Hotel Bruce

Welcome to the Bruce blog—a weekly update on news, events and issues affecting life in Cleveland. Reporting as it happens on transit, development, planning, environment and arts & culture.

Basically, we write about creative ideas forming, talk to the people who have an inside track on the issues, and sometimes offer a commentary of our own. (For disclosure purposes, Bruce blog is a local, independent writer who also works part-time with nonprofit organization EcoCity Cleveland. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of EcoCity or any other organization).

City discusses wind turbines with GE's top executive
Other progress reported on sustainability

Taking second in this week’s Primary election brings obvious urgency to Jane Campbell’s campaign. Her Sustainability Programs Manager, Andrew Watterson, wasted no time touting the progress in his first six months while speaking to a crowd at Great Lakes Brewing last night.

Watterson is counting on saving the city millions of dollars in both energy and procurement costs this year, he says, while also reducing the city’s ‘ecological footprint’. His highest profile project so far is going the final yard in getting a long-discussed wind monitor tower on the water intake crib on Lake Erie.

More than symbolic, the test of utility-grade wind strength has caught the attention of Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, who was in town this week, meeting with city and business officials about “moving forward with wind power in Cleveland,” Watterson confirmed. “Cleveland is second only to California in components manufacturing for building wind turbines.”

Other actions include a very important anti-idling guideline for city departments and their vehicles. While it’s a step short of a city ordinance, Watterson says, it’s expected to save the city 10 percent on its fuel cost (and cut down on air pollution). An ordinance would have broader impact since Northeast Ohio was in ‘non-attainment’ status for particulate matter this summer due to industry and vehicles.

The city also added six Ford Escape hybrids to its fleet and is making 5 percent of its fuel purchase biodiesel, or fuel made from Ohio soy plants. In addition, the city is working with CityWheels, the new carshare company headed by EcoCity Cleveland’s Ryan McKenzie, to reduce its fleet size further.

“We’re far from being perfect,” Watterson concluded, “but it’s fun to be able to report on progress.”

Fed up with the "Midnight Environmental Massacres" waged by Ohio's lawmakers and big corporate lobbyists, The Ohio League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club Ohio released a report today that calls the worst offenders to the mat.

"Ohio's Toxic Twelve" looks at legislation, voting records, ethics charges and abuses of power, such as who's inserting damage-causing amendments hours before a vote in order to squelch public debate. For example, Speaker of the House, Jon Husted recently slipped in the 'bulldozer amendment' which "would have allowed the Home Builders Association (another toxic offender) to destroy the little remaining wetlands in Ohio and replace them as far away as North Carolina" (the item was eventually vetoed by Governor Taft).

It's a snappy report, with colorful sidebars and soundbites on each offender's campaign contributors, committee membership, term limit, contact info and relevant news bites. And it shows the increasing communications savvy of these environmental groups.

Andrew Watterson, City of Cleveland's Sustainability Programs Manager, will address the report as a guest of the two groups tonight at 5:30 pm at Great Lakes Brewing Co. We'll report back with an update tomorrow.

Two of the big kahunas in state-funded environmental and smart growth programs doled out their awards recently. The Ohio Lake Erie Commission took the first step in aiding plans for development that protects watersheds (which flow between political boundaries) in the Lake Erie Basin. As part of the state’s Balance Growth Fund, three pilot projects were selected to receive $200,000 each to fund nonprofit groups working on a collaborative plan for which land is best suited for development, agriculture or open space.

The pilots are Swan Creek, a tributary of the Maumee River near Toledo; The Upper Rocky River in Medina County; and the Chagrin River. “Through these projects, our hope is to provide voluntary, community-based models that can be adapted to the needs of other communities as a means of promoting growth while protecting water,” wrote Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Sam Speck, the commission’s chairman.

Governor Taft made the other big announcement while making a stop last week in Cleveland. Appearing at the proposed site of Canal Basin Park (a restoration of the first lock area in the Erie shipping canal under the Detroit-Superior Bridge and possibly the end point of an extended Towpath Trail), Taft announced $28.3 million in Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation grants.

The fund—which was actually reduced by 50% this year and is pocket change compared to the billions the state will spend on new infrastructure—is used for revitalizing urban areas, protecting rivers and watersheds, preserving green space and farmland and expanding Ohio’s system of recreational trails.

The big projects in the Cleveland area include $1 million for the Cleveland Metroparks to acquire 17.5 acres of an old growth beech and maple forest in the North Chagrin Reservation; $900,000 for the new West Creek MetroPark in Parma to acquire 47.51 acres for a major greenway project; $400,000 to purchase land for Canal Basin Park, and $400,000 to purchase a vacant former Euclid Railroad right-of-way and to provide transportation enhancements along Euclid Avenue for the development of a 5 mile, multipurpose trail loop between Euclid and South Euclid. Get the whole rundown of the local projects at the Cuyahoga County Planning site.

Two of Cleveland’s top brass took a field trip to Chicago last week to see the roll out of that city’s new bike and pedestrian improvement plan. Randall DeVaul, commissioner of the Division of Engineering and Construction and Rob Mavec, commissioner of Traffic, were duly impressed, according to a source present. Upon return, Mavec ordered installation of new crosswalk ballards downtown, reminding motorists to be aware of pedestrians.

Moreover, the trip was a success in “upgrading their expectations,” adds the source. The commissioners are excited about getting more bike and pedestrian improvements in Cleveland. They’re behind a soon to be introduced city council resolution calling for Complete Streets, which means integrating designs in all road projects to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages.

Part of the roadblock here that Chicago has cleared is tapping a major portion of the federal pot of transportation funds for Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) which Cleveland doesn’t currently tap for big bike or pedestrian oriented projects. Our local CMAQ fund is around $10-12 million a year and is used mostly for traffic signal synchronization. The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) decides how CMAQ funds are used. To contact NOACA, call (216) 241-2414 or email publicinv@mpo.noaca.org

Also, Mayor Campbell’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet on Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. in the Mayor's Red Room on the second floor of Cleveland City Hall. Contact project manager Martin Cader at the City Planning Commission at 216-664-2952 or email mcader@city.cleveland.oh.us to RSVP.

The Plain Dealer is picking up on the story that Steelyard Commons, Cleveland’s first big box center, is receiving a ‘secret’ public subsidy. Not only is the project benefiting from a Federal government tax break known as the New Market Tax Credit, as blogger Bill Callahan first pointed out, but the local authority in charge of doling out the subsidy is keeping a tight lid on the documents and process used to grant the subsidies worth $12.48 million over seven years.

The PD doesn’t refer to Callahan, but to a report from nonpartisan economic think tank Policy Matters which is critical of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's handling of the whole affair.

“These subsidies were granted by a publicly controlled entity in virtual secrecy, with little or no opportunity for public scrutiny or debate…The Port Authority controls the board of the
private company issuing these credits, was instrumental in that company's success in winning the credits and received significant revenue for its part in the transaction that used them.

The full details of the Port Authority’s involvement with the tax credits and the Steelyard Commons project should be made public, the report concludes, and future credits should require public approval by the Port Authority board.”

New Market Tax Credits, which are intended to spur development in areas that would not have it otherwise, are arrangements by which participating banks are subsidized by the feds to knock off up to 3% of the interest rate of a loan (the ceiling is based on the total value of the project). Key Bank is one of the participating banks in the New Market Tax Credits.

Meanwhile, Ohio Canal Corridor chief Tim Donovan is still trying to negotiate for a larger cut, somewhere around $10 million, of a proposed TIF (another public subsidy in the form of a deferred tax abatement) at Steelyard Commons in order to bring the Towpath Trail to the Flats. But, the message from Mayor Campbell's Economic Development department is that a sizable chunk of the TIF has already been committed to propping up retail in the neighborhoods like Clark-Metro and Old Brooklyn, which are expected to take a wallop from the non-union big boxes at Steelyard.

By Justin Glanville

The Dutch have lately made a small industry of exporting their renowned architecture and design ideas to foreigners. Northeast Ohio became their latest customer last week, when a group of Dutch architects and planners visited Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs to share their thoughts on how good urban design can revitalize our city.

Perhaps their most provocative notion was that the city should ditch its much-vaunted lakefront plan—a 50-year timetable for opening the shores of Lake Erie to development—and focus instead on downtown and the Cuyahoga River. Without somehow bringing those two areas back to life—and fast—the city will never build enough momentum to extend out to the lake, the speakers said.

"Cleveland has never been a lakefront city," said Aaron Betsky, the conference's keynote speaker and director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam. "Why should it be one now? Don't try to be something you're not."

While the lakefront currently offers mostly barren freeways and heavy industry, Betsky and others said, the Flats are home to a treasure trove of characterful bridges and decrepit buildings crying out for renovation and expansion. It's also the city's birthplace and the main engine behind its growth (as mother of the Ohio and Erie Canal and much of the city's early industry). Developing it first would acknowledge its place in our region's history and present a truer image of what Cleveland is, they added.

Also of utmost priority is the redevelopment of downtown, currently a wasteland of empty storefronts, the Dutch said. Without a vital heart, Cleveland can forget about demand for new housing and office space carrying it to the lakefront, they said.

It should be noted that the Dutch were never given a chance to review Scott Wolstein's plans for the Flats East Bank or the Maron family's vision for lower Euclid Avenue. Yet their remarks served as a reminder that, to all appearances, nothing is currently being done in either area. It's time to move past visions and get to work on a new reality.

The Free Times ran a blurb last week about the closing of Coventry Road retailer High Tide, Rock Bottom. While it’s technically accurate that the gift shop is closing because owner Marcia Polevoi is retiring after an impressive 32-year run, the move is a microcosm of the larger issues at play in the retail market and on Coventry.

A couple of years ago, two now-former retail operators on Coventry shared with Bruce blog that they attempted to negotiate a lease to share the High Tide space, but that Tommy Fello, High Tides’ landlord, told them that Polevoi wasn’t interested and wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Two years later, the two retailers—who brought a much-needed vibrancy to the retail scene on Coventry—closed, in part because of escalating rents from another landlord.

And now High Tide is closing.

The fact that Steve Presser is jumping into that space, which is rent-controlled by his close friend Tommy, indicates the poor prospects for independent retail and a lack of faith that another independent operation could afford to lease the space. To say nothing of the potential for another sports bar in the old Big Fun space (owned by Panini’s).

Retail is cyclical, yes, but has Coventry ever faced this level of vacancy (with at least 12 dark storefronts) during a period of economic malaise? And what is the recovery plan from The Coventry Merchants Association (which is led by Presser and Fellow, by the way) and the city? It may be time for some serious rate concessions in brokering these leases or to talk to a developer a la Peter Rubin at Coral Company.

Bruce blog thanks one of its readers for sending us this story in nationally distributed Automotive News about Cleveland Heights auto mechanic Sam Bell. Bell doesn’t exactly refuse to service SUVs, but he will give you the Third Degree about it if you pull into his shop, the Lusty Wrench.

"We generally don't service this type of vehicle because we feel they are environmentally irresponsible," says Bell, 55.

The story is here, in AN’s paid archive.

Now that the oil crisis is sinking in, the mainstream media is pumping up the volume on alternative fuels and the future of personal transportation. The New York Times ran a fascinating Style section on 9/25 titled ‘Motoring Toward a Post-Gasoline Age,’ including an article on how hydrogen fuel cells may someday alter more than just the environment.

Whether one believes hydrogen fuel cells will be delivered to the market in our lifetime or not, the really cool thing is the hydrogen or electric car that acts as a micro-generator— delivering power to work or home. “The power required to run a mid-size car on the road today is about 30 times what is needed to run an average house with every light and appliance on…cars in a garage could plug into and power office buildings – for a fee, no doubt.”

Critics charge that Hydrogen will remain a distant second to hybrids or even developing ‘plug-in hybrids’ because it’s “not a fuel but an energy storage system—much like a battery, just less efficient and less market-ready.”

Proponents such as Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute counter that a carbon-fiber frame, better tires and aerodynamics will reduce wattage needed to power the Hydrogen car by two-thirds, thus upping its chances to compete in the market.

Bruce blog thanks another of its readers for turning us on to the awesome web site Treehugger.com. Yesterday’s homepage included an article about the national media spotlight on SUV sales falling drastically alongside the crow-eating comment, “Rich people don’t care,” attributed to Rob Lutz, VP at GM on why high gas prices won’t stop affluent people from buying SUVs. Other features include suburban Chicago schools using biodiesel in yellow buses; Ford killing production of the Excursion; an article about the rise in public transit ridership nationwide, and an article about the rise in bike sales (now higher than car sales). Rock on.

David S. Rubin, Curator of Visual Arts at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, is currently living in Northeast Ohio in the wake of Hurricane Katerina. From 1990-94, he developed shows at the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art (now MOCA). See the Rubin-curated Birdspace: A Post-Audubon Artists Aviary, currently on view (through 11/4) at the Youngstown State University McDonough Museum of Art.

Shrinking Cities Symposium, 10/14 – While rates of urban decline have slowed, dramatic new growth is far from inevitable. Global economies and urban sprawl have left vast vacancies in Ohio's cities. Speakers offer research and ideas including restoring native landscapes and reconstituting a new kind of city where pockets of development are surrounded by natural areas. At CSU's Levin College from 9 am-2:30 p.m. Email to RSVP.

Best of Cleveland Heights Awards, 10/16 – Where's the city's most romantic spot? How about best place to get creative? These are just a few of the categories for which FutureHeights will announce winners of the first Best of Cleveland Heights Awards, 5 pm at Studio You, 2180 Lee Rd. Also, a kick-off for an online auction to benefit the nonprofit. Info.

Truth, Technology and the Visual/Virtual World – Lecture with computer scientist/artist Jaron Lanier, who coined the phrase 'Virtual Reality', and Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky is an artist, writer and musician whose work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial and 2000 Venice Biennale and who's recordings are spinning at a lounge near you. At the Cleveland Public Library, 10/23 at 2 pm. Call 216-623-2800 for info.

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage opens on 10/11, a tribute to 150 years of Cleveland Jewish cultural history. From the first score of immigrants from Unsleben in Bavaria through today, the museum's interpretive spaces (developed by a team including Hotel Bruce's own Corrie Slawson and Amber Anderson), tell the story of ethnic strife and achievement. For example, an exhibit of Jewish-owned storefronts traces the movement from bustling Kinsman and E. 105 to Cleveland Heights and out to the suburbs beyond. The peripatetic journey pauses at Richmond and Shaker in Beachwood, site of the new museum.

Cleveland's Sustainability Czar Andrew Watterson will speak to the NEO Excellence Roundtable on 10/11 at the Cleveland City Club at noon. Watterson will outline his agenda to explore more sustainable approaches to government and economic development. Email to RSVP.

Nappy Heads, Inc. and EXCURSIONS Concert Series in Association with Urban Flix, A Shot of R.U.M. Radio Show, JakPrintz.com, and COORS Light presents: URBAN RELIEF: A dose of Hip-hop, Spoken Word, Jazz, and Reggae from the SOUL. A benefit Concert to Aid Victims of Hurricane Katrina. 11/5 @ the Grog Shop.

Hi, I enjoy Hotel Bruce! FYI, another Mayoral Forum sponsored by CNDC will be held on October 13th @ 7 pm at St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox on Warren Road in Cleveland. I believe it will be the first post-primary debate and I suspect it will be very well attended.
–Steve