Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

A new food co-op opened on Carnegie Avenue. The Central Community Co-op will supply fresh produce to residents of Cleveland's Central neighborhood.

The City of Cleveland hired Panzica Construction to build the new Collinwood Community Recreation Center. The conversion of the former Big Lots store near Euclid Beach State Park is scheduled to begin this spring.

Cindy Barber wants artists to relocate to North Collinwood. She proposes making houses owned by the Cuyahoga County Land Bank available to artists at reduced prices.

Architect and real estate investor Richard Bowen wants to redevelop the former Key Gas Components facility as a $35 million mixed-use project. The development near Chester Avenue and East 66th Street in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood would include a 70,000-square-foot medical office building, 150 senior housing units, 14,000 square feet of retail space, and two restaurants. The City of Cleveland is applying for a $191,947 Clean Ohio Assistance Fund grant that would help fund a Phase II environmental site assessment (PDF) and an asbestos survey.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has an update on the rescue and renaissance of the Cozad-Bates House in University Circle.

An article in this week's Scene is critical of the plans for the Opportunity Corridor. Residents in Cleveland's Forgotten Triangle do not think it will help their neighborhood.

On Friday and Saturday, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland held MOCAmentum, an invitation-only Appreciative Inquiry summit. The museum has raised most of the funds needed for its planned new University Circle building, and may unveil Farshid Moussavi's architectural plans in late March.

Fast Track Cycling announced today that it has entered into a purchase agreement with the City of Cleveland for the nine-acre St. Michael Hospital site in Slavic Village. The nonprofit plans to build a $6.5 million velodrome complex on the property at Broadway and McBride Avenues, and will spend the next six to 12 months raising funds for the project.

Update: Channel 5 has more details.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency used federal stimulus funds to approve more than $53 million in tax credits. Three projects in Cuyahoga County were among the recipients: Emerald Alliance V on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Independence Place at the Prospect Avenue YWCA in Cleveland, and the Library Court senior housing development on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights.

Steven Litt critiqued the design of the new Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center building (PDF) on Euclid Avenue in University Circle. He said that the "four-story building is a strong urban presence" and that "Bostwick designed the building as a contributor to an evolving neighborhood, not a stand-alone star."

A Plain Dealer editorial about Cleveland's Campus District concludes that "it's an ambitious to-do list for a group that still has to sell a vision to its own stakeholders, then to City Hall, potential funders and the broader community. But given the opportunities that exist in the area and the need for bold thinking in Cleveland, it's also a refreshing agenda for a new year."

RTA plans to demolish the closed Rockefeller Avenue bridge in Cleveland. They do not intend to replace it.

The trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Art voted unanimously to proceed with Step C of the museum's building campaign, the second major phase of its $350 million expansion and renovation. The phase will include the construction of the west wing and central atrium.

The Dike 14 Nature Preserve Committee, League of Women Voters of the Cleveland Area, and the Northeast Ohio Sierra Group formed the Cleveland Lakefront Alliance to oppose the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's planned relocation to a site north of East 55th Street.

Jacob Van Sickle of Slavic Village Development described how the Morgana Run Trail has been "an important asset in selling houses and revitalizing the neighborhood."

The community development corporation for the area directly east of downtown Cleveland is rebranding the district. Formerly known as the Quadrangle, the area's new name is the Campus District. Its new connection plan establishes goals for the repositioning, redevelopment, and reorganization of the district centered around the campuses of Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and St. Vincent Charity Hospital.

This week's edition of Cool Cleveland includes an overview of the new University Circle signage and wayfinding program executed by Studio Graphique and University Circle Incorporated.

Details about the upheaval at the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority continue to trickle in:

• Christopher Evans of the Plain Dealer described the events leading to Adam Wasserman's departure.
• Port Authority board chairman Steven Williams wrote about the steps the board is "taking to correct its course and execute a long-term vision to help drive the economic revitalization of this region."
• The Plain Dealer opined about the conflict-of-interest allegations against board member John Carney.
• Kevin Niedermier of WKSU spoke with several decision-makers.
• Cleveland Magazine's Erick Trickey summarized the issues facing the Port Authority.
• The Port Authority's transition committee will hold a special meeting on Wednesday (PDF).

In Sunday's Plain Dealer, Harvey Webster advocated for establishing the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve at Dike 14 in Cleveland.

Members of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board revealed today that they are reconsidering plans to relocate to new facilities north of East 55th Street and efforts to attract container shipping. They also indicated that the Port Authority faces a budget shortfall this year and reflected on recent events. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Port Authority that failure to establish a new confined disposal facility by 2015 could halt dredging of the Cuyahoga River and the Port of Cleveland.

The owners of the Quay 55 apartments asserted that board member John Carney has conflicts of interest and called for his removal. Longtime port staffer Rose Ann DeLeon resigned on Wednesday, becoming the third official to leave in the last six weeks.

The Euclid Tech Center is a proposed 98,000-square-foot office/research & development building at Euclid Avenue and East 69th Street in Cleveland. Its developers are seeking financial assistance from the City and State to build the $20 million project.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority again declined to share the reasons for CEO Adam Wasserman's recent exit, and the Plain Dealer repeated its call for better communication and transparency from the Port Authority. An article in this week's Scene tells the story of Wasserman's two-year tenure.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority board today delayed the port's planned move to a new dike near East 55th Street. The Port Authority also admitted that it cannot meet the deadline to supply the $158 million local match for the construction of the dike.

The Earth Day Coalition highlighted the Cleveland Clinic's efforts to encourage bicycle commuting.

The historic Tudor Arms in University Circle is under renovation and is scheduled to reopen as a 154-room Doubletree Hotel in spring 2011. It will also house a restaurant and 25,000 square feet of office space.

Brent Larkin thinks that the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority needs to provide better leadership and accelerate the timetable of its planned move. Cleveland leaders expressed mixed reactions.

The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine today announced the establishment of the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control, the new center will "address common health issues faced in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods in and around Greater Cleveland."

Steven Litt of the Plain Dealer praised City Architecture's design for the planned new Collinwood Community Recreation Center. The $10.8 million conversion of a former Big Lots store will strive for a LEED Gold rating.

The Cleveland Clinic completed the purchase of the Cleveland Play House property on Euclid Avenue, buying the 11.29-acre site for $13 million. The Clinic will lease the complex back to the Play House for free until at least the end of 2011. The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland will leave the facilities when the Play House completes its move to Playhouse Square.

Update: the Plain Dealer published more details.

Sunday's Plain Dealer included several opinion pieces on the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's proposed relocation. Former Cleveland Planning Director Hunter Morrison said that the planning efforts "should look beyond the corporate limits of Cleveland and include all of the region's industrial port assets—including the ports of Lorain, Grand River, Ashtabula and Conneaut". Adam Wasserman and Steven Williams of the Port Authority said that the facts support the planned move, and released a draft of the Port's five-year maritime business plan (PDF). Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and mayoral candidate Bill Patmon also weighed in.

This week's Scene took a skeptical look at the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's relocation plans.

A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge dissolved a restraining order, freeing the City of Cleveland to resume the demolition of the former Howard Johnson's hotel near the East Shoreway and East 55th Street. Cleveland City Council members are pleased. Demolition of the condemned building is expected to resume in the next few weeks.

Update: the demolition is underway.

Today's Plain Dealer presents additional details about the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's unwillingness to support a grant proposal for a trail at Dike 14 in Cleveland.

Update: a Plain Dealer editorial says that "port officials need to be far more forthcoming" about their decision. Port Authority President Adam Wasserman said that there are ownership questions about the site that must be resolved.

More than 100 people gathered on Saturday to celebrate the rededication of the Irish Cultural Garden in Rockefeller Park.

Northeast Shores Development Corporation purchased the LaSalle Theater in North Collinwood and intends to renovate the landmark building.

Channel 3's Jeff Maynor toured the Tyler Village complex in Cleveland.

As anticipated, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended building a new 157-acre confined disposal facility north of East 55th Street in Cleveland. The $277 million project would provide capacity for 20 years of dredge material from the Cuyahoga River and Cleveland Harbor.

Residents and business owners along the path of the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland are skeptical that its construction would benefit them. Marc Lefkowitz noted that "the city will walk a tightrope between satisfying the traffic concerns of west siders commuting to The Clinic and University Circle and its promises to make this a boulevard with land-uses consistent with a healthy urban fabric."

The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority was one of 36 public housing authorities (DOC) awarded federal stimulus grants. CMHA will receive $17.7 million for the redevelopment of its Garden Valley Estates in Kinsman.

The topic of this morning's Sound of Ideas show on WCPN was the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland. Phyllis Cleveland, Deb Janik, and Steven Litt appeared as guests.

The Ohio Department of Transportation will hold two public meetings about the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland on September 22.

Hospice of the Western Reserve recently purchased the 12-acre St. Joseph Christian Life Center property from the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. The hospice intends to eventually demolish the site's landmark four-story retreat house.

The first phase of the Cleveland Institute of Art's Campus Unification Project, the renovation of its McCullough Center, began earlier this year and will continue through fall 2010. The planned expansion is scheduled to begin in January 2011.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority withdrew its support from a proposal to build a trail at Dike 14 in Cleveland, because it wants more time to consider how Dike 14 relates to the planned port relocation. On September 26, the Dike 14 Education Collaborative will hold Migration Mania (PDF), an open house with self-guided walking tours (PDF).

The Ohio Department of Transportation's Transportation Review Advisory Council authorized an additional $10 million in funding for preliminary planning of the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland.

RTA held a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new East 55th Street rapid transit station. The $8.5 million project is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.

On Thursday, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority CEO Adam Wasserman and architect Stanton Eckstut described the downtown Cleveland port redevelopment plan at the City Club (MP3, 55.8 MB). On Friday, they presented the plan to the Cleveland City Planning Commission, where members had many questions about the concept. Adam Wasserman and the Port's Luke Frazier outlined the plan on Channel 3. Also on Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave its tentative approval to the Port's relocation plan, issuing a 241-page draft of its Cleveland Harbor Dredged Material Management Plan & Environmental Impact Statement (PDF, 8.4 MB). A Plain Dealer editorial says that the relocation and redevelopment plans need "a good deal more attention to detail". The Port Authority is preparing My Cleveland Waterfront, a website about the plans.

Update: Port Authority Chairman Steven Williams disputed several items in a Plain Dealer story.

Chris Warren, Cleveland's Chief of Regional Development, responded to Tom Bier's op-ed from a week earlier. Warren said that "the city of Cleveland has not walked away from its long-standing efforts to promote economic development in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood."

Cleveland State's Tom Bier disapproves of the plans to build a psychiatric hospital and subsidized housing along Euclid Avenue in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood. Dr. Bier, Bill Denihan, and Chris Warren were guests on yesterday's Sound of Ideas program on WCPN, where they discussed the issues.

Plain Dealer theater critic Tony Brown said that the Cleveland Play House's plan to move from Fairfax to Playhouse Square "looks like the best deal under the circumstances."

The owners of the former Howard Johnson's hotel near the East Shoreway and East 55th Street now have until August 20 to demonstrate progress in their plans to redevelop the tower. A Cuyahoga County judge extended the deadline for a second time on Friday. Two members of Cleveland City Council want the temporary restraining order lifted.

The Cleveland Clinic will purchase the 295,000-square foot Cleveland Play House and its 12-acre property at Euclid Avenue and at East 85th Street. The price was not disclosed, but the Plain Dealer reports it will be in the $13–15 million range. The agreement includes a two-year leaseback clause (PDF) that will allow the Play House time to arrange its planned move to the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

With two other local Hungarian Catholic churches scheduled to close by next summer, parishioners at St. Elizabeth of Hungary hope that the area's Hungarian American community will show a renewed interest in Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood.

Monday's Plain Dealer included updates on the redevelopment of the former St. Luke's Medical Center campus in Buckeye and the plans to restore a portion of Doan Brook in Cleveland.

As the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority continues planning for its relocation to a site north of East 55th Street and for the redevelopment of its current downtown facilities, the Plain Dealer's Joe Frolik considered ways to enliven nearby Voinovich Park.

A group of history teachers recently toured the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, and CSU's Center for Public and Digital Humanities documented the visit with stories, audio, and photographs. The local Albanian community intends to place a larger-than-life statue of Mother Teresa in the new Albanian Cultural Garden.

Construction of an office building and parking garage to accompany the new Veterans Affairs Medical Center in University Circle may begin later this month, if the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority issues bonds to help fund the project.

Update: the Port Authority approved up to $115 million in bonds for the project.

Different groups have different visions for the best place to rebuild the 1909 Euclid Beach carousel. Northeast Shores Development Corporation and Euclid Beach Park Now want to install it near its original location and a planned recreation center and pier. They say it could be ready in two years. Another group, the Cleveland Carousel, is raising money to rebuild it elsewhere in Cleveland.

Panelists at an Urban Land Institute event last week spoke about collaboration in University Circle. At the Heights Observer, Cleveland Heights City Council candidate Mary Dunbar wrote about the the opportunities for Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights created by the rejuvenation of University Circle.

The Ohio Department of Mental Health selected a site along Euclid Avenue between East 55th and East 63rd streets for the new $84 million regional psychiatric hospital. It will replace aging facilities at the MetroHealth campus on Cleveland's west side and in Sagamore Hills Township. The 14-acre site was previously targeted for redevelopment as the Midtown Technology Center. Meanwhile, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency awarded affordable housing tax credits to six projects in Cuyahoga County, including two controversial planned developments in Midtown. Emerald Alliance V, a permanent supportive housing development, received $1 million. A neighboring planned senior housing development received $915,122.

Yesterday, RTA's board of trustees approved several resolutions, including contracts for the design of the new Brookpark rapid station, for a study of the Warrensville Center Road-Van Aken Boulevard intersection in Shaker Heights, and for the construction of the new East 55th Street rapid station. The board also authorized spending to complete the overhaul of its light rail fleet and to purchase 6.7 acres for the expansion of the Westlake Park-N-Ride facility.

Architect Mehrdad Yazdani presented his design concept for the new University Circle rapid transit station at a recent public meeting in Cleveland Heights. Construction of the $10 million project is scheduled to begin in fall 2010.

Valdis Krebs used network mapping to illustrate the connections between individuals and organizations involved in illegal house flipping in Slavic Village.

In a Plain Dealer op-ed, Tom Bier expresses his concern that the planning for the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland "is infected by the City Hall virus that stunts economic development and repels employers." Roldo Bartimole has a different perspective.

The deadline for the owners to show progress at the condemned former Howard Johnson's hotel in Cleveland was extended until July 20.

Local stakeholders differ in their visions for the future of the Euclid Avenue corridor in Cleveland's Midtown neighborhood. MidTown Cleveland Inc.'s master plan calls for redeveloping the area as a technology and health district, yet current development proposals are more heavily institutional and residential. The City of Cleveland is promoting the proposed Midtown Technology Center site as a location for a new state psychiatric hospital. MidTown Cleveland is not opposing the hospital concept, but objects to the Cleveland Housing Networks plans to build permanent supportive housing and Pirhl's proposed senior housing project. Carole Cohen considers the flexibility of master plans.

Steven Litt identified the challenges facing the new Opportunity Corridor Steering Committee as it begins its efforts to guide the planning of the proposed boulevard.

A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge gave the owners of the old Howard Johnson's hotel in Cleveland a three-week deadline to demonstrate progress in their plans to redevelop the tower. Contractors for the City of Cleveland began razing the building in April, but were halted last week.

Officials with the Cleveland Play House and the Cleveland Clinic confirmed that they are negotiating a sale of the Play House property at East 85th Street. The Plain Dealer reported that the price will be around $13 million to $15 million.

Update: Tony Brown and Steven Litt of the Plain Dealer discussed the anticipated sale.

The Western Reserve Studies Symposium's Regionally Speaking conversations resume with a two-part look at the Greater University Circle Initiative.

The 19-member Opportunity Corridor Steering Committee held its first meeting on Friday. The panel includes political, civic, business, and neighborhood representatives.

The board of the the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority officially notified the Army Corps of Engineers that they are interested in moving to new facilities north of East 55th Street.

A judge temporarily halted the demolition of the former Howard Johnson's hotel near the East Shoreway and East 55th Street.

When it begins work, the new Cuyahoga County land bank will first focus on Cleveland's Slavic Village and Glenville neighborhoods. The Plain Dealer looked at the efforts to reinvigorate Slavic Village with an op-ed by Marie Kittredge of the Slavic Village Development Corporation and a column by Joe Frolik.

A topping out ceremony was held on Thursday for the new University Hospitals Cancer Hospital under construction in University Circle.

Goodrich Corporation donated roughly three acres of land in Slavic Village to the city of Cleveland. The property is adjacent to the company's landing gear facility on Marble Avenue and will be used to improve the area around South High School.

The former Howard Johnson's near the East Shoreway and East 55th Street will soon be demolished. The 12-story hotel closed in 1992, and several developers have unsuccessfully attempted to rehabilitate the long-vacant tower. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's planned new facilities are not far from the property.

The Ohio Development Financing Advisory Council recommended awarding a $9.7 million loan to Mitchell Schneider's 79th Street Properties LLC for the development of Shoreway Industrial Park on the site of the former White Motors complex at East 79th Street in Cleveland. The loan will be forgiven if the project is completed within two years and it generates 105 new jobs within three years.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership named Terri Hamilton Brown as project director for the Opportunity Corridor project. She will serve as a liaison to ODOT and will coordinate planning for the proposed 2¾-mile boulevard. The Partnership also announced the creation of an Opportunity Corridor Steering Committee, which will be chaired by Terry Egger and Jamie Ireland.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority held three open houses this week about the Port's planned relocation. Cleveland residents raised concerns about a loss of public access to the lakefront.

The $500 million expansion and renovation of the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in University Circle is continuing. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2014.

The Wall Street Journal looked at the role of artists as urban pioneers during the foreclosure crisis, focusing on examples in Cleveland's Collinwood and Detroit-Shoreway neighborhoods.

Recent reports by Francisca Richter and Lisa Nelson of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland compared the way the foreclosure crisis has played out in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood and the Pittsburgh borough of Braddock. Although the two areas look similar on paper, the foreclosure rate has been much higher in Collinwood. The difference may be attributable to the different regulatory environments of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

With the Greater Circle Seniors Design Charette starting today, WCPN spoke with Rob Hilton, President of the McGregor Foundation and Margaret Calkins of IDEAS, Inc., one of the judges.

The Cleveland Play House has entered into talks to join Cleveland State University's drama program in a move to the Allen Theater (PDF) at Playhouse Square. Reconfiguring and expanding the Allen Theater would cost an estimated $30 million, and the Play House's longtime home in Midtown is for sale. The Cleveland Clinic is believed to be interested in the 12-acre site, which abuts its main campus. Steven Litt notes that the future of the existing Play House complex is now uncertain. The complex includes two historic 1926 theaters and a notable 1983 postmodern addition designed by Philip Johnson, and is not protected by any landmark ordinances.

Update: a Plain Dealer editorial enthusiastically supports the concept.

Rust Wire has a story and pictures from a recent visit to Cleveland's Slavic Village. Bridget Callahan posted pictures from the first of the two Hidden Cleveland Tours (PDF).

The Cleveland Clinic will soon raze the Art Deco Carnegie Medical Building at Carnegie Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland. The Clinic has no immediate plans to build on the site, which will be used as a surface parking lot.

University Circle Incorporated shared a conceptual design for the development of Lot 45, a 200-space parking lot near the Uptown development. Early plans call for building a residence hall for Cleveland Institute of Art students, a 1,000-space parking garage, and 100,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Construction of several residential developments in Cleveland will soon be underway. Work on the Circle 118 townhouses in University Circle began last week, and a ceremonial groundbreaking for the nearby 27 Coltman condominiums in Little Italy will be held on Friday. Construction of the University Lofts condominiums near Cleveland State has also started.

The Plain Dealer examined the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's proposed relocation, asking why the Port wants to move, why the East 55th Street site was selected, why the Port needs a 200 acre facility, and how it would be funded.

A conceptual plan (PDF) by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority calls for relocating the East 55th Street Marina to nearby Gordon Park. The existing marina would be displaced by the planned relocation of the port. The proposal has been met with mixed reactions.

Update: the Cleveland City Planning Commission was mostly positive about the proposal. The Port Authority will hold public meetings to gather additional input.

The Cleveland Institute of Art will break ground in May on the expansion of its McCullough Center on Euclid Avenue. It will be the first project underway in the Uptown development in University Circle. When construction is completed in 2010, the Institute will consolidate its campus and sell or lease its East Boulevard location.

MOCA was scheduled to unveil the designs for its new University Circle building this month and enter the public phase of its fundraising campaign, but delayed the announcement because of the recession. The museum has raised about half of its target.

On April 16-19, participants in the McGregor Foundation's Greater Circle Seniors Design Charette will generate ideas for affordable senior housing at four sites in Cleveland's Glenville, Fairfax, and Buckeye-Shaker neighborhoods.

The New York Times Magazine focused national attention on Cleveland with a feature about how the foreclosure crisis has disrupted life in Slavic Village. National and international media outlets have used the neighborhood to highlight the weight of the problem, and many expect that the repercussions experienced in Cleveland will soon be felt in cities across the country. The Plain Dealer, meanwhile, posted maps and databases of the more than 45,000 foreclosures in Cuyahoga County since January 2006, and published a story about the implications of low housing prices. While Cleveland neighborhoods no longer have the nation's highest foreclosure rate, Cuyahoga County remains in the top 35. Rust Wire has a photo essay of the impacts on Cleveland's St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.

Update: Charles Buki says that the New York Times article illustrates the need to rethink community development processes and reimagine cities.

The Cleveland Clinic plans to build a national reference laboratory on an unidentified site at its main campus in Cleveland. Construction on the 100,000-square-foot, $25 million lab is expected to begin by midyear.

Update: WKSU and MedCity News have more information.

Oberlin College Professor Anne Trubek did not find what she expected when exploring East 73rd Street in Cleveland. Through the efforts of organized residents, some areas hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis remain viable neighborhoods.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that building a disposal dike north of East 55th Street would cost between $250 million and $300 million. The site has been proposed as the new home for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority

Conceptual designs for the new University-Cedar (PDF) transit station were presented to the RTA board's Planning and Development Committee on Tuesday.

(via Urban Ohio)

Governor Strickland's proposal to fund new road construction through tolls has raised the possibility of building the Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland as a toll road.

WCPN's Eric Wellman spoke with Karen Farkas of the Plain Dealer about the plans for the Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland.

In a Plain Dealer op-ed, Dominic LoGalbo questions the need for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority to move to proposed new facilities and the process used to reach the proposal. Meanwhile, a Plain Dealer editorial encourages the Port Authority to be less secretive.

The Village at 115 residence hall complex at Case Western Reserve University was awarded a LEED Silver rating by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has begun planning for the 1,000-acre international trade district it envisions near its proposed new facilities in Cleveland, and intends to complete the plans this year.

Deconstruction crews are learning how to dismantle old buildings more efficiently. Urban Lumberjacks of Cleveland crews were able to deconstruct two abandoned Glenville houses more quickly and inexpensively than in an earlier pilot project in Slavic Village.

The Dike 14 Preservation Committee opposes the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's plans to relocate their facilities to a new site north of East 55th Street. The group says that the move threatens the East 55th Street Marina, Gordon Park, and Dike 14.

"The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America" is a new report from the Federal Reserve System and the Brookings Institution. It features case studies of 16 diverse communities from across the United States, including Cleveland's Central neighborhood (PDF). Alan Berube of the Brookings Institution offers suggestions for federal policies to address concentrated poverty.

In a Plain Dealer op-ed, outgoing Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Chairman Michael Wager says that "the relocation of the port and creation of new port land is an opportunity to change not only the size and scope of the port's operations and to create the new trade district, but also an opportunity to remake the city's downtown lakefront and replace its aging infrastructure."

The Plain Dealer looked at the renovation plans for the closed Variety Theater on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland's West Boulevard neighborhood and the La Salle Theater on East 185th Street in North Collinwood.

Steven Litt feels that the Innerbelt Bridge and Opportunity Corridor projects should be "viewed as part of a comprehensive system that could boost the city's economy for decades to come." He says that the planning of the two projects has been slowed by mediocre work by ODOT and a lack of advocacy from local leaders. He also encourages ODOT to reconsider the proposed southern alignment for a new Innerbelt Bridge.

WCPN reported on the upsurge of condominium construction in Little Italy and University Circle.

The jury of the Fairfax intergenerational housing architecture competition awarded first place to a design by Fernando Bonilla of Maryland. The Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation will pursue funding to further develop the plans and build the project.

The University Circle Design Review Committee approved the Cleveland Institute of Art's revised plans for an expansion of its McCullough Center. The previous design included banners covering the entire west facade, while the updated renderings show an unobscured northwest corner of the building.

Developers secured financing for 27 Coltman, a luxury townhouse development at Coltman Road between East 119th and East 120th Streets in Little Italy. They plan to begin work within a few weeks. Starting prices for the 27 townhouses will be between $299,000 and $499,000.

The Hope VI redevelopment of CMHA's Garden Valley Estates in Kinsman is underway, and so far, 19 of the 23 buildings have been demolished. Burten, Bell, Carr has photographs of the progress.

Steven Litt urges Cleveland Institute of Art leaders to drop plans for covering the majority of its planned expansion with large banners, calling it a "strangely comical" idea.

University Circle Incorporated President Chris Ronayne appeared on WKYC's Between the Lines yesterday to discuss the future of the district.

Editorials in the Plain Dealer express optimism about the movement in the Medical Mart talks and about the continued reinvestment in University Circle. Another editorial follows up on the newspaper's recent feature on Pittsburgh, and says that Cleveland's leaders can learn much from Pittsburgh. However, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Colin McNickle feels that "the Plain Dealer story might go down in history as the most uninformed look at Pittsburgh ever written."

(via Callahan's Cleveland Diary and Blog 5)

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Chairman Michael Wager told a City Club audience yesterday that state and local leaders should support the Port's planned move to new facilities.

The old Commodore Theater in Collinwood has been demolished.

Carol Coletta reflected on her recent visit to University Circle and the definition of the term "premier urban district". She also shared her hopes for the Obama administration's urban agenda.

Update: she also posted her keynote address from University Circle Incorporated's annual meeting.

The University Circle Design Review Committee tabled the plans for an expansion of the Cleveland Institute of Art, saying that the ideas needed refinement. Winy Maas of MVRDV is collaborating with the Pittsburgh office of Burt Hill on the design.

Planning efforts continue for University Circle developments, including two hotels, the Uptown project, and several townhome developments. University Circle Incorporated is taking a more active role in planning and promoting proposed projects.

Update: Carol Coletta was the keynote speaker at UCI's annual meeting, and discussed reasons to be optimistic about the future of cities. UCI's 2008 annual report is available online.

Plans to convert the former Howard Johnson's near the East Shoreway and East 55th Street to condominiums remain on the drawing board.

The developer of Circle 118 is preparing to break ground on the townhouse development at Euclid Avenue and East 118th Street in University Circle. Work on the first of four phases could start within the next month.

Update: Crain's Cleveland Business confirmed the news.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is continuing to develop plans for a renovation and expansion. Architect Curt Fentress recently shared his latest ideas and floor plans. The museum hopes to obtain a LEED Platinum rating and remain open during construction.

The renovation of the Baker Electric Building on Euclid Avenue in Midtown has revealed many historic elements that had been obscured. The $7.1 million project already has attracted a half-dozen tenants.

The Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation is sponsoring a national architecture competition for an intergenerational housing development. Its objective is to "provide an innovative, affordable, sustainable and supportive environment for families in which grandparents are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren." Kent State's Urban Design Collaborative is coordinating the competition.

The Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation is striving to increase homeownership and revitalize the east side neighborhood. Among other activities, the CDC rehabilitates neglected houses for resale and manages the Greater Circle Living initiative.

The Euclid Beach Fishing Pier Feasibility Study (PDF, 8.9 MB) is now available. It concludes that construction of a new pier is feasible, and estimates that design and construction would cost approximately $4 million.

While black churches are facing pressure to follow their congregants to the suburbs, many of them remain committed to their Cleveland neighborhoods. The Plain Dealer used a multimedia presentation to illustrate the role of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fairfax.

The new Serbian Cultural Garden in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park was dedicated on Sunday. It is located on Martin Luther King Boulevard, across from the new Azerbaijan Cultural Garden.

Steven Litt is not impressed by the exterior architecture of the Cleveland Clinic's new Miller Family Pavilion and Glickman Tower, but is more pleased with their interiors and the work of landscape architect Peter Walker. He also writes about the work of Justin Glanville at Building Cleveland by Design.

University Hospitals held a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for three new buildings at its University Circle campus. Steven Litt feels that the "major buildings in the expansion are shaping up as a missed opportunity to create a powerful, lively and welcoming new face for the hospital along Euclid Avenue".

Cleveland's neighborhoods may soon start to realize the impacts of community reinvestments. Several community development efforts are underway in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, including a plan to redevelop the shuttered St. Luke's Hospital. In Central, the Weed & Seed initiative is combating blight, and public improvements are being made across the city. In addition, the three neighborhoods participating in the pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development program could have their plans certified in December.

Update: the Plain Dealer published additional information about the neighborhood improvements.

Planning continues for a trail network that would link Lake Erie and the City of Cleveland to the Heights area.

The nonprofit Siegel and Shuster Society is raising funds to restore the former Glenville home of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. The first of four auctions raised $34,459 of the $50,000 goal. Owners Hattie and Jefferson Gray agreed to give the Society first rights to buy the house if they decide to sell.

As the Cleveland Clinic prepares to open the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Pavilion and the Glickman Tower at its Cleveland campus, the Plain Dealer published a set of articles that explore the impacts of the new buildings. They represent the Clinic's largest expansion ever, an addition of more than 1.25 million square feet.

While the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's relocation plans include moving the East 55th Street Marina, the Dike 14 Nature Preserve Committee is concerned it will lead to a loss of open space at Gordon Park.

Shaker Heights City Council passed a resolution in support of the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland, with one councilman dissenting.

The old Commodore Theater at Lake Shore Boulevard and East 152nd Street in Collinwood may be demolished this year.

Developers of the Uptown project in University Circle shared information about the planned mixed-use development at a meeting on Tuesday night. They launched a redesigned website today.

Walk+Roll Cleveland's signature event will be held on Sunday in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, and provides an opportunity to reflect on the renewed interest in the park's Cultural Gardens. Steven Litt is encouraged by the recent activity, but feels that the park and gardens "need to be re-envisioned". ParkWorks and University Circle Incorporated are engaged in a strategic planning process to improve the park.

The Plain Dealer examined Cuyahoga County's purchase of the site for the new juvenile justice center in Fairfax and the events that led up to it. County Commissioners purchased the site in 2000 from a subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises for $2.75 million.

The Plain Dealer continues its "Elegant Cleveland" series with a piece on the history of the Moreland Courts towers near Shaker Square.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority unveiled a conceptual draft of its proposed new facilities north of East 55th Street in Cleveland. Port Authority officials intend to reach an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers by next August on building a new dike, with work on the dike to start in 2012 and construction of the port to begin in 2020.

Case Western Reserve University's West Quad project, now known as the West Campus, has been scaled back to one $50 million building, the Case Innovation Center for Energy and Medicine.

While the Tyler Village complex in Cleveland's St. Clair-Superior neighborhood has attracted office, retail, and educational tenants, the sluggish residential market has delayed plans to add 300 residential units to the development.

University Circle Incorporated President Chris Ronayne advocates for the construction of the Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland, and suggests that work should start at East 105th Street in University Circle.

University Circle Inc. and University Hospitals jointly issued an RFP for the construction of a hotel on the site of a parking lot at Euclid Avenue and Cornell Road, directly across the street from UH's planned cancer hospital.

The Politician: A Toy sculpture at Chester Avenue and East 66th Street in Cleveland will move to a new home at Chester Avenue and East 18th Street on the campus of Cleveland State University. The relocation should be completed by the end October.

At the second "Cleveland Plus: Turning the Corner" panel discussion, Wes Finch, Ari Maron, Chris Ronayne, and Randy Stickler spoke about University Circle developments at the City Club (MP3, 28.1 MB). The next talk, on September 10, will focus on infrastructure and transportation.

Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt finds the renderings of new residential and retail buildings for the Uptown development in University Circle to be "highly encouraging", but cautions that "it's far too soon to declare the project a success."

Update: a Plain Dealer editorial says that the construction "will lead to a well-rounded University Circle".

Preservationist Steve McQuillin shares his thoughts about the restoration and renovation of the Cleveland Museum of Art's 1916 building, and encourages the museum to continue a public dialogue about the remainder of the expansion plans.

At a real estate meeting yesterday, MRN Ltd. announced plans to convert the landmark Tudor Arms on Carnegie Avenue to a hotel. The University Circle building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February.

University Circle Inc. today opened a new storefront visitors center at Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road and launched a redesigned website.

Developers MRN and Zaremba hope to break ground next spring for the Uptown project, the University Circle arts and retail district. Three residential and retail buildings on Euclid Avenue could be completed as soon as late 2010.

Although the development has been delayed, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority still plans to build a new headquarters in Cleveland's Forgotten Triangle.

The Plain Dealer explored the opportunities and challenges of the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland, comparing its potential to that of the Phalen Corridor in St. Paul.

Architect Winy Mass will continue to work on designs for an expansion of the Cleveland Institute of Art. His first proposal for the expansion was dropped because construction costs would have been too high.

A Slavic Village house is being deconstructed through a pilot project funded by the Cleveland Foundation and managed by Neighborhood Progress Inc. Cleveland's Citywide Plan calls for increased support of deconstruction.

A Plain Dealer editorial calls the Opportunity Corridor funding announcement "a great step for a great project."

At a public meeting last evening, users of the East 55th Street Marina in Cleveland expressed their skepticism about the port relocation plans. The Port Authority's plans call for removing and replacing the marina.

The most recent community dialogues from Case's Western Reserve Studies Symposium are about Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood.

Governor Strickland directed $4 million in state funds to the planning of the Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland. Financing sources for the $250 to $500 million project remain unclear.

A group of local developers purchased six acres in Midtown for a project that could include retail and offices or homes. The site is across the street from the Dunham Tavern on Euclid.

The Cleveland Museum of Art's board of trustees yesterday voted unanimously to proceed with the second and final phase of the Museum's expansion project. The completion date for the $350 million expansion was pushed back one year to 2012.

Chris Ronayne of University Circle Inc. is interested in creating an "uptown community alliance" that would market Shaker Heights "as housing stock in University Circle."

The Western Reserve Studies Symposium traveled to Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood for the latest Regionally Speaking conversations.

In addition to the other projects mentioned earlier, the Ohio capital budget bill includes $500,000 for lakefront development in Euclid.

Update: the bill also includes $150,000 for the renovation of League Park, $100,000 for the redesign of the Euclid Beach Pier, and $15,000 for the completion of a walking trail in Parma Heights.

Construction of the Casa Romana townhomes on Warren Road in Cleveland began last week. In South Euclid, the 16 unit Stoneridge Place subdivision may not be built.

The newest discussions in Case's Regionally Speaking series are about the Glenville-Wade Park neighborhood in Cleveland.

Gladys Haddad of the Western Reserve Studies Symposium continues her series of community dialogues with a pair of conversations about Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.

Citing concerns that construction costs may be too high for the new convention center and Medical Mart at the two leading sites (the Mall and Tower City), Commissioner Hagan asked the Greater Cleveland Partnership's site selection committee to consider a fifth potential location at East 55th Street and Chester Avenue in Midtown.

The Greater Circle Living program was officially launched today. The initiative will supply forgivable loans and rental reimbursements to an estimated 700 homebuyers in portions of seven adjacent neighborhoods in Cleveland and East Cleveland.

An estimate projects that the design for the Cleveland Institute of Art expansion will cost well over the $55 million budgeted for the project. The school's next steps are unclear, but leaders hope to continue working with architect Winy Maas of MVRDV.

This week's Scene asks questions about the benefits of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's planned move from downtown to a new site north of East 55th Street.

The Azerbaijan Cultural Garden in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park was dedicated yesterday. It features "Hearth", an eight ton stainless steel sculpture by Azerbaijani sculptor Khanlar Gasimov.

Participants at a meeting last month viewed a conceptual design for rebuilding the Euclid Beach Pier at Euclid Beach State Park. URS Corporation is conducting a feasibility study funded by a grant from ODNR's Office of Coastal Management.

An editorial in the Plain Dealer looks to the Phalen Corridor Initiative in St. Paul as a model for the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland.

On Thursday, OneCommunity announced the official launch of a wireless Internet cloud covering most of University Circle and parts of Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland. They also rolled out Linked Communities, a new web portal for the University Circle area.

Cleveland's Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances for the planned Mayfield Lofts condominiums in Little Italy, and did not request additional changes in its design.

Cleveland State University's Cauldron looked at the construction history of the Euclid Corridor project.

A section of the Euclid Corridor from East 55th to East 86th Streets is scheduled to open on Sunday. Work on the segment between East 17th and East 55th Streets was completed in November.

Steven Litt feels that the developers of the proposed Mayfield Lofts condominiums in Little Italy should be granted the zoning variances that they are seeking. Some residents feels that the six story, 24,000 square foot building at Mayfield Road and East 119th Street would be too tall.

Case Western Reserve University is pursuing plans to build the Case Innovation Center for Energy and Medicine at its West Quad. The $105 million project includes a 100,000 square foot building that would house three of the University's cutting-edge programs.

The Cleveland Clinic will partner with the North Union Farmers Market, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and the OSU Extension to establish a new farmers market and two new farms on Clinic-owned land in Cleveland.

The University Circle Design Review Committee unanimously approved colorful designs for the Circle 118 Townhomes, a proposed 17 unit townhouse development at Euclid Avenue and East 118th Street.

GreenCityBlueLake examined the green renovation of the historic Baker Electric Building on Euclid Avenue in Midtown.

In an editorial, the Plain Dealer described the proposed Opportunity Corridor as "a broad-spectrum development" that is "entitled to more, rather than less, Statehouse help."

A vacant gas station at Chester Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland has become an eyesore, and serves as an example of how a determined landowner can create difficulties for redevelopment efforts.

Yesterday's Sound of Ideas show on WCPN was devoted to a discussion of the of the Euclid Corridor project and its anticipated economic impacts.

Olivet Institutional Baptist Church dropped its plans to move from Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood to Twinsburg. The church will instead refurbish its Quincy Avenue campus.

Update: the Twinsburg Sun offers additional details.

The Plain Dealer's Brent Larkin says that the planned Opportunity Corridor through Cleveland is the most important highway project in Greater Cleveland, and that the project's champions need to make it clear to state officials that further delays are not acceptable.

The Plain Dealer took a brief look at the history of the Sidaway Bridge in Cleveland.

Budget shortfalls have delayed the planned renovation of League Park by one year. Ken Silliman, Mayor Jackson's chief of staff, said that "It's every bit of a project as it was last summer. It's just set back a little in time."

The Cleveland Museum of Art is almost halfway through its construction project, and the first renovated portions will reopen to the public on June 29. The reopened galleries are on the second floor of the museum's 1916 building. The first floor is scheduled to reopen a year later.

The Tudor Arms in University Circle and Strongsville's Old Town Hall were recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Steven Litt says that the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's planned move "is the kind of big, farsighted planning initiative that could dramatically change the city's future for the better." The Port Authority has begun planning for an international trade district surrounding the new port facilites, and the move also creates the opportunity for redeveloping the Port's existing facilities. He warns, however, that "an Oklahoma-style land rush on the lakefront could bleed the core business district of vital energy". The Port Authority launched a new website with information about the plans.

Yesterday, the Cuyahoga County Commissioners awarded $40 million in contracts for the construction of the new juvenile justice center at East 93rd Street and Quincy Avenue in Cleveland. More contracts will be awarded this spring.

Environmental cleanup of the Cleveland Pneumatic brownfield site in Slavic Village has been completed, and the Ohio EPA issued a covenant not to sue. The property will be redeveloped for light industrial use and as athletic fields for South High School.

Today the Cleveland City Planning Commission approved the demolition of the remaining buildings on the site of the planned Flats east bank development, and also approved the relocation of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority to a new site north of East 55th Street. Steven Litt suggests that the Port's move "could create immediate pressure on the city and the port to allow downtown corporations to abandon the business core for sites on the waterfront."

Update: Bradley Fink of the Design Rag has similar concerns.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History shared an early conceptual model of its planned expansion. It includes a new glass lobby and a new parking garage. The project will aim for a LEED Platinum rating.

The Cleveland Clinic is free to demolish the Art Deco Carnegie Medical Building at Carnegie Avenue and East 105th Street, now that it has obtained permission from the University Circle Design Review Committee. The Cleveland Planning Commission approved the demolition last month. By 2009, the eight story building will be replaced by a 206 space parking lot.

Steven Litt critiqued City Architecture's preliminary plans for the Upper Chester development near University Circle and found much to like, although he feels that the firm "needs to settle down with a simpler, stronger and cleaner approach" for the project's first apartment building.

The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals purchased the naming rights for RTA's Euclid Corridor BRT line, which will be known as the HealthLine. It was previously called the Silver Line.

A Plain Dealer editorial about the Port Authority's proposed move concludes that "people who care about Cleveland's future must insist on a plan that allows the city to make the most of its priceless proximity to Lake Erie."

At a public meeting yesterday, prominent Cleveland municipal and business leaders backed the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's proposed move to new facilities.

A Plain Dealer feature on University Circle looks at the efforts to turn the institutional archipelago into a more cohesive neighborhood. A companion piece calls the area a "critical engine of growth" in Greater Cleveland.

Roldo Bartimole shares his thoughts about the sale of the Ameritrust complex, Medical Mart negotiations, and Euclid Corridor reinvestment figures.

Reminder: at a public meeting this evening, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will present plans to relocate the port from downtown Cleveland to a man-made site north of East 55th Street. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Philip Neri Community Center.

CMHA is planning a five-year, $100 million reconstruction of the 30 acre Garden Valley Family Estates in Kinsman. The plans call for demolishing and replacing the townhomes, and adding a new elementary school and a YMCA branch.

RPM International of Medina is considering building a warehouse and distribution center of up to 200,000 square feet at the former White Motors site in Cleveland. The 33 acre site, owned by First Interstate Properties, is north of St. Clair Avenue between East 72nd and East 79th Streets, near the Port Authority's proposed new facilities.

An estimated $4.3 billion in new construction has been or will be built along Euclid Avenue between Public Square and University Circle. RTA's $200 million Euclid Corridor project is serving as a catalyst for investments by developers and nonprofit organizations, and may lead to a rebirth of Cleveland's main street.

On February 19, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will hold a public meeting about the Port's proposed move to a new facility north of East 55th Street.

The Cleveland Catholic Diocese has the former St. Joseph Christian Life Center on Lake Shore Boulevard listed for sale at $2.75 million. The Cleveland Landmarks Commission has proposed designating the 1927 building and its 11½ acre lakefront site as a historic landmark.

The Cleveland Clinic would like to demolish the Art Deco Carnegie Medical Building (the former home of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine) at Carnegie Avenue and East 105th Street and use the site as a parking lot and for possible future development. The University Circle Design Review Committee (PDF) tabled the request, citing incomplete information about the Clinic's proposal.

Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt remains unimpressed with the designs for a new cancer center at the University Hospitals campus in University Circle, saying it "shows only marginal improvement since the hospital unveiled its disappointing initial concept in the spring."

Steven Litt revisited his critique of the new Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations building at Case Western Reserve University, and had a change of heart. He now feels that the "Mandel building shows how you can have solid, contemporary architecture and a strong, neighborhood-sensitive design that fits well in its setting."

The Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center plans to build a new home at Euclid Avenue and East 117th Street in University Circle. Steven Litt feels that the Bostwick Design Partnership's preliminary designs for the four-story building are good, but could be better.

Officials with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority say that their proposed facility north of East 55th Street in Cleveland will allow the Port to accommodate containerized shipping.

MaryBeth Matthews asks if the Cleveland Metropolitan School District has plans for the landmark former Willson Middle School on East 55th Street.

A press release from the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority says that the Port's planned move to an East 55th Street site should result in "expanded maritime capacity, a dynamic and accessible waterfront, and the potential redevelopment of more than 500 acres of underutilized inner-city land".

This morning, the board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority unanimously designated a site in Lake Erie north of East 55th Street as the port's future home. Creation of the proposed 200 acre peninsula cannot proceed without approval from the City of Cleveland. Neighbors of the proposed site were not pleased by the announcement.

Fairhill Center and Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation announced that they have raised enough money to begin work on building a 29-unit Kinship Village in six buildings at Fairhill Center's campus. It's expected to open in 2010.

Update: a Plain Dealer editorial says that the program makes sense.

A Plain Dealer editorial praises the Greater University Circle Initiative's homebuyer assistance program, concluding, "When local employers help workers put down roots and revitalize neighborhoods, that helps all of Greater Cleveland."

The LaSalle Theater on East 185th Street in Cleveland was recently acquired by its lender in a foreclosure sale. The Northeast Shores Development Corporation is seeking ideas from the public for the best use of the building's former theater space.

Yesterday, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's maritime committee unanimously recommended moving the Port's facilities to a new 200 acre site north of East 55th Street in Cleveland. The Port's Board of Directors is scheduled to discuss the proposal on December 21.

The Plain Dealer is presenting a special series this week, in conjunction with WCPN, on Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood. The series tells stories about the area's history, residents, problems, and potential solutions.

Major University Circle employers cooperating (MP3) through the Greater University Circle Initiative will offer $5 million in grants and forgivable loans over the next five years to employees who purchase, rent, or renovate homes in University Circle and its surrounding neighborhoods. The program is an expansion of Case's Employer Assisted Housing Program.

The Gund Foundation awarded $6.5 million in grants, including $1.2 million to the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization for the Gordon Square Arts District and $1 million to University Circle Incorporated for the Bring Back Euclid Avenue campaign. The Foundation also gave $300,000 to Shorebank Enterprise Group Cleveland and $70,000 to Entrepreneurs for Sustainability.

The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board recommended the Tudor Arms on Carnegie Avenue in University Circle for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The 11-story Cleveland Landmark was purchased by MRN Ltd. in March.

The Plain Dealer reports that the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority narrowed its list of potential relocation sites to two: a man-made island north of Whiskey Island and a man-made site north of East 55th Street, and they appear to favor the East 55th Street site.

The Cuyahoga County Soil and Water Conservation District will hold public meetings today and tomorrow to discuss the results of recently completed environmental assessments of Dike 14 in Cleveland.

RTA General Manager Joe Calabrese appeared on Sunday's Behind the Lines on WKYC to discuss the Euclid Corridor Project and other transit issues.

When the section of the Euclid Corridor between East 17th and East 55th Streets opens on Monday, drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users will have to learn new traffic patterns.

(Update: a Plain Dealer graphic illustrates the changes.)

The Saint Luke's Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to ParkWorks to create walking trails, an outdoor reading garden, public-art displays, and performance areas in Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood. The former hospital building will be at the heart of a five-acre learning campus.

At a public forum in Midtown yesterday, Euclid Avenue business owners and patrons expressed their concerns and frustrations about Euclid Corridor Project construction. The segment from East 17th Street to East 55th Street is slated to open on November 26.

This month's Cleveland Magazine asks, "Can anyone save Slavic Village?"

A Plain Dealer editorial says that the Cleveland Institute of Art's planned expansion of the McCullough Center will be "a boon for the college and for the Triangle development nearby."

A Plain Dealer editorial says that the new convention center and the Medical Mart belongs in downtown Cleveland, and not near University Circle.

The Cleveland Institute of Art unveiled the designs for an expansion of the McCullough Center on upper Euclid Avenue in University Circle. Designed by architect Winy Maas of MVRDV, the 80,000 square foot structure is scheduled to open in 2009.

As in 2005, local leaders are focusing their plans for a new convention center on two downtown Cleveland locations, a site near Tower City Center and the existing Convention Center. Officials with Merchandise Mart Properties are interested in exploring University Circle as a site for the convention center and Medical Mart.

Cleveland Councilman Michael Polensek met with Bishop Lennon to discuss the future of the St. Joseph Christian Life Center property.

A Plain Dealer editorial says that ODOT is signaling that it would like to divert funding away from the proposed Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland, and that local leaders need to "tell the Strickland administration that this idea has too much potential to brush aside."

University Circle Incorporated has raised nearly half of its $7 million target for the Bring Back Euclid Avenue campaign. UCI is also celebrating its 50th anniversary.

This week's Free Times includes a look at the evolution of Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood and the plans of entrepreneurs and nonprofits to "put Cleveland's Chinatown on the nation's map."

Saitowitz Natoma Architects of San Francisco and Office dA of Boston were selected to design multistory apartment and retail buildings for the Arts and Retail District in University Circle.

Developers hope to break ground in November on a building to support the expansion of the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center at University Circle. It will include 150,000 square feet of office space, a 122 bed residence for homeless veterans, and a 2,080 space parking garage.

The Plain Dealer explored the emerging arts and cultural district along Waterloo Road and its rejuvenating effects on North Collinwood.

With the Euclid Corridor project scheduled for completion next year, reinvestment in Euclid Avenue buildings is underway. The Victory Building at East 71st Street will be converted to loft apartments with ground floor retail, and Cuyahoga County provided an $800,000 construction loan for University Lofts, 30 apartments on the upper floors of two buildings at 2010 and 2020 Euclid.

Developers revealed a shortlist of six architecture firms as candidates to design the Arts and Retail District in University Circle. It includes several highly respected national firms, and the developers may select more than one. They expect to make a decision in a week to ten days.

Professor Robert Bruegmann will give a free public lecture titled "Cleveland and Sprawl: A Global Perspective" on September 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Thwing Center ballroom at Case Western Reserve University. His most recent book, Sprawl: A Compact History, offers a contrarian view of urban sprawl.

The Cleveland Cultural Garden Committee approved the creation of an Albanian garden in the Cultural Gardens at Cleveland's Rockefeller Park. The area's Albanian-American community has begun raising funds for its design.

Four new developments in the Greater Cleveland area will become pilot projects for the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Neighborhood Development program to build sustainable neighborhoods. These projects are:

• The Flats East Bank Project, which recently received a $1 million brownfield cleanup loan from Cuyahoga County,
• Upper Chester near the Cleveland Clinic,
• Saint Luke's Pointe, and
• The East College Street project in Oberlin.

University Circle and Little Italy can be transformed by RTA's new E. 120th Street rapid station, according to Steven Litt of the Plain Dealer.

RTA revealed its plans for a new rapid station at East 120th Street in Little Italy. In addition to a new station, the plans prepared by Studio Techne feature transit-oriented development elements including a parking garage, a transit transfer station, retail space, and apartments. The plans also offer a first glimpse of massings for the Arts and Retail District in University Circle, including tentative footprints of new buildings for MOCA and and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Cleveland's Azerbaijani and Serbian communities plan to soon break ground on their Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park, and they may be joined by Armenian, Native American, and Albanian gardens.

Cleveland Museum of Art Director Timothy Rub gives a video tour of the museum's ongoing expansion.

(Update: Steven Litt reports on the project's progress.)

Steven Litt praises the design of the new Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, calling it "one of the most beautiful new music venues in the region." It's scheduled to open in November.

Scott Muscatello provides images of the planned expansion of the Veterans Administration facility in University Circle.

The Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board was unable to align funding for their planned new building on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.

The Plain Dealer examined the promise, problems, plans, and schedule for the ongoing construction of the Euclid Corridor project, which is roughly two-thirds complete.

The colorful The Politician: A Toy sculpture on Chester Avenue in Cleveland may be moved to a more pedestrian-friendly location.

(Update: MidTown Cleveland notes that funds are being raised to relocate the sculpture to East 55th Street and Euclid Avenue.)

RTA officials say that the Euclid Corridor project is on time and budget. Construction is roughly halfway finished and should be completed in October or November 2008. The first bus station was finished in June.

The contentious Doan Brook restoration project has been scaled back because of higher than expected costs. The most recent proposal calls for restoring two sections covering one mile of the brook through Cleveland.

In this week's Free Times, William Bostwick reviews the OPEN: New Designs for Public Space exhibit at MOCA. "Though it highlights dozens of new buildings that re-imagine things like plazas, parks and performance spaces, it leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. But don't worry: That's a good thing."

Foreign Office Architects devised a design for the new MOCA building at Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road in University Circle, but MOCA will not unveil the design until they complete a fundraising feasibility study. MOCA Director Jill Snyder said that the four story museum will qualify for a LEED rating.

Brownfields remediation was completed at the 24.6 acre site of the planned new CMHA headquarters in Cleveland's Forgotten Triangle, and the Ohio EPA issued a covenant not to sue. Meanwhile, the Clean Ohio Council awarded $2,046,713 to the City of Cleveland for the cleanup of the 5.1 acre Morgana East site in Slavic Village.

If local officials can agree on a site for a detention center for nonviolent felons and establish advisory boards by January, the State of Ohio will contribute $10.6 million to build the 200 bed facility. Cuyahoga County officials are considering a four acre property at East 34th Street and Croton Avenue in Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is the only metropolitan county in Ohio without a center.

The Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board will vote on Wednesday on whether to proceed with plans to build a new headquarters on Euclid Avenue at East 69th Street.

A group of residents of Cleveland's Union-Miles neighborhood protested yesterday about the condition of abandoned houses in the neighborhood. They want the City to tear down the houses or board them up more effectively.

The Cultural Gardens Federation is working with the National Park Service to have the 50 acre Cleveland Cultural Gardens designated as a national monument. The designation would require Congressional approval.

Fast Track Cycling continues to examine sites for their proposed velodrome, including the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, a property south of the Gateway complex in downtown Cleveland, and a site south of I-90 between Broadway and Orange Avenues in Cleveland.

The Gund Foundation awarded $5.9 million in grants, including $250,000 to the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation for the redevelopment of the former Langston Hughes Library at East 79th Street to house Senior Outreach Services. The Foundation also gave a $500,000 loan to Neighborhood Progress Inc. for the redevelopment of the former St. Luke's Hospital site.

Case Western Reserve University's Village at 115 complex received the 2007 Honor Award for Excellence in Planning for a District or Campus Component from the Society for College and University Planning.

Mixed-use and residential development is increasing along Chester Avenue near University Circle. In addition to the nearly complete Park Lane Villa restoration and the planned University Circle Arts and Retail District, Vintage Development Group will soon break ground on the 34 unit Chester 82 condominiums on the site of the former Madonna Hall, and the Finch Group is considering plans to build a mixed-use development somewhere between East 89th Street and East 101st Street.

In his talk at the City Club yesterday, University Circle Incorporated President Chris Ronayne outlined the organization's 7 campaigns for 2007.

(Update: the talk is now available online (MP3, 20.4 MB))

The Euclid Avenue traffic circles at East 89th and East 100th Streets proposed by the Cleveland Clinic will not be built because of their projected negative impacts on traffic flow.

The Plain Dealer recently explored the 17 year saga of the former Fisher Body complex at Coit Road and East 140th Street in Collinwood. The State of Ohio spent $47 million to purchase, clear, and clean the 49 acre site, and eventually sold it Forest City Enterprises for $630,000. Forest City sold roughly half the site to the U.S. Department of Labor for $2.5 million, and it is being redeveloped as the new Cleveland Job Corps campus, scheduled to open in August. The other half remains undeveloped. A Plain Dealer editorial says that public officials "must oversee development with much more vigilance and diligence."

The Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board is still trying to identify a site for the planned new State Mental Health Hospital. Councilperson Phyllis Cleveland objects to the proposed site on Quincy Road in Cleveland, so the Board is considering alternative sites in Warrensville Heights and East Cleveland.

The Free Times continues its series on the foreclosure crisis with a look at what Bring Back the 70s and others are doing to improve neighborhood conditions.

In the first article in a series, the Free Times looks at the nationwide foreclosure crisis and its detrimental impacts on Slavic Village, which is "perhaps the epicenter of a nationwide foreclosure epidemic."

RTA reports that the first two Euclid Corridor stations, one in Midtown and one in East Cleveland, will soon be complete.

Steven Litt reviews the exhibit Open: New Designs for Public Space, an exhibit on the work of Foreign Office Architects, and the Uptown Launch Pad, all on display at MOCA. "The shows suggest that Cleveland -- a poor, shrinking city suffering from low self-esteem -- could become more lively and cosmopolitan if it emulates or surpasses the examples on view." He also notes that MOCA has started a new weblog.

The Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board plans to build a $10-16 million headquarters building on Euclid Avenue in Midtown. The agency intends to move from their rented space on West 25th Street to the new 45,000 square foot building by fall 2008.

The repaired Euclid Beach Park Gateway Arch was rededicated this morning.

The Plain Dealer's Steven Litt interviewed architects Curt Fentress, Farshid Moussavi, and Winy Maas, each of whom is designing a major construction project for a University Circle institution.

The City of Cleveland is planning renovations to historic League Park in Hough that include restoring the ballfield, building a replica of the outfield wall, and renovating the ticket house, a tunnel, and the original brick wall. The project is expected to cost $8.5 million, of which the City will supply $5 million. Officials hope to raise the rest of the money through private donations.

National City Bank sold its branch near Euclid Avenue and Stokes Boulevard to University Circle Incorporated for $418,000. The bank will build a new branch south of its current location on land it will lease from UCI, which wants to redevelop the site of the existing building as part of a mixed-use multi-story gateway.

The most recent Regionally Speaking podcasts are interviews with Anne Helmreich (Part 1, Part 2) and Latisha James (Part 1, Part 2). Anne Helmreich, Associate Professor of Art History at CWRU and Associate Director of the Baker-Nord Center for Humanities, spoke about the Center's role and the 2007 Baker-Nord Seminar, titled Cityscapes. Latisha James of the Center for Community Partnerships talked about the ways the University influences the quality of life in University Circle and other nearby neighborhoods.

The Ohio Department of Natural resources awarded $250,000 in Coastal Management Assistance Grants. The awards included $19,950 to the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization to conduct the Big Creek Watershed Management Plan, and $11,000 to Northeast Shores Development Corporation for the Euclid Beach Fishing Pier Feasibility Study.

MOCA will host OPEN: new designs for public space from June 1 through August 19. The exhibit presents innovative public space projects from around the world. Architect Farshid Moussavi of Foreign Office Architects, the firm designing MOCA's new building, will speak at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on May 31 at 6:00 p.m.

(via Rockitecture)

The $28 million renovation of University Circle's Park Lane Villa is nearing completion (PDF), and its owners will begin leasing the first of the building's 96 luxury apartments this summer.

The Cleveland Museum of Art opened an exhibition that highlights the museum's expansion and renovation plans. Construction remains on schedule for completion in 2011.

(Update: the Akron Beacon Journal presents additional details.)

Blue Pike Farm is a new one-acre farm on East 72nd Street between I-90 and St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland. Carl Skalak named the farm after the extinct Great Lakes fish, and grows organic vegetables and herbs. Crops will be sold at the farm and at other Cleveland locations.

The second Regionally Speaking podcast features an interview with Richard Baznik, Case Western Reserve University Historian and Director of the Institute for the Study of the University: Part 1, Part 2.

The initial Regionally Speaking podcast, an interview with University Circle Incorporated President Chris Ronayne, is now online: part 1, part 2.

In this week's Free Times, Charu Gupta recounts the collapse of the Amistad Development Corporation.

A Plain Dealer editorial says that the newly-designated Cleveland Art Quarter is "a great idea that could have a big economic impact, especially on tourism and redevelopment."

Yesterday, Charter One Bank announced that it was adding new programs to its UPtown Initiative. The effort was launched last spring, and is aimed at investing $150 million in University Circle and its surrounding neighborhoods over a three year period.

On Friday, the Cleveland City Planning Commission approved conceptual designs for the new Cuyahoga County juvenile justice center planned for East 93rd Street and Quincy Avenue in Fairfax. The 581,000 square foot facility is now scheduled to open in 2009.

GreenCityBlueLake recaps one of the community workshops led by the Project for Public Spaces earlier this week on plans for the redesigned and relocated East 120th rapid station in Little Italy.

An area that covers parts of four neighborhoods on Cleveland's near east side has been named the Cleveland Art Quarter, or The Quarter for short, because the live-work district is home to many artists and their studios.

Plain Dealer architecture critic Steven Litt is not impressed by the designs of three new buildings planned by University Hospitals for their University Circle campus. Conceptual plans for the three buildings were recently approved by the Cleveland City Planning Commission. The new buildings are part of UH's Vision 2010 plan.

Great Lakes Resources was the only company to submit a bid to CMHA to develop a shopping center adjacent to the planned CMHA headquarters at East 80th Street and Kinsman Road in Cleveland's Forgotten Triangle. Great Lakes offered to purchase five acres for $825,000 to build a 52,000 square foot center, or to lease 3.25 acres to build a 21,000 square foot center.

Case Western Reserve University is in the planning stages for a new $40 million, 75,000 square foot campus center near Thwing Center and Kelvin Smith Library. A fall 2008 groundbreaking is planned, with completion expected by spring 2011.

Trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History selected Fentress Bradburn Architects of Denver to design the museum's expansion and renovation. The firm will develop a preliminary design by September.

University Circle Incorporated will hold a public meeting on March 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Judson Manor to discuss implementing the recommendations of the MLK Corridor Urban Design Study (PDF) and reconfiguring the traffic circle at MLK Drive and East 105th Street.

MidTown Cleveland Inc. received $100,000 from the state capital appropriations budget for a $1.1 million outdoor mountain bike park near East 55th Street and Euclid Avenue.

A Plain Dealer editorial says that Frank Jackson's plan to delay construction of the planned Collinwood Recreation Center and consider new locations looks like old-school politics.

Cleveland Councilwoman Nina Turner asked the FBI to investigate the defunct Amistad Development Corporation in order to account for $200,000 that had been given to the organization.

A Plain Dealer editorial backs University Circle Incorporated's campaigns to transform the neighborhood, which include the Bring Back Euclid Avenue initiative and plans to build 1,000 new homes in the next five years.

The Plain Dealer offers additional details about Frank Jackson's decision to delay work on the planned Collinwood recreation center until 2010.

University Circle Incorporated is planning Bring Back Euclid Avenue, an initiative intended to compliment Euclid Corridor improvements by adding new signs, a visitors center, decorative lighting, and other streetscape improvements. They have already raised half of $7 million needed for the project.

The Cleveland Clinic re-introduced plans for modifications to Euclid Avenue. Instead of closing the street to automotive traffic as they initially proposed, their compromise proposal calls for adding traffic circles at East 89th and East 100th Streets and reducing traffic to one lane in each direction, with the Silver Line BRT in the median.

The Cleveland Institute of Art selected MVRDV to design their new building on upper Euclid Avenue in the University Circle Arts and Retail District. The cutting-edge Dutch architecture firm is known for "designing apartment slabs and towers with colorful and eccentric window patterns, giant rectangular holes cut into their middles, and highly pronounced staircases that zigzag across their facades."

The Plain Dealer continues its examination of the controversial Forgotten Triangle land deal, and attempts to establish what Frank Jackson knew about it. "How is it possible that Jackson claims ignorance about the land deal?" asks Sam Fulwood.

The Cuyahoga County Commissioners bought several properties on Folsom Avenue in Cleveland to use as surface parking for the planned new juvenile detention center and courthouse. They are also in negotiations to purchase a two story parking garage on Prospect Avenue in downtown Cleveland near the Breuer tower.

As part of Black History Month, Channel 3 looked at the restoration efforts for the landmark Cozad-Bates House in University Circle. Activists hope it will become an Underground Railroad education center.

Plans for the Collinwood Recreation Center suffered a setback when funding for the project did not appear in Mayor Jackson's new capital improvement plan until 2010. The former Big Lots store purchased by the City may or may not be redeveloped as the recreation center, which will be "in either Ward 10 or Ward 11."

The leader of Euclid Beach Park Now says that the organization intends to repair the damaged Euclid Beach Park Gateway Arch.

The landmark Euclid Beach Park Gateway Arch in Cleveland was seriously damaged early this morning by a hit-and-run driver.

Municipal and nonprofit officials in Cleveland are pleased by the creation of the University Circle Design District. It should create increased transparency in the design process and allow greater public oversight.

Cleveland officials hope to begin construction of the Collinwood Recreation Center in 2007. Detailed design work should start this spring, a contractor may be selected this summer, and construction could start before the year ends.

Cleveland City Council established the proposed University Circle Design District. City Council also enacted an emergency ordinance that alters the procedure for designating city landmarks and landmark districts. Both changes became effective on December 15.