Connecting Cleveland 2020
Posted on May 10, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |
I went to listen to Cleveland’s citywide plan project manager speak about the future of Cleveland tonight, specifically downtown. He mostly talked about things I was already familiar with, such as the $230 million East Bank of the Flats redevelopment that’s in process, the $200 million Euclid Corridor Project that’s underway right now, and Stark’s $1 billion Warehouse District project, which calls for 1 million square feet of retail, 750,000 square feet of office space, 6,000 parking garage spaces, 173 residential units for sale and 427 residentital units for rent. But there were some interesting tidbits that I found… well, interesting.
He talked about urban sprawl now affecting inner ring suburbs. It’s not just a city thing. Because there will always be “new” suburbs. Westlake might have been the up and coming suburb 30 years ago, but now it’s Avon. So those suburbs have created “mini downtowns”, such as Crocker Park in Westlake, to combat that sprawl. It’s interesting because Cleveland already has that urban environment. We don’t have to make it, we just have to make it more liveable.
Cleveland’s downtown residential population increased 33 percent between 1990 and 2000 — one of the largest increases for a downtown area in the country. It’s still a small downtown population, but our growth is very good and that’s important.
Cleveland has the largest fiberoptic pipe (under Euclid Avenue) between New York and Chicago. That’s important for technology companies here.
70 percent of panhandlers downtown are NOT homeless.
They focused more on jobs than some previous events I have gone to. The city’s focus on jobs for the future is medical, bio-tech and technology businesses. And they touched on the Scranton Peninsula as an area targeted for a mixed use biotech campus as well as living space.
The city is committed to making the city bicycle friendly. In fact, Mayor Frank Jackson is putting $13 million towards this goal. The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail is supposed to connect to Canal Basin Park on the East Bank of the Flats in the year 2014, going through the Scranton Peninsula and over the Old River Road bridge.
The city is also dedicated to improving public spaces and parks downtown, such as Perk Park by Reserve Square, and beautifying sidewalks with artwork and landscaping.
All and all, an inspiring “Yay Cleveland!” meeting. And Fred Collier is a great speaker. You can get more information from the Cleveland City Planning Commission’s website.
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