Downtown Development (Toledo, Madison: living in, bill, warehouse)

[FleeTheRustBelt]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

Which bridge did Carty build?

If you are talking about the one over the Maumee on I-280, that was not a City of Toledo project. I am drawing a blank on coming up with any other recent bridges in Toledo.

Whoever DID design that bridge definitely deserves a pie in the face. Who'd have thought that it gets cold in Toledo in the winter (well, not this winter) and ice might form on all those cables and fall onto cars below? Duh.

But hey, between that bridge and the rebuilding of the King Bridge, getting from one side of the river to the other during the middle of the past decade was such a pain in the ass that by 2007 Toledoans probably would've accepted a bridge with land mines on it just to be done with the construction.

[Johio83]

Fantastic article on the Marina District, and moreover, why Toledo has international appeal. I think this is a great example of Toledoans often losing the forest for the trees. Once you step away from it and look at what Toledo brings to the table, it's easy to see that it really is undervalued.

[Tobias C]

It sucks that the Berdan Bldg fell through. It's one of the most important buildings, architecturally and location wise, downtown. The corner of Huron and Washington has so much potential being the entrance to the stadium. I wish they would fill in the surface lot that takes up the entire one side, with some kind of major mixed use development. I'm sure it would succeed.

As disappointed as I am to see the Berdan fall through, I hope someone comes up with an even better plan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it slated to just be apartments? Residential is definitely needed but I think this corner absolutely needs places for the public to enjoy. I think at least the bottom level of the Berdan Bldg should be some kind of mix of restaurants, bars, shops, etc.

[Johio83]

I just heard from someone connected to the project that the Standart Lofts have leased 68 of the 75 apartments available. Considering they've only been on the market for a few months, I think that is pretty incredible. I also think that's a very reliable indicator that residences in downtown are in very high demand, and downtown's presence as a hot spot in Toledo is going to continue to grow.

[Tobias C]

Nice. I think decent priced apartments are the way to go. Places like Bartley Lofts are nice but I dont think theres much demand for expensive condos yet. At the Standart Lofts, you can get a cool one bedroom for 500-600 dollars.

Is there supposed to be apartments in the Fiberglas Tower / "Tower on the Maumee"(lamename) ? I know theres supposed to be a hotel but if they can get a decent amount of apartments in there up top, that would be ideal.

[Johio83]

The original plan was for it to be more or less divided between a hotel and apartments, with various retail/restaurants/bars scattered throughout a couple floors. They've opted to move forward with the hotel (which they have an arrangement with Marriott for, unless things have changed), and put the rest on hold until that portion of the project has been completed. So yes, the plan ultimately calls for apartments in the Fiberglas Tower.

[acealive1]

great, more "low income" units like behind the valentine which will mysteriously blow up from a 'boiler explosion' ?

[alleghenyangel]

So the Berdan Building development has definitely stalled? Or is that just a rumor?

[Tobias C]

I don't know if its literally being cancelled or anything, but I have a feeling that developer won't be interested in dealing with the City again on this project.

[Johio83]

ace, no, this wouldn't be "low income" housing, so to speak. Well, not in that way, anyway. I think you're referring to Section 8 housing, where they basically subsidize the rent for low income tenants who wouldn't normally be able to afford it. This, however, would be cheap stuff for people that can afford to pay their own way. While I have no problem with the idea behind Section 8, as everyone has needed a helping hand at some point in their life, I hate that it exists in the center of a downtown that is trying to get back on its feet. The only way to get downtown rolling again is to have it filled with people who can help drive it economically, not people who can't support themselves. Again, no problem with Section 8, but it shouldn't be in the heart of downtown.

And as for the Berdan Building, looks like things won't be going anywhere with the current proposal, which I'm fine with. It wasn't a good plan. Toledo has stuck its neck out several times before on high-risk plans like this in the past and gotten burned on a few of them. We're still paying millions a year to cover those failures that we were stuck with the bill with when the plan went south and the developers bailed. This looked like a good candidate to be another one of those. The Fiberglas Tower project is a good example of one that works - they are covering about a third of the investment on their own. For a project like this, that's a huge amount of equity, and a very good sign that they are committed to this and won't be backing out if things begin to look less than rosey.