The Observation Deck

We were delighted to see our friend Joan Ishibashi quoted in the Sunday PD,

For Joan Ishibashi, who is considering a move to Cleveland from Honolulu to be closer to friends, Rockport Square's location, urban setting and diverse neighborhood make sense.

"I went out to see Crocker Park," she says. "And I wondered, 'Why are they building a fake downtown in the suburbs when they already have a downtown in Cleveland?' "

Joan was a Lakewood resident before she was transferred back to Honolulu and we hope to see her return for more than vacations...

The frustrating thing about fake downtown's like Crocker Park is that it wouldn't take much to have most of what is there in Lakewood. What would it take:

1. A little more parking
2. Some financial help for storefront conversions
3. An aggressive campaign to sell Lakewood to the companies that operate stores at Crocker Park.
4. A first rate movie theater. I shouldn't have to go to Crocker Park to see a movie.
4. A willingness on the part of Lakewood residence to shop in Lakewood

Some thoughts on that advertisement for, oops article on, Crocker Park:


Although the young inhabitants are characterized as "urbane," its obvious they are "suburban." They also prefer self-sorting or segregation so that they are surrounded by people just like themselves, hardly an urban lifestyle. As the young doctor says:

"This area is filled with people who are comfortable in their career and in life," says Giordano. "Young professionals who wake up early, go to 9-to-5 jobs and come home at night to wind down.

They are also tied to their vehicles as they drive everywhere in spite of the so-called convience of the location; again, more suburban than urban:

But both Giordano and Walsh say they drive the quarter-mile to Giant Eagle, which is part of the Crocker Park development, for groceries.

Most telling is the comment by resident Joe Carney:

I've never heard a neighbor."

Uh, huh, and he probably never SEES or TALKS to a neighbor, either.

I'd call it more of a prison. Even the young attorney acknowleges her containment:

The self-containment at Crocker Park gives Walsh a sense of contentment.

"I stay on the West Side exclusively," she says. "I haven't ventured east of downtown since I moved back."

Ms O'Malley.

Strictly playing the devil's advocate here, it sounds like you're criticizing the people for the choices they've made. Unless you know those people in the article, it's a bit unfair to say they're "self-segregating" or don't talk to their neighbors. I have neigbhors HERE who don't talk, either.
I got far enough in the marketing world to know that telling people they're wrong is never a winning strategy. Far more useful to determine why people would choose one over the other.
This speaks to Mr. O's "plan." One thing I have never seen is a broad-based scientific study of why people leave Lakewood, or if they considered Lakewood but chose another place, what drove that decision.
Mr. Calhoun speaks of "knowing ourselves better than any other city," but it seems to me that knowing what non-Lakewoodites think would be helpful as well.
A realistic view of how outsiders perceive the city is, IMO, a crititcal part of any long-range planning, and far more productive than belittling people for their personal choices.

Criticizing, no.

I'm looking at their own statements as to why they chose to live there and what they like about it.

My criticism is directed not at the individuals, who I think should be able to live wherever they choose, but at the paper and the "reporters" who like to describe Crocker Park as some sort of diverse, urban area when it clearly is not.

All I'm asking is to look closely at what is being described versus what actually exists. The two are not the same.

As I said at first, the articles read more like an advertisement than a serious news article.

Now, let's be candid. Comments like "probably he never SEES or TALKS to a neighbor" weren't intended to be critical?
I understand your pride in Lakewood. Mine doesn't run quite as deep, but I'll tell you, an easy way to get my dander up is to criticize where I've chosen to live. The people who've chosen Crocker Park I suspect are no different.
People choose places for a variety of reasons. One woman quoted in the article works in Gemini Place across the street. Sounds like Crocker Park is a far better solution for her than Lakewood would ever be.
As Mr. Warren will no doubt attest, long and dearly held perceptions often die a quick death when challenged by hard data. I'd love to know what the data is, and I'd support the city spending $$$ to get some.

One last note. By and large, any newspaper's real estate sections are going to be somewhat driven by new development. The real estate section is kind of a netherworld between sales and reporting. I saw the Crocker Park feature for what it was. I'm sure Rockport will get its due, too.

Actually Joan, my comment was a cheap dig at the fact that Croacker Park is no where near the occupancy that was predicted.

Is that candid enough?