The surprise to me was the second most congested highway because it was in Honolulu ! So much for paradise!

Whenever people discuss what is important to them when buying a house, it always intrigues me to hear the differences discussed.  Some people are happy with a 30 minute commute. Some consider it down time, quiet time, time to listen to a book on tape or iPod, time to enjoy talk radio. Decompression time.  Others want a five minute commute and no traffic congestion.  Some don’t mind I-480 traffic, some love the I-90 route along the lake.  All my life I’ve heard that our differences make life more interesting and I definitely agree with that.  For me, commuting any more than 15 minutes to work every day would drive me stark raving mad.

Not that I haven’t done it.  I managed a store in Gaithersburg Maryland while living in Greenbelt Maryland.  About a 30 mile drive on the Capital Beltway and I-270.  How to describe it.  If you’re looking at a map, paint a smile around Washington DC.  I worked on the left side of the smile and lived on the right side. I did it for  awhile, and that was fine.  Now? No way!

We don’t have the same congestion issues here but I know people who have to go through the Richmond Road/Chagrin Road intersection during rush hour might disagree.  Let’s just say we didn’t have any highways driving commuters crazy, at least according to this Daily Beast article.

Number One went to a highway in LA. The length of the bottleneck? Over 70 miles.   Oy.

Peace Out – 3C

At the same time, The Puritas Rapid Station is getting an extreme makeover, like many other stations like Triskett or West 25th. I’m ecstatic about the new station, my neighborhood needs it. There is proposed pubic art, walkways, and the potential to improve the value of while enhancing the neighborhood. You can read about the plans here on RTA’s website.

RTA says reduced monies from sales taxes due to the economy. Their percentage of the pie may have stayed the same, but the amount of money is not the same.  Believe me, as a working member of society, I understand that.

I do have to wonder if we (meaning residents, government, business) support public transportation?  Our neighborhood groups support it. Politicians are positive about it in their sound bites. If service is going to get cut, what good will the pretty new stations be to people?  Ridership won’t increase with no weekend service, will it?  On the same day that Eco Village Cottages had their ribbon cutting (yeay! – I saw one at a brokers open and you would be really pleased, I know I was, with the exterior design that blends in and enhances the neighborhood) we also got possible RTA route cuts. One win one loss? Do you think RTA is giving this serious consideration?

Peace out – oh, and Happy Earth Day.  3C

Are you single and looking to buy a house or condo? As I mentioned in a post, there is a nice collection of Downtown condos for sale at very reasonable prices. But I’d like to focus on one. For $79k you can get a two level condo that faces the Lake at the edge of the Warehouse District. It’s considered an efficiency but in reality there is a separate bedroom on the second floor. It has all the exposed pipe and brick and mortar textures you’d want if you were buying a more expensive loft or Downtown condo. Yes it’s small but very cool. If it was in New York City it would probably sell for a half a million dollars, no joke.  But it’s only $79,000.  $79,000 in the Warehouse District! I wouldn’t be surprised if the monthly mortgage (even with taxes and maintenance fees) isn’t less than some people pay in rent every month.

The second place is a single family home on Bridge a short walk to Gordon Square or Gypsy Bean and five minutes from the West Side Market. I held it open yesterday. It was built in the late 90s, still has a few years tax abatement left on it. The home has over 1800 square feet of finished space, a really cool antique-like staining of the hardwood floors, french doors, a huge deck to a beautifully landscaped backyard. It is also very reasonably priced at $149,900.

I sold a home to a client who became a good friend.  She bought a lovely home but I couldn’t help thinking as I held the home open yesterday that this would have been a perfect home for her.  With 1800 + square feet you don’t have to be single to buy this home, but it’s priced well for a single income purchaser.

The best part about both of these homes is they are very accessible to either the RTA bus lines or the RTA transit stops.

There are other really nice homes in move in condition that are priced very well for first time home buyers. So if you want any more information about these homes or the ones I described, let me know!  Peace Out – 3C

But I do like the ‘village’ idea. And no, I’m not saying take the exact model and adopt it here. But it fits in with some good planning ideas set forth by the Connecting Cleveland master plan revisions that were devised about a year ago. I wrote about it here.

Here is an excerpt on the vision/concept planners have in Maryland:

They see the pike, Montgomery’s commercial spine, redesigned as a tree-lined, walkable, bikeable, lovable and magnificent road connecting a network of urban villages strung along each side. There would be neighborhood stores, restaurants, housing and offices — allowing residents to work, dine and shop within blocks of their high-rise apartments in an urban setting.

What they already have is several transit stops and a boat load of population. But, our Master Plan calls for roads like Lorain Avenue to abandon the old plan of trying to support businesses for the entire stretch of the road because our population just won’t support it. They have pockets of mixed use development they would like to see develop along the road and they are hoping this vision and zoning change can appeal to the private sector so the development can actually happen.

One thing I think we miss with our current transit system is the availability to tie these village pockets into several transit stops.  There is the W. 65th RTA station but there are no more stops as you progress west. I think the Euclid Avenue Corridor was a responses to this issue (since there are no transit stops on Euclid either). So maybe we could have a Lorain Avenue version of the Euclid Avenue Corridor? And for the time being, we do have the #22 bus. It’s better than a sharp stick in the eye!

This is an eight page pdf that shows some of the long-range hopes of the RTA and it’s place in the Connecting Cleveland plan.  Of course everything is fluid, especially in planning – but it gives you an idea of what they are looking for. An excerpt:

 

E. ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS PROJECTS / Planning Studies 2010 – 2025

These projects have each advanced from the System Planning phase into the Alternatives

Analysis study phase. They are being further developed in coordination with major land use,

transportation, and economic development studies led by the City of Cleveland and the Ohio

Department of Transportation.

1. Southwest Corridor/Red Line I-X Extension

2. Waterfront Line Extension

3. Highland Hills Corridor/Blue Line Extension

4. Canton-Akron-Cleveland Interregional Corridor Study*** (really an Akron RTA effort)

Peace Out – 3C

I agree with Mayor Jackson about one thing.  This is Cleveland and we don’t have to be like any other city. But I think there is a lot to take away from this idea. We don’t have to have homes that look exactly like this, but the concept would make good use of spaces that don’t fit the typical 40×120 foot yard spaces. We have a lot of areas plagued with vacant homes; the City is tearing some down.  We have more work to do on that score. But the issue in my head is, what will we put in place of these torn down homes?

The other issue is, why not encourage people to put up homes that exist near RTA transit stops on small spaces. I know there is a triangle of land or two near the W. 25th street station and supposedly condos are going there.  Okay.  What about W. 150th’s Station? Or the Puritas Station? I know the Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation staff spoke to me a while ago about plans for public art and walk ways, and that developers were being consulted about some housing there too. If you go here on the Bellaire Puritas DC site you can see plans for revitalization of the W. 150th area. There is a 4.1 million dollar investment planned and underway. It seems like a great opportunity to promote some green, money saving home building with some design interest (to me that means not more of the same), and a possibility to promote even more interest in no parking needed ‘ride the RTA’ housing.

What a fabulous concept.  No need to filter in parking for the homes because it’s near an RTA stop. This also cuts down on the expense of building a home. True, Cleveland doesn’t have as functional of a commuter line as some other cities (yet!), but we do have stations and this could work.

Linda Hales writes the article in The Wash Post featuring Jeff Speck and his house. Here is an NPR article about The Specks  and the concept and how what they are doing is “rethinking the wisdom of ’50s era parking standards.”

We also have neighborhoods that could use a boost of transit and also new urbanism design. Here is an article from WTOP on Milwaukee’s and Chicago’s take on this issue:

Milwaukee, one of a small group of cities that has eased minimum parking requirements, did so because they were impeding redevelopment of struggling neighborhoods, said John Norquist, the city’s mayor from 1988 to 2004.

Norquist, who today heads the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism, described a lot that sat vacant for decades after a historic building burned down. The required parking made it unfeasible to build anything new there, he said. After officials relaxed the parking requirement, a thriving restaurant sprang up.

We have the whole issue of land bank property in Cleveland. Wouldn’t it be nice if, instead of what they have decided to do in Tremont (they required all remaining land banks be bought in twos so a driveway could be included in the middle) we were able to increase our RTA transit lines and bus lines and not require parking at all. True, at this point in time, the 81 Bus doesn’t cover every area of Tremont — but what if we could change that?

From the NPR article: “Opponents say making parking more scarce will only make the city less hospitable. Commuters like Randy Michael of Catharpin, Va., complain they are already forced to circle for hours in some neighborhoods.”  On the other hand, this is what the Specks say now (also from the NPR article):

“…. they haven’t regretted their decision to go car-free even after the birth of their son, Milo, in June. They walk to shops and parks in their neighborhood, and the baby’s pediatrician is a short bus ride away. When needed, they can rent vehicles from Zipcar, a car-sharing service….”

How much effort do you think should be put forth to promote this type of transit oriented (TOD) development?  Do you think it’s a matter of ‘if they build it buyers will come’ or do you think otherwise?     Here is a link to a slide show from the Wash Post  with more photos of the Speck House.   (photos courtesy of The Post and Troy Witcher)  Peace Out – 3C

These homes will meet Leeds standards for energy efficiency, are all of the same design (I think there are five homes). They are part of the Cleveland Land Trust which means they will remain affordable throughout their lifetime. (The Land Trust sells homes at market value but the buyers buy at about 80% of market value). You can read about the Land Trust here.  

Green City Blue Lake has an informative post on the Cottages. Here is an excerpt:

“….The homes are universally designed, life-cycle homes that allow aging in place. They will include accessibility features such as ramped entrances to porches, and, in the three bedroom model, a first floor bedroom with bath. Buyers who need a fully accessible home can have the additional features they need added at no additional cost.

The cottage designs grew out of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition’s Emerging Designers initiative, which brought together young architects to learn about green design while applying what they learned to real projects….”

There are income requirements for eligibility to purchase and of course the supply is limited. But it’s exciting to see this project move along (they had projected an August ground breaking and they are pretty darn close to that date).

A wonderful side benefit? Short (and I do mean short) walk to the RTA Station.  To recap: affordable, unbelievably low fuel costs, close to public transportation. Do we need more of this all over Cleveland or what?

Peace Out – 3C

By 1930, the Terminal Tower in Downtown Cleveland was open and Union Terminal as well. (yes the Van Sweringens were responsible for this too). This is when The Shaker Rapid System, our very first TOD, began connecting Shaker to Cleveland.

The Shaker Rapid system is vast, with stops on major streets like Shaker Blvd, Van Aken, Lee, Chagrin. You can get almost anywhere in Shaker Heights on the Rapid and one of the biggest destinations has historically been Shaker Square. Shakersquare.net is a great site for information on what currently exists there as well as surrounding activities (like a farmers market, concerts,  Balaton’s Hungarian restaurant among others, and lots of service industries. Once again, so you can keep your car in the garage for occasional use.  There are plenty of rental apartment buildings located along the Rapid….some of them even have roof top gardens and patios off your living space, high ceilings, hardwood floors and yet modern amenities. How about homes for sale in Shaker?

There are currently 485 homes for sale, including multi-family homes.  I’ve picked out three as examples, with an emphasis on the Rapid line.

1. How about a modest two family home for $59,900 (not bank owned) in the 17400 block of Chagrin Blvd. It has two brs in each unit, up and down, a two car garage to store that car you won’t use much, and it’s near the Avalon Rapid stop. It’s brick, it has over 1,000 sq ft in each unit, and a two car garage for those cars you won’t use much.

2. How about another multi family, this one a gorgeous Tudor-style home on Winslow (gorgeous, tree-lined street), close to Shaker Square and one short block to the Lynnfield Rapid stop. This home is for sale for $189,900 and according to the description, has been totally updated inside.

3. Maybe you would prefer a single family? For around the same price as above, $189,900, you can get a Van Sweringen built (1956) 2,116 sq ft. colonial on a deep lot with four brs, two baths, a/c, close to Beachwood Place and the RTA stop on Laureldale.

People from other large cities considering a move here might be surprised to know about Shaker’s history and it’s transit oriented development status.  It truly is one of the first light rail systems in the United States, still taking care of commuter needs on a daily basis. Peace out – 3C

Links: for a cool pictorial history of The Shaker Rapid, James Toman’s A Shaker Rapid Album, which you can buy at Cleveland Landmark Press’ site.

The Shaker School District

City of Shaker Heights

I want a rain barrel, and if you do too, here is a way to kill two birds with one stone, although I don’t want any birds to die! The Shaker Lakes site features the beauty of the lakes and also talks about their rain barrel making workshops.

Shaker Library

The Shaker Rapid/RTA

The article talks about a few trends analysts are seeing nationwide: a standstill in expanding into the suburbs. Empty nesters and single people are making up a larger portion of the home buyer market.  Standard & Poor’s publishes the Case Schiller Home Price Indices and a gentleman named David Shiff who helps produce these results commented in this article.

“….

Stiff says home buyers’ attitudes have changed. The old rule was, “Drive ’til you qualify” — meaning they should go out from the city until they could get what they wanted at a price they could afford.

“….Stiff says buyers are now asking different questions: ‘What is the cost of gasoline? What is the cost of my time?’

Recent studies suggest that buyers underestimated the costs of their long commutes. Those expenses can add up to more than the buyers saved on the home. Developers also miscalculated, lured by cheap land and rising home prices. They overreached, ‘partly because the bubble collapsed, but partly because these developments were just bad ideas to begin with,’Stiff said.”

The studies covered cities with good transit systems (otherwise the results wouldn’t have made sense). The results: transit or TOD areas were holding their home values better than areas without viable transit systems. The areas studied were Maryland (Baltimore) DC, LA, San Fransisco, NYC, San Diego, Miami and Boston.

Two thoughts. Yes, transit improvements could help all of us keep value in our homes and the trend really seems to be to move closer to the city or in the city. Secondly, many people are not looking to move. It’s expensive, they like their homes and their communities even though they are in the suburbs, but, they have seen the hardship commuting can do to their lives.  Politicians call it quality of life issues. For these people, The Ohio Hub and improved Amtrak service would be a true life benefit.

Thanks to Andrew Bremer of All Aboard Ohio for sending me to NPR today. And here is another study from the NPR archives discussing commuting times for those of us in the United States. Apparently 25 minutes is the average commute. Peace Out – 3C

The Center for Transit Oriented Development is located in California – you know, where they began eating organically and eventually all other States followed suit? Is TOD an idea that our State, and specifically Cleveland, will embrace wholeheartedly? The Center for Transit Oriented Development did studies (which can be read here) and they are predicted that Cleveland will experience a 62% increase in the numbers of people living near public transportation — by the year 2030. 2030! We can’t wait that long! Anyway, I digress. W. 25th Street’s RTA station is already in the works for a housing development on a triangle of land near the Station and across the street from The Market. I’m anxious to see this unfold and play out. Will people really be rushing to purchase a home near the Station so they can give up their car? The recent studies claim that Clevelanders interviewed are anxious to cut one car out of their daily lives (most families have at least two). So we’ll see if there really has been a major paradigm shift in thinking. I’m excited, but I try not to get too excited since things progress so slowly here. Peace Out – 3C