The Observation Deck

Well according to trends, office space is not the answer, and though retail brick and mortar is doing better than expected, it is still on thin ice.

Read for yourself from "The Atlantic"...

The Next Crisis Will Start With Empty Office Buildings
Commercial real estate is losing value fast.
By Dror Poleg

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... ket-newtab

For the record, the fastest growing industry and user of office space is health care.

FWIW


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Current plans call for the City to donate the land to the developer for the construction of a parking garage and affordable housing.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/downl ... hp?id=5743

Bill Call wrote:Current plans call for the City to donate the land to the developer for the construction of a parking garage and affordable housing.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/downl ... hp?id=5743

Hey Bill have you noticed, every hole dug by this administration is also being filled, on time with original plan.

Might be because they know what is replacing something before with, "You are about to get the most fabulous thing in the world, we have to act know, never mind who is actually getting the millions and the land" crew.

That crew is now liquidating Lakewood Schools, property, and value. Be prepared for a new hole on Franklin, and one behind Starbucks for starters. After all they are the great liquidators of community value.


Reminds me of this illustration done during the fleecing of Lakewood's Hospital, by our "Civic Leaders."

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If there are details about these real estate dispositions and plans, I am sure the readers on the Deck would like to know about them.

Many of the recent posts here have been so full of short teasers or allusions, that what appear to be real issues for Lakewood are not open for discussion.

I have written here actively about Lakewood since 2016 and I have closely been following public issues in our City since 2013.

I think my opinions are pretty well-known.

If they just put in a rose garden…
They will not need to deal with multistory parking garages
And low income apartment schemes that backfire.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D6k4FCxl9 ... Nlcw%3D%3D

Neither Mayor Fitzgerald nor Mayor Summers were prepared to address two 100 year developments:

1. The decline of the Lakewood sewer infrastructure, and

2. The Covid-19 Pandemic.

The current mayor has stepped up to the plate on both. We should all thank her.

Nor should we expect her to clean-up all the wreckage the earlier mayors left for the City.

Are we really going to close and demolish several of our schools? I think that is what is being alluded to here in this Deck topic.

Nor should we expect her to clean-up all the wreckage the earlier mayors left for the City.

Really, who suppose to clean it up? If you're suggesting she can't, than we have the wrong mayor. From what I seen, the current mayor that enjoyed a bounty do to huge property tax assestments, expanding the payroll and socialism programs while the infrastructure continues to deteriorate.

Richard Baker wrote:Nor should we expect her to clean-up all the wreckage the earlier mayors left for the City.

Really, who suppose to clean it up? If you're suggesting she can't, than we have the wrong mayor. From what I seen, the current mayor that enjoyed a bounty do to huge property tax assestments, expanding the payroll and socialism programs while the infrastructure continues to deteriorate.

My point is that decisions made before her election to office are so devastating that Lakewood is unlikely to recover on any short-term basis.

Further, I want to note that the conservatives in Lakewood have chosen not to participate in the electoral process here.

Those who propose rational limits on taxation and/or social programs delivered by the government or its associated non-profits are nowhere to be found.

They drive down the streets flying their MAGA flags and honking their car horns in front of my office, but they are not on the relevant ballots.

Half the city is missing from the political process.

The process outcomes remain extremely poor over the past decade.

The planning process is moribund and Lakewood is unbelievably static (or declining) in terms of economic growth.

All...while we now begin to demolish our school infrastructure to please the same folks that demolished the hospital. Are we nuts?

Until the City Charter is changed and the at large council positions are eliminated, and four wards are made with two council chairs for each ward, nothing is going to change. At large seat is purely political since it is not accountable to any specific group, therefore, their attitude is they don't report to anyone. A conservative running for Lakewood council has as much chance of being elected in Lakewood as a buzzard has surviving a road kill meal at rush hour.

Richard Baker wrote:Until the City Charter is changed and the at large council positions are eliminated, and four wards are made with two council chairs for each ward, nothing is going to change. At large seat is purely political since it is not accountable to any specific group, therefore, their attitude is they don't report to anyone. A conservative running for Lakewood council has as much chance of being elected in Lakewood as a buzzard has surviving a road kill meal at rush hour.

Richard

I would go the other direction, but of course. Go to 3 council seats, covering the city. At the election allow everyone 1 vote for a council seat. Maybe change to 7 year rotation to provide stability. Junior Seat #3, might rotate every 5. Increase pay for them by splitting up the other 4 seats current pay.

From what I know we could cut the School Board entirely along with Superintendent and just have the Treasurer run everything, as has been done for decades anyway.

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I would go the other direction, but of course. Go to 3 council seats, covering the city. At the election allow everyone 1 vote for a council seat. Maybe change to 7 year rotation to provide stability. Junior Seat #3, might rotate every 5. Increase pay for them by splitting up the other 4 seats current pay.

From what I know we could cut the School Board entirely along with Superintendent and just have the Treasurer run everything, as has been done for decades anyway.


Jim,

Why not a simple dictatorial form of government, and elect only one, El Supreme, eliminating discussions and debate. It will save the cost of having a council and mayor, no need for council meeting a simple announcement would suffice. That political view may have been popular in a small minority in 1776, but I believe colonist with the same views had to move to Canada.

It's already started when Cuyahoga's County Democrats decided that democracy is a failure and they can’t be bothered by all those ballot choices, or was it that they couldn’t find an honest man to run for the tax assessor office? They voted to eliminated the elected assessor, and give the authority to the county board to appoint an assessor, thus eliminating the voter’s oversight. A city is little more than a service company, but burdened by the fact it’s government with tendency to be inept, and inert and remain in business.

Four wards will have two council members that would represent the people who live in their wards, they judge the quality of services, infrastructure and if they are receiving equity for their taxes using their vote. Council members would elect for a term of two years.

Let me start with my usual preface "As a third-generation Democrat..."

As a third-generation life-long Democrat contributor and voter, I have written at length here about how the Democrat majority in Lakewood has delivered major policy failures for the past decade.

I have also written about the structural process whereby these failed policies are perpetuated by the closed/secret appointment of Democrats to vacated city council seats.

Both Richard and Jim have meritorious positions.

Regardless of politics, I think that most of us can oppose the demolition of valuable public assets and their conveyance to developers for tax-payer subsidized projects that never or rarely appear.

Something is wrong here and it is only likely to get worse.

Despite, the increase in property values as sold on the market, Lakewood has basically redlined itself by its public policy of liquidating its public assets and their accompany jobs to little or no public benefit.

While their is a different administration, the planning process described in the previous sentence is alive and well.

The least damaging use of that City property is a public park.

The current plan for a bunch of studio apartments and a parking garage would do actual harm.