Ritz Carlton Downtown C-Town! (Cleveland, Huron: hotel, home, neighborhoods)

[LoveCleveland#1]

Check this out you guys! Dan Gilbert and his partners just purchased the Ritz Carlton downtown... I had been wondering about the status on that. Now, we know!!!

Exciting time to be in Cleveland!


Rock Ohio Caesars to buy Cleveland's Ritz-Carlton hotel, acquire adjacent office space at 250 Huron | cleveland.com

[Cleveland_Collector]

It makes sense. They need a hotel to be a part of it and the Ritz was a prime choice. My guess is that the owners of the Rennaissance are pretty stoked about absorbing the overflow.

There's a lot of bellyaching about it by the naysayers. My question to them is: What exactly would you have wanted? Would you prefer that the area be transformed into a high end entertainment district using much of the existing infrastructure? Or, would you prefer a "Biff's" plopped in the middle of a blighted area? Please excuse the "Back to the Future" trilogy reference...

[romeo62186]

I'm happy to hear that it will continue under the Ritz-Carlton brand

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by romeo62186

I'm happy to hear that it will continue under the Ritz-Carlton brand

As am I.

[Kamms]

I hope Gilbert takes over the Tower City Center and runs it like the business can be. Crack-down on the riff-raff and get the high-rollers into Cleveland once and for all. To all Clevelanders out there, it's OK for people to have money and spend it in their city; everyone will reap the benefits. Drop the hostility towards people with money!

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by Kamms

I hope Gilbert takes over the Tower City Center and runs it like the business can be. Crack-down on the riff-raff and get the high-rollers into Cleveland once and for all. To all Clevelanders out there, it's OK for people to have money and spend it in their city; everyone will reap the benefits. Drop the hostility towards people with money!

What in the world are you even talking about? Do you even know?

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

What in the world are you even talking about? Do you even know?

I know Cleveland (city) mentality very well; class problems still exist there.

[Cleveland_Collector]

If you think that the average Clevelander doesn't want people with money making a beeline into downtown, you know nothing of the mentality. I mean, do you really honestly believe that the people who currently frequent Ohio City, the WSM, E. 4th, the Q, Browns Stadium, Progressive Field, the Warehouse District, University Circle, etc., etc., etc. are unwanted and/or are only from within the confines of Cleveland proper?

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

If you think that the average Clevelander doesn't want people with money making a beeline into downtown, you know nothing of the mentality. I mean, do you really honestly believe that the people who currently frequent Ohio City, the WSM, E. 4th, the Q, Browns Stadium, Progressive Field, the Warehouse District, University Circle, etc., etc., etc. are unwanted and/or are only from within the confines of Cleveland proper?

I guess when the city's population is below 400,000 there may not be as much opposition to ''rich'' people. As you know, the city has so deteriorated that Cleveland is one of the top poorest cities. Meaning the middle class, people with some money and comfort, have left.

Hopefully Clevelanders have learned a lesson and will, in fact, welcome the high-rollers it needs. There was a lot of grumbling about the Tower City project in general. I mean, Clevelanders were actually opposing and complaining about giving property tax abatements to have Tower City, with a Ritz-Carlton and the Mall A-Society Tower project with a Marriott - a real controversy with demonstrations and tense city council meetings with live TV Reports.

Cleveland's history is full of racial and class tension; blue-collar roots run deep as does Cleveland's socialist-leaning history. Cleveland was the home of John D Rockefeller until he fled town with his business and money. Wouldn't having a Rockefeller Center like NYC's have been great on the lakefront/mall area? Instead, Cleveland got stuck with a dumpy and unappealing lakefront and all that Rockefeller money went to New York City.

Hopefully, the ''what's in it for me?" and ''I'm never going to use it/go there'' self-centered mentality is, in fact, ending. Also, of the areas cited, the majority of people who frequent these places are not from within the city of Cleveland.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by Kamms

I guess when the city's population is below 400,000 there may not be as much opposition to ''rich'' people. As you know, the city has so deteriorated that Cleveland is one of the top poorest cities. Meaning the middle class, people with some money and comfort, have left.

Hopefully Clevelanders have learned a lesson and will, in fact, welcome the high-rollers it needs. There was a lot of grumbling about the Tower City project in general. I mean, Clevelanders were actually opposing and complaining about giving property tax abatements to have Tower City, with a Ritz-Carlton and the Mall A-Society Tower project with a Marriott - a real controversy with demonstrations and tense city council meetings with live TV Reports.

Cleveland's history is full of racial and class tension; blue-collar roots run deep as does Cleveland's socialist-leaning history. Cleveland was the home of John D Rockefeller until he fled town with his business and money. Wouldn't having a Rockefeller Center like NYC's have been great on the lakefront/mall area? Instead, Cleveland got stuck with a dumpy and unappealing lakefront and all that Rockefeller money went to New York City.

Hopefully, the ''what's in it for me?" and ''I'm never going to use it/go there'' self-centered mentality is, in fact, ending. Also, of the areas cited, the majority of people who frequent these places are not from within the city of Cleveland.

But Cleveland is not Detroit. I mention that because suburbanites there take pride in how long they have not stepped foot in the city. In Cleveland there is money being spent. I see plenty of rich people from the suburbs taking advantage of the city neighborhoods with hipster areas, coming to watch a play in Playhouse Square, visiting the cultural attractions of the eastside.

And even though Rockefeller left, there is still plenty of old money in Cleveland. Just look at the Flats East Bank or the endowment numbers of the Cleveland Museum of Art which is currently going through at $350 million expansion. Cleveland is much better off than cities like St. Louis, Detroit, and Buffalo. We just have to build off what we have in the weaker areas. That's starting to happen, and remember, good things take time.

Now, if we can just change the attitude of a lot of the natives....