Forbes Includes Cleveland Real Estate on Their Affordability List

There was a very good article in Forbes this week. Matt Woolsey reports about the affordability of housing stock in certain areas of the Country; and more specifically, certain cities. His description of affordability makes sense. The short version is, the median price matches the medium income. He points out that even if you don't have any money saved this year, ....it would take just two years of gross salary to become a homeowner...."

That means two years of saving for a home, which is reasonable and matches what my mortgage 'peeps' tell me. He was referring to Indianapolis at the time, but here are the other cities he included on the list for affordable homes:

Cleveland, Ohio
Indianapolis, Indiana
Detroit, Michigan
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Atlanta, Georgia (this one surprises me, their salaries must be high enough to fit the criterion)
Greensboro, North Carolina
Cincinnati, Ohio
St. Louis, Missouri
Dallas, Texas
Austin, Texas

Our median income is somewhere around $57k -- according to the article. Does anyone have stats to back this up or corroborate? It sounds high to me. They list the median sales price of homes here as $122,900. That does sound about right. While it is not the best time to list a home for sale right now, it sure is a good time to buy one in the Cleveland area.

Forbes on line has a slide show that also includes the median home prices for each community, along with photos.

The more I think about it, I thought our median income was below $30k, otherwise how would we have been voted one of the poorest cities? Sometimes (!!!) when you read an article you just can't take it on face value, I know, you all already know that!

Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Neighborhood News:Food Finds! New York Style Pizza May Be Best Pizza on Cleveland's West Side

New York Style Pizza is my favorite West Side pizzeria. (I included the link even though their website is still under construction in the hopes it is up and running soon.) They used to be located at Lorain and W. 150th and it was a treat to indulge in their white pizza with eggplant topping. Now they are on Triskett at W. 150th -- how lucky am I to be on their delivery path now!

They offer a nice selection of toppings, they even advertise The Largest Pizza in Ohio (36" hand tossed). All their pizzas are baked in a stone oven. They make their own yummy dough and sauces. A few weeks ago, I ordered a Hawaiian pizza without ham. You could be saying to yourself, self, she is odd...or, you could try it, and have a wonderful juxtaposition of flavors on a meatless pizza: the sweetness of the cooked pineapple on a killer pizza with a to die for sauce. Yum!

Their menu is actually broader than pizza: killer chicken wings....salads, burgers, ribs, etc. The place is always spiffy clean; there are a few tables to dine-in if you choose. Or, just walk in and order and then sit and chat with the friendly staff or others waiting for their pizza.

I sat with rapt attention a few days ago as I listened to Peter explain to a newer employee what went into the making of a calzone; as he detailed the process I was hungrier than ever. Peter is of course one of the local heroes to me since he is the pizza maker! The crust and sauces are (as they say on the BBC), absolutely fabulous. Check them out! (In case you are wondering, Geraci's pizza is my favorite East Side pizza... you were wondering weren't you? lol) Peace Out - 3C

New York Style Pizza, 15233 Triskett Road, near the corner of Triskett and W. 150th. 216-941-2500

Cleveland Neighborhood News: Does Anyone Care What Residents Think?

Are you surprised that the new Giant Eagle proposed for W. 117th near Target is moving forward? I'm not. Because of course it still makes no sense to have a store where there are no residents when five or six groceries already exist IN neighborhoods. Anyway, you can read about it here. Grrrrr. Peace Out - 3C

Can We Keep City Buddha In Ohio City?

I was almost bereft walking to work yesterday. As I passed City Buddha, there was a 'store closing clearance' sale banner out front. I immediately went in to see what was going on....they are not closing the Cleveland Heights location -but I am hoping they don't have to leave Ohio City either!

Obviously I'm not privy to the financials.....maybe they need a new location that does not cost as much to rent per square foot of space.....in any event, Ohio City needs City Buddha! I have friends who don't even live near the place who frequent it on a regular basis...we all do, I'm sure! Are chain stores and restaurants the only ones who will be around in ten years? How do we keep the local, signature stores afloat? By spending money there please! Let's not let this happen at another local establishment, when you have the opportunity, please frequent a local shop.

Can you email Larry the owner (larry@citybuddha.com) and ask him to find another Ohio City location please! Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland News: Mayor Frank Jackson on The Cleveland Schools and the Medical Mart

In Cleveland news today, Mayor Jackson's comments on the Medical Mart and improving Cleveland's schools. His comments are covered in an article on Newsnet5's website. He explains why he feels the Med Mart will bring on a spin off in manufacturing jobs. Again, I don't think any of us were questioning the positives of a Med Mart, just how it was going to be funded. Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Transportation News: The Ohio Hub and The Nashville Connection

For now, the Ohio Hub plan promises to hook us up with high speed rail to places like Detroit and Columbus and Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Ohio is of course not the only state vying for Federal money for high speed train routes. I found this article interesting; it talks about the proposed Atlanta to Chattanooga rail route. They seem to be in the same holding pattern we are in Ohio: they have the money for the environmental study and then plan on being ready to apply for the Federal money when it becomes available.

What makes so much sense to me: once The Hub is in place, we can work on connecting the entire country with viable high speed train service. How can this not help our economy?

Here is another article, this one about light rail in Washington D.C. A Purple Line was proposed to add to DC's Metro system; one comment in the article is that it's harder to get monies for hard rail lines but light rail is easier......they are still not sure the Purple Line will move ahead. Read it for yourself...I plan on ferreting out all the articles I can find on a continual basis so we can see what others are doing in addition to our own progress on the Three C Corridor Plan.

I hate when this happens, but for some reason The Post article won't link here...they may be working on a new page location for it on their site. I'll check back in the morning and see if it has landed somewhere else on the site. Peace Out - 3C

Okay, here is an excerpt, in case the article enters the Bermuda Triangle:

"....The Federal Transit Administration, which helped sink plans for a tunnel through Tysons Corner and is demanding further cost accounting for the proposed Metro line through Dulles International Airport, will likewise dictate what any new transit line through suburban Maryland would look like and when -- or whether -- there will be money to build it.
"It's the driving force behind the planning process," Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said of the competition for federal money. "You can have the best conceived transit project in the world, and it's not going forward if it doesn't qualify for federal funding."
Toward that end, Porcari delayed consideration of the Purple Line for another year after deciding that the rider estimates were too crude to impress the federal officials in charge of doling out critical funding. Analysts are now recalculating ridership predictions using more sophisticated forecasting models.
Concerns about federal guidelines also led local officials to quickly rule out heavy rail -- the type of trains used on Metro -- in favor of slower, but far cheaper, light-rail trains or express buses. State officials have also rejected calls to run the line under the popular Capital Crescent Trail, saying it would be too expensive without saving travel time -- another effort to satisfy federal criteria.
The concessions show just how focused planners are on pleasing officials at the federal agency. ..." (written by Katherine Shaver and Amy Gardner of The Post)

Grand Opening of Planet Donuts Sweetens Up Westtown

I approached it with glee today, total glee! We have a new retail establishment in my neighborhood and to sweeten the pot, it's a donut/ice cream shop! Planet Donut and Ice Cream, at 119th and Lorain, opened for business on Thursday. The Grand Opening weekend is featuring a car show, live music and a much appreciated sun-filled sky.

The owners, Mike and Angie, decided on this location because, according to Angie, "they wanted to bring some life back to the neighborhood." Amen to that! Mike is from the neighborhood, Angie grew up in Parma. They are personable people and I say welcome to the neighborhood!
At one point this building was a used car lot; Angie and Mike said it was a temporary service more recently. The East side of the building is a spacious dining area with cable TV and wi-fi service. I can see myself frequenting it on my way to or from work.

Today I purchased some ice cream (which I sampled already: raspberry!). It's Hershey's ice cream, and they offer a nice selection.

The bakery was a surprise. Owner Mike says he has a bakery off premises. I brought home two different types of jelly roll: one chocolate and one 'regular' sprinkled with crushed pistachios. There were many other items to try but let's face it, I have to fit into my clothes. So the bottom line is, it's a bakery too! They offer shakes, banana splits (!!), cappuccino, cakes, bagels, etc.

We chatted about the fact that the Variety Theatre will eventually be reopened and that will also bring life (and customers for them) to the neighborhood. This is a great start.

I'm posting this early enough so that you still have time to visit this afternoon, check out the antique cars at the car show, take in a little music, and meet Owners Mike and Angie on Grand Opening Weekend. Peace Out - 3C