Is The Renaissance of Cleveland a Model for Other Midwestern Cities? (Euclid: apartments, hotels)

[Flee to the Cleve]

Originally Posted by west336

Ah, that Casino!!! I hope it's worth the effort to build all of these Ohio casinos to increase the tax base. Usually you want out-of-staters doing that for you, not the poor and undereducated people or degenerate gamblers. Where is that going up -- off the Lake near downtown possibly -- like a casino boat?

I was hoping that they would put it on the lakefront as well. In order to get people to come to this casino from out of state, you have to give them something that no other casinos have. A casino on the lakefront with docks for boats and a boardwalk of some sort would attract some people from out of state. Unfortunately, it is not going there but the placement isn't too bad. It is going to be in the Flats off of the Cuyahoga River by The Q and Progressive Field where the Cavs and Indians play. It is also close to nightlife too.

The poor and undereducated people will gamble anyway, may as well keep the money in Ohio instead of sending it off to Detroit and West Virginia.

Here is the design of the casino:


The Cleveland Ohio Casino

Casino's placement:


Dan Gilbert, Forest City reach deal on land for Cleveland casino | cleveland.com

[Flee to the Cleve]

In addition:

Medical Mart and Convention Center (set to open 2013)

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/assets/gallery1.jpg (broken link)

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/assets/gallery5.jpg (broken link)

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/assets/gallery3.jpg (broken link)

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/assets/gallery8.jpg (broken link)

http://www.clevelandmedicalmart.com/assets/gallery12.jpg (broken link)
Architecture | Community | Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center (http://clevelandmedicalmart.com/community/architecture/ - broken link)


Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) (set to open 2012):
http://mocacleveland.org/files/photos/viewdowneuclid.jpg (broken link)
MOCA | Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (http://mocacleveland.org/eventphotos.php - broken link)

[JohnDBaumgardner]

Originally Posted by Flee to the Cleve

In addition:

Medical Mart and Convention Center (set to open 2013)










Architecture | Community | Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center (http://clevelandmedicalmart.com/community/architecture/ - broken link)


Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) (set to open 2012):

MOCA | Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (http://mocacleveland.org/eventphotos.php - broken link)

WoW!!! I had heard of the new MOCA museum that is to be built in University Circle ... it looks INCREDIBLE!!!
Just another masterpiece for Cleveland's already treasure filled University Circle ...

I definitely look forward to autumn ... spending lazy afternoons @ Wade Lagoon in front of the Cleveland Museum Of Art.

The pics of the NEW MEDICAL MART & DOWNTOWN CONVENTION CENTER ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME ....

CLEVELAND TRULY IS ONE AWESOME TOWN ... I'M SO HAPPY TO BE "HOME"


Thanks for sharing ...

[Nafster]

Cleveland was fine to me on my visit.

It had some fine architecture. Friendly people. It was pretty clean.

And the best was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What a treat! I could have spent weeks in that building!

[JohnDBaumgardner]

Originally Posted by Nafster

Cleveland was fine to me on my visit.

It had some fine architecture. Friendly people. It was pretty clean.

And the best was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What a treat! I could have spent weeks in that building!

Many people are GENUINELY SURPRISED at just how alluring that Cleveland really is ...
It shatters most of those pre-conceived notions about "what a slum" that most people would have you believing this city is ... Which is absolutely ridiculous!!!

[PhillytoCincy]

Awesome thread!

Many people do not understand how underrated Cleveland really is. It sounds cliche, but it's honestly the truth. When you have all the cultural gems that Cleveland has, you are truly an interesting and diverse city.

A lot of people fail to realize what Cleveland has to offer...

-A national park 30 minutes from the city's downtown
-The second largest performing arts district in the country after New York (Playhouse Square)
-One of the nation's best metro park systems stretching from the western suburbs around the city like a necklace to the eastern suburbs
-An extensive rapid transit system that links all the inner ring suburbs to downtown, along the lakefront, and to Hopkins International Airport
-One of the best symphonies in the world
-One of the best art museums in the world (currently going through a $350 million dollar expansion)
-Cool city neigbhorhoods like Coventry, Little Italy, Ohio City, Tremont, the Warehouse District, and University Circle
-Home to one of the best medical/healthcare based economies in the country thanks to the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals
-University Circle which is literally booming and construction cranes are everywhere building new hospitals, adding on to something, or building new museums
-One of the fastest growing downtown populations in the country according to Brookings Institute with a 32.5% growth rate. I have also read it has the second largest downtown population in the Midwest outside of Chicago.
-The booming East Fourth Street Neighborhood and the Gateway District
-The new modern Healthline that links you to Downtown and University Circle and gets you there in half the time that it use to.
-An unemployment rate below the national average
-A very diverse economy
-Home to several banks, a federal reserve, an insurance hub, and many law firms
-Case Western Reserve University which saw the largest increase in endowment this past year, and Cleveland State University's rapidly and ever-changing campus.

Sorry for all that, but there is many more lol. Cleveland is by far one of America's most underrated cities. Other cities out there that get a bad reputation mostly deserve it, Cleveland really doesn't deserve theirs'. It is a city that flies under the radar, and I like that. Most of Cleveland's bad reputation I think comes from the sports teams honestly. Think about how much we see sports on tv here in America. It is on the local news, and we have 5 espn channels devoted to it. Cleveland has had bad luck with sports, and people around the nation have seen that. I was reading a discussion on UrbanOhio today that many believe Cleveland's rep is bad in areas because of sports. I think that is pretty accurate. Most people I know have good things to say about Cleveland, and always go back to Cleveland because it is a fun city. Most people that talk bad about it, especially on here, have never even been there, or have done absolutely NO research on the city to see what it offers.

[emcee squared]

Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner

Many people are GENUINELY SURPRISED at just how alluring that Cleveland really is ...
It shatters most of those pre-conceived notions about "what a slum" that most people would have you believing this city is ... Which is absolutely ridiculous!!!

Congrats on Cleveland growing. I know you are very fond of Columbus, I can only hope for the best, friend.

[Ghost of Blasphamany]

I am impressed by Cleveland. Not just now but when I saw the city for the first time, it had the appeal for a city larger then what it is.

[costello_musicman]

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME thread and posts JDB! Excellent breakdown. I too lived in different cities over the past 5 years, and I cannot believe all the amazing changes that have been going on, especially in University Circle and Downtown. Now that I am settled again, it's great to finally enjoy and see more additions to the city under construction.

My favorite projects are the Cleveland Museum of Art expansions:

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2009/12/cleveland_muesum_of_art_board.html






And the construction of Uptown in University Circle:

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/developer_mrn_ltd_to_break_gro.html

[Buckeyes440]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

That being said it does have some serious problems to overcome. I think the biggest problems are the lack of higher income people living in the city core and not doing enough to build upon its amenities. These are a result of years of bad planning and having to transition from a tough post-industrial economy. I think the fact that there are not really any upscale neighborhoods adjacent to downtown hurts the city's image a lot and makes it harder to establish businesses. The neighborhoods just west of downtown are gentrifying and are certainly interesting places, albeit still on the gritty side. Also, things like seeing an ill-developed urban waterfront and the inability to capitalize more on transit oriented development around the city's rail lines are disappointing.

I do think it's making strides in the right direction, but has still not reached a critical mass were it's going to just take off. I have noticed some positive improvements to the city, although not as fast as I would like to see them happen. Neighborhood improvements and the rehabbing of downtown buildings are certainly noticeable though. There are many major projects that will be under way over the next 5 years, so I'm curious to see how they turn out. The flats redevelopment project, the new conversion center, new downtown casino, university circle development, and west shoreway redevelopment should all have a substantial impact on the city. On top of that the city is finally flushing out it's corrupt and ineffective government that has handicapped the city for as long as I can remember.

Yeah, bringing in high income - hell, even just middle income - residents inside city limits would be fantastic. It's happening already in a few select areas of the city, but there could definitely be more. I'm ALWAYS happy to see higher end residential development in the area.

It's really unfortunate that the downtown/university circle area is basically surrounded by the worst ghettos in the city (state?) though. Hopefully with the increased development at least some of those areas eventually make a turn for the better. Even becoming average blue collar/middle class areas would be a huge.

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Minus the people on the streets, this looks exactly like the new Earnst & Young building in Dallas' Victory Park next door to the W Hotel.

Oddly enough, the hotel pictured is eventually going to become an Aloft Hotel, which is another brand under Starwood.

The Flats East Bank rendering on the first page looks so wonderful, especially compared to what the area looks like now. Granted, that final picture is quite a few years down the line as construction on Phase 1 hasn't started yet (hopefully later this year). It'd be nice if the final project ended up looking as good as, if not better than, the rendering.