The Observation Deck

Developers always paint such a rosy picture. New, shiny, tons of shopping, lots of new people, money coming in!!!

But reality sets in and you’re left with this:

https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/up ... TopFeature

They promise the world, grab the tax money and there isn’t a thing you can do when it fails to deliver.

Excuses, excuses.

When will people wise up?

Bridget Conant wrote:When will people wise up?

NEVER

Promised
Marc's Plaza - Sold to Lakewood as high end shopping. with human habitrails all over the city for high end shopping out of the elements years round.

Delivered
Marc's Plaza strip mall

Promised
WestEnd, high end shopping restaurants, theaters and bookstores, changing the face of Lakewood to be more like Crocker Park

Delivered
Nothing, whew. Builder was being sued for $20 million for screwing up last attempt. Final plans were an underwhelming multi-use strip malls featuring in their drawing businesses that had either filed bankruptcy, or never said they were coming to Lakewood.

Promised
Mainstreet, high end shopping and a complete rebirth of the center of Lakewood around a quaint, rebuilt and saved area between arthur and bunts.

Delivered
Nothing, After years of paying to be called a mainstreet city, a small handful of people decide, let's get wayfinding and call it "DowntowN!"

Promised
"Downtown" High end shopping and restaurants, that will draw in and make us a destination city, that will pay for itself.

Delivered
Nothing and the loss of two of our largest employers, our hospital, $200 million in public assets squandered, no high end shopping, and music please a multi use strip mall!

Mostly the same small group of busy body, sim city developers that tell us all how successful they are! Especially at giving each other awards for being great!

.

You forgot the “Cliffs at Sloane!”

High end Riverfront housing.

Result?

An empty lot gathering trash and the loss of the property tax producing homes that were torn down.

Bridget Conant wrote:You forgot the “Cliffs at Sloane!”

High end Riverfront housing.

Result?

An empty lot gathering trash and the loss of the property tax producing homes that were torn down.

Funny the names these failed projects all have in common.


.

I have a simple question, does the City of Lakewood have a long-term development and zoning plan or are they going to continue to play sheep led by developer's Judas goats and continue to allow high density townhouse developments into lower density neighborhood on lots with no green space and inadequate parking? You need not respond, the helter skelter development that is taking place answers the question. I can assume they are attempting to replace the income taxes lost by the closing the largest employer in the city with the approval of council, who’s action proved that you can't teach stupid.

These high-density developments will not replace the income revenue on a dollar to dollar recovery. Many of the people that worked at the hospital and associated medial facilities didn't live in Lakewood, therefore, they didn't require services from the local government bodies.
The argument that they will support existing commercial establishment and remove the blight of vacate store fronts in mistaken. Lakewood, a city of 55,000 and there are no major shopping malls or even two major grocery stores located in the city. The whole west side shops in Rocky River who at least had a City Government that had the common sense to develop these areas. Additionally, motor and brick commercial development is under pressure due to the internet and Lakewood property taxes are a major detriment.

The mayor and the council will continue to push Lakewood towards high density because they don’t have an alternative or long term development plan. The city coffers will be totally dependent on the whims of the economy and the housing market because it does not have a balanced economy. If the city continues to raise the cost of services and school district taxes increase with its mediocre scholastic record coupled with a rising violent crime rate, continued high density housing and almost nonexistent commercial shopping available, property values will go down as people move to other areas.

Don’t assume that I supported the West End Project that had to be the dumbest development plan ever considered by any city government. It’s akin to Cleveland building a stadium on prime lake property. What were they thinking locating this commercial development on prime river front property? Did they want it be contagious with Rocky Rivers small commercial area across the river? The moronic part of the city plan was their attempt to nice blight single family homes by their condition and the apartment complex by crime statistics that were produced by a City contractor who was directed to produce manipulated bogus statics to make the area blighted.