The Observation Deck

By way of background, it appears that the "Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance" is part of "LakewoodAlive" and we know that City Hall folks are part of "LakewoodAlive." See http://www.lakewoodalive.com; http://www.lakewoodalive.com/downtown-lakewood/downtown-lakewood-business-alliance/; http://www.lakewoodalive.com/about/board-staff/.

I was surprised to read that the "Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance" went to City Council last night and said that merchants are very excited to see the Lakewood Hospital close:

David Stein, president of the Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance, Monday night told council his group is excited about the potential for redevelopment in the heart of the commercial district. If properly executed, the positive economic impact would be enormous, Stein said.

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index ... stres.html

Matthew John Markling wrote:By way of background, it appears that the "Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance" is part of "LakewoodAlive" and we know that City Hall folks are part of "LakewoodAlive." See http://www.lakewoodalive.com; http://www.lakewoodalive.com/downtown-lakewood/downtown-lakewood-business-alliance/; http://www.lakewoodalive.com/about/board-staff/.

I was surprised to read that the "Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance" went to City Council last night and said that merchants are very excited to see the Lakewood Hospital close:

David Stein, president of the Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance, Monday night told council his group is excited about the potential for redevelopment in the heart of the commercial district. If properly executed, the positive economic impact would be enormous, Stein said.

http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index ... stres.html

Matt

I am not sure this is a true statement. Last time I checked, "The Lakewood Observer," is
a member of the DLBA. I know that we did not vote on "it would be good to close a hospital."

I am not sure how any sane person can believe that losing 1,108 medical jobs is good for
for Downtown Lakewood Business. I felt a sense of horror and disgust when the owners
of Aladdin's stood up to say how happy they are that the hospital was leaving.

I have not seen any official announcement about what goes on the 4.2 acres left. So how
could any self respecting person be happy about losing the jobs?

This City has way to much clubbiness about it. Where you can get a person to shill against
themselves through peer pressure, and promises.

David Stein believe in Lakewood, and Downtown Lakewood, more than most, but I don't
see the job loss as a good thing.

FWIW

.

A lot of people seem to have an emotional attachment to this bad deal.

The proposed Family Health Center will replace the health centers on Detroit and 117th, Madison and Lakewood Hospital. I don't know how busy the health centers are but the Hospital has nearly 150,000 outpatient visitors each year. The Lakewood Business Alliance is under the impression that closing the Hospital and other health centers will increase the number of health care customers in Lakewood.

I'm skeptical for several reasons.

1. Lakewood will not only lose the two current health centers AND a hospital but will also lose doctors that the Clinic transferred from Lakewood to Avon. Will those doctors be transferred back to Lakewood? Don't count on it.

2. The proposed Family Health Center in Lakewood will be the smallest of the Clinics Family Health Centers. The Centers that serve Brunswick, population 32,000 and Twinsburg, population 20,000 are much larger and offer a full range of services. The Clinic is just not serious about health care IN Lakewood.

3. The proposed Family Health Center will offer a very limited range of service. Most residents of Lakewood will end up going to Avon. Over time the Clinic will degrade the service at the Health Center much as they degraded the service at Lakewood Hospital.

4. It' unlikely that the new center will serve more people than are now served by the Cleveland Clinic in Lakewood. Replacing the hospital with a health center will not bring more people to downtown Lakewood.

5. The proposed Family Health Center in Lakewood is a substandard facility designed to fail. The Clinic is not interested in providing health care to the people of Lakewood IN Lakewood. The main purpose of the Family Health Center is to capture Lakewood's health care dollars for Avon. The secondary purpose is to keep out the competition.

The Downtown Business Alliance and others seem obsessed with the "development potential" of 4 acres around Lakewood Hospital. It's an odd obsession.

1. There won't be 4 acres left after the health center is built unless you demolish the office building on Detroit and the medical the building and houses owned by the City on Belle. The empty lots that are left will be noncontiguous and relatively small. What do they have in mind? Is destroying one of the finest residential streets in Lakewood really a good idea?

2. There is limited demand for retail in Lakewood. The Drug Mart Plaza is a modern, centrally located facility with plenty of parking that has a high vacancy rate. What type of retail development can compete with the taxpayer subsidized development at Crocker Park, Downtown and Gordon Square?

3. There is limited demand for current office space in Lakewood and in Cuyahoga County. Vacancy and foreclosure rates are high. The Lakewood Center North Building recently sold in foreclosure form about $3.5 million. Even with that advantage vacancy rates are high. The greater Cleveland area still has abnormally high vacancy rates. Consider this from NAI Daus:

“NAI Daus estimates total suburban vacancy at 18.07% from 18.06% a year earlier. Conversely, the downtown office market's vacancy increased to 22.93% at the end of 2014 from 22.36% a year ago.”

Please note that Downtown office vacancy rates are increasing when millions of taxpayer dollars are being used to convert office space to residential apartments.

4. If current market conditions in Lakewood are so conducive to new development then why is Rockport still an empty lot? Why is no one developing that vacant piece of land north of the Lakewood Center Building?

The opinion of our community leaders is that destroying a hospital to make way for some unnamed and undefined “development” is such a good deal that the people of Lakewood should just rubber stamp the whole thing.

4. If current market conditions in Lakewood are so conducive to new development then why is Rockport still an empty lot? Why is no one developing that vacant piece of land north of the Lakewood Center Building?

The opinion of our community leaders is that destroying a hospital to make way for some unnamed and undefined “development” is such a good deal that the people of Lakewood should just rubber stamp the whole thing.

The cheerleading that goes on over retail baffles me. In what universe does the retail service sector make more than professionals in health care? There is NO WAY the tax revenue will approach what they will lose. Retail is notoriously fickle- as is the bar/restaurant business. Do I need to post all the closures of this past year?

I repeat my challenge - tell me exactly what plans are in the works, who is involved, and who will make money off of this? Until then, its just a bunch of pie in the sky BS and getting your friends to parrot your giddy hype won't sway any thinking person.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:I am not sure how any sane person can believe that losing 1,108 medical jobs is good for for Downtown Lakewood Business. I felt a sense of horror and disgust when the owners of Aladdin's stood up to say how happy they are that the hospital was leaving.

I have not seen any official announcement about what goes on the 4.2 acres left. So how
could any self respecting person be happy about losing the jobs?

People are afraid to stick their necks out because when it's time for bags of cash to be handed out they don't want to be left holding an empty bag.

The office market in Cuyahoga County is dead. So I don't think the development is an office.

Housing makes no sense. The land on Belle might have room for 8 houses. How much revenue is generated by 16 people?

Retail is tough in Lakewood and everywhere else in Cuyahoga County. Westgate has a lot of vacancies, Crocker Park is kept alive only with taxpayer subsidies and retail space is in foreclosure all across Ohio.

The only healthy job market in Northeast Ohio is in the health care business. That's why Avon, Brunswick, Twinsburg and Mentor are fighting so hard to get those jobs. Officials in Lakewood must know something no one else does because they are fighting hard to lose those jobs.

Of course we are all wasting our time.

The Hospital is coming down.
The Rec center is going up.
The millions of dollars wrapped up in this deal will be disappeared.

Bill Call wrote:People are afraid to stick their necks out because when it's time for bags of cash to be handed out they don't want to be left holding an empty bag.

Bill

Although this are asked everywhere on the Deck I am going to try to answer these.

I do not see bags of cash being handed out. Read Jared's latest piece in the Lakewood
Observer. One of the very real problems about all of this is some fool, packaged this originally
as a $120 million dollar deal, then $120 million dollar development. NEITHER IS TRUE.

Bill Call wrote:The office market in Cuyahoga County is dead. So I don't think the development is an office.

This the residents of this county are deaf, dumb and blind. The county continues to
hemorrhage residents and businesses. CLE+, The Cleveland Foundation, Team Neo, and
others dismal failures unless you are trying to downsize a city. The "Downtown area is
the fastest growing residential area in the county." Well one resident a day would make
that true, but throw in a craft beer and a catchy name, and the gullible will not only buy
into it, will repeat as fact all day long.

Bill Call wrote:Housing makes no sense. The land on Belle might have room for 8 houses. How much revenue is generated by 16 people?

Actually housing is our only chance, but not units like McKinley or Sloane Subway, but
massive places along the lake, and river. Also housing in Downtown Lakewood, a 40 story
apartment would breed new life into our failed downtown. Economic development as retail
or offices is the work of simple minded people, and has undermined what a great city
Lakewood really is. Lakewood has always been dedicated to education and family living.
Not hundreds of mediocre places serving the same Kraft Beer. But again, bars and chains
are easy targets for the lazy people looking to get the Tweet instead of the Ommph!!!

Lakewood in its heyday had 70,000 residents, that is 70,000 people that need food,
clothes, gas, entertainment, and parks. While some feel it is more clamorous to pull
into Get-Go than Ralph's Sunoco, it actually plays against us in the long run. And slowly
changes what make Lakewood the place we all came to or stayed for.

Bill Call wrote:Retail is tough in Lakewood and everywhere else in Cuyahoga County. Westgate has a lot of vacancies, Crocker Park is kept alive only with taxpayer subsidies and retail space is in foreclosure all across Ohio.

Retail is dead. and the people shoving this and the rec center down our throats are the
same geniuses that had us losing $20 million to build a strip mall at the end of Detroit.
They knew the future! NOT! How we can let the same hapless souls take us from one
ill thoughtout idea to the next is beyond me. We have dumped hundreds of millions into
Downtown Lakewood because of their guidance on retail and office will work, especially
with the Hospital as the anchor! x infinity.

Bill Call wrote:The only healthy job market in Northeast Ohio is in the health care business. That's why Avon, Brunswick, Twinsburg and Mentor are fighting so hard to get those jobs. Officials in Lakewood must know something no one else does because they are fighting hard to lose those jobs.

Bill, I am not sure, and this is another area that Mike may have it partially right on.
Looking for the right fit businesses, that have growth potential could be a way out. Finding
1,108 jobs overnight would need us to look the other way on taxes, and all sorts of stuff.
Avon has sold their future for a dream already falling apart. Find enough 3 people work
forces to double, or 12 people work forces to double is a slow and steady process but one
that gets rid of a sudden change as our largest job provider disappears. Housing and jobs.
But this city needs to get it head screwed on straight. Some of the very companies that
could provide rapid job growth are companies the city and civic leaders works against. This
is why I find so much of their talk, as lips flapping and hypocritical.

I know of two projects that could push this city into a much higher level, but City Hall, the
Planning Department, and others have basically said "Screw them." again and again and
again. Hell one of the best plans every floated for the city was thrown to the side because
about ten people didn't like the woman's parents because they had spoken out against one
of them. A $50 million dollar deal kicked to the curb because of a last name. This is why
I when City Hall and some talk of "what is good for the city."

SIDE NOTE - Since this story broke, many people have told me they were amazed
that you and Markling were right. I mentioned yeah, funny they told the truth, and City Hall lied,
but Markling and Call are vilified. "Well they are not very nice when they tell the truth."
The City of Lakewood where nice lies are respected more than hard facts. I don't get it.

Bill Call wrote:Of course we are all wasting our time.

MAYBE, I do not see any scenario where we keep a hospital. This has been going on for
years and probably started back with Ed FitzGerald as he was looking for allies to run for
County Executive and Governor. Let's be honest if you want a political future, you would
rather have the Clinic on your side instead of fighting you. Healthcare is the largest
lobbying group in the country.

But are we wasting our times? I hope not. I hope this gives everyone once again time to
think, "how the hell did we screw this up so bad?" "Have our civic leaders led us astray?"
"Why was all of this so important right now?" "WTF is with a Rec Center, and why is our
millionaire mayor willing to stay another term just to get it done?" "Why did they get a
blanket executive session status, when they were turning a $178 million dollar asset into
a $20 million dollar loss for the city?"

The resident of this city need to look long and hard, once again, at how we make our
elected officials respect us, and represent us. The LO is putting together a long list of
"shenanigans" from City Hall since the FitzGerald administration. Let me assure you,
you will barely remember our mayor driving city cars without a driver's license.

We as citizens get the officials we voted for and deserve. This city seems to prefer friends
over substance. Hence the clubbiness that permeates everything. I mean have you ever
asked to see your good buddies driver's license?

Bill Call wrote:The Hospital is coming down.

Maybe, but a new Health Center is going up, and with what I have seen, might be a good
thing to have around, especially without a hospital.

Bill Call wrote:The Rec center is going up.

I would guess only if Mayor Summers is willing to be the Mayor that lost the hospital and
drove us to bankruptcy. And judging by how hard Mayor Summers has worked to get us
from a 60 day surplus of cash to a 250 day surplus of cash, I do not see him doing that.

There is no way we could have afforded a "rec center without a pool" before losing 1,108
jobs, how we afford it after that would need to involve us winning Powerball.

Bill Call wrote:The millions of dollars wrapped up in this deal will be disappeared.

Well they are certainly not coming to "The City of Lakewood."


.

I have begun calling some of the members of this Downtown Business Alliance. I was NOT shocked to hear that most did not know what I was talking about! It appears that the mayor has found another "monkey" that is willing to play ball with him. I suggest that anyone reading this post should call the businesses that are members of this group prior to shopping there. If they support the closure, which it appears that there ARE SOME that DON"T, then don't support them. It is time to shop elsewhere. Spread the word to everyone you know about these businesses that support the closure. I believe that a good majority of these businesses will see a decline in sales once the hospital is closed. As for Mr. Stine, seriously, how many people in Lakewood can really afford to shop there? I'm sure he will not notice a big change in his sales. I don't need satin sheets, regular Wal-mart cotton is fine by me!

Lori Allen _ wrote:It is time to shop elsewhere. Wal-mart ... is fine by me!

That's why Lakewood has Dollar General and Family Dollar stores, etc.

(And, BTW, the city still lacks a good pants store.)

Lori Allen _ wrote:I have begun calling some of the members of this Downtown Business Alliance. I was NOT shocked to hear that most did not know what I was talking about! It appears that the mayor has found another "monkey" that is willing to play ball with him. I suggest that anyone reading this post should call the businesses that are members of this group prior to shopping there. If they support the closure, which it appears that there ARE SOME that DON"T, then don't support them. It is time to shop elsewhere. Spread the word to everyone you know about these businesses that support the closure. I believe that a good majority of these businesses will see a decline in sales once the hospital is closed. As for Mr. Stine, seriously, how many people in Lakewood can really afford to shop there? I'm sure he will not notice a big change in his sales. I don't need satin sheets, regular Wal-mart cotton is fine by me!

Out of curiosity - do you have a running list of who supports and who doesn't that you could share?

Jim O'Bryan wrote:SIDE NOTE - Since this story broke, many people have told me they were amazed that [Bill Call] and [Matt] Markling were right. I mentioned yeah, funny they told the truth, and City Hall lied, but Markling and Call are vilified. "Well they are not very nice when they tell the truth."

The City of Lakewood where nice lies are respected more than hard facts. I don't get it.

Jim,

How does one nicely explain how City Hall and Friends are lying to Lakewood about their ludicrous plans to decimate the Lakewood Hospital?

I always think of the following movie clip when I hear about folks defending the countless shenanigans from City Hall and Friends:

"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi.


Matt

I was able to find some of the members of the Downtown Business Alliance members on Lakewood Business Alliance's Facebook page, and the Lakewood Alive web sight. As time allows, I will see if I can find more information. I will post it here if I find anything.

Lori Allen _ wrote:I was able to find some of the members of the Downtown Business Alliance members on Lakewood Business Alliance's Facebook page, and the Lakewood Alive web sight. As time allows, I will see if I can find more information. I will post it here if I find anything.

Thank you.