Life in real estate in Cleveland since I blogged has changed.  The tax credit allowed tons of people who were waiting for the right time to buy their first homes, to do so. It also allowed a number of people to buy a new home and still get a tax credit of their own.

Some of the changes are small but significant to me.  I live in zip code 44111. Home buyers have finally resurfaced for this area. My partner Melissa and I had several buyers and listings and sales in the past four months. We even had a listing in 44111 sell after the tax credit.  Since home sales are one of the benchmarks of a vital neighborhood, this made a lot of us breathe a sigh of relief.

I’ve developed a keener sense of the neighborhood compositions. Cleveland is not like some of the other cities where people move in and out. Our neighborhoods are full of people who grew up here and want to stay here when they go out of their parent’s nests and  have a place of their own.

I spent some time going over home transfer records in all of Cleveland proper.  I started doing it because I wanted to see where people were coming from, when they purchased a home in a particular neighborhood.  As it turns out, many homes are ‘willed’ to relatives.  Many people move five or six or ten streets from their childhood homes. Some communities have developed a strong community based on their country of origin.  That is pretty cool too, and is also a traditional way for population placement, since they began keeping records. 

And I still feel lucky to be involved in real estate.

The weather has kept people in a good mood, at least that is my observation. Since I last posted in January (!), we dodged a serious winter, and have basically enjoyed warmer than normal temperatures. As I walk the dog every day, I notice how wonderful the weather has been to the flowers. Hydrangea’s are in their splendor this year.  One of my neighbors has Columbines lining a six foot flower bed.  They were bedazzling. 

Now, if only LeBron had stayed here.  I am not mad at him.  But I am sad and not sure it was the best decision for him.  But, he’s the only one who can make the decision.  The Cavs will have a tough time rebounding.  But it does get back to my long standing belief that a city can’t afford to put all their eggs and hopes in one basket…sports.  I’m happy to see the tech world growing here, the medical community thriving (including the medical neighborhood expansion around The Clinic). 

I’m impressed that we have not lost our creative spirit here in NE Ohio.  We can survive without LeBron.  Oh, and we do have some Independent candidates for the new County positions. 

Regular posts to resume before you know it lol

Peace Out – 3C

If Ohio were to build a high speed rail system would you use it?

Yes  63.3% No  19.8% Not sure  16.9%

The above are results of a WKYC on line poll being conducted - and you can vote too. Would you support passenger rail improvements in Ohio?

The poll information was at the end of a very positive report by Eric Mansfield on the WKYC 7pm news.  For many of us, The Ohio Hub and passenger rail are not new ideas but what IS new, is the support being generated, and at a fast pace, over the last 12 months.

From my studies, it seems like Senator Sherrod Brown is a huge supporter of high speed rail. Certainly Governor Strickland is, as is evidenced by his comments in his latest budget proposals and state of Ohio report. The Mayor of Akron hopes everyone in Ohio will see the value of an improved rail system, something already done on a wide scale in Europe (I remember riding the Shinkensen high speed train in Japan in the 80s and being mesmerized at how efficient it was). 

This is no longer a pie in the sky idea. And I think Ken Prendergast, the new All Aboard Ohio executive director, made a most critical point:

the purpose is not so much to build a train system as it is to build a low mileage lifestyle that makes us less dependent on oil.

The WKYC report was good at pointing out that the first step is to improve passenger rail in general (meaning about 79 mph) and Governor Strickland is committed to the 3C Corridor passenger rail system (Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati) getting up and running under his watch. Then with Federal monies etc., we can work on upgrading to high speed rail and the entire Ohio Hub Plan

So many of us feel strongly about how this can improve Ohio’s economic situation, with immediate jobs being created (in steel, for example, construction too) and then with new job development, new housing and commercial development, springing up along all the new rail lines.

 for the entire wkyc on line article related to their news story, go here.  

To show you how popular the idea of passenger rail is in this day and age, the article posted at 1 am and there are none of the usual snarky comments on it (yes I realize the day is young).

Quote from the article:

Will Carney, operations superintendent for the Cuyahoga Valley line, is also a private owner. He has a car built in 1916 for Solomon Guggenheim. It is also where Cleveland mogul O.P. VanSwearingen died in 1936. …Listen, nobody ever waved at a jet,” said John Tyson, a Reno, Nev., television reporter who owns a 1928 car built originally for the Canadian National Railway.

Some people own them outright to use (attach) to an existing rail system when they want to go somewhere. Some are owned by rail aficionados who then run charter rail companies. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad  falls into this category.

How about incentives (what kind?) to private companies who are willing to help refurbish and bring up to standard individual rail cars that can then be used by Amtrak and any other passenger rail line by companies who would love the alternative to flying.

Hats off to Mr. Ewinger for including links to other rail websites…sometimes the PD (and other MSM) is lacking in taking advantage of the embedding features on line — Mr. Ewinger obviously knows the value and I salute him.

The Chapel Hill Rail Car site truly lends itself to great visualization of what this private car idea is all about. And it replicates what I always consider the sophistication and beauty of the old rail car experience. (Not that I am old enough to remember, but you know what I mean!) 

I would consider this Oliver Hazard Perry car, named the Resplendent, as not only a luxury version of Air Force One but a Ritz Carlton suite on drugs. Three bedrooms, gorgeous seating area, and all the modern amenities like a plasma tv and a DVD player (I would be so mesmerized to be on a train I bet I would not stop looking out the window long enough to watch the tv).

Anyone interested in a Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Rail trip in early summer? I would love it if we could get one together!

 Peace Out – 3C

Dare I hope that train travel will become more of a possibility for us now that we have an administration already so familiar with the benefits of train travel.  Since there is talk about cutting funding for passenger rail in the stimulus package (see my post here and please call your representatives asap) – I still have to hold out hope that it can happen and soon.

The proposed Stimulus package used to contain a request (and this was as recently as last week) for a substantial amount of Stimulus Package money to be used to create jobs for passenger rail and transit across the Country. Now? Most of the money is being proposed for roads and bridges. Of course we need money for that, but where is the vision? Where is the ability to create jobs by improving our passenger rail/public transportation system? What part of ‘less dependence on foreign oil’ – do they not understand?

More from Prendergast: (the emphasis is mine)

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee is proposing to spend just $10 billion of stimulus money on transit, with only $1.1 billion of that allocated for intercity passenger trains nationwide. Meanwhile, the proposal includes $30 billion for highway construction.

While you read this, China is spending $88 billion on rail projects this year. European countries are shifting their infrastructure budgets from a dominance of “Roads-n-Bridges” to being in balance with “Trains and Transit.” India will invest $30 billion on rail in 2009. Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Vietnam, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey and other nations are or will soon invest billions to build high-speed rail. Meanwhile America plans to spend more for short-lived benefits and less to invest in Trains and Transit that will transform a resource-constrained America for the coming century and beyond.

If you feel as I do, that the imbalance between Stimulus money for highways and bridges and rail and transit is unacceptable, call your Representatives now!

And while you’re at it, contact the Obama Transition Team through the website, Change.gov, where they are soliciting your opinions.

Peace Out – 3C

It’s tied into the infrastructure monies being bantered about by the Feds. This is not high speed rail, but it IS passenger rail. Supposedly, the National Amtrak staff feels the Cleveland to Cincy corridor is the best underdeveloped passenger rail corridor in the U.S.

From the Farkas post:

Gov. Ted Strickland wants to make sure the state gets its share of money. At the governor’s request, ODOT Director James Beasley sent a letter last month to Ohio’s congressional delegation outlining $1.7 billion in transportation projects that could be under way by next March.

They are “shovel-ready”and would create thousands of new jobs, said Scott Varner, ODOT deputy director of communications.

Among the requests were $100 million for the passenger rail system, which ODOT supports, but has not been able to fund, Varner said, and the $200 million for the high-speed rail network.

The Cleveland to Columbus route is something long overdue and I can only imagine how much of a boost for the economy available rail service will be once this becomes operational. High speed would be better, but one step at a time. Peace Out   and Woo Hoo!  3C

•  
  In the last five years, Mid West corridor ridership has increased 64%Long distance Mid West routes were up over 9%2.6 million riders rode Mid West corridor routes in 2007

MIPRC had this to say:

Our report last year admitted that the picture was not completely rosy for the Midwest, as several routes had lost ridership. This year it’s all coming up roses - every route within or going through the Midwest gained riders in FY 08. Missouri is a special success – after two years of decreasing ridership, 30 percent more people took the Kansas City-St. Louis service than the previous year.

Ridership is up Nationally too. The National Rail Passenger Commission issued a press release and here are some stats from it:

28.7 people rode Amtrak in last 12 months (their fiscal year ends Sept. 30th, thus the yearly report)

• that is an 11.1% increase in ridership.
• total ticket revenue for Amtrak was 14.2% higher than the year before; in fact,
• this is record ridership – the most since it all began in 1971.

 The color emphasis is mine, but here is a quote from the Amtrak website/press release:

“After another record-breaking year, in which the railroad achieved double-digit growth, Amtrak has solidified its role as a leader in the nation’s transportation network and proven intercity passenger rail’s relevance in today’s world,” said Alex Kummant, President and CEO of Amtrak.

“With the recent passage of a reauthorization bill, which includes a significant state and federal capital matching grant program, we also look forward to expanding state partnerships to provide more rail service in growing corridors nationwide.”

Here is a chart in pdf form (only one page) of Amtrak ridership/revenues for the last fiscal year.

Since Ohio is working on the first leg of the Ohio Hub/3C Corridor, here is a Minneapolis – St. Paul Star Tribune editorial  from mid October in support of MN signing on for high speed rail. The sticking point, especially in our volatile economy, is money for Minnesota, just as it is here. A  Maryland based company did a feasibility study:

“….It concluded that a line with top speeds of 110 miles per hour and a direct link to Grand Casino in Hinckley would be financially self-sustaining after an initial ramp-up period.

That’s not enough to guarantee a federal grant, but it’s a crucial start. The higher hurdle to be cleared is at the State Capitol. Getting the Northern Lights Express rolling is expected to cost about $400 million. The state need not provide the entire 20 percent non-federal share; local and some private expenditures at stations would count toward the match. But the state’s share still could exceed $50 million….”

Somehow, spending money on rail projects sounds so much more economically rewarding than bailing out failed banks. Just sayin’. Peace Out – 3C