The Observation Deck

Gold's Gym is now Urban Active. Crocker Park and Legacy Village has a Gold's Gym, soon Lakewood will have one.

According to The Plain Dealer, the facility is scheduled to open on the old Giant Eagle site in late 2008. There is a cool rendering in the article, but I can't find it on cleveland.com.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plain ... xml&coll=2

Bill Grulich

Bill,
How do you think it will do here? Do you know if anything else is going in there? Late 2008 seems a long time away doesn't it???

Justine,

The developers also want condos and retail shops. Given the housing market, their timing is probably right on track. It says a lot about Lakewood when out-of-towners invest in our city.

Bill Grulich

I wish someone would open a bookstore. It doesn't have to be a national chain - actually it would be better if it were locally owned. Maybe it could have a Phoenix coffee bar instead of a Starbucks...just a wish.

I'm with you Jennifer -- however Liberty Books & News is nice!

Bill, I looked on the Gold's Gym web site for any info or drawings of the new facility and came up empty handed.

Lakewood really does need their own bookstore! I met a man who said he was in the process of opening a used bookstore near Angelos a couple months ago but roof was leaking, etc. and he was waiting for the landlord to fix things (and apparently the landlord wasn't that interested in fixing things). I am hoping he finds another location on Madison! A new bookstore/coffee shop on the west end or middle of Madison would be really nice!!

Justine,

The developers also have get approval at the various city boards and commissions. These meetings will involve citizen participation.

They will have to tie into the sewer and water lines. The "detailed" architectural drawings and the permits will take time.

The timeline for the approval process has been streamlined since the Planning Commission, Mayor George, and the council created a new chapter in the Zoning Code, which is a Planned Development (Chapter1156). This section was created to encourage more compact mixed-use development.

This zoning code change could be one of the reasons that developers are looking to invest in Lakewood. The old zoning code slowed down the development process.


Bill Grulich

What about the old St. Clements school as a mixed-use development? Does anyone know about the plans for the school?

How about a new concept...The Phoenix Bookstore on Madison Avenue.

Bill Grulich wrote:What about the old St. Clements school as a mixed-use development? Does anyone know about the plans for the school?

How about a new concept...The Phoenix Bookstore on Madison Avenue.

BILL,

What a G R E A T idea. Nice building, super location and drum roll please....plenty of parking.

It's funny how sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. I probably pass by there at least once a day and the thought never occurred to me.

Kudos!

If anyone (JOB) knows of any venture capital to open a bookstore/coffee bar I would very interested in this project.

Until that old Giant Eagle comes down, I have two words:

Roller Paintball.

dl

That's on another thread!

Here's the image:

Jennifer Desilets wrote:I wish someone would open a bookstore. It doesn't have to be a national chain - actually it would be better if it were locally owned. Maybe it could have a Phoenix coffee bar instead of a Starbucks...just a wish.

I was just thinking the same thing the other day. It's amazing that we don't have one. Here's hoping someone is reading these posts. . .