real estate planning for Cleveland in 2008 - or what are they thinking?

This news from NYC: Failed Deals Replace Boom in New York Real Estate [1]

and there's this news: Under Strain, Cities Are Cutting Back Projects
[2]

But, here is Cleveland, the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, plans to build a new Medmart/Convention Center seems to be full speed ahead.

Conventional Wisdom [3] The County Is About To Spend Hundreds Of Millions On Another Sure Thing. Just Don't Ask Any Questions. [3]

Ed Morrison posted about this story at BFD [4] and the comments are coming in... no comments at this time from Cleveland+, Samantha Fryberger, Amanda Marko (or Jonathan Murray who seems to always want to argue with Ed Morrison given ample chance)

The most recent comment on the MedMart blog is dated September 30, 2007 at 2:56 am [5]

Do we have more important things to do [6] with this sales tax increase we're spending? What was it my Mom used to say? "First do your homework, then you can go out and play." Mine must be a different kind of conservatism.

Meanwhile, The Cleveland Clinic plans its next major project [7]

Just looking at the parallels here... interesting times 

Elsewhere today, Obama is explaining (for the second day in a row) the details of the bailout plan to the folks he speaks with [8] and McCain is whining about Congress' failure and the media's questioning of his VP pick [9].