The Observation Deck

There is talk of moving Drug Mart Plaza back from Detroit and building a new strip mall. The idea has some merit. On the other hand perhaps the cart is being put before the horse.

Architectual reviews of building plans and arguments about building locations and discussions about signage should come last, not first. A first step should be a serious discussion about what type of development is needed.

Is store front retail dead?

Would parking help?

Would shoveling snow help?

Should Drug Mart close one store and build a better store or close two and build one?

Should Marc's be encouraged to relocate and build a bigger, better store?

Do we need a Marc's or Drug Mart?

Do we need a new movie theater?

Would a department store be successful?

What makes a section of town trendy. (Tremont trendy?)

Are office buildings better than apartment buildings?

Will the new office building being planned be an ugly tin can or can it look like the newer office building recently constructed in Rocky River?

Should new construction on Detroit and Madison be set back 20 feet from the street or is four feet the best we can do?

What type of design do we want? Can we encourage a common (or similar) facade?

Should new buildings make a bold artistic statement or just be any old thing?

Is it time to use Lakewood Hospital as a development tool? (Assuming the Clinic will give back a portion of its $20 million rental subsidy?

Maybe we should decide where we want to be before we start the trip.

drug mart is a good store. all it is missing is a soda counter and soda jerk.

there are three things a neighborhood needs to be 'trendy'.
1.people have to spend a lot of time in bars and cafes.
2.they have to talk about spending a lot of time in bars and cafes.
3.there have to be no shootings, stabbings, and stompings at the bars and cafes.

ryan costa wrote:there are three things a neighborhood needs to be 'trendy'.
1.people have to spend a lot of time in bars and cafes.
2.they have to talk about spending a lot of time in bars and cafes.
3.there have to be no shootings, stabbings, and stompings at the bars and cafes.

Curiously that definition of trendy makes more sense than any other definition I have heard.

ryan costa wrote:drug mart is a good store. all it is missing is a soda counter and soda jerk.

drug mart is a hole...both of them

More on this topic

http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4586&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=rockefeller&start=0



Rockefeller Building, a timeless design that would add to Lakewood's Streetscap opposite of the library.

Make everyone happy, high end retail in the first floor, offices and lofts above. Turn Kaufman Park into a real park, not baseball field. Have art festivals and music there behind a block of this.

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Jim O'Bryan wrote:Make everyone happy, high end retail in the first floor, offices and lofts above. Turn Kaufman Park into a real park, not baseball field. Have art festivals and music there behind a block of this.

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You realize of course that all this discussion is a waste of time?