Is The Renaissance of Cleveland a Model for Other Midwestern Cities? (Lorain: homes, dorms)

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by ThroatGuzzler

Impressive... what's currently driving your economy at the moment to make these projects possible?

Kind of wondeing the same thing?
Last I knew Ohio was sinking faster than the rest of us in the Midwest
what turned the fortunes around so fast.

[costello_musicman]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Kind of wondeing the same thing?
Last I knew Ohio was sinking faster than the rest of us in the Midwest
what turned the fortunes around so fast.

I know it sounds odd, but I would truthfully say it's the attitude of many influencial people of this town--combined with grassroots efforts. Some of the financing for these projects are insanely complicated (Flats East Bank 21-story tower is using 50 sources of funding for example), but the people behind them are persistant.

Two biggest reasons:

1) Cleveland still has "old money." (Names like Jacobs, Wolstein, Seidman, etc giving hundreds of millions right now)
2) Public-Private partnerships...Cleveland utilizes city, county, and state funding in almost every project.

From a similar thread: //www.city-data.com/forum/cleve...ing-money.html


In regards to economy, it is simply not as bad as people think. Cleveland's biggest employers are:

1) Healthcare (Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies
2) Financial Services
3) Manufacturing/Bio-tech (fastest growing ..tied to the Healthcare)

[moorlander]

Congrats to Cleveland. It sounds like their renaissance might rival what's going on in St. louis and Pittsburgh.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by costello_musicman

To put in perspective:

Area:
55 Sq miles -- Minneapolis
55 Sq miles -- Pittsburgh
77 Sq miles -- Cleveland
78 Sq miles -- Cincinnati
143 Sq miles -- Raleigh
243 Sq miles -- Charlotte
630 Sq miles -- Altanta
767 Sq miles -- Jacksonville

Hey do you know the square miles of chicago
I would also be interested in square mileage of a city's metro area too
Nice post
Jacksonville and atlanta are all so much larger in sq footage
i am sure this also follows the cities density too.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Hey do you know the square miles of chicago
I would also be interested in square mileage of a city's metro area too
Nice post
Jacksonville and atlanta are all so much larger in sq footage
i am sure this also follows the cities density too.

could not help but notice the cities with the less square miles were traditionally in the midwest and the south had cities with a larger footprint.
wonder why

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

could not help but notice the cities with the less square miles were traditionally in the midwest and the south had cities with a larger footprint.
wonder why

The average size for the 100 largest cities is around 200-210 square miles. The older the city, the more likely it has been boxed in by its suburbs.

[costello_musicman]

^^ Correct. Most older cities saw their suburbs incoporate at the exact same time as the city...boxing in the city limits. This also explain why many cities in the Midwest and Northeast have "streetcar" suburbs...as most of their city limits were built before 1920 (think Shaker Hts, Lakewood in Cleveland)

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Hey do you know the square miles of chicago
I would also be interested in square mileage of a city's metro area too
Nice post
Jacksonville and atlanta are all so much larger in sq footage
i am sure this also follows the cities density too.

To add to the list, according to Wikipedia:

Area:
55 Sq miles -- Minneapolis
55 Sq miles -- Pittsburgh
77 Sq miles -- Cleveland
78 Sq miles -- Cincinnati
143 Sq miles -- Raleigh
227 Sq miles -- Chicago
243 Sq miles -- Charlotte
630 Sq miles -- Altanta
767 Sq miles -- Jacksonville

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by west336

I don't understand why there is ANY condo development going on right now, ESPECIALLY in the Midwest and ESPECIALLY in Ohio! Here's why: typically condos were confined to cities where owning a home was only affordable for the upper 1% of society, so condos were a compromise between renting and owning. Generally, condos are necessary where it's desirable to be in a certain area but you can't afford another housing option. The Midwest rarely fits that bill, and Ohio in particular is one of the cheapest states to own a home in. If you can own a house on a lot with 5 times more space than you could with a condo, your condo demand is going to come from a VERY specific demographic (typically people willing to completely downsize and young adults without chilldren). Even still, both of those demographics have the option to own a home and STILL have to prefer having less space for the tradeoff of (what I assume is) better location.

This isn't just for Columbus, Ohio or even the Midwest, but the nation in general. Condos were popular during the housing boom but I personally question their demand, from a real estate perspective.

my $0.02

I think condos aren't just for people who want to own but can't quite afford a single family house, or for people who want to "downsize" to a smaller space. There's also a convenience factor. Houses and yards require constant upkeep, whereas with a condo there's less to do... the common areas and yards are taken care of by the condo association and you, the condo owner, just pay a monthly maintenance fee. Not everyone wants all the work that comes with owning houses... I know I sure don't.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by costello_musicman

^^ Correct. Most older cities saw their suburbs incoporate at the exact same time as the city...boxing in the city limits. This also explain why many cities in the Midwest and Northeast have "streetcar" suburbs...as most of their city limits were built before 1920 (think Shaker Hts, Lakewood in Cleveland)



To add to the list, according to Wikipedia:

Area:
55 Sq miles -- Minneapolis
55 Sq miles -- Pittsburgh
77 Sq miles -- Cleveland
78 Sq miles -- Cincinnati
143 Sq miles -- Raleigh
227 Sq miles -- Chicago
243 Sq miles -- Charlotte
630 Sq miles -- Altanta
767 Sq miles -- Jacksonville

Thanks, I kind of figured Chicago was a larger foot print
more than the older east cites but less than the south.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by andrew61

I think condos aren't just for people who want to own but can't quite afford a single family house, or for people who want to "downsize" to a smaller space. There's also a convenience factor. Houses and yards require constant upkeep, whereas with a condo there's less to do... the common areas and yards are taken care of by the condo association and you, the condo owner, just pay a monthly maintenance fee. Not everyone wants all the work that comes with owning houses... I know I sure don't.

nice points and true for alot of us.