Topic: Cleveland: Waterloo Arts District Developments

[KJP]

On the April 5 agenda of Design Review.....

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2013/04052013/index.php

1. Ordinance No. xxx-13(Ward 11/Councilmember Polensek): Establishing a Pedestrian Retail Overlay (PRO) on and changing the Use District of lands located at the intersection of E. 156th Street and Calcutta Avenue south of Waterloo Road.

[surfohio]

On the April 5 agenda of Design Review.....

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2013/04052013/index.php

1. Ordinance No. xxx-13(Ward 11/Councilmember Polensek): Establishing a Pedestrian Retail Overlay (PRO) on and changing the Use District of lands located at the intersection of E. 156th Street and Calcutta Avenue south of Waterloo Road.

All right!

Description. The PRO District is an overlay zoning district that would be mapped in neighborhood shopping districts characterized by retail buildings located at the sidewalk edge.

Building Setbacks. The PRO District would prohibit any new buildings from being set back more than 5 feet from the sidewalk on a street designated as a Pedestrian Retail Street.

Location of Parking. Any parking lot proposed for a location directly along the Pedestrian Retail Street (e.g., on the side of a building, as opposed to in back of the building) is classified as a “Conditional Use” in the PRO District. This means that such a parking lot would not be approved unless the City Planning Commission determined that it was infeasible to locate the parking behind the building

Prohibited Uses. The PRO District would permit those uses permitted in the underlying district (either Local Retail or General Retail) but would prohibit certain uses that detract from the pedestrian-oriented character of the district – including open sales lots (automobile dealers, etc.), gas stations, car washes, and drive-through lanes (intersecting the Pedestrian Retail Street).

Required Parking. In recognition of the fact that a greater than average proportion of customers will travel to stores in a PRO District by public transportation or by walking, the PRO District reduces parking requirements by 33%

http://www.cndc2.org/prod.html

[8ShadesofGray]

The other interesting part of this particular area under design review is that it is an area of single-family and two-family houses wedged between Waterloo and the highway. If approved, it would potentially allow for the repurposing of these buildings in a more mixed-use fashion. With commercial occupancy along Waterloo expected to top 90% this year, this could help lay the future groundwork for expanding the district's activity along the East 156th spine.

[StrapHanger]

Excellent! Hopefully this is the first of many such overlays.  Better late than never.

[tradition7]

The other interesting part of this particular area under design review is that it is an area of single-family and two-family houses wedged between Waterloo and the highway. If approved, it would potentially allow for the repurposing of these buildings in a more mixed-use fashion. With commercial occupancy along Waterloo expected to top 90% this year, this could help lay the future groundwork for expanding the district's activity along the East 156th spine.

I think this would be a perfect neighborhood to do something like Rainey Street in Austin (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/travel/in-austin-rainey-street-is-a-local-hot-spot.html?_r=0).  Of course, that's assuming a demand for more bars/restaurants/shops develops.

[surfohio]

^ Very cool. I'd say that would go over well here.

[ClevelandOhio]

Is this the right place to put this?

Cleveland still chasing back taxes from Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom: Mark Naymik

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The City of Cleveland still wants its music money from the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern.
It's been two years since Mayor Frank Jackson's administration started an aggressive campaign to recover back admission taxes from small music clubs that had not collected them or passed them to the city.

The city took a legal step last week against Beachland that is worth watching. The move has larger implications in the campaign to make small clubs face the music.

The city filed an appeal last Thursday to a March court ruling involving the Beachland, a struggling but popular club in the city's Collinwood neighborhood seen as an anchor to revitalization efforts on Waterloo Road.

The ruling said the Beachland had to pay three years worth of uncollected admission taxes -- about $120,000 – but not an additional $286,000 in penalties and interest the city sought.

http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2013/04/cleveland_still_chasing_back_t.html

[CLE618]

I heard a conversation over lunch today that a Crop Bistro has signed on to take over an old Key Bank space (unless this is referring to w25 of the past?) but the entire conversation revolved around beach land ballroom and how "artsy" the neighborhood is.

[jjames0408]

^Nope that's true. It's upthread and I believe in the article that ClevelandOhio just posted.

[surfohio]

Is this the right place to put this?

Cleveland still chasing back taxes from Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom: Mark Naymik

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The City of Cleveland still wants its music money from the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern.
It's been two years since Mayor Frank Jackson's administration started an aggressive campaign to recover back admission taxes from small music clubs that had not collected them or passed them to the city.

The city took a legal step last week against Beachland that is worth watching. The move has larger implications in the campaign to make small clubs face the music.

This tax is counterproductive. It should pertain to large subsidized venues, not the small ones.  This $120,000 plus here $22,000 attorney fee is money that Cindy Barber could've had to shore up the Beachland, and keep it viable. 

[CLE618]

^Nope that's true. It's upthread and I believe in the article that ClevelandOhio just posted.

Darn! I thought I had some insider scoop from the sandwich shop! Haha

[8ShadesofGray]

My understanding is that the article expressed Crop's interest in opening a new concept spot along Waterloo but that they have been incrementally moving toward commitment for that happening.

Couple of other updates:

- LAND Studio has posted renderings for a new pocket park on East 156th Street: http://www.land-studio.org/our-work/artplace-playspace
See some images below. This is the first of several planned interventions on East 156th Street that lead me to believe that Waterloo activity is likely to start inching around the corner. Work is slated to be completed before the Waterloo Arts Fest (June 29th).

- A new initiative, Zoetic Walls, is getting started up in the neighborhood: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeticWallsCleveland
More details will emerge shortly, but my understanding is that the initiative is working to bring in internationally acclaimed street artists to do the type of large-scale murals, etc. that have largely escaped Cleveland to date. From what I understand, they've secured participation from several building owners and 5 teams of BIG names in the street art movement. Work will start going up very soon (like NEXT WEEK, if I understood), and if all goes well, continue through at least July.

[jjames0408]

Awesome!

[327]

Those sculptures in the last picture... I cannot guess their intentions, but I recommend keeping an eye on them.

[X]

If they had little rubber arms, they'd be finger puppets.

[Zak]

It's 3:40am and I just finished a lab report and a project proposal, so my mind is totally letting me spam. Those sculptures:


Sorry, had to.

[8ShadesofGray]

The first of the Zoetic Walls ... walls ... is complete.

This wall is located adjacent to a gas station at the corner of Waterloo and East 156th Street. From Argentinian street artist Ever, from start to finish in about five days. Note the donation bins in the bottom corner for a sense of the MASSIVE scale of this art piece. If all goes as planned, look for a couple more street art interventions in May.

https://www.facebook.com/ZoeticWallsCleveland

[8ShadesofGray]

- The second of the Zoetic Walls (https://www.facebook.com/ZoeticWallsCleveland) is up, brought to you by the Hygienic Dress League, a street art duo based out of Detroit (see below).

- Construction of the ArtPlace PlaySpace (http://www.land-studio.org/our-work/artplace-playspace) has started. The new pocket art park at East 156th Street and Huntmere is expected to be completed by the end of June.

- Phase 1 of Omid Tavakoli's Waterloo Sculpture Garden (https://www.facebook.com/WaterlooSculptureGarden) is nearing completion.

- Project Pop-up Galleries (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Pop-up-Galleries-in-Collinwood-Ohio/151183174929827) is hoping to convert an unused phone booth on Waterloo into a gallery for miniature art ... Where you can have openings right on the sidewalk.

- Loren Naji (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Loren-Naji-Studio-Gallery/199819970050943) recently closed on a house on East 156th Street that he's hoping to convert into a conceptual art gallery. Stay tuned.

- Earliest stages of the $5.5 million improvement of the Waterloo streetscape have started. Work will continue through 2013 and likely into 2014.

- Between several art spaces and several restaurants under construction or prepping for construction, I'm hearing expectations that Waterloo will be more than 90% occupied by the end of 2013. When Cindy Barber opened the Beachland Ballroom in 2000, the street was 40% vacant.

[StrapHanger]

^All great stuff, 8shades, thanks for the recap!  Totally awesome murals.

[yanni_gogolak]

Really like the Hygenic Dress League mural!

[8ShadesofGray]

Thanks guys! Zoetic Walls is being led by Amy Callahan, the talented Executive Director of Arts Collinwood. If all goes as planned, it looks like we might see an additional 8 national and international street artists working on Waterloo and on East 156th Street in June and July, as well as some local street art talent. Be sure to like the Zoetic Walls facebook page for updates! https://www.facebook.com/ZoeticWallsCleveland

[Keith]

While your pic is nice the Hygenic Dress League mural is awesome in person. I'm loving their addition to the neighborhood. The one by the gas station reminds me of the murals in Belfast (though obviously less violent).

[8ShadesofGray]

^ Concur ... I just pulled the picture off of their Facebook page This is even more striking in person, as that's gold metallic paint for the base ... Day and night, that thing is shining!! Definitely worth a visit - even moreso when additional murals go up later this month and in July. From what I've heard, there may also be some live street art happening during the Waterloo Arts Fest on June 29.

[Keith]

Question for anyone that knows the neighborhood better than I do, are they planning to replace the ... lets say psychodelic funnel that was at 156th and Waterloo? If I recall correctly it was damaged in Sandy and taken down a week or so after. I can't figure out how to look it up since I don't know the name of the peice.

[8ShadesofGray]

That was a temporary piece of public art inside the tower. The concept has been that the art would be rotated out regularly, but I think it's been tricky to program that and to put in temporary pieces that are weather-resistant. From what I understand, attempts are being made to put something a little more permanent there. Stay tuned.

[KJP]

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2013/pdf/NE_Agenda_6-18-13.pdf

Northeast Design Review District
Agenda
(8:00a.m., Tuesday, June 18th, 2013)
Memorial-Nottingham Branch, 17109 Lake Shore Boulevard

1. NE 2013-016 – Art Park/Art Space (N)
Location: 317 E. 156th Street, Ward 11
Community Art Park proposal
Project Representative: Melissa Daubert, LAND Studio ;
John Boksansky, Northeast Shores Development Organization