Since I always get a lot of questions about how planning and development is done up here in the Mistake on the Lake, I thought I would just highlight some of the biggest developments going on right now. I work in University Circle (which is like "second downtown" but has actually become the nation's densest square mile of medical and research institutions, take that Houston) and live in Tremont, which is like a huge Plaza District up on a hill across the "Burning River" from downtown. It's not a bad life.

Obviously the derogatory references like "Mistake on the Lake" and "Burning River" are in jest because it's such an incredibly awesome city, and any effort to show that must absolutely be followed up by keeping the hordes out. Can't have the Californians coming here...

I'll start with the CLEVELAND CLINIC, which is the largest private employer in Ohio:




New pathology labs, the historic jewel in the background was just restored as a boutique hotel


They just finished this new Heart Center and "grand entrance" from Euclid Avenue a year or two ago


New Norman Foster medical school bldg that will be a joint venture between the Clinic and CWRU. Clinic already has two other medical schools.


The Clinic wants to demo this Euclid Ave cathedral to build a new hotel bc they just tore that down to build the latest Norman Foster thing. ^ Make sense? lol

UPPER CHESTER


This is a massive mixed-use development that got killed by 2008 and is now roaring back, about to break ground. It is right across Chester Avenue from the Clinic's new Norman Foster thing. You can also see where CWRU is building a new west campus just up E105 St. The surrounding Hough neighborhood is infamous for race riots but is now positioned for major redevelopment.



League Park, just down the road from Upper Chester, is shear local greatness. Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run here. It fell victim to the plight of Hough, the City is renovating it right now.

UNIVERSITY CIRCLE
Uptown

Phase 1 of Uptown was finished last year and has been a massive success with about 100 apartments and new stores like Barnes & Noble, Panera, Chipotle, and even has a great grocery store


Phase 2 is almost finished


MOCA is cool (Museum of Contemporary Art) finished in the last year


Cleveland Institute of Art expansion/renovation of the old Ford factory at Euclid and E115. Broke ground last month.



Euclid 115 (named for the intersection it fronts) project will provide new student housing for the CIA (right across the street) and a French bakery on the first floor.


New student center at CWRU


Brand-new Courtyard by Marriott was dedicated back in July


The new Mayfield Road Red Line station between University Circle/Uptown and Little Italy. Broke ground last month.



The new University-Cedar Red Line station. Half-way complete right now. It's replacing the above pictured heabage.



New Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (CWRU)



The Cleveland Museum of Art, which is always free (has an endowment that is larger than most Big 12 universities), just did this incredible expansion



These three new buildings constitute the new VA Hospital on the other side of University Circle. Two former VA hospitals in Brecksville (south/west burb) and Willoughby (east burb) were merged for this new centralized facility that opened last year.


This is early, but the Cleveland Children's Museum is going to be relocated and the site redeveloped into high-rise condos. You see the bend in Euclid Ave at MLK/Stearns/Stokes there in the front.


This was just floated on loopnet as a trial balloon for new spec office around the University-Cedar rapid station.

MIDTOWN
Midtown is the vast expanse (E30th to E79th) between downtown and the Cleveland Clinic. It is a thin east-west stretching district though, as it is mainly comprised of five major roads (Cedar, Carnegie, Prospect, Euclid, Chester) that carry traffic from downtown to University Circle. All a block apart - Kerry would be in heaven, with a massive grid network dispersing traffic between two downtowns.



The Victory Center at Euclid and E69th is a major office project


Erie Square - housing project, don't know much about it


New Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry up in St. Clair-Superior just north of Midtown


The Midtown Tech Park is 130,000 sf of spec office space for tech companies. It is now fully leased a year after being finished, despite being in one of the "worst" neighborhoods in all of Cleveland. The finished-out part of the park fronts Euclid between E55th and E68th.



The massive Warner & Swasey factory on E55th and Carnegie is going through environmental remediation (which started in the last two months or so) and will eventually be incorporated into the Midtown Tech Park, which is right behind it.


New police station at E55 and Chester



This is the only project I'm posting that is neither current nor happening anymore, but just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with in Midtown and the scale of these buildings and this neighborhood. And what we're up against: After 2008 this development fizzled out so the Italian grocery store across the street and neighboring historical homestead museum bought it and tore it down to make room for parking. PARKING. Instead of this ^

Well I'm exhausted, but I'll let that get this going. That's just all major development projects on the east side. In the future I'll bring you downtown and the west side, where I reside.. and maybe even the suburbs, most of which are doing really awesome stuff, too!