Tag Archives: building

Little Italy strikes a balance between new developments and preserving its historic feel | Instant News

April 13, 2021 NewsDesk

CLEVELAND – A walk through Cleveland’s Little Italy in 2021 allows visitors to time travel through Cleveland’s history if they know where to look. That is why Little Italy Redevelopment Corporation is working on an updated environmental plan to better guide developers so that future projects in that environment reflect what the community wants.

The buildings that have defined Mayfield Road for a century still stand tall. The businesses and the people who live in them are some of the few things that have changed over the years.

The Cleveland Memory Project

This shot of Murray Hill Avenue at the intersection with Mayfield Road still has many of the same buildings in the exact same place.

“Incredible, that’s why I live here,” said Issac Reifler who works at Presti Bakery and has lived in Little Italy for six years.

If the buildings that make up the environment are the ingredients, then the final dish is the feeling pedestrians get when they walk the sidewalk.

The same intersection from a slightly different angle shows how little has changed in Little Italy in the last century.

In recent years, Little Italy has seen some new ingredients.

Forty apartments are called Mayfield Station Apartments built right next to the RTA station. 30 others follow the block immediately afterwards.

Currently, the former Washington Place Bistro is being converted into 12 new apartments with a large building standing directly behind it after a the fight dragged on through the Cleveland approval process.

The new development behind the Washington Place Bistro & Inn will bring new apartments to Little Italy.

“How do you balance the new and the old?” asked the Executive Director of Little Italy Redevelopment Corporation, Ray Kristosik.

New Ward Plan

The answer came from Little Italy Redevelopment Company Board Member Matt Wymer and RDL ArchitectsGreg Soltis.

“The plan is about preserving the environment,” said Soltis.

A revamped neighborhood plan is being developed with extensive input from community members, local businesses, and visitors as well as Little Italy. It costs $ 25,000 to put together, which Christosik says it covers Cleveland Foundation and American sons and daughters from Italy. You can take group surveys here.

The group plans to present a final document stating what residents would like to see in the city’s new developments in the next few months so that new projects can be implemented to that standard.

Wymer and Soltis talked through their environmental outreach to help determine what type of building should be used in Little Italy in the future.

“It is imperative for Little Italy Redevelopment Corporation to engage residents and stakeholders to develop a new plan to protect this historic district in Cleveland,” said Ward 6 Cleveland City Council Member Blaine Griffin, which represents Little Italy. “I have reviewed the plan and I am confident that the plan includes old voice, generation home owners and property owners. The updated plan also harnesses the energy of new residents and stakeholders who call Little Italy Home. “

“It’s a community and they need to have input about what’s going on here,” Wymer said.

Soltis, whose family has lived in Little Italy for generations, said the main challenge was outdated zoning codes across Cleveland. He said they were founded in the 1920s with the aim of separating living quarters from work when manufacturing was common and dirty.

The new apartment near Little Italy’s RTA station sparked frustration from residents who wanted more parking space for their relocating tenants.

A century later, its loud production and pollution are no longer a concern of CLE and the community is embracing mixed-use projects with retail on the ground floor and above the living area. But outdated code doesn’t allow for that.

“It sets the conditions under which the developer has to go ask multiple variants to build something suitable and then you open up this Pandora’s Box about what we can do, what we can’t do because it all depends on the variance,” Soltis said.

When everything is up for debate, the project can broaden the boundaries of what fits in the environment and what the community wants to see.

murray hills 1960; s.jpg — Murray Hill’s 1960s image looks pretty much the same now, except for the make and model of the car.

That’s what Christosic says is happening with the project under construction right now on the corner of Cornell Road and Murray Hill Road. The Little Italy Master Plan, which is not changed by the new environmental plan, calls for more congestion in certain parts of the environment.

“So they took that path to build what they wanted to build there and that was not the intention of the plan,” Kristosik said. “But it wasn’t spelled out and it led them in that direction.”

Form-based code

The way Little Italy tries to protect against similar problems in the future is by approaching “form-based code“Not a code based on the use of the building or project.

The new apartment on the left turns open land into new living spaces, leaving residents around them wondering when is too much congestion?

“It means that what you see … is what matters,” said Soltis. The experience on the sidewalk, the mix of uses, textures and the great things it creates [Little Italy] great place to take a walk. “

Another environment around Cleveland have started switching to form-based code too in an effort to revitalize the community.

“The mass and scale of the building and the street scene [form-based code] “It’s really charm and what creates the trait,” Wymer said.

Presti’s Bakery remains busy in Little Italy despite the COVID pandemic.

That process means cataloging the materials that have made Little Italy the way it is, such as single-family homes, duplexes, multi-purpose buildings, and live-work so that when developers come in the future, they have a better idea for it. Where to start.

“It will be like a guidebook,” said Soltis. “The expectation is much clearer so there’s no, ‘Oh, I have to get lots of variety to do anything because the environment is illegal according to code.’

Maintains “taste”

Soltis said he saw family members in some of the historic images the project drew for research since his grandparents and other family members lived and worked in the neighborhood decades ago. The goal is to ensure future new visitors can experience the streets that feel the same as when Soltis’ relatives walk.

Historical pictures show Joseph Carabelli’s Lake View Granite Work. Wymer said Little Italy was built largely by stone workers who came to the United States to help build the Lake View Cemetery monument.

“The environment is just layers and layers of all these different people’s experiences and you know there are echoes of everything that’s still in this place,” said Soltis. “The people who built the church, their fingerprints are on that building. The people who designed it, all the people who worshiped it from time to time. “

That doesn’t mean that no new buildings will be built. As a new developer eyeing a project in Little Italy, Redevelopment Corporation hopes to further specify suitable (building) materials.

“It tastes richer and fresher when you have more diversity of uses and diversity of people and the complexity that comes together makes a dish truly delicious,” says Soltis.

“In 20 years, if you look at Mayfield Road and it looks like you are shooting right now, then I think we have done our job,” Kristosik said.

You can take surveys to help groups gather information and data here.

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pakistan

The Supreme Court has prohibited the government from building buildings adjacent to the SHC | Instant News

April 10, 2021 NewsDesk

KARACHI: The Supreme Court has kept the Sindh government from creating third party interests or constructing any type of building or structure on two vacant lots until the issue of expanding the SHC building and parking spaces for lawyers and plaintiffs is resolved.

The interim order comes at the request of the Sindh High Court Bar Association for the expansion of the high court and the allocation of further space to park lawyers and plaintiffs’ vehicles.

The bench of three SC members, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, was informed that there were two empty plots on the left and right of the SHC building in Karachi and the Sindh government was planning to build a Sindh Secretariat block there.

The Court observed that the current SHC building in Karachi had become unable to accommodate the power of seated judges and saw an increase in the power of SHC judges in the future, there was no room for expansion within the building in Karachi; Instead, the expansion must be carried out on the available land, which is located on the right and left side of the building. The court observed that the parking problem for lawyers and claimants was also manageable.

The court observed that access to justice is a fundamental right of society and that right also includes the provisions of the court. The court observed that the Sindh government was bound under the Constitution to make provisions for the expansion of the SHC in Karachi and provide land for it.

The court observed that it was clear that the SHC in Karachi could not be moved from where it is now and that vacant land around it was the only option in which a new SHC building block in Karachi could be built and provision of vehicle parking for lawyers and plaintiffs to be created.

The Court observed that there appeared to be no choice but to retain the two parcels of land on the right and left of the SHC building for further expansion and in this case the Sindh government had to fulfill the constitutional mandate for this provision. The court, meanwhile, prohibited the Sindh government from creating third party interests or constructing any type of building or building on two parcels of land near the SHC building until the issue of expanding the SHC building in Karachi as well as parking lots for lawyers and plaintiffs was resolved.

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pakistan

The collapse of the building during the demolition left four people injured | Instant News

April 3, 2021 NewsDesk

KARACHI:

Four workers were injured when a three-story building collapsed nearby Sindh Qatar Government Hospital in Orangi City on Friday as anti-encroachment operations were underway in the area.

The affected buildings collapsed while an anti-encroachment team from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), led by KMC anti-encroachment director Bashir Siddiqui, was demolishing buildings along the Orangi nullah. As a result, four KMC workers were trapped under the rubble.

Three of the workers were arrested by rescue workers and police moments later. The fourth worker, however, remained trapped under the rubble for about three hours. Heavy equipment was used to save him.

The injured workers were identified as Khair Muhammad, 55, Khayal Muhammad, 50, Hazir Muhammad, 50, and Shoaib, 18. Among them, Shoaib suffered severe injuries to his legs and was said to be in critical condition at the time of filing this report. The local residents held KMC responsible for the incident.

Read: Demolition, protests and political strife in Karachi

“They [the KMC] had the wrong strategy for demolition drives and the situation would have been different had heavy equipment been used to knock down buildings, “said one resident.

Later, Siddiqui said while speaking to the media that all necessary medical care would be given to the injured.

The Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee meeting, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, was informed last month that 1,103 buildings had been identified for relocation along the Orangi nullah embankment in the West district, covering a length of six kilometers (km).

By then, soft encroachment along the nullah had been cleared and the demolition of other buildings was due to begin that month, the meeting was informed. In addition, during the meeting it was told that 193 buildings had been moved along the nullah in Keamari district, which was extended by more than 1.6 km.

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pakistan

SHC requests an SBCA report on SOP formulation prior to approval of building plans | Instant News

March 21, 2021 NewsDesk

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to submit a progress report on the formulation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure that certain requirements are met, including obtaining a certificate of no objection from the civil defense and fire departments, prior to development plans. whatever is approved.

Hearing the petition regarding the application of safety legislation under the Building Code of Pakistan, the SHC division chair led by Judge Mohammad Ali Mazhar asked the SBCA director general (DG) about the state of compliance with the court’s directive.

The director of SBCA environmental and building services said that the SBCA Directorate General had held a meeting with civil defense officials and also put in place some appropriate suggestions and suggestions to ensure that in every apartment, commercial and industrial building, there is a provision for fire exits. the door to deal with any emergency.

The firefighter informed the high court that he had also submitted a proposal to include fire safety before the approval letter was issued for the building.

The SHC directs SBCA to submit a final progress report related to the formulation of safety SOPs.

An adviser to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation submitted that 10 fire tenders had been repaired and 52 had been provided by the federal government. He said 26 fire tenders had been dedicated to 14 industrial zones in Karachi to meet urgent needs.

KMC lawyers noted that there was a shortage of manpower to operate all fire tenders and despite notification to the local agency, no action was taken to increase strength at the KMC fire department.

The high court ordered additional local government secretaries to appear before the court and submit comments regarding the shortage of firefighting staff at KMC.

The SHC also directed the Office of the Commissioner to submit a report relating to the appointment of a judge under the civil defense law in each district to identify any non-compliance with the law.

Representatives of the Office of the Commissioners said that the appointment of judges must be made on the recommendation of the head of the high court. The SHC directs the Office of the Commissioner to submit a progress report on whether the competent authorities have forwarded references to court clerks for the appointment of judges under civil defense law.

A legal officer notified SHC that the task force was conducting a vigilant inspection to ensure that fire safety measures were adopted by all commercial and industrial establishments. The high court directed the task force to continue their operations in the future, and postponed the trial until April 8.

SHC has previously been notified that three-level task forces at the divisional, district and sub-district levels have been formed to inspect high-rise buildings, factories and industries either on personal complaint or on its own motion to ensure that all fire safety measures are taken in place. such a place.

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Food & Drink

Food center rooted in the former Sears in Astoria | Local News | Instant News

March 9, 2021 NewsDesk

In the 1930’s, Mason’s grocery store, Ehrman & Co. built a distribution center in a concrete building between Marine Drive and what was at that time an active railroad line running along the banks of the Columbia River. The building later became a storage center and later became the Sears Hometown franchise until it closed a year ago.

Now proponents are building the roots of the Astoria Food Hub, the hub for producers and consumers they hope to open in the fall.

Jared Gardner, owner of the Nehalem River Farm and a central partner in the project, provided grass-fed beef for the Fort George Brewery burger, along with sliced pork. When the brewery ran out of meat, Gardner had to go to the cold storage he rented in Portland to get more.

“There is a lack of infrastructure on the North Coast, that’s what I’m trying to solve,” he said.

The hub will include retail space along Marine Drive for locally grown and made products, along with educational and commercial kitchens for local producers and people learning to eat local food. It will provide a cold and dry storage and distribution center along the Astoria Riverwalk for community supported farms.

“This is a centrally located site where many manufacturers can take their goods, store them, for distribution, own some retail,” said Gardner.

Recruiting

The food center recruits other producers and partners who support its mission of improving local food ecosystems to live in. One partner that is interested is the North Coast Food Web.

The owner of the Nehalem River Farm Jared Gardner is the main partner of the food center project.

Hailey Hoffman / The Astorian

Over the last decade, food webs have provided technical assistance to producers and education for consumers. It runs a weekly market selling local goods from about 30 different manufacturers.

Jessika Tantisook, executive director of the food web, said business had quadrupled during the coronavirus pandemic due to the demand for local food. The group’s board of directors is considering expansion to the Sears building.

“We know that we need to expand our current cold storage, dry storage, freezer storage,” he said. “… My idea as director, is that we work with other community organizations and businesses that are committed to our mission, and in general, import our local food systems.”

Jeff Graham joined Fort George as executive chef a few years ago with a mission to make the brewery’s menu more local. He picked up local chickens from Blackberry Bog Farms in Svensen and eventually hooked up with Gardner for grass-fed beef from Tillamook County.

“He drove it in his truck,” said Graham. “Once a week or twice a week – whenever I need it – we get delivery. It’s great to have this possibility to a place a few blocks away, where the food will be stored. “

Graham envisions taking beef and pork from Gardner and other producers and turning them into charcuterie and other value-added products just blocks from the brewery.

“I then found out where my product came from,” said Graham. “He raises the animal. I make pepperoni. And I’m gonna put pepperoni on this pizza. This kind of symbiotic relationship between producer and restaurant is very attractive to a chef. “

Warren Neth, who markets the food center, works for Slow Food Southwest Washington, a group that supports local farming on the north bank of the lower Columbia River.

“It’s always been pretty clear to me that Washington’s southwest coast is much more connected to Astoria than Vancouver, Longview, that kind of thing,” says Neth. “So it would be great if this food center served the producers on the north side of the river.”

Partners

Partners plan to acquire the Sears building for $ 780,000 by the end of the month from Rick Fried and Thea Dyal, who operate the Sears Hometown store. They raised $ 700,000 through Steward, a lender that specializes in projects for regenerative agriculture and food sustainability.

These loans allow individuals who support the food center to invest, spreading debt. Tre-Fin Day Boat Seafood, a hyperlocal catcher processor in Ilwaco, Washington, and other partners at the food center, are using the concept to raise money for a new production space. The food center has raised over $ 37,000 at astoriafoodhub.com to assist with purchasing.

Corey Omey, the project’s architect, described the planned decor for the food center as “contemporary reclamation,” using most of the existing Sears Hometown storefronts while bringing in raw wood, reclaimed features, more natural lighting and improved energy efficiency.

The partners plan to restore the Mason-Ehrman sign and mural painted by Jo Lumpkin Brown on the back of the building, designed by renowned local architect John Wicks and on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building includes an equally large basement, where the future phase envisages expanded dry and cold storage, a freight elevator and a ramp to get products to the loading docks on the Riverwalk. Mitra eventually wanted to start a restaurant overlooking Columbia and serving local food.

“This food warehouse has historically been perhaps the most important food storehouse in the entire region,” said Omey. “And this is a great place to start over… what has been done in the past, and to think about the future, so we bring back good, healthy local food in a meaningful way.”

Food Center Group — Many community partners were involved in the creation of the Astoria Food Center, which would connect local farmers and producers with North Coast consumers.

Hailey Hoffman / The Astorian

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