Sustainability + Environment
The Hildebrandt Artist Collective is set to open studio and gallery space in the historic Hildebrandt building, a gigantic warehouse located on Walton Avenue on Cleveland's near west side, sometime next month.
The group joins existing tenants Rust Belt Welding, Soulcraft Woodshop and Wake Robin Fermented Foods in the sprawling complex, which was built a century ago as a meat packing company but has evolved into a hub for local food and art.
Fiber artist Katie Simmons says that she launched the space with about 10 other artists to provide affordable, collaborative workspace for young, emerging artists.
"A lot of these artists have just graduated from college, and they don't have a lot of extra funds, yet being an artist is difficult if you don't have space," she says. "By having a shared space, everybody brings something to the table and we can collaborate with one another, and yet we each have our own space, too."
The group also plans to open a gallery called The Lunchroom, and the entire building will be open for a First Friday art walk beginning in December.
"The building is always evolving," says Simmons, who also works at Great Lakes Brewing Company. "There are more artists moving in here."
Source: Katie Simmons
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The group joins existing tenants Rust Belt Welding, Soulcraft Woodshop and Wake Robin Fermented Foods in the sprawling complex, which was built a century ago as a meat packing company but has evolved into a hub for local food and art.
Fiber artist Katie Simmons says that she launched the space with about 10 other artists to provide affordable, collaborative workspace for young, emerging artists.
"A lot of these artists have just graduated from college, and they don't have a lot of extra funds, yet being an artist is difficult if you don't have space," she says. "By having a shared space, everybody brings something to the table and we can collaborate with one another, and yet we each have our own space, too."
The group also plans to open a gallery called The Lunchroom, and the entire building will be open for a First Friday art walk beginning in December.
"The building is always evolving," says Simmons, who also works at Great Lakes Brewing Company. "There are more artists moving in here."
Source: Katie Simmons
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Cleveland's economic leaders have worked hard to parade the city as a hub for innovation. A chance to further show off Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurial acumen is a driving force behind Shaker Heights accelerator LaunchHouse's sponsorship of Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week (Cleveland EW), an upcoming four-day celebration of business success.
The event, scheduled for November 4-8, was created to give entrepreneurs and investors the knowledge and resources to grow the Northeast Ohio business community, says LaunchHouse co-founder Todd Goldstein.
LaunchHouse will kick off Cleveland EW at its Shaker Heights headquarters by presenting the 11 technology startups participating in its Accelerator Program. The rest of the week will feature speakers and other events that give entrepreneurs from all over the country an opportunity to connect with potential financial backers as well as fellow businesspeople.
"We're giving them exposure to people they normally wouldn't meet," says Goldstein. "Meeting the right person can help turn a small business into a large business."
LaunchHouse pushing for the entrepreneurship event aligns with its mission of local job creation through seed capital, education and innovation, notes Goldstein. With Cleveland striving to be on the forefront of the new economy, an event like Cleveland EW can put the area in a positive national spotlight.
"We've worked to change how Northeast Ohio is viewed in terms of entrepreneurship," Goldstein says. "This [event] is about showcasing the region as a place of innovation and capital formation."
SOURCE: Todd Goldstein
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The event, scheduled for November 4-8, was created to give entrepreneurs and investors the knowledge and resources to grow the Northeast Ohio business community, says LaunchHouse co-founder Todd Goldstein.
LaunchHouse will kick off Cleveland EW at its Shaker Heights headquarters by presenting the 11 technology startups participating in its Accelerator Program. The rest of the week will feature speakers and other events that give entrepreneurs from all over the country an opportunity to connect with potential financial backers as well as fellow businesspeople.
"We're giving them exposure to people they normally wouldn't meet," says Goldstein. "Meeting the right person can help turn a small business into a large business."
LaunchHouse pushing for the entrepreneurship event aligns with its mission of local job creation through seed capital, education and innovation, notes Goldstein. With Cleveland striving to be on the forefront of the new economy, an event like Cleveland EW can put the area in a positive national spotlight.
"We've worked to change how Northeast Ohio is viewed in terms of entrepreneurship," Goldstein says. "This [event] is about showcasing the region as a place of innovation and capital formation."
SOURCE: Todd Goldstein
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
The entrepreneurs behind Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt, who opened their first location in the old Grog Shop space on Coventry Road less than a year ago, will open their second location in Ohio City this fall.
Adrian and Cosmin Bota, Romanian-born brothers who grew up in Parma, have also signed a letter of intent on a retail space at West 117th and Clifton.
The Ohio City location is a slender, 1,100-square-foot storefront that's sandwiched between Crop and Bonbon Cafe in the 2500 block of Lorain Avenue. Adrian Bota says the location, which will offer the same organic, locally-sourced frozen yogurt that's available in the Coventry store, is perfect for the urban-oriented company.
"Our whole focus was not to be in the suburbs, and to focus on urban areas we’re both interested in and want to promote," says Bota. "We were looking for areas in Cleveland that had same vibe [as Coventry Village] and that we could be a part of. Ohio City was our top choice for expansion. It's a great place because people are moving back and they're really interested in reviving that neighborhood."
Bota says the new store will feature unique, creative design with an urban flair. Ariel and Otelia Vergez of design firm Vergez Inc. helped design the interior, which will feature refinished plywood design accents, tables made from reclaimed wood, and a lounge area that might feature a porch swing (the Botas haven't made up their minds yet). Local architect John Williams developed the interior plans.
Bota says the Coventry location has been successful enough that they were able to use some of their profits to launch additional stores. Construction is underway on a third location next to Melt in the Short North district of Columbus. He is talking with representatives of Downtown Cleveland Alliance about a downtown shop.
The Bota brothers, who worked at the West Side Market as teenagers, intend to source as many ingredients as possible from the market and other local vendors.
Source: Adrian Bota
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Adrian and Cosmin Bota, Romanian-born brothers who grew up in Parma, have also signed a letter of intent on a retail space at West 117th and Clifton.
The Ohio City location is a slender, 1,100-square-foot storefront that's sandwiched between Crop and Bonbon Cafe in the 2500 block of Lorain Avenue. Adrian Bota says the location, which will offer the same organic, locally-sourced frozen yogurt that's available in the Coventry store, is perfect for the urban-oriented company.
"Our whole focus was not to be in the suburbs, and to focus on urban areas we’re both interested in and want to promote," says Bota. "We were looking for areas in Cleveland that had same vibe [as Coventry Village] and that we could be a part of. Ohio City was our top choice for expansion. It's a great place because people are moving back and they're really interested in reviving that neighborhood."
Bota says the new store will feature unique, creative design with an urban flair. Ariel and Otelia Vergez of design firm Vergez Inc. helped design the interior, which will feature refinished plywood design accents, tables made from reclaimed wood, and a lounge area that might feature a porch swing (the Botas haven't made up their minds yet). Local architect John Williams developed the interior plans.
Bota says the Coventry location has been successful enough that they were able to use some of their profits to launch additional stores. Construction is underway on a third location next to Melt in the Short North district of Columbus. He is talking with representatives of Downtown Cleveland Alliance about a downtown shop.
The Bota brothers, who worked at the West Side Market as teenagers, intend to source as many ingredients as possible from the market and other local vendors.
Source: Adrian Bota
Writer: Lee Chilcote
ny times gives ink to new rust belt mag 'belt'
In a New York Times Arts Beat post titled “New Magazine Celebrates ‘Rust Belt Chic,’ With a Wink,” writer Jennifer Schuessler details her conversation with Belt magazine editor Anne Trubek about a new publication dedicated to fostering a new journalistic beat in Cleveland.
"The decaying cities of the post-industrial Midwest can sometimes seem like a museum of things America used to make: cars, refrigerators, steel, televisions. But if a start-up in Cleveland gets its way, the region may help rebuild the market for another endangered product -- long-form magazine journalism," Schuessler writes.
The magazine offers up a collection of essays and reporting that seeks to explore the regional identity that is known as the Rust Belt.
“I cringe at words like ‘authentic,’” Trubek says in the article. “But the rust belt aesthetic isn’t about the ephemeral global economy, it’s about boots on the ground and things hidden in grandma’s attic. We want to explore that.”
Check out the full interview here.
"The decaying cities of the post-industrial Midwest can sometimes seem like a museum of things America used to make: cars, refrigerators, steel, televisions. But if a start-up in Cleveland gets its way, the region may help rebuild the market for another endangered product -- long-form magazine journalism," Schuessler writes.
The magazine offers up a collection of essays and reporting that seeks to explore the regional identity that is known as the Rust Belt.
“I cringe at words like ‘authentic,’” Trubek says in the article. “But the rust belt aesthetic isn’t about the ephemeral global economy, it’s about boots on the ground and things hidden in grandma’s attic. We want to explore that.”
Check out the full interview here.
Core and shell renovations of the 150,000-square-foot Victory Center, a $26 million project located along the Health-Tech Corridor, are almost complete. Tenant build-outs will follow, and although none have signed leases yet, developer Scott Garson says that will change as his team finishes the common spaces and shows the property to more prospective tenants.
"Everybody thinks it's wonderful, great… The trick is getting the first one in," he says. "I have enough letters of intent out there that I'm confident it's only a matter of time."
Garson says the demand is there for flexible, ready-to-grow office space geared towards biomedical, research and technology companies, which is why he decided to undertake the project. He points out that nearby buildings owned by Geis Companies and Cumberland Development are almost completely full.
So far, Garson has completed the project without a bank loan, using partner equity and a $720,000 loan from the city, $2.5 million in tax increment financing, federal and state historic tax credits, and a $1 million State of Ohio job ready sites grant. Garson expects to secure bank financing in the near future for tenant build-outs.
The building's unique features include a new interior with a historic waffle slab ceiling, window wells that allow plenty of natural light, copious backup power, fiber-optic connectivity, and the right mechanicals in place for laboratory space. The building will be certified LEED Silver, saving tenants 20 percent on utility costs. Finally, it has views of downtown, free parking and HealthLine access.
"We went through a recycling program with the materials and our landscaping uses stormwater management strategies," says Michael Augoustidis of Domukur Architects, the firm that designed the project. "It's very energy-efficient."
Although he's not ready to declare victory yet, Gardon says the historic building, which was built in 1917 as the Arts Center, is nearing the goal line and ready to score.
Source: Scott Garson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"Everybody thinks it's wonderful, great… The trick is getting the first one in," he says. "I have enough letters of intent out there that I'm confident it's only a matter of time."
Garson says the demand is there for flexible, ready-to-grow office space geared towards biomedical, research and technology companies, which is why he decided to undertake the project. He points out that nearby buildings owned by Geis Companies and Cumberland Development are almost completely full.
So far, Garson has completed the project without a bank loan, using partner equity and a $720,000 loan from the city, $2.5 million in tax increment financing, federal and state historic tax credits, and a $1 million State of Ohio job ready sites grant. Garson expects to secure bank financing in the near future for tenant build-outs.
The building's unique features include a new interior with a historic waffle slab ceiling, window wells that allow plenty of natural light, copious backup power, fiber-optic connectivity, and the right mechanicals in place for laboratory space. The building will be certified LEED Silver, saving tenants 20 percent on utility costs. Finally, it has views of downtown, free parking and HealthLine access.
"We went through a recycling program with the materials and our landscaping uses stormwater management strategies," says Michael Augoustidis of Domukur Architects, the firm that designed the project. "It's very energy-efficient."
Although he's not ready to declare victory yet, Gardon says the historic building, which was built in 1917 as the Arts Center, is nearing the goal line and ready to score.
Source: Scott Garson
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Cleveland, like most American cities, has had its challenges regarding segregation. But emerging patterns of desegregation can significantly advance our city's position as a center of innovation. This represents a key opportunity to reconstitute a new American neighborhood model by harnessing the potential of diversification.
rta healthline praised for cost/benefit ratio in forbes
In a Forbes feature titled “Bus Rapid Transit Spurs Development Better Than Light Rail or Streetcars: Study,” contributor Jeff McMahon writes of an upcoming report by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy that explores the cost/benefit ratio of various types of urban transportation.
“For example, Cleveland’s Healthline, a BRT project completed on Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue in 2008, has generated $5.8 billion in development -- $114 for each transit dollar invested. Portland’s Blue Line, a light rail project completed in 1986, generated $3.74 per dollar invested.”
The report goes on to discuss the many variables going into the study and its relation to the urban environment.
Read the full piece here.
“For example, Cleveland’s Healthline, a BRT project completed on Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue in 2008, has generated $5.8 billion in development -- $114 for each transit dollar invested. Portland’s Blue Line, a light rail project completed in 1986, generated $3.74 per dollar invested.”
The report goes on to discuss the many variables going into the study and its relation to the urban environment.
Read the full piece here.
Kelli Hanley Potts has lived in Denver and Albuquerque, where she got involved in the slow food movement, replaced her front lawn with a vegetable garden, and worked for some of those cities' top chefs. When she got the urge to move back home to Cleveland, she knew she wanted to do something food-related.
That's when she stumbled upon a business idea. Despite the rise of the local food movement, most people had no idea how to cook kale, make jam or preserve food. She asked 18 female friends if they knew how to make a pie from scratch, and only two said yes.
Additionally, many people in the local farming movement have trouble explaining and marketing their products to customers, who are largely unfamiliar with them, she explains.
There are no cooking schools in Cleveland that did what she wanted to do -- connect people back to the land and back to their grandmothers' kitchens by teaching them the age-old skills of home economics -- so she decided to create one.
"I didn't want to watch a chef in front of me and drink wine," says Hanley Potts. "I wanted to learn something. I wanted to reconnect people to the lineage of the table, help them build their own table culture."
She recently launched the Agrarian Collective, an earth-to-table lifestyle school. Her mobile cooking school is offering classes this fall that cover topics like roasting your own coffee, fermented and cultured foods, and discovering local apples, among others. She'll be teaching students how to make the perfect pesto at this weekend's Cleveland Flea.
She was aided by a $5,000 low-interest loan from Bad Girl Ventures, which enabled her to purchase supplies and begin reaching out to chefs and farmers as partners.
"This is like home ec, but not quite as official and nerdy," she says. "It's about reconnecting people. All these things we once learned and were taught, they're missing. We're teaching people the 'how' of home."
Source: Kelli Hanley Potts
Writer: Lee Chilcote
That's when she stumbled upon a business idea. Despite the rise of the local food movement, most people had no idea how to cook kale, make jam or preserve food. She asked 18 female friends if they knew how to make a pie from scratch, and only two said yes.
Additionally, many people in the local farming movement have trouble explaining and marketing their products to customers, who are largely unfamiliar with them, she explains.
There are no cooking schools in Cleveland that did what she wanted to do -- connect people back to the land and back to their grandmothers' kitchens by teaching them the age-old skills of home economics -- so she decided to create one.
"I didn't want to watch a chef in front of me and drink wine," says Hanley Potts. "I wanted to learn something. I wanted to reconnect people to the lineage of the table, help them build their own table culture."
She recently launched the Agrarian Collective, an earth-to-table lifestyle school. Her mobile cooking school is offering classes this fall that cover topics like roasting your own coffee, fermented and cultured foods, and discovering local apples, among others. She'll be teaching students how to make the perfect pesto at this weekend's Cleveland Flea.
She was aided by a $5,000 low-interest loan from Bad Girl Ventures, which enabled her to purchase supplies and begin reaching out to chefs and farmers as partners.
"This is like home ec, but not quite as official and nerdy," she says. "It's about reconnecting people. All these things we once learned and were taught, they're missing. We're teaching people the 'how' of home."
Source: Kelli Hanley Potts
Writer: Lee Chilcote
As millenials, empty nesters and other demographic groups flock to downtowns across Ohio, business improvement districts -- or BIDs -- are playing an important role in ensuring that these areas are clean and safe and that residents, office workers and property owners have the amenities they need to thrive.
A business improvement district is a defined area in which property owners pay an additional tax in order to fund projects and services that enhance the area. Downtown Cleveland has a BID, and the organization provides basic "clean and safe" services, organizes events and markets downtown to prospective residents, visitors and businesses.
This week, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, which manages the downtown BID, organized the first all-Ohio BID conference, bringing together BID leaders from across the state to network and learn about issues they share in common.
"It came from the idea that there's not a unifying organization or conference for BIDs," says Anna Beyerle with DCA. "We can learn a lot from other BIDs across Ohio. The idea was to get in the same room and throw out ideas and best practices."
Topics included food truck legislation, downtown transportation, farmers markets, placemaking, and office and retail recruitment strategies.
Participants also enjoyed several tours of downtown Cleveland and the surrounding area and had a chance to learn from Cleveland's redevelopment.
Beyerle says the conference will help BIDs, such as the one in downtown Cleveland, to become more effective. "We're up for renewal in a couple years, and we're looking at how we can improve."
Source: Anna Beyerle
Writer: Lee Chilcote
A business improvement district is a defined area in which property owners pay an additional tax in order to fund projects and services that enhance the area. Downtown Cleveland has a BID, and the organization provides basic "clean and safe" services, organizes events and markets downtown to prospective residents, visitors and businesses.
This week, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, which manages the downtown BID, organized the first all-Ohio BID conference, bringing together BID leaders from across the state to network and learn about issues they share in common.
"It came from the idea that there's not a unifying organization or conference for BIDs," says Anna Beyerle with DCA. "We can learn a lot from other BIDs across Ohio. The idea was to get in the same room and throw out ideas and best practices."
Topics included food truck legislation, downtown transportation, farmers markets, placemaking, and office and retail recruitment strategies.
Participants also enjoyed several tours of downtown Cleveland and the surrounding area and had a chance to learn from Cleveland's redevelopment.
Beyerle says the conference will help BIDs, such as the one in downtown Cleveland, to become more effective. "We're up for renewal in a couple years, and we're looking at how we can improve."
Source: Anna Beyerle
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Are you sustainable, Cleveland? That's the question environmentally conscious city officials are asking heading into the fifth annual Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit. The initiative to build "a green city on a blue lake" is at the halfway mark, and Cleveland's new chief of sustainability believes Northeast Ohio is meeting the metrics set out a half decade ago.
There are very few properties in Cleveland where a resident can don a pair sandals and stroll straight to the beach from one's front door. But when it comes online next summer, the Shoreway Building will join that small and privileged group.
The building at 1260 W. 76th Street, once home to the Globe Machine and Stamping Company, has been used for years as a storage facility by the Catan family (of Pat Catan's Craft Centers).
With the reopening of the pedestrian tunnel at W. 76th Street -- a few feet from the building -- the Catans recognized that it was time to reenergize the building as a hub for city living.
Using a combination of state and federal historic tax credits and other financing sources, the Catans are renovating the empty building into 45 market-rate loft apartments with indoor and outdoor parking, huge windows and a common roof deck boasting matchless lake and downtown views.
The building also will feature an indoor fitness center and a small street-level retail space that could become home to a future cafe.
"These are true loft-style units," says Michael Augoustidis, an architect with Domokur Architects who helped design the project. "They have exposed brick walls, really big industrial-style windows, exposed concrete ceilings and concrete floors."
Augoustidis says the level of quality will set the building apart. All units will have gourmet kitchens featuring Corian countertops, hardwood cabinets, and boast an "urban feel."
There isn't a bad view in the building. The structure's orientation allows for stunning treetop views looking out over Edgewater Park and Lake Erie, or dramatic urban views looking out over the lake, Battery Park and downtown. You choose.
Units will be between 900 and 1,400 square feet and will lease for $1,000-1,900 per month.
Augoustidis says that units will be ready starting in May or June of next year, and that some of the old wood plank floors will be upcycled into common area design elements.
Source: Michael Augoustidis
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The building at 1260 W. 76th Street, once home to the Globe Machine and Stamping Company, has been used for years as a storage facility by the Catan family (of Pat Catan's Craft Centers).
With the reopening of the pedestrian tunnel at W. 76th Street -- a few feet from the building -- the Catans recognized that it was time to reenergize the building as a hub for city living.
Using a combination of state and federal historic tax credits and other financing sources, the Catans are renovating the empty building into 45 market-rate loft apartments with indoor and outdoor parking, huge windows and a common roof deck boasting matchless lake and downtown views.
The building also will feature an indoor fitness center and a small street-level retail space that could become home to a future cafe.
"These are true loft-style units," says Michael Augoustidis, an architect with Domokur Architects who helped design the project. "They have exposed brick walls, really big industrial-style windows, exposed concrete ceilings and concrete floors."
Augoustidis says the level of quality will set the building apart. All units will have gourmet kitchens featuring Corian countertops, hardwood cabinets, and boast an "urban feel."
There isn't a bad view in the building. The structure's orientation allows for stunning treetop views looking out over Edgewater Park and Lake Erie, or dramatic urban views looking out over the lake, Battery Park and downtown. You choose.
Units will be between 900 and 1,400 square feet and will lease for $1,000-1,900 per month.
Augoustidis says that units will be ready starting in May or June of next year, and that some of the old wood plank floors will be upcycled into common area design elements.
Source: Michael Augoustidis
Writer: Lee Chilcote
the atlantic praises new online rust-centric magazine
In The Atlantic, a story titled “A New Magazine Takes on Old Rust Belt Stereotypes” and written by Bonnie Tsui shares information on a new Cleveland-focused “Rust Belt Chic” online magazine titled Belt.
"Rust Belt Chic is a movement," the piece begins. "That’s according to a new online magazine out of Cleveland, Belt, that aims to address the highly specific and often superficial attention paid to a wide swath of deindustrialized America."
In a meaty interview, editor Anne Trubek says the publication will focus on what they can do consistently well: intensely and well-edited long-form journalism, commentary, and first-person essays.
“Our first issue is queued up and ready to go, and it’s fantastic," she explains. "We have a deep dive on the Anisfield-Wolf Awards, a 78-year-old Cleveland-based book award for works that address issues of racism, which has an incredibly high caliber of past and present awardees and famous jurors but an oddly low profile in town and the nation. And we have a hilarious essay, 'S&M in the CLE' by novelist Alissa Nutting, whose book Tampa has been the talk of the literary world this summer.”
Check out the full piece here.
"Rust Belt Chic is a movement," the piece begins. "That’s according to a new online magazine out of Cleveland, Belt, that aims to address the highly specific and often superficial attention paid to a wide swath of deindustrialized America."
In a meaty interview, editor Anne Trubek says the publication will focus on what they can do consistently well: intensely and well-edited long-form journalism, commentary, and first-person essays.
“Our first issue is queued up and ready to go, and it’s fantastic," she explains. "We have a deep dive on the Anisfield-Wolf Awards, a 78-year-old Cleveland-based book award for works that address issues of racism, which has an incredibly high caliber of past and present awardees and famous jurors but an oddly low profile in town and the nation. And we have a hilarious essay, 'S&M in the CLE' by novelist Alissa Nutting, whose book Tampa has been the talk of the literary world this summer.”
Check out the full piece here.
As the nation's first freshwater offshore wind project cranks up off the coast of Cleveland, thousands of people are pledging to pay a little more for a power source that supporters say will improve the environment, create local jobs and advance the nation's energy security.
The historic Colonial and Euclid Arcades in downtown Cleveland suffered from 40 percent vacancy last year, yet this year they added a slew of new shops and have gone from half-empty to nearly completely full.
Renamed the 5th Street Arcades, the once-moribund properties have been turned around by Dick Pace of Cumberland Development, who has breathed new life into the spaces by luring entrepreneurial tenants with fresh concepts and excitement about downtown.
"Step by step, we're getting there," says Pace, who has focused on locally themed retail that serves downtown residents and office workers. "Each month, there's something new going on. Our tenants cross-market and help each other."
Last year, a retail grant competition netted Soulcraft Furniture Gallery, which opened earlier this year, and Pour Cleveland, which will open by November 1st.
Several of the businesses in the 5th Street Arcades will soon add outdoor seating, including Pour, Sushi 86 and a yet unnamed food tenant that Pace is working with.
Additional businesses that will open this fall include Herron Starr Apparel (a shoe store), The Tea Lab (a tea shop run by Bob Holcepl of City Roast), The Olive and the Grape, and a take-out vendor called C'mon Let's Eat (CLE).
Finally, Sushi 86 is expanding to create space for banquets and cooking classes, and Alphonso's, a men's and women's accessories shop, will open later this year.
"Tenants are drawn here because this is becoming known as a retail area, an area for shopping," Pace says. "That says a lot about downtown and what's happening."
Source: Dick Pace
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Renamed the 5th Street Arcades, the once-moribund properties have been turned around by Dick Pace of Cumberland Development, who has breathed new life into the spaces by luring entrepreneurial tenants with fresh concepts and excitement about downtown.
"Step by step, we're getting there," says Pace, who has focused on locally themed retail that serves downtown residents and office workers. "Each month, there's something new going on. Our tenants cross-market and help each other."
Last year, a retail grant competition netted Soulcraft Furniture Gallery, which opened earlier this year, and Pour Cleveland, which will open by November 1st.
Several of the businesses in the 5th Street Arcades will soon add outdoor seating, including Pour, Sushi 86 and a yet unnamed food tenant that Pace is working with.
Additional businesses that will open this fall include Herron Starr Apparel (a shoe store), The Tea Lab (a tea shop run by Bob Holcepl of City Roast), The Olive and the Grape, and a take-out vendor called C'mon Let's Eat (CLE).
Finally, Sushi 86 is expanding to create space for banquets and cooking classes, and Alphonso's, a men's and women's accessories shop, will open later this year.
"Tenants are drawn here because this is becoming known as a retail area, an area for shopping," Pace says. "That says a lot about downtown and what's happening."
Source: Dick Pace
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The founder of the successful Cleveland Flea will soon move her growing business, The Indie Foundry, into a historic mansion on St. Clair Avenue. The location will function as a co-working and classroom space aimed at helping small creative businesses to grow and flourish. It joins a growing list of new startups on that street.
"This is the business development side of a business incubator, a place where you meet other creatives," says Stephanie Sheldon. "You’re making things in the kitchen, crafting things or making stuff in the woodshop -- but when it’s time to work on your business, where do you do that? 'Hey, have you found great insurance agent? Who do you use for bookkeeping? How do you deal with a growing company?' These are the kinds of questions that the Indie Foundry is dedicated to."
The stone mansion, located behind the Slovenian National Home, is a bit of a "time capsule" that has beautiful hardwood floors, natural woodwork and two ballrooms.
Sheldon says the Indie Foundry will offer desk space and wi-fi for freelancers and creative entrepreneurs as well as classes, workshops and a slew of pop-up events.
Examples include a lecture series from Bad Girl Ventures and workshops hosted by Soulcraft, the Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen, and Craft Connection.
Sheldon will also work closely with the Slovenian National Home to help improve their operations over the next year, including making the home's courtyard a signature outdoor space for events, pop-up dinners and other activities.
Source: Stephanie Sheldon
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"This is the business development side of a business incubator, a place where you meet other creatives," says Stephanie Sheldon. "You’re making things in the kitchen, crafting things or making stuff in the woodshop -- but when it’s time to work on your business, where do you do that? 'Hey, have you found great insurance agent? Who do you use for bookkeeping? How do you deal with a growing company?' These are the kinds of questions that the Indie Foundry is dedicated to."
The stone mansion, located behind the Slovenian National Home, is a bit of a "time capsule" that has beautiful hardwood floors, natural woodwork and two ballrooms.
Sheldon says the Indie Foundry will offer desk space and wi-fi for freelancers and creative entrepreneurs as well as classes, workshops and a slew of pop-up events.
Examples include a lecture series from Bad Girl Ventures and workshops hosted by Soulcraft, the Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen, and Craft Connection.
Sheldon will also work closely with the Slovenian National Home to help improve their operations over the next year, including making the home's courtyard a signature outdoor space for events, pop-up dinners and other activities.
Source: Stephanie Sheldon
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Next week, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) celebrates the grand opening of its new headquarters in a former textile manufacturing shop at E. 45th Street and Superior Avenue. The redeveloped office not only makes LMM more efficient, sustainable and accessible, it also contains a 2,400-square-foot central kitchen and 6,000-square-foot metal shop that allows the group to advance its social enterprise branch.
Michael Sering, Vice President at LMM, says that the organization is able to churn out hundreds of bike racks a year using the new metal shop. Recently, LMM inked a contract with the Cleveland Clinic to build and install an additional 136 racks. LMM employs individuals from 2100 Lakeside, a men's shelter, to make the racks.
The new, spacious central kitchen will allow LMM to continue its work to employ individuals reentering society after time in prison. LMM already prepares about 1,500 meals per day for area homeless shelters and other social service facilities.
LMM is preparing to break ground on a new community garden adjacent to 2100 Lakeside. Sering hopes to build a custom fence for the garden in the metal shop.
LMM's new administrative headquarters are named after Richard Sering, Michael Sering's father and LMM's former director. Richard Sering died of cancer 10 years ago.
Source: Michael Sering
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Michael Sering, Vice President at LMM, says that the organization is able to churn out hundreds of bike racks a year using the new metal shop. Recently, LMM inked a contract with the Cleveland Clinic to build and install an additional 136 racks. LMM employs individuals from 2100 Lakeside, a men's shelter, to make the racks.
The new, spacious central kitchen will allow LMM to continue its work to employ individuals reentering society after time in prison. LMM already prepares about 1,500 meals per day for area homeless shelters and other social service facilities.
LMM is preparing to break ground on a new community garden adjacent to 2100 Lakeside. Sering hopes to build a custom fence for the garden in the metal shop.
LMM's new administrative headquarters are named after Richard Sering, Michael Sering's father and LMM's former director. Richard Sering died of cancer 10 years ago.
Source: Michael Sering
Writer: Lee Chilcote
detroit transit draws more inspiration from rta health line
In a Detroit Free Press story titled “Metromode: From freeway to busway? The call for bus rapid transit,” writer Kim North Shine details Detroit’s M1 light-rail line, which is set to begin construction shortly.
Shine writes of the inspiration Detroit’s BRT drew from cities such as Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, and Cleveland.
“We were very impressed. We came away thinking if Cleveland can do it, so can we.” [Southeast Michigan Council of Governments transportation planner] Carmine Palombo says. “When you were on it, it felt like a bus, but it looks more like a rail vehicle. Most importantly, it ran quickly. Getting on or getting off was much different than a bus. There are much larger doors, no steps, curb boarding. You could see the economic development. It was clean. You sort of got the best of both worlds there. … You could see how it would work for us.”
Check out the complete article here.
Shine writes of the inspiration Detroit’s BRT drew from cities such as Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, and Cleveland.
“We were very impressed. We came away thinking if Cleveland can do it, so can we.” [Southeast Michigan Council of Governments transportation planner] Carmine Palombo says. “When you were on it, it felt like a bus, but it looks more like a rail vehicle. Most importantly, it ran quickly. Getting on or getting off was much different than a bus. There are much larger doors, no steps, curb boarding. You could see the economic development. It was clean. You sort of got the best of both worlds there. … You could see how it would work for us.”
Check out the complete article here.
In a city with no shortage of vacant land on which to cultivate gardens, it might surprise some to learn of the growing trend of gardens in the sky. Not only do rooftop gardens offer a place to relax, they reduce a building's heating and cooling costs while shielding the roof from damaging UV rays.
Recent grants awarded to the Collinwood and St. Clair Superior neighborhoods are allowing them to proceed with arts- and culture-based projects each hopes will revitalize their communities and boost their economies. The efforts are part of a larger national movement known as creative placemaking.