Lakewood Center North to Become Apartments?

[Michael Deneen]

City Hall is bragging about the plan to convert Lakewood Center North to apartments.
So basically they traded a growing medical industry to provide more housing to the already overbuilt Cleveland market.

The NEO population is flat, yet new housing is being built everywhere from downtown Cleveland to outer counties like Lorain, Medina, and Lake.

http://www.onelakewood.com/developer-to ... -building/

Thoughts?

[Bridget Conant]

They lost 300 NY Life jobs that were in that building - they are moving to Cleveland.

Funny how losing jobs seems to be "good news" to this administration.

[Lori Allen _]

I believe I read in the Pee Dee that the units will start at $1,000 per month for a 700 square foot unit and up from there. Look at the fairly new units down by Sander's campaign office on Detroit by Ridgewood. Last week I saw four or five up for sale. I guess the owners got upset for paying all that money and then having to watch the drug deals go on all afternoon and evening in the apartment buildings behind Peppers! Our garbage collectors have a nick name for Ridgewood. They say it is the street in Lakewood where you are most likely to be shot!

[Paul Schrimpf]

"Good news" can be cast a million ways ... at work every August, we get the memo, "Good news! Your healthcare is only going up 8 percent!" Yeah, that's totally awesome.

It's probably a good use for it .. there's more demand for walkability from housing than there is office space. It doesn't even dent the economic loss of the hospital, but it's something.

I've been watching downtown the last few weeks, driving and walking at different times during the day. The virtually empty hospital building simply has to be taking a toll on restaurant and shopping traffic. Seems like we're in for an ugly transition over the next few years if the hospital never returns.

You're right there Jim O'Bryan ... what are you hearing?

[Michael Deneen]

I've been watching downtown the last few weeks, driving and walking at different times during the day. The virtually empty hospital building simply has to be taking a toll on restaurant and shopping traffic. Seems like we're in for an ugly transition over the next few years if the hospital never returns.

It's not a "transition"...if we don't get a hospital back, this is "the new normal".

[Amy Martin]

The great news is that all of these renters will be able to just cross the street to enjoy the new "wreck" center!

[Lori Allen _]

Amy, thanks for the chuckles!

[Dan Alaimo]

I've been watching downtown the last few weeks, driving and walking at different times during the day. The virtually empty hospital building simply has to be taking a toll on restaurant and shopping traffic. Seems like we're in for an ugly transition over the next few years if the hospital never returns.

It's not a "transition"...if we don't get a hospital back, this is "the new normal".

Yet another step in getting rid of the infrastructure that will be needed by the revived hospital mandated by the referendum.

[Jim O'Bryan]

"Good news" can be cast a million ways ... at work every August, we get the memo, "Good news! Your healthcare is only going up 8 percent!" Yeah, that's totally awesome.

You're right there Jim O'Bryan ... what are you hearing?

Welllllllll

I am in favor of apartment housing, it is back, and big. The only thing I see making up for losing the hospital is 40 floors of high end housing. High end.

This city has gambled everything on schools, library and bars. An interesting choice, but they all need people to make it work.

That said, I find the "plan" underwhelming. Why not tear it down and throw up a real cool, high rise.

One of the keys to Lakewood's success we always believed in our project was getting over 60,000 people living here.

It makes everything more sustainable, everything. 70,000 would be gold. Rebuild the gold coast and blow out all the way to Lakewood Park.

That would turn us into a Kuwait, far faster than burger chains and bars. Lakewood real future is developing the lakefront!

And or along the river. Not strip malls like the big thinkers wanted, walls of glass apartments.

Working people, especially between the ages of 25 and 35 are gold, and the future of any city.

You know this happened pretty fast, out of the blue!!! Maybe we should take some time and see if there are better offers, why not plan?


We should be hitting intermission around the summer of 2018, but don't leave your seats, the show is only beginning.

FWIW

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[Paul Schrimpf]

Tear that horrific concrete sarcophagus down and put up hip apartment building? Now, THAT would pass the smell test for visionary.

[Bridget Conant]

Mike Deneen wrote:

I've been watching downtown the last few weeks, driving and walking at different times during the day. The virtually empty hospital building simply has to be taking a toll on restaurant and shopping traffic. Seems like we're in for an ugly transition over the next few years if the hospital never returns.

According to recent CCF propoganda, the target date for the medical office building is mid 2018. That's almost 2 full years of nothing at Belle and Detroit. Since no one has a clue what to do with the "empty bricks and mortar" on the east side of Belle, and I don't see the stampede of national developers waiting to grab that parcel, I bet nothing much will be happening there, either, for a minimum of 2 years.

That's a long time for property to sit idle. The impact on surrounding business is already being felt, and one has to wonder what will be left two years from now. Will retailers and restaurants be able to weather the downturn for that long?

image.jpeg (169.17 KiB) Viewed 3531 times

[Dan Alaimo]

With the lawsuit and various complaints, which could drag on for years, and the referendum - who knows what to expect from that, except I know SLH's position is getting stronger by the day, and CCF's interest in bankrolling the anti-referendum campaign is no doubt waning - it could sit empty for a long time.

Butler, Summers and Council's foot-dragging on putting the referendum on the March ballot was very bad for the City. It could have been over and done by now, one way or the other. Instead, we're looking at years.

[jackie f taylor]

WHAT? Lakewood Center North Building to become apartments? It looks just like the Justice Center in Downtown Cleveland, small narrow windows, just enough that you can't jump out of the windows? just enough to give the occupants a reduced view of the neighborhood. Prison, is what it looks like to me, You can't even open the windows. What? This is a late April's Fool Days joke right? Who is gonna live there? Jimmie DeMora?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Tear that horrific concrete sarcophagus down and put up hip apartment building? Now, THAT would pass the smell test for visionary.

If you can't have the hospital, the next best thing for taxes, even better is to have where the doctors live!

I agree with Amy, the building is just hideous.

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[Jim O'Bryan]

Tear that horrific concrete sarcophagus down and put up hip apartment building? Now, THAT would pass the smell test for visionary.

If you can't have the hospital, the next best thing for taxes, even better is to have where the doctors live!

The problem our leaders never thought past grabbing the money for their "private foundations" that NO ONE would have ever funded.

Had to steal it from us.

I agree with Amy, the building is just hideous.

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