mile when the exhibit is over to a permanent location at 11601 Wade Park Ave., where it will be set atop a specially designed foundation made of concrete and insulated Styrofoam.

Houses designed to heat themselves "passively" with sunlight have been designed in the United States at least since the 1970s Arab oil embargo.

A new breed of passive houses is designed by architects, engineers or builders certified by the Passive House Institute U.S. in Urbana, Ill., following methods established by the Passive Haus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany.

Chemical engineer Mark Hoberecht, who heads the fuel-cell division at the NASA Glenn Research Center and who consulted on the design of the Cleveland passive house, said 20,000 such houses have been built in Europe, which is ahead of the United States in adopting environmentally friendly technology in home design.

The Cleveland house, taken on its own, is designed to consume about 90 percent less energy than a typical house in the region, said architect Chuck Miller, a partner at Doty & Miller. An array of photovoltaic panels on the roof of a detached garage will make the entire property, including the house, a "net zero" consumer of energy, Miller said.

While it will lack a furnace and will not have a gas line, the house will have a pair of small, wall-mounted "mini-split" heating units on the first and second floors, which will distribute warm air. An "energy recovery ventilator" on the first floor will impart heat from used air pumped out of the house to cooler fresh air pumped into the house.

The overall cost of the project will be roughly $525,000, but the three-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot house will be sold at a discounted price of $300,000 to $400,000 to entice an owner willing to live in what amounts to a prototype.

Miller said building a passive house costs more per square foot than a traditionally constructed house. The payback period would be 10 to 15 years at current energy prices, he said.

The Cleveland Foundation is supporting the project with an outright grant of $40,000 and a program-related investment of $250,000, which will be returned to the foundation with proceeds from the house sale. Other sponsors include the Storer Foundation.

Gates, who succeeded former museum director Bruce Latimer in May, is has a doctorate in physics and formerly worked as assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago.

She said she was concerned that the "Climate Change" show, on view in Cleveland from July 23 to Dec. 31, might leave some visitors daunted by the complexity and scale of global warming.

The global touring exhibition was organized by the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Cleveland museum and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, United Arab Emirates; the Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Junta de Castilla y Le n, Valladolid, Spain; the Korea Green Foundation, Seoul, South Korea; the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen; Papalote Museo del Ni2/3o, Mexico City; and the Saint Louis Science Center.

Subtitled "The Threat to Life and a New Energy Future," the show describes scientific evidence showing how human use of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum has raised atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, which has elevated global temperatures measurably, melting ice caps, raising ocean levels and causing catastrophic storms.

Edward Rothstein of The New York Times said the exhibition, which debuted in 2008 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, was "grim and unrelenting, but not without hope." He said it was filled with images of tropical reefs stripped of life, polar bears rummaging for food amid junk heaps, glaciers "split into ice chips," flood-ravaged coastlines and raging forest fires.

Political conservatives have criticized global-warming theories, charging that the media has exaggerated the dangers and that variations in global temperatures are within historic ranges.

Gates said she wants the museum's presentation of the exhibition "to take the politics out of it and to take the loud voices out of it.

"A museum can be a place to find out the facts," she said.

Gates also wanted to show how Cleveland and Ohio companies are responding creatively to the challenges posed by climate change by exploring fuel-cell technology, solar power and recycling wood from demolished houses to make new furniture.

From start to finish, the house will have taken less than a year to plan and build -- a very short time frame for a museum exhibit. David Beach of the natural history museum's Green City Blue Lake Institute, headed the project, which has also received strong support from the city of Cleveland, museum officials said.

In Ohio, the passive-house industry is microscopic but growing. The Passive House Institute U.S. lists six certified consultants in the state, including Hoberecht, of Columbia Station. Hoberecht said he took the classes in Illinois to become a certified passive-house consultant because he is "passionate about building energy-efficient houses and saving the planet. I want to do something that makes a difference."

In addition to his job at NASA, Hoberecht is the principal and founder of HarvestBuild Associates, which consulted with Doty & Miller on the design of a straw-bale-insulated house in Cleveland Heights.

When it decided to build the passive house on its grounds this summer, the museum believed its house would be the first of its kind in the state. It has since learned of other regional projects, including a house in Athens, designed by engineer Jason Morosko, which will be finished in July, around the same time as the house in Cleveland. Home builder Lance Schmidt in Akron is also planning a passive house.

In contrast to the Athens house, an architecturally plain box with a sloped roof, the museum's house will look like a traditional early 20th-century Cleveland house of the kind one might find in Slavic Village or Ohio City, with a gabled roof and a front porch.

Gates said she pushed Doty & Miller to make the house attractive, because she wanted it to look like something "I would want to live in." Miller, for his part, said that aesthetic appeal is part of the long-term sustainability of a house -- and a city. He also said he hoped Northeast Ohio could become a mass-market manufacturing center for passive houses in the future.

"If we could go to scale with this," he said, "our dream would be that it creates an employment base for people."

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2011/01/cleveland_museum_of_natural_hi_1.html

UPTOWN development project on schedule

Tyler Hoffman

"It's been talked about for so many years," said Triangle apartment complex resident Diana Smith regarding the UPTOWN development project that is transforming a critical section of Euclid Avenue. The rejuvenation of the area on Euclid Ave. between Mayfield Rd. and E. 115th St. remains the focus of the project, which involves the creation of new retail, dining, and apartment space.

Well-known for their development of East 4th St., MRN Ltd. is a local real estate developer that now holds responsibility for the development of UPTOWN. Case Western Reserve University and University Circle, Incorporated actively pursued the project and agreed to sell the land for the UPTOWN project to MRN Ltd.

Phase one of the project began in August 2010, just as CWRU students were returning from summer break. Currently under construction, the development project will contain 56,000 square feet of new retail space and 102 apartment units, according to Kevin Slesh, director of commercial development for CWRU.

Excitement is brewing across the CWRU campus and Triangle apartment complex, where residents await the project's completion. "Number one on my list: we need a grocery store," said Smith when asked what she hopes the project will bring to her community. A registered nurse and senior clinical instructor at the CWRU School of Medicine, Smith has lived in her Triangle apartment for 18 years.

"Residents in this area need more grocery store options," Smith said. "I like the Food Co-Op, but I only go over there every couple of months."

It appears Triangle residents may receive their grocery store. "The space we had once designated for a drug store will now be a specialty grocery store," Slesh said. "We have a lot of intent, but we do not yet have a legally binding agreement."

Though the grocery store remains in the works, one part of the project will be a reality in October 2011: a Barnes & Noble bookstore and café. "Everyone is working hard for the bookstore to open in October and that is a doable schedule," Slesh said. "[It] will be large, about 16,000 square feet. Like in Thwing, there will be a section designated for CWRU students to purchase their textbooks."

According to Slesh, the details of the transition from the bookstore in Thwing to Barnes & Noble are not yet determined. An overlap between the two stores could occur, but members of the CWRU community will not have to worry about the Thwing bookstore sitting vacant. "We need all the space we can find [at the university]," Slesh explained. "It won't just sit there and be nothing."

Sarah Groft, a CWRU undergraduate, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new Barnes & Noble on campus. "It seems like bookstores are closing all around us," she said, referring to the recent closings of the Joseph-Beth Booksellers store in nearby Legacy Village and the Borders book and music store in Severance Town Center. "I would rather read a physical book that I bought at a local bookstore than buy a digital copy online, so I will enjoy this new store," she added.

The Barnes & Noble will be the anchor of the new retail space, which will also be extremely accessible to pedestrians. In front of the Triangle and behind the shopping space will be an alleyway, which will serve as an entertainment and food hub for the site. The retail stores will be accessible via both the front entrance on Euclid Ave. and through the convenient alleyway.

In addition to the new retail space, fast and casual dining facilities will be present along with taverns and bars. But the new shopping and eating establishments won't be the only new additions to the area. The CWRU Office of Commercial Development is also working to renovate the Triangle complex. They are trying to find retailers that will complement the UPTOWN development project, but these retailers will be housed in the Triangle complex itself.

In addition to the creation of new places for dining and retail, Triangle residents like Smith have concerns with respect to the execution of the project. "[This project] needs to improve the access for the community," Smith explained. "There are so many seniors and disabled individuals living in [University Circle]...When I think of the places near the Triangle, none of them are wheel chair accessible."

Slesh agreed. "Right now it is a nightmare for people who are handicapped to get around," he said. "Everything we are doing with MRN between the Triangle and the UPTOWN project is being designed and built to be accessible."

Slesh expects most construction for the project to be completed later this year, and CWRU students and Cleveland residents are eagerly anticipating it. "I look forward to it, because for me, it can't be anything but positive," Smith said.


http://media.www.cwruobserver.com/media/storage/paper1370/news/2011/01/28/News/Uptown.Development.Project.On.Schedule-3971660-page2.shtml

Projects along the Cuyahoga River, in downtown Cleveland present opportunities for the Flats

CLEVELAND -- A longtime industrial corridor and onetime entertainment district, Cleveland's Flats could be repopulated with entrepreneurs, residents, cyclists, gamblers, rowers and aquarium-goers during the next decade.

More than $2 billion in development is planned or under way in downtown Cleveland and near the banks of the Cuyahoga River.

The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties are building an office tower on the east bank, at the seam of the Warehouse District and the Flats. Across the river, Jacobs Entertainment plans to break ground Wednesday for an aquarium.

On the Columbus Road Peninsula, an emerging recreation hub could include a rowing facility and a skateboarding park. And as developers plan a casino expected to touch Public Square and the Flats, workers are building Cleveland's new convention center and medical mart less than a mile away.

Amid all the bustle, politicians, nonprofit groups and property owners are mulling the future of the Flats. They hope to capture the momentum and revive the place where Cleveland started, marrying steel mills and ships with new businesses, homes and entertainment venues.

Framed by massive investments including the Flats East Bank project and the new Inner Belt Bridge, the river might have reached a critical juncture - a chance to define what the Flats should be and to tackle infrastructure problems and development opportunities before the large projects are finished.

"We're between the past's greatness and the future's greatness, and this is the means for us to get there," said Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, who is putting together an advisory group to discuss hurdles and opportunities in the Flats. "There is enough common opportunity, borne of frustration, in an environment of dynamic change ... that if we don't look at a way to do things differently here, we've got a problem."

Cimperman has invited more than 30 representatives from businesses, nonprofit groups and the city of Cleveland to a Monday meeting about the Flats. And he is planning a Feb. 22 meeting to launch a public process, with $20,000 from the Cleveland and Gund foundations.

The goal: Finding a way to support and connect major developments, to balance the often-conflicting interests of stakeholders and to give the Flats a louder voice to attract private investment and public support.

"I think there are phenomenal opportunities in the Flats that we haven't taken advantage of," said Albert Ratner, co-chairman of Forest City Enterprises Inc., a prominent real estate company that owns a large, barren part of Scranton Peninsula. "The Wolstein project kickstarts it again, and the other projects that are taking place will help bring more people downtown.

"We have to work on the connectivity, but if you looked at the various areas of downtown, the area that has the greatest opportunity for mixed-use development that will appeal to the kind of people we need to attract to this city is the Flats. Water is very important, and we haven't taken advantage of it."


An economic engine


Each year, the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie contribute to $1.8 billion in economic activity, according to a study conducted last year for the city and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Yet land along the waterfront, in the heart of downtown Cleveland, remains undeveloped or inaccessible to the people who live here.

The Flats are rife with aging infrastructure, from cracked streets to collapsing bulkheads to the crumbling hill in the Irishtown Bend area behind West 25th Street - a problem that begs for federal intervention and might cost anywhere from $80 million to $200 million to fix.

But this industrial landscape also appears ripe with possibilities. Construction has started on the long-delayed $275 million first phase of the Flats East Bank, including an office building, a hotel, a gym, a public park and a boardwalk. The project's developers already are planning for their second phase, which could include residences and retail.

Accountants and lawyers who work in the new Ernst & Young tower will have views of a crushed-limestone operation, pleasure boaters on the lake and families wandering into the Greater Cleveland Aquarium on the west bank.

Managing these uses - maritime, industrial, recreational, residential and entertainment - is a formidable task. But that hodgepodge is what lures people to the Flats, creating a potential magnet for residents and businesses even in a region struggling with population loss and a changing economy.

"The combination of folks living down there, eating down there and having outdoor recreation in conjunction with barges going up and down the river and trucks executing their functions, that's all part of the unique fabric that makes this a very special place," said Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties.

In 2019, Cleveland will mark the 50th anniversary of a river fire that dogged the city for decades. By then, city officials envision making Cleveland a national model for sustainability, becoming what Cimperman describes as "a green city on a blue lake in a verdant valley."

The Flats are central to that effort. Within the next eight years, the city hopes to shore up Irishtown Bend, fix infrastructure problems and connect people to the water through development along the river and north and east of Browns Stadium.

"It's pretty clear-cut what the infrastructure priorities are," said Chris Warren, the mayor's chief of regional development.

'Big-bang projects'


Other possibilities, from building more homes to reviving the water taxi that once ferried people across the river, are less defined. That, developers say, is why property owners in the Flats need to band together and work out a strategy.

After tabling construction in the Flats during the housing-market collapse, the K&D Group once again is toying with building more apartments to complement its rentals and condos at the Stonebridge community. Doug Price, the company's chief executive, is part of Cimperman's Flats advisory group and plans to talk to Jacobs Entertainment about a master plan for the west bank of the Flats.

"We believe that when these big-bang projects happen, there are going to be a lot of people in the city who want to live in the city," Price said. "My goal is to get a plan. We need the Towpath to the lake. We need infrastructure money. And we're going to need help from the city for construction. We need to figure out what development tools we can put together for the Flats."

The Towpath Trail is a 101-mile bike and pedestrian pathway, intended to follow the original Ohio & Erie Canal route from Tuscarawas County to Canal Basin Park, a planned 21-acre park in the Flats. After decades of land assembly and development, much of the trail is complete. Planners hope to reach Canal Basin Park within the next five years - the same proposed timeline for a Lake Link Trail that would connect to the Towpath at Scranton Peninsula and run north to Wendy Park.

The trail has hit difficult terrain in Cuyahoga County, where rail lines, steel mills, truck traffic and contaminated land make for a difficult slog. Flats Oxbow Association, a longtime community development group with many industrial members, has expressed concerns about safety. At times, Flats Oxbow's board members have voiced outright opposition to projects that would bring more cyclists, runners and walkers into the Flats.

"I don't think we can become a city that doesn't have any industry, where we're going to have parks and we're going to have recreation and we aren't going to have any business," said Tom Newman, executive director of Flats Oxbow. "I don't feel that there's a nefarious plot to get rid of industry, but I'm not sure we always respect it and encourage it as much as we ought to."

Jim Catanese, co-owner of Catanese Classic Seafood in the Flats, hopes the planned casino will attract more infrastructure money, attention from public officials and a surge of growth to both riverbanks. A $600 million gaming facility could open along Huron Road in 2013 - when the first part of the Flats East Bank and the medical mart and convention center also are slated for completion. Rock Ohio Caesars LLC is expected to open an early version of the casino in the Higbee Building at the Tower City complex.

There's no assurance that everything on the drawing board will happen. But Cimperman believes that bringing property owners and the public together to chart a path for the Flats will give Cleveland a better shot at creating a thriving, complete neighborhood that reconnects the city to its roots.

David Steele bet on the potential of the Flats when he and a partner bought the century-old Flat Iron Cafe three years ago. Despite a slow economy and bridge closures that are hampering foot traffic, Steele is enthusiastic about the future.

"This place would go from being a desolate ghost town to one of the busiest centers of downtown Cleveland, if all of the things they're talking about come through."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/projects_along_the_cuyahoga_ri.html

how large is the "office tower" they keep refering to? Any renderings?

Cwilson.... I saw a pic somewhere think it may have been urbanohio.com northeast ohio forum.... maybe citydata.com? but If the pic I saw was the same thing you guys are talkin it looks to be a good 24-28 floors... possibly more

And I hope the skate park you guys get on the river is something decent sized.... something they could use for those Dew tours or whatever... The ones you usually see on TV in the afternoon usually have bikers, skateboarders, and bladers.. Would be really nice to see. Not sure if cleveland has had something like these before

Apartments may rise at Flats East Bank
As project's construction proceeds, developers mull reviving dormant residential component

With construction workers laboring again on the 18-story Ernst & Young Office Tower at the Flats East Bank Neighborhood project in downtown Cleveland, steps are afoot that further may change the riverfront district's skyline.

The Wolstein Group of Beachwood and Fairmount Properties of Cleveland are looking at how to revive the “neighborhood” part of what started out as a $500 million project before tough economic times forced developers to split the Flats East Bank into phases.

Adam Fishman, a Fairmount Properties principal, said last week during an interview that efforts are under way to rekindle plans for theproject's residential component, perhaps exclusively as apartments rather than the mix of for-sale condominiums and rental units originally envisioned.

The idea is so attractive that developer K&D Group has discussed creating the apartments with Wolstein Group and Fairmount, according to its CEO, Doug Price. K&D Group built Stonebridge Apartments and Condominiums in the Flats and the Residences at Six Six Eight at that address on Euclid Avenue downtown.

“We'll see where it goes,” Mr. Price said of the talks. “It can't be condos. There's no condo market in Cleveland now.”

He should know. Mr. Price said K&D sold just six condos last year at Stonebridge Plaza on the west bank of the Flats. However, the company got a full house when it opened the 232 rental units at its Residences at Six Six Eight last year. He said occupancy at K&D's downtown rentals has rebounded to 95% as the recession has eased.

Last year, the residential portions of Flats East Bank were relegated to park-like green space status for an indeterminate future as a second phase of the project.

That decision left the developers plus state and local officials free to focus on the office, hotel and retail portions of the project. In so doing, they broke a development logjam created by the financial crisis and ensuing recession.

With a $270 million financing package that closed late last year and included money from a staggering 30 sources, construction work has begun on the office building, hotel and parking garages.

Let's roll
The project's restart also has set the table for planning how to redevelop the rest of the property near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

“Our charge from (Mr. Wolstein) is to start working on phase two immediately” Mr. Fishman said, referring to Scott Wolstein, executive chairman of publicly traded Developers Diversified Realty Corp. and a principal of privately held Wolstein Group, the project's co-developer. Mr. Wolstein is pursuing the project with his mother, Iris Wolstein, in memory of the late Bertram “Bart” Wolstein, their father and husband, respectively.

Phase two of the project originally was the key feature of Flats East Bank; it was envisioned as multiple residential buildings between the office tower and riverfront.

The residential units were seen mainly as for-sale condos to ride the housing boom of the mid-2000s. However, Mr. Fishman said he and others are studying the feasibility of constructing apartments because they are desirable investments and easier to finance.

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose Ward 13 includes most of the Flats, said city-approved plans speak to residential development in general, not the type of residences, and he supports either apartments or condos.

“The key for me is having people down there,” Mr. Cimperman said in an interview last Thursday, Feb. 3.

A market tightens up
Reviving the residential component of Flats East Bank as rentals makes sense. Apartments regained luster as lagging home sales and epidemic foreclosures reduced home ownership rates.

A report issued last week by the Marcus & Millichap real estate brokerage on the apartment market in key cities nationwide projects the Cleveland apartment market will tighten as apartment vacancies will fall to 5.6% in 2011 from 6% at the end of 2010.

However, Marcus & Millichap actually dropped Cleveland's ranking as a desirable place for new apartments to 40th out of the 44 markets it follows from 32nd last year. One reason: Affordable home prices are providing strong competition for apartments.

The brokerage forecasts 80 new units will be added to the Cleveland market this year compared with 290 in 2010. The expected decline in apartment construction reflects difficulty some developers face in obtaining attractive financing.

ok so the pic i saw was of the ernst & young tower.... looked bigger than 18 floors in the pic.... Still a nice addition though. Would love to see a new 18 story in downtown toledo

ok so the pic i saw was of the ernst & young tower.... looked bigger than 18 floors in the pic.... Still a nice addition though. Would love to see a new 18 story in downtown toledo

Thanks for the info!

Just do a google image search for Ernst & Young Tower Cleveland... there will be a couple pics of the design

Weekly Construction Update - 2/4/2011
Project Updates :: February 4, 2011

More than 200 construction workers are currently on site. Since January 3, the construction crews have been preparing the entire 1 million square foot area for demolition and abatement, including clearing off the surface of the historic Cleveland malls, installing construction trailers, and preparing the five buildings located at the corner of St. Clair and Ontario for demolition. The 235,000 square-foot, four-story Medical Mart will be constructed at the corner of St. Clair and Ontario Streets.

Building Demolition Progress: During the past month, the Ontario parking garage was the first building to be completely demolished. The second building, the Chicago Title building, has been demolished this week from east to west utilizing an excavator. The final two west columns of the Chicago Title building will be demolished over the weekend, closing the sidewalk along Ontario Street. Flaggers will be used to control traffic while demolition activities are taking place. Abatement has been completed at the Sportsman Restaurant. The County Annex building is under full asbestos containment. Crews are removing construction materials and debris from the 113 St. Clair building.

Convention Center: Under Malls B and C in the Cleveland Convention Center, crews are nearing completion on asbestos abatement work, clearing the way for demolition. Abatement continues in the Convention Center parking garage, mechanical rooms, tunnels, and storage rooms. Once the abatement is complete, demolition can begin.
Crews will begin demolition of the loading dock on Mall C following electrical service termination. Crews will also layout existing and new columns and install temporary lighting in the Convention Center on both sides of Lakeside Drive. Crews are also beginning layout of caissons and will begin drilling pre-cores south of Lakeside Drive. Cleveland Thermal began 16" steam line valve and vault installation along St. Clair Drive.

Mall Work: On the surface of the Malls, topsoil removal on Mall C is complete while topsoil removal including concrete roof topping continues on Mall B. Demolition of the roof on Mall B is scheduled to begin in the near future following power shutoff.

Public Auditorium Connector (1964 addition): Crews began relocating electrical equipment from Public Auditorium earlier this week. Two walls will eventually be demolished and rebuilt in order to transfer electrical equipment. Crews are also setting up asbestos containments at the Public Auditorium connector.

The Cleveland office of Turner Construction Company and Cleveland-based URS were selected in May, 2010 as the design-build team for the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center. Turner Construction Company will serve as the design-build contractor and URS will fulfill the role of architect of record for the project. LMN Architects has been creating conceptual plans and design development drawings as the design architect. LMN will handle the first two phases of a three-step design process.


http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/news/2011/02/weekly-construction-update---242011.php

Old St. Luke's hospital in Cleveland set for rebirth; developers to start construction on 72 apartments

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland landmark that witnessed decades of births and deaths will finally see new life, as a long-awaited project begins in the Buckeye neighborhood.

Construction will start this week on apartments in the former St. Luke's Medical Center, a U-shaped brick building that has been vacant since 1999.

The building's central wing will house 72 apartments for the elderly, financed through a $22 million deal that local nonprofit group Neighborhood Progress Inc. and private developer Pennrose Properties expect to close Tuesday. Renovating the entire hospital will be a $53 million, three-phase project, which could be finished in 2013.

The hospital, on Shaker Boulevard, sits at the heart of a large-scale neighborhood redevelopment. But as students flooded into the neighboring Harvey Rice School and patrons flocked to the new Rice Library last year, the 1920s-vintage hospital languished.

"It's the biggest building in the neighborhood, so renovating it to historic standards is really going to send a signal that positive things are happening in our neighborhood," said John Hopkins, executive director of the nonprofit Buckeye Area Development Corp.

Hopkins hopes restoring the building will bring more stability to the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, which deteriorated as Cleveland's population fled to the suburbs and private investment followed. Scarred by the foreclosure crisis, once-busy streets are lined with empty lots and boarded-up homes. During the past few years, the neighborhood has fought back by forming block clubs and focusing on smaller projects, from the demolition of decrepit houses to the creation of an urban farm on Woodland Avenue.

Meanwhile, the hospital remained a symbol of urban blight. Neighborhood Progress and Pennrose, based in Philadelphia, planned to start construction in late 2008. But the recession made it harder to marry public assistance and private cash to master the challenges of a tattered historic building.

"This is an incredibly complex deal," said Joel Ratner, president of Neighborhood Progress. "I think what's remarkable here is that it's being completed now. ... Even as most developers are not exactly feeling courageous, we're moving ahead with it."

For the first phase, the developers sought out federal stimulus money and tax credits for affordable housing and historic preservation. PNC Financial Services Group and Enterprise Community Partners, a national organization focused on affordable housing, invested in the project. The city of Cleveland, the Saint Luke's Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation also put money into the deal. The developers hope to partner with some of the same investors to finance the rest of the project.

The first 72 apartments could open in spring 2012. Work on the second phase, 65 apartments in the western wing, could start late this year. The third phase, to create offices in the eastern wing and restore an auditorium, could be under construction by mid-2012.

The apartments will rent for $397 to $876 per month, depending on a resident's income. The property will include a fitness center, a library and computer rooms. Pennrose believes the project, called St. Luke's Manor, will provide a much-needed new home for elderly people who live nearby - while eliminating an eyesore that makes it hard to sell houses or attract businesses to the neighborhood.

"We've done about 40 historic rehabs, many of them on large buildings like this," said Richard Barnhart, chairman and chief executive of Pennrose. "They fall into disrepair, and it really does strike a negative note. For it to be rehabilitated and put back into good use, it sort of pumps lifeblood into the community."

St. Luke's Manor is the centerpiece of more than $80 million in investment in one of the first neighborhoods being certified as sustainable and environmentally responsible by the U.S. Green Building Council and its partners. In addition to the new school and library, the neighborhood includes existing homes and Legacy at St. Luke's Pointe, a site for more than 80 new homes north of the hospital. Only 22 homes have been built and occupied during the last several years.

A $500,000 public pathway called the Mews runs along the east side of the hospital, connecting the neighborhood to Shaker Boulevard and the East 116th Street Rapid station. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority plans to replace the train station. Construction on the $3.6 million project could start in 2013.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/former_st_lukes_hospital_in_cl.html

Just do a google image search for Ernst & Young Tower Cleveland... there will be a couple pics of the design

http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/cleveland/febrendering0110_1.jpg

Here are recent pics for Cleveland projects:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjames0408/

So whats the deal with the Cleveland Casino? I see its going into the old Higbee's building now. Will this be temporary? Like how Detroit had theres in old buildings before new ones were constructed? I liked the idea of putting it right on the river by the Q and progressive field.

So whats the deal with the Cleveland Casino? I see its going into the old Higbee's building now. Will this be temporary? Like how Detroit had theres in old buildings before new ones were constructed? I liked the idea of putting it right on the river by the Q and progressive field.

No, this is phase one. Only phase two will involve a new building which if my memory serves me correctly, will be behind Tower City.

Rockwell Building (Core & Shell)

Project Description:

This 7-story, 117,000 square-foot historical office building was originally built in 1911 and will under go complete exterior and interior renovations by Cleveland Construction to house the buildings new tenant, Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP.
Cleveland Construction’s work on the Rockwell Building includes restoration of the exterior façade, ornamental metal entry doors, reinstatement of ornate plaster ceilings in the multi-story atrium, reconditioning of the building’s existing historical clock, replacement of all windows with historic replicas and installation of new mechanical and electrical systems for the buildings tenant.

Throughout construction, Cleveland Construction will be working in coordination with the owner, CRM Real Estate Services and design team, Sandvick Architects, Inc. to comply with all historical guidelines and ensure material adherence with Ohio Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service.

Core and shell construction on the building began in September and is scheduled to be completed June of 2011.

http://www.clevelandconstruction.com/InteriorDetail.aspx?ProjectID=81

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/chadoh21/Downtown%20Cleveland%20Ohio/259.jpg

^^ The building in the middle on the left hand side is the building in question.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/chadoh21/Downtown%20Cleveland%20Ohio/249.jpg

Close up.

All photos are by me.

The Cleveland Aquarium broke ground today in the Flats! dance::nocrook::nocrook::

http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8172894

:nocrook: :D :nocrook:

Murray Hill Market opens; offers familial atmosphere and quality food

Nicole LordIssue date: 2/25/11

Do you find yourself gnawing on pencil erasers to procrastinate the dreaded journey to Dave's or Giant Eagle? Do you feel like a child in a horrible candy shop stocked with generic items and vegetables whose origins you couldn't trace if you tried? Grocery shopping does not have to be the necessary evil we must face to stay alive. It can be a fun experience that teaches us more than how to use the self-checkout machine; a place where the owner refuses to sell you canned soup because of the high sodium content but instead shows you how to make it; a place for people to feel good about food.

Something out of the ordinary was evident when newspaper clippings from the 1930s were posted on the windows of a vacant Italian boutique. The owners of the soon-to-be market discovered clippings underneath the carpet and used them as a symbol of the market. As the newspapers disappeared, their images intertwined with the original ceiling tiles, locally crafted farmhouse benches, and smiles of Billy Buckholtz and wife Michele Buckholtz, proprietors of the new Murray Hill Market.

Upon entering, one's senses are awakened by tunes reminiscent of car rides with Dad and the cassette player, aromas of freshly roasted meats, samples of freshly made guacamole, and an assortment of fresh produce, packaged goods, and prepared food lay before your eyes.

The Murray Hill Market offers a wide range of goods, from Cookies'n' Cream Pop Tarts and Campbell's soup to Nature Path Wildberry Acai toaster strudels and Amy's organic low-sodium soup. The owner does her best to support local farmers, with most produce hailing from Miles Farmers Market and local items such as the legendary Ohio City Pasta, cookies from On the Rise Bakery, Phoenix organic fair trade coffee, and homemade wedges of sheep's milk Romano cheese. Meats are grain-fed and roasted on site. The renowned deli meat is the porchetta: an Italian pork tradition. The menu changes daily, offering a wide selection of vegan soups and chili, squash casseroles, and fresh seafood ranging from scallops to swordfish.

Each Thursday, the market fills with the aroma of Michelle's homemade pasta sauce, which uses the Italian tradition of using pork neck bones for flavor. The market also sells specialty items such as imported Italian chocolate bars, tins of olive oil and specialty teas, cans of liver pate, and most importantly, every type of Jeni's organic ice cream.

Though the market's selection of goods is enough to please any palate and couldn't be more conveniently located (unless the owners moved into your kitchen), this is not what makes shoppers come back every day. The market is a constantly evolving, living space to "teach, learn, exchange, and connect," as Billy puts it. Hugs and handshakes are abundant. If a product you want is not sold, they will order or make it for you on the spot and even sometimes let you name your price. This market is founded on community and seeks to develop community, and ends up feeling more like a family.

http://media.www.cwruobserver.com/media/storage/paper1370/news/2011/02/25/Focus/Murray.Hill.Market.Opens.Offers.Familial.Atmosphere.And.Quality.Food-3981022.shtml

Judge grants Flats East Bank injunction, ensuring access to drawings for $275 million project

CLEVELAND -- The developers of the Flats East Bank have control of architectural drawings for their $275 million project and can continue construction without delays caused by litigation, a Cuyahoga County judge ruled Monday.

Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O'Donnell granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties, barring a Cleveland architectural firm from withholding or interfering with drawings for the office, hotel and retail project on the east bank of the Flats.

The developers sued Forum Architectural Services LLC late last year, after the Cleveland architect tried to hold back its drawings during a billing dispute. The argument threatened to derail closing on the financing package for the Flats project, a development already delayed and downsized during the credit crisis.

Forum claims that the Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties owe the firm more than $2.9 million for its work and drawings. The parties never had a contract, and they disagree about the amount owed. In his ruling, O'Donnell said the dispute over money should not be allowed to delay -- or doom -- the waterfront development.

"If Flats East cannot use the drawings pending a jury's determination of whether it owes anything more for them, then the project dies and the drawings become worthless," the judge wrote in his ruling.

During several days of testimony in late January, representatives of the Flats said that losing access to the drawings could cripple the project. Another architect would have to re-create Forum's work, adding expenses and delays that could cause the developers to default on their financing and endanger leases with office tenants including accounting firm Ernst & Young, law firm Tucker Ellis & West and the CB Richard Ellis real estate brokerage.

Forum said that it would cede control after being paid. The troubled architectural firm lost a line of credit and has been slapped with IRS liens for delinquent payroll taxes - problems the firm's attorney has attributed, in court filings, to unpaid bills for work on the Flats project.

The court still must decide whether and what the Flats developers owe Forum.

Neither Forum nor its attorney responded to a request for comment on the ruling.

"We are delighted that the court has granted the project's motion for preliminary injunction, because it now allows the project to proceed in an orderly way without any interference," said Steven Kaufman, an attorney representing the developers. "This means that we are closer to realizing the vision that the developer, the (Cleveland-Cuyahoga County) Port Authority, the city of Cleveland and our community has for this project."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/02/flats_east_bank_developers_get.html

Dan Gilbert talked to the tv announcers the other day on Sports Time Ohio... mentioned the casino 2 times but did not reveal to much info about it... he did seem very optimistic about the casino, cavs, and the city of cleveland!!!

Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Commits $7 Million to Support University Center Project


The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation has made a $7 million commitment to Case Western Reserve University to support the university center project on campus.

“My grandparents were very elegant people, and they cared deeply for others,” said Ellen Stirn Mavec, president of the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation. “They really wanted to help people find their dreams and make them happen. They would be excited about the possibility of a central place on campus that brings people together for conversation and to enjoy one another.” (Watch video now.)

The foundation’s past support to the university has included the Kelvin Smith Library, which was dedicated in 1996. The foundation was established in 1955 and supports non-profit institutions that adhere to excellence in their mission, creativity in approach and fiscal responsibility, while making a difference in Cleveland.

“The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation already has helped transform our university with its previous support,” President Barbara R. Snyder said. “We are honored by this additional commitment to a project that has great potential to enhance the sense of community on our campus.”

A. Kelvin Smith, who died in 1984, was a co-founder of the Ohio-based specialty chemical company Lubrizol Corp. in Wickliffe, about 12 miles east of Cleveland. He was a 1920 graduate of Dartmouth College and a 1922 graduate of what was then the Case School of Applied Sciences.

He received an honorary doctorate from the Case Institute of Technology in 1947, where he served as a trustee from 1966 until the following year, when he became a charter trustee at the newly federated Case Western Reserve University. In 1976, he and his brother Kent Smith shared the university’s alumni achievement award.
Kelvin Smith was a trustee of numerous institutions, including University Hospitals, the Cleveland Health Museum and the Musical Arts Association, where he was a substantial contributor to the development and construction of Blossom Music Center.

Eleanor Armstrong Smith, who died in 1998, was a graduate of Smith College. Kelvin and Eleanor’s daughter, Lucia Nash, was a long-time trustee of Case Western Reserve University.

The university center project was announced last May with a lead $20 million gift from the Veale Foundation to name the center for its founder, Case Institute of Technology alumnus Tinkham Veale II. For more information, visit case.edu/universitycenter.

Posted by: Emily Mayock, March 1, 2011 09:04 AM | News Topics: Campus Life

Case Western Reserve University is committed to the free exchange of ideas, reasoned debate and intellectual dialogue. Speakers and scholars with a diversity of opinions and perspectives are invited to the campus to provide the community with important points of view, some of which may be deemed controversial. The views and opinions of those invited to speak on the campus do not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration or any other segment of the university community.

http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2011/03/01/kelvin_and_eleanor_smith_foundation_commits_7_million_to_support_university_center_project

long-abandoned ohio city tavern converted to fresh new housing

Thursday, March 10, 2011

James DeRosa purchased the old Marshall McCarron's bar at Randall and John Avenue in Ohio City with dreams of reviving it as a hip restaurant.

Then, in 2008, the economy did a spectacular nosedive. Unable to get a loan to make even basic repairs on the dilapidated property, DeRosa and his partners put their dreams on hold. A mounting list of code violations soon landed them in housing court.

"We were faced with the option of tearing the property down or fixing it up," says DeRosa. "The neighbors thought it was important that this corner building be saved, and we didn't want to create another vacant lot in the city of Cleveland."

Eventually DeRosa and his partners Beth Kalapos and Thomas Stickney were able to obtain rehabilitation financing through Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), a nonprofit whose mission is to revitalize Cleveland neighborhoods through repair and rehabilitation lending. Speculative retail was out of the question given the tight credit markets, so instead the developers turned the tavern into two new apartments.

"This project wouldn't have happened without the CASH program," says DeRosa. "They helped us get a reduced interest rate on our rehab loan so the project had positive cash flow."

CASH uses Community Development Block Grant funds from the City of Cleveland to subsidize rates through a linked deposit program. The interest rate that CASH offers is 3% below the typical bank rate -- right now, the rate is 2.6%. The nonprofit also helps owners to hire a contractor, develop a list of repairs, and complete inspections.

Today, the old Marshall McCarron's has been renovated into two new market-rate apartments -- a two-story, townhouse-style unit on the street and a three-story apartment in the back. The developers turned the bar's patio into an amenity for the new residents.

The tavern, which was built in the late 1800's, has an illustrious history. The original property had likely been two separate houses, DeRosa says. They were pulled together -- most likely by horses -- to create the tavern.

"When we renovated the property, we found the seam between the two original houses, and we put the dividing wall back in to create two apartments," he says.

In the end, the historic tavern was not only saved, but handsomely restored. "We made mistakes, but we learned a lot and are proud of the project," says DeRosa.


Source: Jamie DeRosa
Writer: Lee Chilcote

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/jamesderosa031011.aspx

Lots of new business happening around Gordon Square

10:09 am, March 24, 2011

The already-bustling Gordon Square Arts District is getting a little busier with the addition of three new retail businesses.

Wednesday marked the official opening of Sweet Moses, a soda fountain and treat shop at 6800 Detroit Avenue, one block west of the Gordon Square Arcade.


The owner is Jeff Moreau, who's offering a turn-of-the-century soda shop experience. Sweet Moses serves homemade ice cream dishes and handmade confections. Coming soon will be peanut butter sandwiches that can be topped with options including bacon, marshmallow cream, Nutella, sliced bananas and potato chips.

In addition, two women's boutiques soon will open at the West 65th Street and Detroit Avenue intersection.

One of the businesses, Turnstyle, will sell a mix of vintage and contemporary items. The other business comes from “Project Runway” fashion designer Valerie Mayen, who is creating a “pop-up” store of her fashions next to the Capitol Theatre on West 65th Street.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110324/FREE/110329911

Cleveland to build new marina at NorthCoast Harbor, behind Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Published: Saturday, March 19, 2011, 5:02 AM Updated: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 5:45 PM
By Michael Scott, The Plain Dealer
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/cleveland_to_build_new_marina.html

Boaters looking to make a short stop at Cleveland's North Coast Harbor may soon have a place to call home.

The city, powered by a $1.5 million federal grant and about $500,000 in matching municipal funds, will finally begin work this summer on a 53-slip marina in the harbor, at the southwest corner of the East Ninth Street Pier.

Proposals to give boaters easier access to the doorstep of downtown -- especially the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Great Lakes Science Center and Browns Stadium -- have been talked about for years in the redevelopment plans of more than one city administration.

"We think this is an exciting project that will bring some life to our lakefront," said Port Control Director Ricky Smith. "This is really part of a larger lakefront plan that Mayor Jackson has embarked upon.

"What makes the lakefront attractive is the water and efforts in the past to bring people to the lakefront didn't really address the water this way."

Downtown visitors will see some construction this summer on a restroom, shower and laundry facility that will be built alongside the marina, but neither is likely to open until spring 2012, city officials said.

There are several private, long-term marinas along the waterfront in Northeast Ohio, but this site would offer spots for boats 26 feet long or more and for a maximum of 10 days, though most would probably be for shorter stays, Smith said. Drawings for the marina show 16 slips for 35-foot boats, 30 slips for 40-footers, five for 50-footers and the final two at the end of the docks with no specified limit.

The marina would be open to any boater, even boat owners who have permanent slips from other nearby marinas. The daily cost for boaters to dock at the marina has not been set, a city spokeswoman said.

"This is intended for in-and-out, but we'd also like to put in a longer-term marina in the future and we have plans for a restaurant on the site where the old skate park used to be," Smith said.

The federal money, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant, will be funneled through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Watercraft. The federal agency said the aim was to benefit tourism downtown, estimated to generate more than $1.1 million annually for the Cleveland area, the service said.

"Downtown Cleveland is home to many attractions, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, waterfront museums, entertainment and professional sports venues," said Julie Morin, grant coordinator with the service.

"The transient marina and amenities will attract boaters to the Cleveland area and thus provide an economic boost for the local community."

Money for the federal program comes from the Sport Fishing and Boating Trust Fund, supported by boaters and manufacturers through excise and other taxes on certain fishing and boating equipment and boat fuels.

The city's contribution adds up to about half a million dollars -- $255,000 each from Port Control and Economic Development departments.

Other partners in the project include the Regional Transit Authority, which plans to install a kiosk at the marina. Three other groups -- Positively Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Boating Association and Lake Erie Marine Trades Association -- will help market the project.

Although the marina isn't likely to open until next spring, the city will begin making "cosmetic improvements" to the East Ninth Street Pier this summer, Smith said.

"We also hope to be able to bring in some vendors to make it more festive on the pier, more like New York's Central Park or other places," he said. "It's all about trying to bring some life to the waterfront." ..

Rock Ohio Caesars secures option to buy the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland from Forest City Enterprises

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The developers of a downtown casino have an option to buy the Ritz-Carlton - a prospect that would give Dan Gilbert and his partners control of a 206-room hotel just a short walk from their gaming hall.

A spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that Rock Ohio Caesars has obtained the right to purchase the Ritz from Forest City Enterprises Inc.

She would not comment on the length of the option or the potential purchase price for the hotel, part of the Tower City Center complex just off Public Square.

"We have an option," said Jennifer Kulczycki, a spokeswoman for the joint venture between Gilbert's Rock Gaming and Caesars Entertainment Corp. "Clearly the proximity is good to the casino, but there's plenty of time to review it and understand whether it makes good business sense to add it to the project."

Rock Ohio Caesars is transforming the Higbee Building into a $350 million casino scheduled to open next year. The former department store is the first part of a larger casino project, and the developers have acquired 16 acres behind Tower City for a larger, second phase.

Gilbert, the majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, promised in 2009 that he would not build a hotel - a move that won him support from the hospitality industry as voters considered a constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling in Ohio.

By buying the Ritz, Rock Ohio Caesars would gain a major asset for the casino's best customers - without violating Gilbert's commitment.

"They can control their inventory for the casino," said David Sangree, president of the Hotel & Leisure Advisors consulting firm in Lakewood. "Casinos will frequently have these clubs where they will provide complimentary accommodations for their high rollers."

Hospitality experts said the Ritz will not satisfy casino-goers' need for rooms, and the developers likely will need deals with other downtown hotels. But Gilbert and his partners would acquire a luxury property, connected to the casino complex through Tower City, for a fraction of the cost of new construction.

The Cuyahoga County Auditor places the market value of the Ritz at more than $27 million; however, a Forest City subsidiary asked the county to reduce that valuation by more than 60 percent for the 2009 tax year, according to the website for the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision. That case is pending, and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is opposing the reduction.

A Forest City spokesman confirmed that Rock Ohio Caesars has an option on the hotel but would not comment on terms of the deal.

"Cleveland is, from a hospitality perspective, coming out from the bottom of a cycle," said Eric Belfrage, vice president with CB Richard Ellis Hotels in Columbus. "The fact that the casino is a go, and with the medical mart and convention center, there are a couple of dynamics that are going to really revitalize the central business district there."

Forest City has been selling off hotels -- a small part of a real-estate portfolio dominated by offices, mixed-use projects, shopping centers and apartments. In February, the publicly traded company sold the Charleston Marriott in Charleston, W. Va., for $25.5 million.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/rock_ohio_caesars_secures_opti.html

Lots of new business happening around Gordon Square

10:09 am, March 24, 2011

The already-bustling Gordon Square Arts District is getting a little busier with the addition of three new retail businesses.

Wednesday marked the official opening of Sweet Moses, a soda fountain and treat shop at 6800 Detroit Avenue, one block west of the Gordon Square Arcade.


The owner is Jeff Moreau, who's offering a turn-of-the-century soda shop experience. Sweet Moses serves homemade ice cream dishes and handmade confections. Coming soon will be peanut butter sandwiches that can be topped with options including bacon, marshmallow cream, Nutella, sliced bananas and potato chips.

In addition, two women's boutiques soon will open at the West 65th Street and Detroit Avenue intersection.

One of the businesses, Turnstyle, will sell a mix of vintage and contemporary items. The other business comes from “Project Runway” fashion designer Valerie Mayen, who is creating a “pop-up” store of her fashions next to the Capitol Theatre on West 65th Street.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110324/FREE/110329911

This is my 'hood and I have to admit, I've been to Sweet Moses THREE times since they opened (I have justified the trips with long periods of cardio at the gym). The place is AWESOME! Very old-school, get atmosphere - a little pricey, but worth it.

Additionally, I took my first bike ride in Cleveland last night since moving here and all I can say is WOW! I totally fell in love. I biked over to Edgewater Park and couldn't help but grin the entire time. I have always wanted to live on water (the White River in Indy just didn't seem to cut it) and now I do!! The park was packed, people everywhere - so diverse too.

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

This is my 'hood and I have to admit, I've been to Sweet Moses THREE times since they opened (I have justified the trips with long periods of cardio at the gym). The place is AWESOME! Very old-school, get atmosphere - a little pricey, but worth it.

Additionally, I took my first bike ride in Cleveland last night since moving here and all I can say is WOW! I totally fell in love. I biked over to Edgewater Park and couldn't help but grin the entire time. I have always wanted to live on water (the White River in Indy just didn't seem to cut it) and now I do!! The park was packed, people everywhere - so diverse too.

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

I'm happy to hear you are enjoying yourself. Have you made it to Little Italy yet? Try the spaghetti and meatballs with homemade pasta at Mama Santa's. It's yummy! Also, there is a GREAT little vietnamese place on Detroit at West 55th. It's good!

Cuyahoga County Council to host public medical mart updates

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Council will host monthly public updates on the $465 million, taxpayer-financed medical mart and convention center.
The first update will be May 3, at 4 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the first floor of the Justice Center as part of a council work session. The county's pointman, Jeff Appelbaum, will present the latest on the project budget, contracts and schedule, as well as agreements to lease space in the mart and book shows in the convention center.

Dates for future updates have not been set. Agendas for council work sessions and meetings are posted on the council website.

"The Medical Mart project is a massive investment of public dollars upon which the county has pinned its hopes for economic revitalization," county Council President Ellen C. Connally said in a news release. "While we anticipate a highly successful project, Council intends to exercise its due diligence in monitoring the progress of this important venture."

That's in contrast to the start of the medical mart project in 2008, when then-county commissioners intended to approve a secretly negotiated contract with Chicago-based MMPI without first allowing the public to inspect the deal. After The Plain Dealer threatened to sue, commissioners agreed to a weeklong public review.

Commissioners the previous year had imposed a 20-year, quarter-cent sales tax hike to finance the complex -- a showplace of medical technology on the northeast corner of St. Clair Avenue and Ontario Street and a connected, L-shaped convention center beneath Malls B and C.

Crews broke ground Jan. 3, and so far, the county has spent $35 million. A list of contractors has been publicly posted.

"You can't wait until the end of the project to ask questions," Appelbaum said Tuesday, commending the council's oversight. "You have to follow it all the way through."

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/04/cuyahoga_county_council_to_host_public_medical_mart_updates.html

Is the medical mart what is being constructed near City Hall? I am seeing a large construction project from the Shoreway as I pass along the stadium...

http://toledoblade.com/State/2011/04/15/Cleveland-airport-master-plan-includes-more-people-movers-smoother-road-system-new-garage.html

Cleveland airport master plan includes more people movers, smoother road system, new garage

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/tony_hawk_foundation_gives_250.html

Tony Hawk Foundation gives $25,000 to Cleveland skatepark, part of recreation hub in the Flats

Is the medical mart what is being constructed near City Hall? I am seeing a large construction project from the Shoreway as I pass along the stadium...

I believe that is the Medical Mart and rebuilding of the Convention Center.

Cleveland's new Inner Belt Bridge over the Flats kicks off

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Work has begun on the first of two Inner Belt bridges. ODOT's plan calls for the new span to handle trac by late 2013 and be finished in 2014.


It will carry six lanes of traffic -- four westbound, two eastbound -- as the existing Inner Belt Bridge is demolished and a new one is built in its place by 2016.

The first new bridge will then handle westbound traffic while the second carries drivers headed east. The twin viaducts will be built to last 100 years -- twice the lifespan of the current bridge.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/04/new_inner_belt_bridge_over_the.html

If the non I-90 portion of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is removed, does this mean that the Main Avenue Bridge will be removed/dismantled as well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KASYNNggU48

Cleveland Casino

glad to see the inner belt project starting... dont need another minneapolis type disaster happening again.

Looks like the Cleveland casino will the the first to open in Ohio. The video I posted says early January and I dont see Toledos opening before then. Im thinkin March 2012 for ours.

Investors plan $55 million hotel project in historic Euclid Avenue buildings

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An out-of-state investor group plans to open a hotel on Euclid Avenue, in a $55 million project that could eliminate a dead zone in downtown Cleveland.

JHB Hotel LLC, an entity tied to investors in New York, California and Colorado, expects to buy the John Hartness Brown Building at 1001-1021 Euclid Ave. and the neighboring building at 1101 Euclid Ave. before the end of the year. The vacant properties could be plucked from the early stages of foreclosure, thanks to a surge of interest in hotels to complement Cleveland's planned medical mart, new convention center and casino.

Those large projects, more than $1 billion worth of development, have sparked a hospitality race. Real estate experts say only a few hotels -- ones that secure financing first -- will be built.

On the east bank of the Flats, developers hope to start construction soon on an Aloft hotel. A Kimpton Hotel could occupy part of the former Schofield Building, at East Ninth Street and Euclid. An investor is trying to buy the former Cleveland Athletic Club Building, at 1118-1148 Euclid Ave., for a hotel project. And properties including the Huntington Building, also at East Ninth and Euclid, have been mentioned as potential hotel sites.

The investors behind JHB Hotel have a signed letter of intent with an upscale brand, said Pete Whiskeman, a partner in the project. He declined to identify the brand but said the project would involve a 200-plus-room hotel, indoor parking and 12,000 to 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The hotel would open in 2013, timed to the debut of the casino, the convention center and the medical mart, a planned showplace for medical devices.

"If those things were not happening, this would not be happening," said Whiskeman, a principal with Hospitality Development Capital Group in Colorado.

Western National Capital Partners, a California company, likely will hold the majority stake in JHB Hotel LLC. The investors are working with hospitality consultant Lonnie Burghardt, who is based in Sandusky. Collectively, they have decades of experience in hotel development and financing.

This week, the group was trying to wrap up a deal with Eli Mann, an elusive Cleveland Heights investor who bought the Euclid Avenue properties in 2007 and talked about filling them with apartments and stores.

Mann's plans never materialized. Public records show he owes more than $346,000 in property taxes on the buildings. Cuyahoga County filed to foreclose on the properties this year. The tax delinquencies must be resolved before JHB Hotel can take possession of the buildings and begin construction, Whiskeman said.

When reached by phone this week, Mann said he was in a meeting and might call back. He never did. His real estate broker, Richard Sheehan of Grubb & Ellis, confirmed the basic outlines of the deal with JHB Hotel and said he believes it will happen. He declined to comment further.

A similar story has been playing out at the empty Cleveland Athletic Club Building. Mann bought that property in 2007 and has a contract to sell it to Ned Weingart, a local investor who is also working on a hotel deal.

David Sangree, a hotel consultant who has done studies for Weingart and the Aloft developers, said he was not aware of the JHB Hotel plan. "That would raise our new hotel count downtown from about 500 new rooms to about 700 or 800 new rooms," said Sangree, president of Hotel & Leisure Advisors in Lakewood.

According to Smith Travel Research, hotel occupancy in downtown Cleveland was 60 percent through October -- up 4.5 percent over the first 10 months of 2009. The medical mart and other projects will create demand for hotel rooms, Sangree said, but "there hasn't been much information provided in terms of exactly how much demand."

The JHB Hotel project would involve reuniting the John Hartness Brown Building, which was built in 1901 and later divided into separate office buildings. The restored building would house hotel rooms, with lobby access and retail on the first floor. The building at 1101 Euclid, which is not considered historic, could provide ground-floor access to indoor parking. The hotel would use the upper levels.

Whiskeman provided few details on JHB Hotel's financing plans. In 2007, the state awarded $5.8 million in historic preservation tax credits to help Mann redevelop the John Hartness Brown Building. Such credits, which can attract investors to historic buildings, are driving development along Euclid Avenue from Cleveland State University to Public Square.

The credits for the John Hartness Brown Building are valid until September 2012 and will be lost if they are not used. The state cannot award them to a different building but can work with Mann to transfer the credits to a new owner, said Mark Lundine, urban revitalization coordinator with the Ohio Department of Development.

Cuyahoga County development officials said they have not offered any subsidies. Public documents show that the city of Cleveland is considering tax-increment financing, a structure that taps anticipated increases in property-tax revenues from a project to pay for construction. Tracey Nichols, the city's economic development director, declined to comment on the financing.

"We're very interested in seeing the project in more detail," she said.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/11/investors_plan_55_million_hote.html

New neighborhood to rise on Cleveland State University campus

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A new neighborhood that includes one of the largest downtown apartment developments built in recent decades will rise at Cleveland State University next year.

Campus Village is aimed at CSU faculty, staff and graduate students as well as young professionals. It will include 308 units in nine buildings, a parking garage, outdoor pool, clubhouse, cyber cafe, stores and restaurants on 6.8 acres bordered by Chester and Payne avenues and East 21st and East 24th streets.

Three buildings are scheduled to open by August 2012 and the remainder two months later.

The $45-million project by Polaris Real Estate Equities of Gates Mills was approved Wednesday by CSU trustees, sealing an innovative partnership.

CSU owns the property and will lease it to Polaris, which will develop and manage the project. It will offer one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units in three- and four-story buildings. Polaris officials said Wednesday that rent has not been determined but they told CSU last year that apartments could rent for $850 to $1,550 per month.

The university invests no long-term money in the project and gets a long-term yield from it," said CSU President Ronald Berkman. "It is integrated into the campus while still feeling like a residential village."

He expects many tenants will not be associated with the university but will be attracted to the location, across from CSU's recreation center and tennis courts and a short walk from Playhouse Square.

"We really think CSU is one of Cleveland's best kept secrets as an economic driver for the region," said Polaris partner Guy Totino. "We think this creates a national standard for public/private partnerships. The way we have come together with Cleveland State is truly exciting."

The university began discussing how to develop 27 acres it owns north of its campus several years ago. Berkman said an initial request for proposals that included a substantial financial investment by CSU was withdrawn after university officials agreed they did not want to make that commitment. It also downsized its plans to the 6.8-acre site.

Trustees chose Polaris about a year ago and negotiations continued for months on the scope and scale of the development and lease arrangement. University officials didn't want the project to compete with its plans to build dormitories. Polaris specializes in mixed-use developments for university students.

Two structures, the dilapidated Doan building on East 22nd Street and CSU's Theater Arts Building at East 23rd Street and Chester, occupy the site. CSU will sell about $6 million in bonds to pay for building demolition and site preparation, said treasurer Stephanie McHenry. East 23rd Street will be closed permanently as part of the project.

Polaris agreed to a 50-year lease with seven five-year extensions. It will pay an annual lease determined by the cost of the bond issue, McHenry said. It will also pay an amount based on 7 percent of the land's appraised value, up to $125,000 a year. Once the bonds are paid off, Polaris' annual lease will be 15 percent of the appraised land value not to exceed $250,000, she said.

Totino and partner Rob Vadas said they have secured financing with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. They said they frequently receive inquiries from potential tenants and business and restaurant owners.

"This is great for Cleveland - period," Vadas said.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/new_neighborhood_to_rise_on_cl.html

This is old news, but in May 2010, a plan was announced to demolish 25 abandoned or underperforming schoool buildings because of Cleveland's population decline. Five of the schools will have new buildings on the existing sites, the remaining twenty will likely be offered for sale.

Cleveland gets $4 million for industrial cleanup
Abandoned sites to be converted into usable land again

by WKSU's KABIR BHATIA

http://www.wksu.org/news/story/28789

Cleveland State University plans to raze vacant Viking Hall for new development

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Viking Hall, a former Holiday Inn that became Cleveland State University's first dormitory in 1986, is coming down.

The 13-story building, considered an eyesore by CSU, is on a key block that the university hopes to transform into a $50 million commercial, retail and residential development.

CSU's plans are outlined in Cuyahoga County's application (pdf) for a $2 million Clean Ohio Fund grant to help pay for asbestos removal and demolition of Viking Hall and the other building on the site. Grant awards will be announced in November, said a spokeswoman from the Ohio Department of Development.

"Basically we want to get the thing down as soon as possible," CSU spokesman Joe Mosbrook said of Viking Hall, which has been closed since 2010. "What we are doing now is preparing a request for proposals for developers to get ideas for the property."

CSU owns the 1.7 acres bounded by Euclid and Prospect avenues and East 21st and East 22nd streets. It is across the street from its new student center and would provide a link to the Wolstein Center to the south.

The Holiday Inn, built in 1971, was purchased by CSU in 1986. Viking Hall housed up to 395 students in single and double rooms, each with its own bathroom. The building was closed when the first phase of Euclid Commons, a student housing complex, opened.

The other building that will be removed is an 84-year-old, three-story structure that has been vacant since 2000, when a copy center moved out, CSU said.

The block has been the site of many buildings, including Plymouth Congregational Church in 1882, according to Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. At one time it also had homes, an auto showroom, gas station, restaurant and a venetian blind manufacturer, according to information CSU submitted for the grant.

CSU budgeted $1 million this year for cleanup and demolition, Mosbrook said. The grant application said it would commit a total of $2.2 million to prepare the land for development.

The university hopes to find a development partner for the site by 2012, the grant proposal says. Construction could begin as early as the first quarter of 2013, depending on the project and financing.

The current plan is for a mixed-use development with retail on the first floor and offices and rental units on upper floors. A pedestrian bridge would link a university parking garage.

"We want to get ideas from developers," Mosbrook said. "This is a big piece of the Euclid Corridor and we want to see what the market will bear."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/07/cleveland_state_university_pla.html

Reviving old Chinatown: Whatever happened to ... ?

Whatever happened to plans to revive old Chinatown?

Stroll up a once-desolate Rockwell Avenue, between East 21st and East 24th streets, and you may have to dodge Cantonese-speaking craftspeople busily at work.

Stainless-steel doors and window frames glisten on the On Leong Tong Ceremonial Hall, and new businesses are taking shape inside a 90-year-old building that hasn't seen such attention in decades.

A Chinese-led investment group is making good on a vow to rebuild the hall, the largest structure on the block, and to try to bring back Rockwell as a center of Chinese culture and commerce. New restaurants and new housing are coming to a street haunted with memories.

For much of the last century, Rockwell was identified as the center of a reclusive Chinese immigrant community, the headquarters of sometimes-warring tongs and a great place to find Cantonese-style food.

One by one, the restaurants closed as the community and investment moved east, toward Asia Plaza at East 30th Street and a newer neighborhood that brands itself as Asiatown.

The On Leong Merchants Association, which traces it roots to the Canton region of China, finally sold a ceremonial hall it could no longer maintain.

"We sold it to friends in Canton [China], and they're doing a really good job," said Steve Auyeung, the association's past president.

A group calling itself the Chinatown Development Limited Co. of Cleveland is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the building and working with On Leong to revive the block as a family-friendly destination, Auyeung said.

Auyeung translated for Jiao Huang, the project manager, who said his group plans to open three restaurants this fall, one of them seating 180 people. The streetscape will also include an historical museum, a fish market and a gift shop.

Upstairs apartments have been renovated and will be marketed to Chinese students at Cleveland State University, Auyeung said.

It remains to be seen if the project can transform the street. Much of the block remains vacant and some of the existing businesses, including a topless bar, would not seem to fit the new vision.

Some worry that Cleveland cannot support two Asian-themed commercial centers. Anne Pu, editor of the Erie Chinese Journal, is not one of them.

If Rockwell can pursue a niche, she said, it can complement the more diverse offerings of Asiatown.

"If it's unique, if it focuses on old China, I think it can work," she said.

Meanwhile, a lost part of the city may be reborn.

"Cleveland needs this times a hundred," said Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes old Chinatown. "It's breathtaking. And they haven't asked the city for a dime."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/08/reviving_old_chinatown_whateve.html

Mitchell's Ice Cream to buy former nightclub spot, move headquarters and kitchen into Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A homegrown ice cream company plans to move its headquarters to Cleveland, transforming a former nightclub building into a commercial kitchen and shop.

Mitchell's Ice Cream inked a purchase agreement Tuesday to buy the former Moda building in Ohio City. With an expanding lineup of shops and sales to restaurants and grocery stores, the company has outgrown its kitchen in Rocky River.

And its co-founders, brothers Mike and Pete Mitchell, want to be part of the growing food scene around the West Side Market, in a neighborhood being cast as Cleveland's Market District.

"We have no interest in having a store anywhere outside the Greater Cleveland area," Pete Mitchell said. "So we want to make sure we have a presence in the city of Cleveland."

Founded in 1999 and based in Rocky River for about eight years, Mitchell's has focused on the suburbs: Bay Village, Beachwood, Rocky River, Solon, Westlake and - coming up - Avon and Strongsville.

For their foray into Cleveland, the brothers considered downtown and several near-West Side neighborhoods before choosing a building at 1867 W. 25th St. in Ohio City.

That property gained notoriety as the home of Moda, a nightclub that lured politicos and celebrities - and, eventually, large crowds and brawls. Moda closed in 2006, after the club's owner pleaded guilty to laundering drug money through his business.

Since then, neighbors have resisted proposals to fill the space with another bar or club.

Mitchell's plans to renovate the first floor, about 8,600 square feet, for its kitchen and an ice-cream shop along West 25th. The second floor would be used for offices or maintained as apartments.

Mike Mitchell would not comment on the purchase price for the building, which last sold to Rialto Corp. for $80,000 in 1999.

"They're a fantastic retailer with a great product moving into what has been a troubled property in the neighborhood," said Eric Wobser, executive director of neighborhood development group Ohio City Inc.

The company hopes to move by spring 2012.

The new headquarters, kitchen and shop would employ about 35 people. The city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are working with Mitchell's to cut the cost of the $2 million project.

Cleveland has offered Mitchell's $220,000 in loans, through programs aimed at reviving vacant properties and supporting retail businesses.

Mitchell's will assume the balance - $76,798 - on a $120,000 loan that the city provided for the Moda redevelopment in 1999. The loan term will be extended to 20 years.

"We've been working to find a buyer for this property for a number of years," said Tracey Nichols, the city's economic development director. "This is really a hole in the neighborhood."

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is focused on the Market District's transformation into a food hub encircling the West Side Market, said Chris Warren, the city's chief of regional development.

Cuyahoga County is talking to Mitchell's about a $50,000 forgivable loan, tied to job-creation in the city.

"There's a lot of attention on the huge projects, the Medical Mart and the east bank of the Flats" said Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald. "But we actually think that the biggest part of our portfolio should be in investments in small businesses that want to expand and need a little bit of help."

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/mitchells_ice_cream_to_buy_for.html

Mitchell Schneider may add to Cleveland's Shoreway Commerce Park

By JAY MILLER
2:44 pm, August 31, 2011

With 70% of the available space occupied at his Shoreway Commerce Park, Mitchell Schneider, president of First Interstate Properties Ltd., is thinking about expanding the business park in Cleveland.

Mr. Schneider told Crain's about his plan at the park's ribbon-cutting this morning, marking the substantial build out of a 450,000-square-foot building at East 79th Street and St. Clair Avenue that was a truck plant for the now-defunct White Motor Co.


Mr. Schneider said if negotiations with prospective tenants are successful, he will begin construction on a new, one-story, multitenant building for light manufacturing and distribution operations on a 10-acre site adjacent to the former White Motor plant.

First Interstate bought the 30-acre site in 2001 with the intention of creating a new retail center on the property. However, the company instead used a similarly abandoned industrial site in Cleveland's Flats to create the Steelyard Commons shopping center.

Mr. Schneider said he decided to create a location for light industrial and distribution companies on the East Side site, in part because he could offer smaller companies the kind of direct rail access usually available only to larger companies.

He credited the economic development operations of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County with helping craft a $15 million package of low-interest loans that allowed him to clean up the environmentally dirty site and rebuild and subdivide the big plant.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110831/FREE/110839958

Cleveland developers say 'Hello, China!' with a video and a dream

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- More than 3,000 people once worked at the massive Richman Bros. complex on East 55th Street, stitching and tailoring men's suits for the largest clothing chain in America.

When he walks the empty colossus today, Derek Ng (pronounced "ing") envisions a different scenario on floors that stretch like football fields. He sees high-tech manufacturing, creative studios, and condos with lake views.

No one in Cleveland is going bankroll his $100 million dream, Ng acknowledges with a shrug.

China might.

"In China, people have money now," said Ng, an upbeat, 39-year-old immigrant from Hong Kong. "They're looking for places to invest their money. And they want to feel part of the U.S."

Ng and his father, Shea Kui Ng, bought the Richman Bros. complex in 2009 with the idea of using Chinese investors to shape it into something new. First, they soon realized, they needed to introduce Cleveland to China.

"When we talk to people in China, they never heard of Cleveland," Derek Ng said. "We have to make them excited. We have to make them say, "I want to know about that city!"

So the father-son team designed a greeting. They created a video now airing on television channels that reach Macau, Hong Kong and the Cantonese-speaking regions of southern China. They created a five-minute infomercial that depicts a scenic, diverse, lakefront world.

Cleveland rarely looked so good--or vast.

"Once home to John D. Rockefeller, the area is a landmark of U.S. innovation," a woman's voice intones in soft Cantonese as a camera races toward a downtown skyline set against a sparkling blue lake.

Suddenly, viewers see beach, boaters and a towering monument piercing the summer sky--Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on Put-in-Bay.

The West Side Market and University Circle provide settings for faces reflecting a diversity of cultures.

Soon, a horse is pulling an Amish buggy down a country road.

The Ngs took a liberal interpretation of Cleveland and of filmmaking. Starting with promotional videos produced by local civic booster groups, they mixed and edited, laid in music and Chinese voices, and crafted an ode to their adopted town.

Most people can find the video online by searching for "Project Greater Cleveland" on YouTube.com, or by the pasting the address into a web browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss4ZnV8LUck (also see below)

But Internet use is limited in China and the Ngs had a target market in mind: an affluent, restless, business-savvy audience. So they paid $150,000 for air time on a satellite TV show called "Business Travel China."

"America's North Coast" is airing twice nightly for a month.

David Gilbert, president of Positively Cleveland, the region's convention and visitor's bureau, sees the kind of guerilla marketing Cleveland needs more of.

"We have only so many promotional dollars to spend" and his agency could not fund such a focused effort, he said. "We need to engage the community as much as possible to sell the brand of Cleveland."

Gilbert said he's especially excited to see immigrants using their cultural insight to send a message home, adding, "This is the kind of marketing that money really can't buy."

It's the first in a series of videos the Ngs hope to produce to promote Cleveland in southern China, where the family owns construction and export businesses. Derek Ng thinks many of his countrymen will share his conversion.

He moved here from New York City in 2008 with his wife, Dr. Melissa Li-Ng, after investing in local real estate. The couple is raising two children in Shaker Heights.

"When I first saw that lake, I was like, 'My God, this is a wonderful place,'" Derek Ng said.

He was equally awed by the low prices on vintage, well-built, underutilized factory buildings. He and his father, who shuttles between Cleveland and Guangzhou, China, founded Green Apple Properties to buy and develop local real estate.

In September 2009, their holdings grew to include the old Richman Brothers suit factory, 650,000 square feet of intriguing emptiness. The sturdy brown-brick behemoth rises six stories on cement columns the size of tree trunks. It houses a theater and a chapel. Two courtyards flood the interior with natural light.

Transforming the vintage factory into a center of innovation and urban living would seem a daunting task, but the Ng family has experience at epic undertakings, Derek Ng said, describing the redevelopment of an airplane hanger in Lagos, Nigeria.

In a distressed American city, they can take advantage of a little used federal enticement. The Ngs plan to tap an immigration program that offers expedited immigrant visas to foreign investors who create jobs. They're preparing to seek federal approval to establish an EB-5 regional investment center, which would allow them to attract international money--and future Americans--for a specific project.

It's the same strategy immigrant businessman A. Eddy Zai has used to attract millions of foreign dollars to the Flats East Bank development.

Standing on a rooftop patio with views of downtown and Lake Erie, Ng envisioned young professionals mixing where garment workers once lunched.

"It could happen," he said. "It has to happen. Otherwise, why should I move here? This is called the American dream."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/09/cleveland_developers_say_hello.html#incart_hbx

The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Fred and Laura Bidwell Foundation join forces to create the Transformer Station gallery in Ohio City

CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the first time in its 95-year history, the Cleveland Museum of Art is creating a permanent artistic presence on the city’s West Side.

In collaboration with the nationally recognized Akron art collectors Fred and Laura Bidwell, the museum will announce today at a news conference that it plans to open a 3,500-square-foot gallery in the former Cleveland Railway Co. transformer station at 1460 West 29th St. in Ohio City, a block south of Detroit Avenue.

In a deal valued by the museum at $5.5 million to $7.5 million, the Bidwells will renovate the building at their expense and pay for operations and maintenance while jointly programming it with the museum for 15 years. At the end of the period, they’ll donate the structure to the museum outright. As part of the arrangement, the Bidwells have also pledged $1 million to the museum’s ongoing $350 million expansion and renovation plus $2 million to create an endowed curatorial chair in contemporary art.

On top of that – exclusive of the West Side project - the Bidwells said that they plan eventually to donate their entire collection to the Cleveland and Akron museums.

The Ohio City project is the first major new venture for museum Director David Franklin, who moved here last year after having served as chief curator and deputy director of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

He said in an interview last week that he sees the Transformer Station, as it will be called, as a way to demonstrate his forceful commitment to contemporary art, a new step for the traditionally conservative Cleveland museum – and its traditionally conservative hometown.

“I want the Cleveland Museum of Art to be the glue for the contemporary scene in Cleveland, which feels ready to burst,” he said.

Fred and Laura Bidwell, 59 and 57, respectively, said they want to express their pride in Northeast Ohio, plus their conviction that Cleveland is a natural center of gravity for innovation and creative energy in all its forms, because of its high concentration of cultural institutions, enthusiastic audiences and low cost of living.

“It’s a real opportunity for people like us to make a difference,” said Fred Bidwell, executive chairman at JWT Action, an Akron advertising firm. “We’d never be able to buy a building like this and at a reasonable price and partner with an institution like the Cleveland Museum of Art and do this in San Francisco or Boston or Atlanta or any of the hot cities.”

August Napoli Jr., the museum’s deputy director and chief advancement officer, said the Bidwells’ initiative exemplifies a new kind of activist cultural largesse in Cleveland.

“They represent the new breed of philanthropists,” Napoli said. “They don’t want to leave it [their wealth] in their estate, they want to engage. We’re seeing a generational change.”

The Transformer Station is an imposing brick cube built in 1924 and detailed to resemble a diminutive Renaissance palazzo. It boasts a sturdy concrete floor, 22-foot ceilings and clerestory windows that wash the interior with cool, even light. It also houses a two-story, horizontal crane capable of lifting 15 tons.

Sold by the city in 1949, the building served from the 1980s to 2010 as a private, fine art bronze- casting foundry. The crane - with its imposing steel framework and chain-and-hook assembly - will remain as a visual centerpiece of the building, which will be expanded and renovated by Cleveland architect John Williams.

A rear wing faced in polished, dark gray concrete block, will bring the enlarged facility to 7.944 square feet, which will include an elevator and upstairs offices for the Bidwell’s private art foundation.

The joint gallery, which should open by late 2012 with free admission and full wheelchair accessibility, will have numerous agendas.

The Bidwells, who will lead programming six months of the year, want to share their collection of more than 500 contemporary, photo-based artworks and other projects, which ranges from a small Polaroid portrait of Fred Bidwell snapped by the legendary photographer Walker Evans, to a mural-sized photogram by artist Adam Fuss, who placed wriggling anacondas on a giant sheet of photo paper and exposed it to light.

Art & Antiques magazine ranked the Bidwell collection as one of the top 100 in America in 2006.

“It’s an addiction,” Laura Bidwell, a graphic designer and video artist, said of the couple’s collection.

“It’s growing out of control,” her husband added. “So much is in crates and storage, and we’re anxious to have it see the light of day.”

The museum, which will run the gallery the other six months, will use the Transformer Station as a laboratory for experimental exhibitions in painting, sculpture, photography, video and digital media that it couldn’t mount at its home base in University Circle. It also wants to stimulate economic development in Ohio City and the emerging Gordon Square arts district, to break down the city’s East-West cultural divide and to expand its audience.

For most of its history, the museum has snubbed or downplayed contemporary art, particularly the most aggressively innovative movements of the 20th century. As of 1958, for example, it only had a single abstraction in its collection, a sculpture by Constantin Brancusi. The museum collected modern and contemporary art fitfully and cautiously from the 1960s to the 1980s, leaving gaps and weaknesses it may never be able to erase because prices for 20th century art have skyrocketed.

From 1919 to the early 1990s, the museum celebrated art from Northeast Ohio in its annual May Show. But it has devoted minimal scholarly attention to the field and has only done two individual exhibitions on local artists, both coming very late in the lives of their subjects.

A retrospective exhibition on the late Viktor Schreckengost, held in 2000 when the artist and industrial designer was 94, was the first major solo show on a living Cleveland artist in the museum’s history. The second such exhibition, a retrospective last year on the internationally recognized goldsmith John Paul Miller, then 92, didn’t include a catalog.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, which will move into a new, $26.7 million building in University Circle in 2012, has long picked up the slack left by the far larger and wealthier Cleveland museum.

Franklin said, “one thing I want to achieve [with the Transformer Station] is settling this question of contemporary art and the Cleveland Museum of Art, and maybe of contemporary art and Cleveland. I have my own answer. It’s time to take advantage of all the energies of MOCA [the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland] the Cleveland Institute of Art and Gordon Square.”

Franklin said he wants the museum to have “the courage to be an equal to these other institutions.”

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2011/09/cleveland_museum_of_art_and_bi.html

Foreign investors could raise $75 million for American Greetings HQ, Crocker Park expansion

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Wealthy foreign investors could put together $75 million to help pay for American Greetings Corp.'s new headquarters and the expansion of Crocker Park.

The Cleveland International Fund raised $45 million for the Flats East Bank development and is finding overseas support for construction projects at University Hospitals.

Now the fund aims to raise up to $65 million for the American Greetings headquarters and $10 million for the accompanying expansion of the Crocker Park retail, office and residential development in Westlake.

American Greetings, a publicly traded company based in Brooklyn, disclosed the deal in a regulatory filing Wednesday afternoon.

The $65 million loan would help fund construction of the company's new building, a 700,000 square-foot complex being designed at the south end of Crocker Park. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the greetings giant said the headquarters project will cost approximately $150 million to $200 million during the next three to four years.

The state of Ohio has announced up to $93.5 million in tax credits, loans and other incentives for American Greetings. Part of that money will go directly to the construction project, but American Greetings must find additional sources of headquarters financing.

Enter the Cleveland International Fund, which lines up investors with deep pockets and a desire for U.S. residency. Established in 2010, the fund is part of a federal program that offers green cards to foreign investors who help create American jobs.

In Cuyahoga County, each investor must put up $500,000 and create at least 10 jobs - in the case of the Westlake project, potentially 1,500 construction jobs and new retail jobs at Crocker Park.

"We are pleased to work with businesses in the local community, like CiF," Zev Weiss, chief executive officer of American Greetings, said in a news release.

Businessman A. Eddy Zai, who runs the Cleveland International Fund, said he struck a deal with American Greetings last week. He declined to discuss the terms. But the American Greetings regulatory filing shows that the $65 million loan would last five years and carry a fixed interest rate of 1.9 percent annually. The deal is set to close on or before Feb. 15.

"CiF presented very competitive terms to them and worked within the structure that American Greetings needed from a standpoint of loan terms and collateral," said Steve Strnisha, a financial consultant who worked on the transaction. "It had to be a good business transaction for American Greetings."

Zai expects to start raising money for the projects within 60 days, primarily from investors in China and South America.

"It's not going to be difficult," he said. "American Greetings is a worldwide brand name, and that makes it easier for us. It's also a Cleveland-based company, and that makes our story and our pitch more sweet to hear."

During a financing crunch, the Cleveland International Fund helped restart the Flats East Bank, a $275 million project that includes an office building, a hotel and retail.

In February, Zai announced a fundraising effort for construction at University Hospitals - a potential $80 million investment, according to regulatory filings. Zai said the fund is "within 90 percent of our goal" on the UH investment.

This foreign-investment program, known as EB-5, offers participants a conditional visa, or green card. If an investor's money creates the necessary jobs within two years, he and his family are eligible for permanent visas.

For investors, the program promises access to American schools and health care. For loan recipients, EB-5 offers a chance to bridge a funding gap or secure financing on more attractive terms.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/foreign_investors_could_raise.html

Port Authority OKs financing package for Cleveland's Flats East Bank neighborhood

By JAY MILLER
2:16 pm, November 17, 2010

With the help of large amounts of equity from members of the Wolstein family, the financing for the $275 million Flats East Bank development is set to close by the end of the year.

A multilayered package of debt was approved this morning by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which will be the conduit for much of the debt. It will allow construction to begin in December on an 18-story office tower, a hotel, parking garage and retail space on a former parking lot on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River. Construction is expected to be completed by spring 2013.


Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties, a co-developer of the project with the Wolstein family, told Port Authority board members that the financing they were asked to approve includes $108 million in first mortgage bonds placed with Wells Fargo Bank, the Ohio Realty Development Fund, a carpenters' union pension fund and the Cleveland International Fund. The Cleveland International Fund is an investment fund created by Eddy Zai, a Pepper Pike business consultant, to attract foreign investment.

Developers Scott Wolstein and his mother, Iris Wolstein, are contributing $50.4 million in equity. Mr. Wolstein and the Iris Wolstein Trust also will guarantee at least $20 million of the bond issue until the Cleveland International Fund commitment is fully financed.

The deal must close before the end of the year to win the bonds their tax-exempt status under the federal government's stimulus program.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101117/FREE/101119700#

North Campus project scheduled to begin in 2012
New plans will include apartment buildings for students and business professionals

June 10, 2011

BY Alex McKInley

There has been a lot of noise and orange cones around Cleveland State University over the past few years. It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. New plans are in the air for the north end of campus.

Between Chester and Payne Avenues stretching from East 24th St. to East 21st streets is the location of Cleveland State University’s north campus. This campus will have apartments that grad students and business professionals can rent. The plot of land nearest to Chester Ave. will be called the Campus Village.

The developer for the project is Polaris Real Estate Equities from Gates Mills. CSU will be leasing the land to Polaris. The lease was agreed for 50 years and a provision for seven five-year extensions. The annual lease that Polaris will pay will be based on how much the bond issue costs.

When the bonds are paid for, Polaris will pay 15 percent of the land value that will not be more than $250,000. With all this in place, CSU will be looking even nicer then it is already with the new student center and dorms that have been completed recently.

Along Chester Ave. between East 24th and 21st Streets will be the new location of the Campus Village. This area will contain six three-story residential apartments, two four-story apartments, one four-story residential and retail apartment building, and a parking garage. The Village will also have a pool and a cyber café.

The Campus Village will have nine buildings all together. The first three buildings will be completed in fall of 2012. The following year the other six buildings will come on line, stated by Joe Mosbrook, Director, Strategic Communications at Cleveland State University.
It will cost $45 million to build all these structures for CSU. It is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

The north campus will also have market –rate housing, retail, and parking for the students and the residents. The only idea that changed from the plans is the baseball field. This was going to be the heart of the north campus but now it isn’t even in the development.

The baseball field was supposed to be placed above the Campus Village between East 24th and East 22nd Streets. But with the departure of our baseball program the land is vacant. This will be a huge gap in the area.
Polaris will still lease the land from CSU, but they will not construct the baseball diamond.

The land is going to be undeveloped until new plans are made for the area.
“It will remain parking for now. After the North Campus is completed (2013) we’ll decide what to do next. The parking would have to be relocated for anything to go there, and that would mean more expense and higher parking fees which is really not feasible right now,” said Jack Boyle, Special Assistant for Capital Planning.

This north campus project is going to do great things for the university. It will not only attract new students to the area but also business men and women who want to live closer to downtown. This will make the city nicer with new buildings to look at and admire.
This project is making the city of Cleveland one step closer to becoming a city that people want to live in, not just another dilapidated town with nothing but losing sports teams.

http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Copy/121512.html

So is that Medical Mart project coming along yet? Has it been started? Its been talked about for so long - and I think it will be a great thing for Cleveland - so I hope it is happening. Any updates are appreciated.

go to urbanohio.com... cleveland thread theres pics if u browse thru the pages

Tudor Arms Hotel gleams after a $22 million renovation as a Hilton Doubletree by MRN Ltd. of Cleveland

When the history of early 21st century Cleveland is written, the real estate development company run by two generations of the Maron family will deserve a good bit of attention.

Their specialty, apart from restoring historic properties and rejuvenating neighborhoods, lies in rediscovering the treasures in our midst and changing perceptions about Cleveland.

The family owned company has revitalized East 4th St. in downtown Cleveland, turning it from a zone of blight into a hot restaurant, nightclub, residential and entertainment district between Gateway and the historic downtown Arcade.

In University Circle, they're building the first phase of the $150 million Uptown development. Their part of the package includes erecting more than 100 apartments designed by the noted San Francisco architect, Stanley Saitowitz. The apartments will be bookended by the new Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and the Cleveland Institute of Art's renovated Joseph McCullough Center for the Visual Arts.

Most recently, the Marons have turned the once neglected Tudor Arms Hotel at 10660 Carnegie Ave. into a handsomely renovated Hilton Doubletree.

In August, working with City Architecture, they put the finishing touches on a $22 million project, accomplished in the teeth of a terrible recession with crucial government assistance in the form of $7.7 million in federal and state historic preservation tax credits.

I stopped by this morning along with Plain Dealer colleague Michelle Jarboe McFee for a quick tour with Richard Maron, who runs MRN Ltd. with his sons, Ari and Jori.

The 11-story, 157-room hotel looks, in a word, beautiful. From a source of gloom, it has become a beacon. It's brick facades and limestone ornamentation, including a sculpture of Moses Cleaveland who stands in a niche overlooking the intersection of Carnegie Avenue and E. 107th Street, glow after a thorough cleaning.

Inside, the hotel's baronial ballrooms and principal public spaces, located on the second floor, have been restored to their original brilliance and embellished with murals by 2005 Columbus College of Art & Design graduate Nicolette Capuano.

Designed by Cleveland architect Frank Mead and built in 1931 as the Cleveland Club, a private men's athletic club, the building became a hotel in 1939, and in the 1960s, a college dorm for Case Western Reserve University. CWRU later leased the building to the Cleveland Job Corps., before selling it to MRN.

The renovation involved an extensive energy upgrade in which MRN replaced coal-fired boilers and radiators with a high-efficiency, variable-speed heating and cooling system. The company also re-used most of the existing electrical conduit in the building. The result: a renovation that left the building looking unmarked by the years, as if it were suddenly 1931 again (minus the Depression, of course).

Rick Maron said that apart from restoring a formerly decrepit landmark and recruiting a hotel to University Circle, he feels he's enabled the public to experience a piece of the city's past.

"Anyone can walk in here, 24/7, and see it," he said. "This is a truly important exposure of an historic asset in Cleveland. This was an unbelievable property that didn't need to be torn down."

From the upper-story rooms in the new Doubletree, you can look out over the expansive campus of the Cleveland Clinic with the downtown skyline in the distance.

Or you can look northeast across the recently renovated John Hay High School and the campus of CWRU. From up here, Cleveland looks darn good. It's a city worthy of pride, and it looks better now than it did even a few months ago, thanks in no small part to the Marons.

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2011/09/tudor_arms_hotel_gleams_after.html

historic detroit-shoreway building to undergo $3m renovation

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The 22-unit Sylvia apartment building has been an eyesore ever since it became vacant two years ago when the building's owner died unexpectedly. With nobody to care for the property, Detroit Shoreway neighbors watched as the vacant building, which is nestled mid-block on Franklin Boulevard, fell into disrepair.

Beginning this fall, however, nearby homeowners should have something to celebrate: The Sylvia is slated to receive a $3 million makeover that will preserve this historic structure while adding new neighbors to this well-kept block.

The Sylvia, which features a brick facade, hardwood floors, built-in kitchen display cases, and Tudor archways and doorways, will be trimmed to an 18-unit, mixed income building following a complete renovation by the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO).

Jenny Spencer, Project Manager with DSCDO, says the Sylvia is part of a neighborhood-wide revitalization trend spurred by the nonprofit's work to preserve its mixed-income character while adding new development. In the past several decades, DSCDO has purchased and renovated 13 historic properties.

"By acquiring, stabilizing and rehabbing multi-family buildings, we've been able to eliminate a lot of our slum and absentee landlord problem," says Spencer. "We've also provided safe, decent, affordable housing and preserved our housing stock."

DSCDO plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, October 6th. The renovation is being funded with Neighborhood Stabilization Fund dollars through the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation and the City of Cleveland, historic tax credits from Huntington National Bank and a bridge loan from the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing. Enterprise Community Partners and Village Capital Corporation provided predevelopment financing.


Source: Jenny Spencer
Writer: Lee Chilcote

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/historicsylviarenovation092911.aspx