Avenue District Web Cam Goes Live

Now you can watch construction on Site 1 of The Avenue District live!

A Web cam has been positioned atop the One Cleveland Center garage, streaming still photos (refreshed every 30 seconds) of Site 1, at the intersection of East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue.

Check it out today, and watch the tower crane go up piece-by-piece.

Plain Dealer Covers the Crane

A bird? A plane? A tower crane? Construction advances on Avenue condos

"Next week, a tower crane will rise in downtown Cleveland to begin superstructure and core work on a 58-unit condominium complex at the northeast corner of East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue. . . ." Check out the full article from Henry Gomez of The Plain Dealer on Cleveland.com.

The Tower Crane is Coming

The Avenue District's Building One at 1211 St. Clair Ave. is set to go vertical!

The tower crane will arrive onsite the week of Aug. 27 to begin superstructure and core work on the 10-story building that will include 50 elegant lofts (floors 3-8), eight penthouses (floors 9-10) and up to 9,000 square feet of retail (floors 1-2).

The tower crane (see sample drawing below) will reach an elevation of 254 feet. The jib height is 165 feet and the boom extends 196 feet horizontally.

To help visual the size of the tower crane, here is a representation of the relationship between the tower crane and Building One at 1211 St. Clair. This picture does not represent the actual location of the tower crane.


About The Avenue District

Construction is underway on 78 housing units in The Avenue District – 50 lofts and eight penthouses on Site 1 at East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue, and 20 townhomes on Site 3 at Rockwell Avenue and the newly created East 15th Street.

The first townhome buyers on Site 3 are scheduled to move in this fall, with occupation of lofts and penthouses at 1211 St. Clair Ave. set for fall 2008. Master plans call for 426 for-sale units.

Units range in price from approximately $235,000 (1,200 square feet) to $370,000 (2,100 square feet) for townhomes; approximately $232,390 (900 square feet) to $900,000 (2,500 square feet) for lofts: and approximately $750,000 (1,800 square feet) to more than $1,000,000 (2,700 square feet) for penthouses.

Building One at 1211 St. Clair Ave.

Cleveland Among Nation's Most Expensive Commutes

Cleveland homebuyers considering a move back to the urban core for the energy and convenience of a walkable downtown neighborhood, can add significant cost savings to the list of benefits.

Cleveland, along with Houston, Detroit, Tampa, Fla., Kansas City, Mo., and Cincinnati, made the Forbes.com list of the country's biggest cities where transportation eats up a fifth or more of household costs.

"Congestion isn't a big problem for the average Cleveland commuter, and the city is expanding its bus system. But in what is otherwise a cheap city, the cost of transportation, which isn't steep by national standards, is very high compared to local income levels."

• Percent of expenses spent on transportation: 20.5%
• Annual delay per traveler: 10 hours

See America's Most Expensive Commutes for the full story.

Avenue District Construction Images from Aug. 15, 2007

Site 1 - 1211 St. Clair
Building One at St. Clair Avenue and East 12th Street in downtown Cleveland.






Site 3 - Townhomes
First 10 townhomes at Rockwell Avenue and the new East 15th Street.

Sample Elements of the East 12th Streetscape

The East 12th streetscape project, designed by Paul Volpe of City Architecture, will bring style and convenience to downtown Cleveland's premier walkable neighborhood.

Check out sample images below for planned elements of the East 12th streetscape:

Sidewalk planters, like the example above from Michigan Avenue, will accentuate the primary and secondary sidewalks, including a passageway that provides a dogwalk for Avenue District residents.

“Outdoor living rooms” will be incorporated, defined by special paving areas constructed out of alternating colors and textures, referred to as “area rugs.” (see above and below)

Plans integrate bicycle lanes and racks for convenient access to existing and proposed retail components of The Avenue District.

Additional amenities include: benches, smaller-scaled light fixtures (like the image shown below), public art, abundant landscaping and wider sidewalks.

You can also click on the image below to view a Google Map of the East 12th streetscape plan in relation to the Avenue District neighborhood:

The East 12th Streetscape Project

Last week, The City of Cleveland, City Architecture and Zaremba, Inc. released renderings for the East 12th streetscape redevelopment, a joint venture more than three years in the making. The East 12th streetscape project, slated to begin in late 2007, is designed to enhance The Avenue District.

Paul Volpe of City Architecture - the urban design consultant for The Avenue District and the infrastructure project on East 12th Street – recently discussed the details of the project.

View north on East 12th Street at the St. Clair Avenue intersection. Building One is on the right.

What is the purpose of the East 12th streetscape project?

The East 12th streetscape project is a crucial component of The Avenue District and a great opportunity to tie together existing businesses and retail establishments, with the new development, to create synergy and momentum for Cleveland’s revitalization.

What are the main features of the streetscape?

The streetscape will provide new residents with a compelling and beautiful environment in which to live. By narrowing the cartway, this true multi-modal street offers integrated public transportation, bicycle lanes and new on-street parking to service the existing and proposed retail components of the district.

Traffic will be calmed by utilizing narrower lanes. The new landscaped median eliminates the uncrossable nature of the existing street and will force drivers to be more aware of the pedestrian quality of the district.

Amenities including benches, smaller-scaled light fixtures, public art and abundant landscaping provide a “soft” public street. Using the wide sidewalks to our advantage, the design team incorporated “outdoor living rooms” nestled between planting areas. These rooms are defined by special paving areas we call “area rugs,” constructed out of unit pavers to create variety by alternating colors and textures throughout the district.

In addition, a secondary sidewalk is incorporated to connect the on-street parking to the primary sidewalk. This passageway also provides a dogwalk for the residents of the District. By carefully placing custom designed ornamental fencing on the primary side of the sidewalk, the secondary sidewalk has pet access into the “dog friendly” planters.