Not Dead Yet: The Infill of Cleveland's Urban Core

[Evergrey]

http://www.metrotrends.org/spotlight..._Spotlight.cfm

Not Dead Yet: The Infill of Cleveland's Urban Core

Richey Piiparinen
Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University

Mark Twain once said the "report of my death was an exaggeration". Perhaps the same thing can be said about the City of Cleveland.

While Cleveland's struggles are real, there are signs of a revival, particularly in Cleveland's downtown district. Moreover, select neighborhoods on the periphery of downtown are also showing signs of vitality. And while time will tell if the city is filling in its donut hole so to speak, the fact remains: there is a pulse.

Take the latest population figures in the 5 county metropolitan area. From 1990 to 2010, the City of Cleveland shrank, as did many of the suburban areas of Cuyahoga County. The growth mostly occurred in the increasingly exurban fringes of the metro, as well as on the edges of Cuyahoga County.



Except there is one outlier: downtown Cleveland. Over the last two decades, the neighborhood's population grew 96%, with residential totals increasing from 4,651 to 9,098. It was the single largest spike of any neighborhood, suburb, or county measured for the two decades under study. Downtown residential occupancy rates now stand over 95% and developers are eagerly looking to meet residential demand.



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[mind field]

Great news for cleveland! I need to pay another visit to this awesome city.

[min-chi-cbus]

What's really amazing about Cleveland is that it clearly was built to be a big, amazing city, and so it has the "bones and cartiledge" to be this amazing city and they're just sitting there waiting for a recovery. I always think how cool it'd be to be in this city (I live here now) in the 1950's.....maybe in 20 years I can get a glimpse?

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by min-chi-cbus

What's really amazing about Cleveland is that it clearly was built to be a big, amazing city, and so it has the "bones and cartiledge" to be this amazing city and they're just sitting there waiting for a recovery. I always think how cool it'd be to be in this city (I live here now) in the 1950's.....maybe in 20 years I can get a glimpse?

I've always admired the cartilage of Cleveland.

[Private Dick]

Originally Posted by min-chi-cbus

I always think how cool it'd be to be in this city (I live here now) in the 1950's.....

I think this way about a lot of cities... minus all the blatant racism, pollution, and buzz cut white guys using words like "swell", "golly", "neat-o", and talking about taking Marcy to the sock hop, of course.


Interesting about downtown Cleveland... the dramatic rise in inner core population, especially among those in the 22-34 yr old range, signifies good things.

[MolsonExport]

By Golly, Downtown Cleveland is looking very swell.

[scalziand]

Well aren't those demographic changes neat-o.

[mrnyc]

you know given all the excitement of the transformation of old office buildings and warehouses to residential in and around downtown, that sad sea of purple and red surrounding those rejuvenating central areas sure is sobering. ah well, a turnaround has got to start somewhere i guess and in the cleve's case the core is it.

[miketoronto]

Cleveland is a nice place and the downtown is sure reviving. Kinda sad it had a setback with the fall of the Flats district as a destination. But things are looking up with East 4th Street, etc.

From spending a summer working there, I can say Cleveland has a lot to do and going for it.

[MolsonExport]

Buy some food that's prepared near the street. Who knows, you might even see "this guy"!

I can't help it. That song is just so catchy.

[Evergrey]

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012...evelopmen.html

Cleveland lakefront development plan to be considered tonight by City Council (poll)

Published: Monday, March 19, 2012, 3:45 PM Updated: Monday, March 19, 2012, 4:16 PM
By Plain Dealer staff



CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland City Council tonight will consider the nuts and bolts of the a lakefront redevelopment plan proposed by Mayor Frank Jackson.

The plan (see full plan in document viewer below) covers 90 acres stretching east from the Port of Cleveland's cargo docks past Browns Stadium and the East Ninth Street pier to Burke Lakefront Airport.

It calls for a hotel, restaurants, shops and offices -- perhaps more than 2 million square feet in all -- to be built largely with private money over many years.

Water taxis, arcades, a promenade, bicycle paths and two pedestrian bridges would link the waterfront amenities or connect them to the rest of downtown.

The legislation before council tonight is expected to clarify which areas the city will control, and which will be managed by the Cleveland Browns or the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

The Finance Committee was also looking at legislation that would address the funding of the development plan.

The Jackson plan was unveiled last fall and came on the heels of plans by the Port Authority and the Browns, which came out in March.

It was on the City Council agenda on Nov. 16.

Port chief executive William Friedman has endorsed the city's effort, and Browns general counsel Fred Nance said it is "completely compatible" with the team's desires.

The port will retain 75 acres for maritime operations and development while the Browns continue to lease 17 acres from the city.

Plan for Downtown Cleveland's Lakefront

[themaguffin]

I have to agree - Cleveland has great bones and foundation.

Much like most cities, increasing jobs will generate the traction that can help Cleveland.

Cleveland does have a generally good infrastructure too, both highway and rail.


Hopefully the positive trends in the city will spred out. It's big challenge, but the city offers a lot and deserves better.

[summersm343]

Love the waterfront plan... very ambitious.

[the pope]

I remember the good ol' days when I used to live in downtown cleveland.

[mhays]

Funny they use Seattle in that "urban with freight" page. 1. The container terminal shown in the picture has a container tenant, but some people would love to see it become "city" rather than terminal. 2. The viaduct will be torn down in 2016 after a 9,000' bypass tunnel is built. Freight will always be part of Seattle waterfront, but it might be less and less visible over time.

The plan looks pretty well thought through. It could be very desirable as office, hotel, and housing. I'm always skeptical of plans (Cleveland's and Seattle's) for putting large amounts of green space at the ends of piers....people tend to use that sort of thing only in nice weather, vs. the same thing where it's also a major pedestrian route. Even Vancouver has found that rows of 30-story condo towers don't guarantee a busy waterfront promenade. And Manhattan shows that piers don't fill with people sometimes, even close to high densities. In Cleveland's case, there's also the issue of putting stuff on multiple piers (diluting numbers at each) and putting it pretty far from Downtown proper, making it a fair trek for a casual visitor. The plan can do well with basic uses. I just wouldn't expect a ton of visitors.

An airport right next to Downtown looks like a real advantage despite the noise.

[mrnyc]

^ ahh yeah burke lakefront airport. a real advantage for those who use it for sure. an even bigger disadvantage as its underused and in the way of potential waterfront development. i really dont know what to do with it, the debate has raged on forever. i guess i would say keep it as an amenity and focus on refilling in the rest of the waterfront and downtown.

also, while i probably hardly need to mention to ssp-ers that there was development along the waterfront in the past -- you might be surprised to see what it was. cleveland's second union depot (1865), which was once the largest terminal in the usa and the largest building under one roof in the world, sat right there amongst other industry until it was torn down in 1959:

[BorisMolotov]

Maybe when the time comes Cleveland will pull a Chicago in regards to their lakefront airport.

[brian_b]

Having spent a good amount of time in downtown Cleveland over the last 5 years, my thoughts have been that if the city can really focus on two things, the rest will take care of itself:
1) Personal safety at night outside of the immediate entertainment district area
2) Improved access to the lakefront

We have a bunch of friends that live all over the Cleveland metro area and none of them have any reservations about heading downtown. Work on the two points above and people will come downtown more and more often and the virtuous cycle will begin.

[Evergrey]

http://www.cleveland.com/business/in..._on_the_r.html

Downtown Cleveland's boom is real, experts say, thanks to millennials moving in

Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 5:03 PM Updated: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 6:02 PM
By Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer

Cranes have returned to the downtown skyline. Apartment vacancies are hard to find. And office workers from the suburbs are moving into empty urban spaces.

A rising downtown Cleveland may have the economic power to lift the region, a panel of experts said Thursday. But much will depend upon young professionals and whether they find the housing and amenities they seek in a city hoping to reinvent itself.

The millennial generation, the children of the baby boomers, commanded a good deal of attention at the annual State of Downtown forum at the City Club of Cleveland. Sponsored by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, the luncheon drew a capacity crowd sprinkled with young adults, many of whom appeared to live or work downtown.

Jeffrey Finkle, president of the International Economic Development Council, saw their presence as a good omen.

"We know that millennials choose downtowns over suburbs by a big percentage," said Finkle, whose Washington-based group represents economic development specialists around the world.

While cities like Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Baltimore all lost population last decade, their downtowns have been growing, thanks largely to young professionals moving in.

A city that can attract and keep young talent, he said, is a city that will compete in the new economy.

Suddenly, downtown Cleveland is looking like a contender.

...

[Jonboy1983]

Hey Cleveland, you have my permission to laugh at the likes of Pittsburgh. Yinz guys are actually doing "smart planning" and making your lake front area around the stadiums and lakefront airport into an entertainment destination. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is committing an urban planning abomination!