Here's a little bit of news from my hometown area......


World's first sports-oriented resort community slated for Lake County

Hemisphere Corp. President Todd Davis announced Friday the Lakeview Bluffs development project should open to the public in spring 2008.
Davis told the Lake County Development Council that Lakeview Bluffs will be the world's first sports-oriented resort community.
Parts of the community will be in three municipalities: Fairport Harbor Village, Painesville city and Painesville Township.
It will be adjacent to Lake Erie, with the Grand River running through it.
Davis describes Bluffs as a "comprehensive, multiphased, high-impact redevelopment project."
"We want this to be the national model for successful brownfield redevelopment," he said.
The community will be built on 1,100 acres of underutilized, vacant land, Davis said.
Bluffs will have about 2,300 residential units, with a mix of single-family homes, condominiums, apartments, permanent residences and time shares, Davis said.
"We're trying to plan for a very broad market," Davis said.
"We are not trying to make this an exclusive resort that no one can afford."
Beachwood-based Hemisphere Corp. has enlisted IMG Worldwide Inc. as a partner for the Lakeview Bluffs development.
IMG is a leader in sports management, Davis said. Lakeview Bluffs will emulate the IMG Academies training facility in Bradenton, Fla., which has been a training site for famous athletes such as Andre Agassi, Michelle Wie and Kevin Garnett, Davis said.
"The concept is to bring that level of training," Davis said. "We want to build a community around that concept of health and wellness."
Lakeview Bluffs will be a tourist attraction and should host about 16 events a year, Davis said. These will include golf tournaments, tennis exhibits, performing arts, chef presentations and a speakers forum.
The community will contain a resort village, luxury hotel, corporate conference area, and a private beach and marina, Davis said.
The 1,100 acres used to be part of the Diamond Shamrock industrial complex. The Ohio Controlling Board will provide $3 million to help with the cleanup of the complex.
The project has been discussed since 2001, Davis
said.
It has not received any federal aid to date, but was awarded a $6 million grant from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund and a $1.1 million grant from the Lake County commissioners.
Davis declined to state the total cost of the project.
The project will undoubtedly bring growth to the three communities it will become a part of, officials say.
"It's a wonderful thing," Painesville Township Trustee Angelo A. Cicconetti said. "It's valuable land, and it's right on Lake Erie.
"There isn't much land left on Lake Erie. It's going to be like a gold coast."



It all sounds great until you realize where they are building it.......could be the next Love Canal in the making!