In a report that emphasized upward mobility and inclusion in Indiana’s second largest city, a ULI Advisory Services panel for the Electric Works redevelopment project in Fort Wayne, Indiana, focused on the economic importance of being a destination with an “open tent.” That means having real and stated plans that emphasize the inclusion of the entire region.
Panelists at a recent ULI event talked about the region’s labor market and how rehabbing the suburbs to include more mixed-use amenities can drive retail transformation and denser development patterns.
Developers and city leaders of Cleveland are considering how to redevelop a 400-acre (162 ha) neighborhood to the southeast of the downtown corridor. Once known as the “Forgotten Triangle,” the area is now part of the Cleveland Opportunity Corridor, with plans to reconnect the neighborhood to the University Circle area by 2021 via a multimodal boulevard.
In early August, a ULI Advisory Services panel spent a week touring area development projects in Erie, Pennslyvania, focusing on Erie’s downtown revitalization and working within the city’s economic and cultural environment.
Like many former industrial U.S. cities, Cleveland is starting to see the fruits of repurposing waterfront land as open space. After decades of neglect, Cleveland’s 25-acre (10 ha) Scranton Peninsula, located on the Cuyahoga River, has been acquired with the goal of creating a mixed-use, mid-rise neighborhood with views of downtown and prime access to the river.
In early March, the city of San Antonio celebrated the opening of a new park. Named Confluence Park, it sits on about 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) where two major rivers meet. The park—a former construction storage yard—was ten years in the making, costing about $13 million.
Relatively low-cost housing combined with cultural amenities such as arts institutions and regional parks in and around Cuyahoga County, Ohio, as well as broader affordability and livability compared with other cities, are helping spark a wave of millennial migration to northeast Ohio. In addition, two aging malls in the region are being recast as distribution centers for Amazon, said speakers at a ULI Cleveland event in February.
At a recent ULI Cincinnati event, panelists agreed that a midsize market like Cincinnati needs cooperation between the public and private sectors to move things forward.
At a panel discussion hosted by ULI Pittsburgh, experts highlighted the city’s interesting architecture, relatively affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods, and a strong outlook for the retail sector.
