Is Cleveland's University Circle the premiere urban neighborhood of the Midwest?? (metro, downtown)

[usaf_1832]

I'm proposing University Circle, Cleveland, OH. Here's why:

This Cleveland eastside neighborhood is NEO's center for arts and culture. Recently, it's been exploding with new construction and new life.

I know it's ballsy to suggest, but I am very interested to see who else competes. What are some other top neighborhoods in the Midwest??

DISCLAIMER: This is for urban neighborhoods only, no downtown areas.


University Circle, Cleveland, OH

Population: 10,000
Area: 0.85 sq miles
MAP: http://www.pluscollege.com/site/images/sec_explore/sz_map_university_circle.jpg (broken link)

Museums:
· The Cleveland Museum of Art
· The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
· The Cleveland Botanical Garden
· The Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) under construction
· The Dittrick Museum of Medical History
· The Children's Museum of Cleveland
· The Western Reserve Historical Society and Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum

Institutions:
· Case Western Reserve University
· The Cleveland Institute of Art
· The Cleveland Institute of Music
· The Cleveland Music School Settlement
· The Louis Stokes Veteran's Administration Medical Center
· Case Medical Center
· Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (University Hospitals)
· Cleveland School of the Arts
· Montessori Elementary School
· Montessori High School
· Hawken School
· John Hay High School

Outdoors and Monuments:
· Rockefeller Park and Cultural Gardens
· President Garfield Monument
· Lake View Cemetery (JD Rockefeller, President Garfield, Elliot Ness, Harvey Pekar, Ray Chapman, etc)
· Wade Lagoon
· Michelson-Morley Experiment Monument (discovered speed of light as a constant)
· gorgeous Jewish temple, gothic churches, mosque

Entertainment:
· Severance Hall (Home to the Cleveland Orchestra)
· Eldred Theater
· Cleveland Cinematheque
· Case Stadium
· Little Italy

Restaurants:
· French: L’Albatros Brasserie & Bar (Zach Bruell)http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/best-new-restaurants-2009/lalbatros-cleveland
· Italian: (over 20: Etna Ristorante, La Dolce Vita, Mia Bella, Valerio’s, Michaelangelo’s, Guarino’s, Angelo’s Nido Italia, etc) http://clevelandlittleitaly.com/restaurants/
· Indian: Indian Flame
· Coffee shops: Algebra Teahouse, University Circle Coffee House, Einstein Brothers, 2 Starbucks…
· Bakeries: Corbo’s Bakery, Presti’s Bakery
· Mediterranean: Canopy
· Mexican: Mi Pueblo
· Chinese: Chopstix, Teahouse Noodles
· Wolfgang Puck Express, Euclid Tavern, Jolly Scholar, Washington Place and Bistro

Public Transportation:
· Red Line Rapid Train (2 stops)
· Healthline BRT (down the middle of the neighborhood)
· Buses – connected in with 7 bus routes

[usaf_1832]

Here's also a breakdown of the $$$ being poured into the neighborhood. A lot of TOD type of stuff. Note the boom in residential and the arts. (numbers taken from urbanohio.com):

University Circle neighborhood construction:



Under Construction (TOTAL $1.015 Billion):
Museum of Contemporary Art -- $32 million MOCA Cleveland board approves building new home in University Circle's Uptown development | cleveland.com
Uptown Phase I Apartments and Retail -- $44.5 million Developer MRN Ltd. to break ground Monday on Uptown project in University Circle | cleveland.com
VA Medical Center Expansion -- $526 million
http://www.crainscleveland.com/artic...FREE/100609883
Cleveland Clinic Reference Laboratory -- $75 million Cleveland Clinic breaks ground for $75M reference laboratory
Cleveland Museum of Art Expansion and Renovation -- $258 million
Taking a hardhat tour of the Cleveland Museum of Art's expansion project - Cleveland Entertainment Top Story from The Plain Dealer - Cleveland.com
WXZ Circle 118 University Circle Townhomes -- $8 million Circle 118 townhouses by WXZ Development add life to University Circle in Cleveland | cleveland.com
27 Coltman Little Italy Townhomes -- $11 million Luxury townhouses in Cleveland's Little Italy are selling, but court fight looms | cleveland.com
WXZ Hazel Drive Apartments -- $10.5 million Councilman clears path for University Circle apartment project | cleveland.com
Cleveland Insitute of Art Expansion -- $50 million Cleveland Institute of Art will break ground in May on Uptown expansion | cleveland.com
Cozad-Bates House Restoration (circa 1853) -- $350K http://universitycircle.org/annual2010/2010-UCI-AR.pdf (broken link)


Planning Stages ($365 Million):
Advanced Energy Facility: -- $270 million http://development.cuyahogacounty.us...RFNotice_1.pdf
University Circle Courtyard Marriott Hotel -- $27 million Developers lined up to build 150-room hotel in University Circle | cleveland.com
Pedestrian Bridge (University Circle) -- $7.5 million http://blog.cleveland.com/architectu...bridges_p.html (broken link)
Western Reserve Historical Society Crawford Auto Museum renovations (University Circle) -- $2.8 million http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011...tml#incart_hbx (broken link)
Temple-Tifereth Israel Renovations into CWRU Performing Arts Center -- $25.6 million Maltz Family Foundation donates $12 million to CWRU to let school, synagogue share Temple-Tifereth Israel | cleveland.com
Uptown/MOCA Plaza -- $1 million Uptown plaza design wins conceptual approval from Euclid Corridor Design Review Committee | cleveland.com
Abington Arms Apartments "Green Retrofit" -- $2.6 million HUDNo.2010-10-05/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Cedar-University Circle Rapid Train Station redesign: $12.5 million University Circle rapid station reconstruction project receives an additional $2 million in federal funding | cleveland.com
Case Western Reserve University ThinkBox -- $10 million http://intecsky.files.wordpress.com/...l-083010-1.pdf
New Circle Vistas -- $6 million Maximum Accessible Housing of Ohio - NCVSite

Recently Completed ($1.137 Billion):
Tudor Arms (Circa 1931) Restoration into Double Tree Hotel -- $22 million COMPLETED 2011 Tudor Arms renovation is bringing a highly visible piece of old Cleveland back to life | cleveland.com
University Hospitals Seidman (Ireland) Cancer Center -- $250 million COMPLETED 2011 New University Hospitals cancer hospital looks good in preview tour: Vital Signs | cleveland.com
University Hospitals Parking Garage -- $30 million COMPLETED 2011 http://media.cleveland.com/pdgraphic...5e3d84a04c.jpg
University Hospitals Center for Emergency Medicine -- $41 million COMPLETED 2011 http://media.cleveland.com/pdgraphic...5e3d84a04c.jpg
Hawken High School renovations and extension campus -- $6.6 million COMPLETED 2011 Hawken School to open new learning center in University Circle | cleveland.com
Cleveland Natural History Museum SmartHouse -- $500K COMPLETED 2011 http://blog.cleveland.com/architectu...ural_hi_2.html
Case Western Reserve Wind Turbine -- $6 million COMPLETED 2010 http://www.cwruobserver.com/home/news/2010/12/03/News/Nations.First.ResearchOriented.Wind.Turbine.Constr ucted.Near.Veale-3964332.shtml (http://www.cwruobserver.com/home/news/2010/12/03/News/Nations.First.ResearchOriented.Wind.Turbine.Constr - broken link)
Commodore Place Renovations -- $9 million COMPLETED 2010 Bring Back Euclid Avenue (http://www.universitycircle.org/uci.aspx?page=87 - broken link)
University Circle East Plaza -- $400K COMPLETED 2009 http://www.cmgsite.com/projects/all/university-circle-plaza/ (broken link)
Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center -- $11.3 million COMPLETED 2009 Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center designed by Bostwick Design Partnership is a plus for University Circle | cleveland.com
Cleveland Clinic Heart Center -- $500 million COMPLETED 2008 http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/newheartcenter.aspx (broken link)
Park Lane Villa Apartments Renovations (circa 1920) -- $21 million COMPLETED 2008 Park Lane Villa - Welcome
Euclid Corridor Bus-Rapid Transit Line connecting Downtown to University Circle -- $197 million COMPLETED 2008 Cleveland's Euclid corridor project has paved the way to economic development | cleveland.com
Montessori High School renovations and creation -- $2.6 million COMPLETED 2008 New high school in University Circle combines Montessori education with the International Baccalaureate program | cleveland.com
Case Western Reserve Alumni House -- $2.5 million COMPLETED 2007 Case Western Reserve University | News Center
John Hay High School (circa 1929) restorations -- $37 million COMPLETED 2007 John Hay Campus schools live up to expectations, get excellent' rating from state - Cleveland.com


Proposed ($200-$500 Million):
Case Western Reserve Field House -- $5 million Case Western Reserve University | News Center
Case Western Reserve Student Center -- $60 million $20 million gift to Case Western Reserve University will kick-start plans for new student center | cleveland.com
Euclid Ave-E.119 Rapid Train Station -- $9 million Plans for an RTA station in Little Italy: Whatever happened to ...? | cleveland.com
Cleveland School of the Arts -- $30 million Cleveland school district to build new John Marshall High School | cleveland.com
Cleveland Natural History Museum Expansion -- $30-50 million Evalyn Gates takes helm at Cleveland Museum of Natural History as expansion plans gel | cleveland.com
Lot 45 -- $60 million University Circle Inc. unveils plans for Lot 45, a key element of the Uptown development | cleveland.com
Uptown Phase II (Ford and Euclid)
Uptown Hotel TBA
E.119th three-story Office Building Developers settle dispute over land in Cleveland's Little Italy | cleveland.com
Case Western Reserve West Quad -- $50 million Case Western Reserve Scales Back West Quad Project / ideastream - Northeast Ohio Public Radio, Television and Multiple Media

[slengel]

i would pit the central west end in st. louis against any urban neighborhood in the midwest, including chicago.

[OyCrumbler]

Don't know the area at all, but I suspect some of Chicago's neighborhoods would be at least comparable overall (though maybe not in concentration of museums and institutions, but the ones in Chicago are quite sometimes a fair bit bigger and with usually more "unofficial" lower key arts and culture things such as galleries and independent theatres).

I'm guessing midtown Detroit is also a contender since it has a tier I university, a top art school, a great museum and the city's central library.

[usaf_1832]

^ My first thought was Chicago's Wicker Park/Bucktown and Lincoln Park.

[usaf_1832]

damn...why did this thread get moved? I thought it was a definite "neighborhood vs neighborhood" thread. Not a planning discussion thread...

[btownboss4]

um, Harvard Square, Boston comes to mind.
As well as Northern Libs, Philly
But nothing in the size range of Cleveland, all teir 1 or 2 cities.

[costello_musicman]

Thread is Midwest.

[costello_musicman]

I agree this thread should be moved to "city vs city" instead. It's not urban planning; it's neighborhood bs neighborhood.

[usaf_1832]

I don't know why it was buried here either...

If I make a thread "what urban neighborhood is the best in the Midwest" can it go in the general discussion instead??