Sustainability + Environment
Justin Husher graduated with an MBA from Cleveland State University in May of 2008 -- just in time for the collapse of the financial markets.
Instead of wringing his hands, Husher considered his bleak job prospects as a sign. "I never wanted to be a banker," he told the audience at last week's forum on vacant land reuse at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs. His college major had been botany, and he'd always dreamed of tending the soil.
That's when Husher learned about Reimagining Cleveland, a small grants program that was launched to support the creative reuse of vacant land in the city.
Husher applied to the program, which is managed by Neighborhood Progress (NPI) and funded by the Surdna Foundation and the City of Cleveland. After he was awarded a $7,500 grant, Husher worked with Cleveland's land bank program and Bellaire Puritas Community Development Corp. to cobble together a half-acre of land on W. 130th. Pretty soon, Old Husher's Farm was born.
Husher, who sells his produce at the Gordon Square farmers market and other venues, has a passion for local food. "I like to grow vegetables with storylines, such as heirloom tomatoes," he said. "It's important to learn where our food comes from."
At last week's forum, the young farmer also offered recommendations for improving the business climate for urban agriculture. Husher's wish list includes longer-term leases with property owners and an initiative to help farmers purchase land at affordable prices. He'd also like to see a cooperative stand for urban farmers to sell locally grown food at the West Side Market.
Since Reimagining Cleveland launched in 2008, the program has funded 56 projects to creatively reutilize vacant land in Cleveland. According to the Reimagining Cleveland website, there are an estimated 3,300 acres of vacant land in the city of Cleveland.
Source: Justin Husher, Reimagining Cleveland
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Instead of wringing his hands, Husher considered his bleak job prospects as a sign. "I never wanted to be a banker," he told the audience at last week's forum on vacant land reuse at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs. His college major had been botany, and he'd always dreamed of tending the soil.
That's when Husher learned about Reimagining Cleveland, a small grants program that was launched to support the creative reuse of vacant land in the city.
Husher applied to the program, which is managed by Neighborhood Progress (NPI) and funded by the Surdna Foundation and the City of Cleveland. After he was awarded a $7,500 grant, Husher worked with Cleveland's land bank program and Bellaire Puritas Community Development Corp. to cobble together a half-acre of land on W. 130th. Pretty soon, Old Husher's Farm was born.
Husher, who sells his produce at the Gordon Square farmers market and other venues, has a passion for local food. "I like to grow vegetables with storylines, such as heirloom tomatoes," he said. "It's important to learn where our food comes from."
At last week's forum, the young farmer also offered recommendations for improving the business climate for urban agriculture. Husher's wish list includes longer-term leases with property owners and an initiative to help farmers purchase land at affordable prices. He'd also like to see a cooperative stand for urban farmers to sell locally grown food at the West Side Market.
Since Reimagining Cleveland launched in 2008, the program has funded 56 projects to creatively reutilize vacant land in Cleveland. According to the Reimagining Cleveland website, there are an estimated 3,300 acres of vacant land in the city of Cleveland.
Source: Justin Husher, Reimagining Cleveland
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The stately Tudor Arms has been vacant since 2007 when its last tenant, Cleveland Job Corps, moved to a new home. Now, thanks to a $22 million restoration project, the landmark property appears set to reclaim some of its former glory when it reopens this spring as a Double Tree Hotel. The project is the latest in a string of successful urban developments by local firm MRN Ltd.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) will soon break ground on SmartHome Cleveland, a passively-heated home that does not require a furnace and is designed to challenge the way that people think about the issue of climate change.
The 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom home will be presented in conjunction with the traveling exhibit, Climate Change, from June to September 2011.
"The SmartHome will show that it's possible to use dramatically less energy in our buildings -- and they can be wonderful places to live," says David Beach, Executive Director of Green City Blue Lake (GCBL), a center for regional sustainability located at the museum.
The SmartHome, which was designed by Doty and Miller Architects and will be the first of its kind in Cleveland, incorporates Passive House Methodology. This approach includes high levels of insulation, featuring wall thicknesses of up to 18 inches, a carefully sealed building envelope that combines minimal air leakage with efficient heat-recovery ventilation, and triple-pane windows.
Heated by a small, supplementary heater, the SmartHome's energy efficient design along with the solar panels on a detached garage will make it a net-zero energy consumer.
Beach describes bringing the SmartHome to University Circle as "something of a barn raising." While planning the project, GCBL worked with neighboring institutions and community groups to identify how the home could best fit into the community.
Ultimately, they decided that a home this smart couldn't remain a museum showpiece for long. This fall, the home will be transported to a vacant lot on nearby Wade Park Avenue in Glenville, where it will be offered for sale to a buyer. The home, which will cost about $525,000 to build, will be priced between $300,000 and $400,000.
Beach is already honing his sales pitch for winter-weary Northeast Ohioans. Tired of paying high heating bills? "You could heat this house with a hairdryer," he jokes.
Source: David Beach
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom home will be presented in conjunction with the traveling exhibit, Climate Change, from June to September 2011.
"The SmartHome will show that it's possible to use dramatically less energy in our buildings -- and they can be wonderful places to live," says David Beach, Executive Director of Green City Blue Lake (GCBL), a center for regional sustainability located at the museum.
The SmartHome, which was designed by Doty and Miller Architects and will be the first of its kind in Cleveland, incorporates Passive House Methodology. This approach includes high levels of insulation, featuring wall thicknesses of up to 18 inches, a carefully sealed building envelope that combines minimal air leakage with efficient heat-recovery ventilation, and triple-pane windows.
Heated by a small, supplementary heater, the SmartHome's energy efficient design along with the solar panels on a detached garage will make it a net-zero energy consumer.
Beach describes bringing the SmartHome to University Circle as "something of a barn raising." While planning the project, GCBL worked with neighboring institutions and community groups to identify how the home could best fit into the community.
Ultimately, they decided that a home this smart couldn't remain a museum showpiece for long. This fall, the home will be transported to a vacant lot on nearby Wade Park Avenue in Glenville, where it will be offered for sale to a buyer. The home, which will cost about $525,000 to build, will be priced between $300,000 and $400,000.
Beach is already honing his sales pitch for winter-weary Northeast Ohioans. Tired of paying high heating bills? "You could heat this house with a hairdryer," he jokes.
Source: David Beach
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cle among 'world's most visionary cities'
A recent Travel + Leisure article features Cleveland as one of the world's most visionary cities. Advances in urban farming account for Cleveland's inclusion on the list.
The former Galleria at Erieview mall hosts one such project, "Gardens Under Glass." The mall's glass-covered atrium combined with a hydroponics system has created an ideal greenhouse setting. The spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and other vegetables harvested are sold at the mall's weekly farmers market.
The Travel + Leisure posting included other impressive projects from around the world, notably Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, which "promises to be the world's most sustainable urban locale" upon its completion in 2020. Seoul's multilevel, solar-powered Paik Nam June Media Bridge, which features gardens, a library, a museum, and stores, topped the list. The article also highlights cutting-edge public housing projects in Paris, the "ideal public transport system" of Curitiba, Brazil, and the massive bike-share program of Hangzhou, China.
The list also offers a look into possible cities of the future, including the SeaScraper, which "would be anchored in areas with strong oceanic currents to power underwater turbines and provide endless free energy." A desalination plant would supply drinking water, and the SeaScraper would disperse nutrient-packed water to promote phytoplankton growth, ideally creating a reeflike environment that would attract fish.
Read the rest here.
The former Galleria at Erieview mall hosts one such project, "Gardens Under Glass." The mall's glass-covered atrium combined with a hydroponics system has created an ideal greenhouse setting. The spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and other vegetables harvested are sold at the mall's weekly farmers market.
The Travel + Leisure posting included other impressive projects from around the world, notably Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, which "promises to be the world's most sustainable urban locale" upon its completion in 2020. Seoul's multilevel, solar-powered Paik Nam June Media Bridge, which features gardens, a library, a museum, and stores, topped the list. The article also highlights cutting-edge public housing projects in Paris, the "ideal public transport system" of Curitiba, Brazil, and the massive bike-share program of Hangzhou, China.
The list also offers a look into possible cities of the future, including the SeaScraper, which "would be anchored in areas with strong oceanic currents to power underwater turbines and provide endless free energy." A desalination plant would supply drinking water, and the SeaScraper would disperse nutrient-packed water to promote phytoplankton growth, ideally creating a reeflike environment that would attract fish.
Read the rest here.
'creative class' author sees rust belt turn around
A recent article in The Atlantic examines a new study of the migration trends of young adults and college grads across America's 52 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas over the years 2007-2009. Austin topped the list, closely followed by Dallas, Houston, Denver, and Seattle. Big cities like New York, Boston, D.C., Chicago, and LA have also improved their ability to attract young grads.
But the study also indicated that more and more talented young people are choosing to live in Cleveland.
"But perhaps the best news is that a significant number of older Rustbelt metros -- like Buffalo, Cleveland, St. Louis, Hartford, and Milwaukee -- that had been losing young adults and college grads have stemmed those previous losses, while others -- including Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Baltimore, as well as New Orleans -- have begun to turn them into gains."
Examine the data here.
But the study also indicated that more and more talented young people are choosing to live in Cleveland.
"But perhaps the best news is that a significant number of older Rustbelt metros -- like Buffalo, Cleveland, St. Louis, Hartford, and Milwaukee -- that had been losing young adults and college grads have stemmed those previous losses, while others -- including Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Baltimore, as well as New Orleans -- have begun to turn them into gains."
Examine the data here.
For years, the trend in Ohio City was for young couples to buy homes, live there a few years, and then flee to the suburbs when they had kids. Thanks to a close-knit group of pioneering parents, that story may soon have a different ending. With hopes for a new public charter school becoming a reality, many young parents see a future that doesn't include a home in suburbia.
Inspired by one of Mahatma Ghandi's famous mantras -- "we must become the change we wish to see in the world" -- Open Yoga Gallery, a yoga studio with a mission, will launch this weekend at 4736 Lorain Avenue in Ohio City.
"One of our goals is to get people onto the yoga mat for the first time," says April Arotin, the studio's founder. To that end, Open Yoga offers several classes per week that merely suggest a donation. During the opening weekend, the studio will offer free classes on Saturday from 12-6 p.m., as well as a free workshop for beginners on Sunday.
Open Yoga is a labor of love for Arotin, who lived in San Francisco before she moved back to Cleveland last summer. The studio is located in a storefront that was last used as an antique store -- 10 years ago. Arotin and the friends whom she corralled into helping her spent six months renovating the space.
To cut costs and keep with their green business practices, Arotin reused much of the existing space, cleaning the 1940s tile floor, for instance, rather than replacing it with shiny hardwood planks.
"Ninety percent of the furniture in our space is up-cycled," explains Arotin, meaning that it's been reclaimed from other spaces or purchased from thrift stores and refurbished. In addition, the studio has set an ambitious goal to produce zero waste.
To encourage walking, bicycling and carpooling, Open Yoga offers patrons a chance to win free classes if they choose alternative transportation. The 1,000-square-foot studio also functions as an art gallery, with local artists' work adorning the walls.
Although yoga is not often associated with inner city neighborhoods, Arotin wants to change this. "There's a perception that yoga is only for a specific demographic -- women with a lot of disposable income -- but we want to make it accessible," she says.
After all, yoga is not just about staying healthy and flexible; it's also about unlocking the potential for change. "Yoga helps us move our bodies in a way that we never thought possible," says Arotin, "and that can help us realize our true potential."
Source: April Arotin
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"One of our goals is to get people onto the yoga mat for the first time," says April Arotin, the studio's founder. To that end, Open Yoga offers several classes per week that merely suggest a donation. During the opening weekend, the studio will offer free classes on Saturday from 12-6 p.m., as well as a free workshop for beginners on Sunday.
Open Yoga is a labor of love for Arotin, who lived in San Francisco before she moved back to Cleveland last summer. The studio is located in a storefront that was last used as an antique store -- 10 years ago. Arotin and the friends whom she corralled into helping her spent six months renovating the space.
To cut costs and keep with their green business practices, Arotin reused much of the existing space, cleaning the 1940s tile floor, for instance, rather than replacing it with shiny hardwood planks.
"Ninety percent of the furniture in our space is up-cycled," explains Arotin, meaning that it's been reclaimed from other spaces or purchased from thrift stores and refurbished. In addition, the studio has set an ambitious goal to produce zero waste.
To encourage walking, bicycling and carpooling, Open Yoga offers patrons a chance to win free classes if they choose alternative transportation. The 1,000-square-foot studio also functions as an art gallery, with local artists' work adorning the walls.
Although yoga is not often associated with inner city neighborhoods, Arotin wants to change this. "There's a perception that yoga is only for a specific demographic -- women with a lot of disposable income -- but we want to make it accessible," she says.
After all, yoga is not just about staying healthy and flexible; it's also about unlocking the potential for change. "Yoga helps us move our bodies in a way that we never thought possible," says Arotin, "and that can help us realize our true potential."
Source: April Arotin
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Two weeks ago, we told you about the many jobs likely to develop in the area over the next several years thanks to a wind turbine project on Lake Erie. Lorry Wagner, Ph.D., president of Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), which is overseeing the project, says that Cleveland's growing expertise in the wind energy industry could reach well beyond the local shores.
The wind turbine pilot project, which is in its infant stages, will be a learning process for those involved, according to Wagner, but will likely establish Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as the source for wind energy expertise.
"As offshore wind develops on the Great Lakes, many of our services can be exported," Wagner says. "Canada, for example, has a huge plan for offshore wind development, but it will only have a 50 percent Canadian content requirement. That gives us tremendous incentive to develop our industry here."
In addition to Canada, Michigan and New York are reviewing opportunities for wind energy along the Great Lakes.
"If Ohio doesn't become the biggest in the world, the fact is we are the first in the region to do this, and if we develop the infrastructure, it will help us to serve the entire Great Lakes region," Wagner says.
To get there, Cleveland needs to leverage the talents and resources it already has and encourage other companies and individuals to join the wave. "We have to develop the expertise so that wherever this alternative energy occurs, we will be able to provide the most cost effective and the technologically best service," Wagner says.
SOURCE: Lorry Wagner
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The wind turbine pilot project, which is in its infant stages, will be a learning process for those involved, according to Wagner, but will likely establish Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as the source for wind energy expertise.
"As offshore wind develops on the Great Lakes, many of our services can be exported," Wagner says. "Canada, for example, has a huge plan for offshore wind development, but it will only have a 50 percent Canadian content requirement. That gives us tremendous incentive to develop our industry here."
In addition to Canada, Michigan and New York are reviewing opportunities for wind energy along the Great Lakes.
"If Ohio doesn't become the biggest in the world, the fact is we are the first in the region to do this, and if we develop the infrastructure, it will help us to serve the entire Great Lakes region," Wagner says.
To get there, Cleveland needs to leverage the talents and resources it already has and encourage other companies and individuals to join the wave. "We have to develop the expertise so that wherever this alternative energy occurs, we will be able to provide the most cost effective and the technologically best service," Wagner says.
SOURCE: Lorry Wagner
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The Flaming Ice Cube. When this strange moniker debuted on a downtown storefront in July, the phrase alone was buzzworthy.
No, it's not a new superhero or Cirque du Soleil act. It's a restaurant in downtown Cleveland. Located in the Park Building on Public Square, Flaming Ice Cube (aka the Cube), is a tasty new vegan restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Yet the Cube didn't just one day appear in a puff of smoke, if you will. The opening was the result of careful planning and plotted enticement by two downtown residents, Robert Carillio and Jesse Howells, whose family owns the Park Building. The pair contacted the café's owners, who opened the original location in Boardman, Ohio, and recruited them to open a second location in Cleveland.
And Howells and Carillio didn't meet by accident either. They're both recent grads of the City Advocates program, an effort by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) to engage young professionals in the revitalization of downtown.
"The Flaming Ice Cube was one of Robert's favorite Youngstown restaurants, and when he met Jesse through the City Advocates program, they contacted the café and sold them on opening a downtown location," explains Laura Kushnick, Development and Community Relations Manager for DCA. So far, more than 40 people have graduated from the program.
Here's how it works. For two years, City Advocates attend monthly meetings and take on a project that will advance downtown. When they emerge from the program, they are skilled community leaders.
Besides recruiting new retailers, DCA's City Advocates have created YouTube marketing videos, are developing a free bus loop to connect entertainment districts in the summer, and are working with the city to create a dog park in the central business district."
Currently, the City Advocate program is seeking new applicants. For information, visit the DCA website or contact Laura Kushnick. The deadline is Feb. 21st.
Source: Laura Kushnick
Writer: Lee Chilcote
No, it's not a new superhero or Cirque du Soleil act. It's a restaurant in downtown Cleveland. Located in the Park Building on Public Square, Flaming Ice Cube (aka the Cube), is a tasty new vegan restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Yet the Cube didn't just one day appear in a puff of smoke, if you will. The opening was the result of careful planning and plotted enticement by two downtown residents, Robert Carillio and Jesse Howells, whose family owns the Park Building. The pair contacted the café's owners, who opened the original location in Boardman, Ohio, and recruited them to open a second location in Cleveland.
And Howells and Carillio didn't meet by accident either. They're both recent grads of the City Advocates program, an effort by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) to engage young professionals in the revitalization of downtown.
"The Flaming Ice Cube was one of Robert's favorite Youngstown restaurants, and when he met Jesse through the City Advocates program, they contacted the café and sold them on opening a downtown location," explains Laura Kushnick, Development and Community Relations Manager for DCA. So far, more than 40 people have graduated from the program.
Here's how it works. For two years, City Advocates attend monthly meetings and take on a project that will advance downtown. When they emerge from the program, they are skilled community leaders.
Besides recruiting new retailers, DCA's City Advocates have created YouTube marketing videos, are developing a free bus loop to connect entertainment districts in the summer, and are working with the city to create a dog park in the central business district."
Currently, the City Advocate program is seeking new applicants. For information, visit the DCA website or contact Laura Kushnick. The deadline is Feb. 21st.
Source: Laura Kushnick
Writer: Lee Chilcote
In a true zero-waste system there is no garbage, there are no landfills. Entrepreneurs for Sustainability's Zero Waste Network is urging Cleveland organizations to track and reduce their waste stream. Those that do are discovering that the benefits extend well beyond a slimmer carbon footprint, including economic windfalls, community engagement and marketplace recognition.
Skinny houses wedged onto small lots. Church steeples dotting the skyline. Factories and blue-collar taverns. Eastern-European accents heard on the street.
These phrases might call to mind multi-ethnic Cleveland neighborhoods like Tremont, St. Clair-Superior, Collinwood and Slavic Village, but Lakewood?
Ah, but you don't know Birdtown. Lakewood's only "company town" was carved out in the 1890s for employees of the National Carbon Company (now GrafTech). Located off Madison Avenue -- just west of Lakewood's border -- it was named for streets like Robin, Lark and Plover.
Yet in recent years, Lakewood's only historic district has begun looking ragged -- plagued by foreclosed homes, shabby retail, worn-out streets, and a lingering perception the area is unsafe. Two years ago, city planners and residents launched an effort to improve the area, citing its natural assets as a dense, walkable neighborhood just a stone's throw from parks, shopping and highways.
Now the planning effort is bearing fruit. Lakewood will complete the Madison East Birdtown Strategic Plan this month, and is applying for funding to implement improvements, including neighborhood identity signs, street lighting, pedestrian and bicycle safety enhancements, public art and park improvements.
The plan -- which builds upon investments like the new Harrison Elementary School and artist lofts in the Lake Erie Screw Factory building -- coalesced in 2010 when Lakewood was awarded a $62,500 planning grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). The city hired Dimit Architects of Lakewood to complete the plan.
"We'd like to resurface Madison Avenue in 2012 or 2013, and that project will include other streetscape enhancements such as decorative signal poles similar to those installed on Detroit Avenue," says Dru Siley, Assistant Planning Director for the city of Lakewood.
With Dimit applying the final touches to the plan, there's no word yet on whether one creative idea that emerged from the planning will be carried out -- putting birdhouses on streetcorners to function as public art, signage, and yes, feeding stations for actual birds.
Source: Dru Siley
Writer: Lee Chilcote
These phrases might call to mind multi-ethnic Cleveland neighborhoods like Tremont, St. Clair-Superior, Collinwood and Slavic Village, but Lakewood?
Ah, but you don't know Birdtown. Lakewood's only "company town" was carved out in the 1890s for employees of the National Carbon Company (now GrafTech). Located off Madison Avenue -- just west of Lakewood's border -- it was named for streets like Robin, Lark and Plover.
Yet in recent years, Lakewood's only historic district has begun looking ragged -- plagued by foreclosed homes, shabby retail, worn-out streets, and a lingering perception the area is unsafe. Two years ago, city planners and residents launched an effort to improve the area, citing its natural assets as a dense, walkable neighborhood just a stone's throw from parks, shopping and highways.
Now the planning effort is bearing fruit. Lakewood will complete the Madison East Birdtown Strategic Plan this month, and is applying for funding to implement improvements, including neighborhood identity signs, street lighting, pedestrian and bicycle safety enhancements, public art and park improvements.
The plan -- which builds upon investments like the new Harrison Elementary School and artist lofts in the Lake Erie Screw Factory building -- coalesced in 2010 when Lakewood was awarded a $62,500 planning grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). The city hired Dimit Architects of Lakewood to complete the plan.
"We'd like to resurface Madison Avenue in 2012 or 2013, and that project will include other streetscape enhancements such as decorative signal poles similar to those installed on Detroit Avenue," says Dru Siley, Assistant Planning Director for the city of Lakewood.
With Dimit applying the final touches to the plan, there's no word yet on whether one creative idea that emerged from the planning will be carried out -- putting birdhouses on streetcorners to function as public art, signage, and yes, feeding stations for actual birds.
Source: Dru Siley
Writer: Lee Chilcote
When Holly Harlan first started talking to people about Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
(E4S) ten years ago, "people looked at me like I had three eyes. But I
said, 'I think they're going to get this and they're going to love it.'"
Today, Harlan notes that the E4S network has been growing by more than 20 percent every year since it was founded. "We've attracted nearly 10,000 people from all sectors," Harlan says. "We've helped over 50 companies create a strategic plan for sustainability." The organization has also created a foundation on which Greater Cleveland can build a successful approach to sustainability. "We've gotten much better known since Mayor Frank Jackson has stepped in and held sustainability summits the last two years," Harlan says.
E4S is a networking organization that unites professionals interested in sustainability for their businesses and their community, but its scope goes beyond that. "We're an economic development group that sees sustainability as way to create value in the world," Harlan says.
Harlan steps down from the post of president and founder of E4S in mid-February to take on new projects. Mike Dungan, president and CEO of Bee Dance, a Cleveland business that repurposes materials classified as waste, will take over as interim president of E4S.
Harlan looks forward to visiting other cities and gauging their take on Cleveland's sustainability efforts. "We were one of the first business networks in the country focused on sustainability," she says. "The buzz is that Cleveland is known for innovative sustainability ideas, particularly in the area of local foods."
SOURCE: Holly Harlan
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Today, Harlan notes that the E4S network has been growing by more than 20 percent every year since it was founded. "We've attracted nearly 10,000 people from all sectors," Harlan says. "We've helped over 50 companies create a strategic plan for sustainability." The organization has also created a foundation on which Greater Cleveland can build a successful approach to sustainability. "We've gotten much better known since Mayor Frank Jackson has stepped in and held sustainability summits the last two years," Harlan says.
E4S is a networking organization that unites professionals interested in sustainability for their businesses and their community, but its scope goes beyond that. "We're an economic development group that sees sustainability as way to create value in the world," Harlan says.
Harlan steps down from the post of president and founder of E4S in mid-February to take on new projects. Mike Dungan, president and CEO of Bee Dance, a Cleveland business that repurposes materials classified as waste, will take over as interim president of E4S.
Harlan looks forward to visiting other cities and gauging their take on Cleveland's sustainability efforts. "We were one of the first business networks in the country focused on sustainability," she says. "The buzz is that Cleveland is known for innovative sustainability ideas, particularly in the area of local foods."
SOURCE: Holly Harlan
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Recent news of a lease option for offshore submerged land in Lake Erie
created waves of excitement for longtime proponents of wind turbines
along our Great Lake. We'll likely be seeing the blades of five giant
wind turbines twirling high above the shore by mid-2012, bringing with
them about 600 new jobs.
A study commissioned by NorTech last August revealed that those 600 jobs are just the beginning. Moving beyond the five-turbine pilot project and into a proposed 5,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2030, the State of Ohio could sustain as many as 15,000 jobs. About 8,000 of those would likely be located in our region.
"Because the equipment is so large, you'll have to do the work very close to where it's being commissioned," says Dave Karpinski, vice president of NorTech who heads NorTech Energy Enterprise, an initiative focused on Northeast Ohio's advanced energy industry. New skill sets for divers and drillers will be created. Legal and regulatory experts will be needed. The development of a vast maritime industry, with towing ships, specialized vessels and crews, could also take the region to new heights in advanced energy, he adds.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. With this, the first least option to be issued in the Great Lakes, Cleveland will see an initial upsurge in engineering jobs and permitting work, according to Karpinski. By the middle of next year, manufacturing and geotech work will be in greater demand, he adds.
Orders will begin for the five initial wind turbines this year. The momentum of what they will bring to Cleveland is just starting to be felt.
SOURCE: Dave Karpinski
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
A study commissioned by NorTech last August revealed that those 600 jobs are just the beginning. Moving beyond the five-turbine pilot project and into a proposed 5,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2030, the State of Ohio could sustain as many as 15,000 jobs. About 8,000 of those would likely be located in our region.
"Because the equipment is so large, you'll have to do the work very close to where it's being commissioned," says Dave Karpinski, vice president of NorTech who heads NorTech Energy Enterprise, an initiative focused on Northeast Ohio's advanced energy industry. New skill sets for divers and drillers will be created. Legal and regulatory experts will be needed. The development of a vast maritime industry, with towing ships, specialized vessels and crews, could also take the region to new heights in advanced energy, he adds.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. With this, the first least option to be issued in the Great Lakes, Cleveland will see an initial upsurge in engineering jobs and permitting work, according to Karpinski. By the middle of next year, manufacturing and geotech work will be in greater demand, he adds.
Orders will begin for the five initial wind turbines this year. The momentum of what they will bring to Cleveland is just starting to be felt.
SOURCE: Dave Karpinski
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The controversy over the proposed Oakwood Commons development reinforces the need for Cleveland Heights to plan for future development, says a local nonprofit leader.
"We're being forced to react to the developer's plan because the city of Cleveland Heights does not have a plan," says Deanna Bremer Fisher, Executive Director of FutureHeights, a nonprofit that promotes community engagement in Cleveland Heights.
"I understand the need for additional tax revenue in our city, but we need to look at a highest-and-best-use study of the development site before proceeding," she adds.
The city of Cleveland Heights updated its Strategic Development Plan in 2010 for the first time in 17 years. The plan recommends that the city pursue economic development to expand its tax base, which has declined recently due to lower home values, foreclosed homes, and lack of new development. The Strategic Development Plan also recommends that the city study the feasibility of producing a land use Master Plan.
Richard Wong, the Planning Director for the city of Cleveland Heights, says that the city has no position on Oakwood Commons because a proposal has not yet been brought to the city. However, the city's 2010 Strategic Development Plan states that "redevelopment [of the Oakwood site] for big box commercial uses was strongly opposed by residents in the past and should not be considered."
The plan adds that land and buildings north of Oakwood Country Club to Mayfield Road should be considered as part of any development plan. This suggests that the city may try to leverage the project to stimulate redevelopment of the older retail area at Warrensville and Mayfield Roads.
First Interstate Properties, the developer of the proposed 154-acre, mixed-use shopping center on the site of the former Oakwood Country Club, recently purchased the portion of the property that is in South Euclid. The Severance Neighborhood Organization, a local citizens group, has questioned the need for additional retail in the area. South Euclid officials have expressed support for the project, arguing that the city needs new retail development and tax revenue.
Mitchell Schneider, President of First Interstate Properties, has an option to purchase the Cleveland Heights portion of Oakwood. Both properties require a zoning change to be developed as retail. Schneider says he hopes to win Cleveland Heights' approval, but that he could develop the South Euclid property alone if the city refuses.
Sources: Deanna Bremer Fisher, Richard Wong, Mitchell Schneider
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"We're being forced to react to the developer's plan because the city of Cleveland Heights does not have a plan," says Deanna Bremer Fisher, Executive Director of FutureHeights, a nonprofit that promotes community engagement in Cleveland Heights.
"I understand the need for additional tax revenue in our city, but we need to look at a highest-and-best-use study of the development site before proceeding," she adds.
The city of Cleveland Heights updated its Strategic Development Plan in 2010 for the first time in 17 years. The plan recommends that the city pursue economic development to expand its tax base, which has declined recently due to lower home values, foreclosed homes, and lack of new development. The Strategic Development Plan also recommends that the city study the feasibility of producing a land use Master Plan.
Richard Wong, the Planning Director for the city of Cleveland Heights, says that the city has no position on Oakwood Commons because a proposal has not yet been brought to the city. However, the city's 2010 Strategic Development Plan states that "redevelopment [of the Oakwood site] for big box commercial uses was strongly opposed by residents in the past and should not be considered."
The plan adds that land and buildings north of Oakwood Country Club to Mayfield Road should be considered as part of any development plan. This suggests that the city may try to leverage the project to stimulate redevelopment of the older retail area at Warrensville and Mayfield Roads.
First Interstate Properties, the developer of the proposed 154-acre, mixed-use shopping center on the site of the former Oakwood Country Club, recently purchased the portion of the property that is in South Euclid. The Severance Neighborhood Organization, a local citizens group, has questioned the need for additional retail in the area. South Euclid officials have expressed support for the project, arguing that the city needs new retail development and tax revenue.
Mitchell Schneider, President of First Interstate Properties, has an option to purchase the Cleveland Heights portion of Oakwood. Both properties require a zoning change to be developed as retail. Schneider says he hopes to win Cleveland Heights' approval, but that he could develop the South Euclid property alone if the city refuses.
Sources: Deanna Bremer Fisher, Richard Wong, Mitchell Schneider
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The Neighborhood Voice is a new hyper-local community newspaper that covers University Circle and the seven neighborhoods that surround it: Hough, Fairfax, Glenville, East Cleveland, Little Italy, Buckeye-Shaker and Central. Created by the Cleveland Foundation as a part of its Greater University Circle Initiative, the newspaper is largely written by volunteers and high school and college student interns.
If South Euclid's Green Neighborhoods Initiative were a reality TV show, it would be called "Extreme Bungalow Makeover." The suburb has now completed renovations on two previously bank-owned bungalows. In December, the city hosted an open house to showcase the dwellings to buyers looking for a low-maintenance lifestyle.
"The city realized it has aging housing stock that doesn't make sense in today's marketplace, and wanted to do something," says Joe Del Re, New Business Development Manager for Home Again Homes, the company that rehabbed the properties.
Historically a quiet, tucked-away suburb known for its ubiquitous bungalows, South Euclid has been hit hard by the mortgage crisis and is saddled with 600 vacant homes. The Green Neighborhoods Initiative, launched in 2010, targets two areas pocked by empty properties. South Euclid plans to rehab 10 foreclosures by the end of 2011.
To make the project possible, the city applied for and was awarded a grant of almost $1 million from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Vacant Residential Property Fund of the First Suburbs Development Council. "The city put more into the rehab than the homes sell for," explains Del Re. "Grant funding helps cover the gap."
The city hopes the bungalows, priced at $129,900, will prove attractive to condo buyers and empty nesters. Features include first floor bedrooms, modern floor plans, high-efficiency furnaces, whole house insulation and Energy Star appliances. To qualify, buyers must meet income guidelines of 120% of Average Median Income -- about $70,000 for a family of four. South Euclid is also offering $10,000 down payment assistance.
Despite the hooks, the houses haven't sold. "It's a tough market and we haven't seen traction so far," says Del Re. "I expect things to get a little better in 2011."
Source: Joe Del Re
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"The city realized it has aging housing stock that doesn't make sense in today's marketplace, and wanted to do something," says Joe Del Re, New Business Development Manager for Home Again Homes, the company that rehabbed the properties.
Historically a quiet, tucked-away suburb known for its ubiquitous bungalows, South Euclid has been hit hard by the mortgage crisis and is saddled with 600 vacant homes. The Green Neighborhoods Initiative, launched in 2010, targets two areas pocked by empty properties. South Euclid plans to rehab 10 foreclosures by the end of 2011.
To make the project possible, the city applied for and was awarded a grant of almost $1 million from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Vacant Residential Property Fund of the First Suburbs Development Council. "The city put more into the rehab than the homes sell for," explains Del Re. "Grant funding helps cover the gap."
The city hopes the bungalows, priced at $129,900, will prove attractive to condo buyers and empty nesters. Features include first floor bedrooms, modern floor plans, high-efficiency furnaces, whole house insulation and Energy Star appliances. To qualify, buyers must meet income guidelines of 120% of Average Median Income -- about $70,000 for a family of four. South Euclid is also offering $10,000 down payment assistance.
Despite the hooks, the houses haven't sold. "It's a tough market and we haven't seen traction so far," says Del Re. "I expect things to get a little better in 2011."
Source: Joe Del Re
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The Flats has often been called the birthplace of Cleveland. Soon, it will gain a new tagline when it's reborn as the city's first green-certified neighborhood.
The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties, co-developers of the Flats East Bank project, are using sustainable building practices in the $272 million project, which broke ground in December. The project's financing dried up in 2008, but the developers revived the deal, cobbling together more than 35 public and private funding sources. The first phase will include an office tower, hotel, retail and 14-acre riverfront park.
Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council certified that the project had met Phase I criteria for Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). LEED is considered to be the national standard for sustainable design.
"Early on, the developers committed to pursue LEED Neighborhood status, and also a green-built project," says Justin Glanville, Project Director for Building Cleveland by Design (BCBD), a collaboration of two nonprofits, ParkWorks and Cleveland Public Art, to inject more thoughtful design into prominent building projects in Cleveland.
"This is the direction the market is headed," adds Glanville. "Prospective tenants asked the developers about energy-efficient design because it lowers occupancy costs."
The Flats East Bank project meets LEED-ND criteria by incorporating LEED-certified buildings, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, the use of recycled content in building materials, roof gardens, reduced water use, and a reduced parking footprint. It also gets points for compact development, connection to the river and brown field remediation.
BCBD states that Cleveland is fourth in the U.S. in the number of projects seeking LEED-ND certification. The developers hired BCBD to complete the certification process.
Source: Justin Glanville
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties, co-developers of the Flats East Bank project, are using sustainable building practices in the $272 million project, which broke ground in December. The project's financing dried up in 2008, but the developers revived the deal, cobbling together more than 35 public and private funding sources. The first phase will include an office tower, hotel, retail and 14-acre riverfront park.
Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council certified that the project had met Phase I criteria for Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND). LEED is considered to be the national standard for sustainable design.
"Early on, the developers committed to pursue LEED Neighborhood status, and also a green-built project," says Justin Glanville, Project Director for Building Cleveland by Design (BCBD), a collaboration of two nonprofits, ParkWorks and Cleveland Public Art, to inject more thoughtful design into prominent building projects in Cleveland.
"This is the direction the market is headed," adds Glanville. "Prospective tenants asked the developers about energy-efficient design because it lowers occupancy costs."
The Flats East Bank project meets LEED-ND criteria by incorporating LEED-certified buildings, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, the use of recycled content in building materials, roof gardens, reduced water use, and a reduced parking footprint. It also gets points for compact development, connection to the river and brown field remediation.
BCBD states that Cleveland is fourth in the U.S. in the number of projects seeking LEED-ND certification. The developers hired BCBD to complete the certification process.
Source: Justin Glanville
Writer: Lee Chilcote
welcome to cleve-burgh!
In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial titled "Welcome to Cleveburgh!," regional economist Christopher Briem urges Pittsburghers (and Clevelanders) to rethink their place in the world.
"It may be time to talk about the once-unthinkable," he writes: A combined Cleveland-Pittsburgh metro region.
In terms of population and workforce heft, the combined region is mighty formidable, he asserts.
"The metropolitan statistical areas of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Steubenville, Weirton and Youngtown, along with adjacent counties, add up to a population of more than 6 million and a labor force of more than 4 million," reports Briem.
To compete as a united front, he adds, both regions must share resources, ideas, capital and talent. "Cleve-burgh could take advantage of a much broader set of strengths than either Pittsburgh or Cleveland can tap on its own."
Aside from the gridiron, the beginning of a partnership already exists. The Regional Learning Network was formed in 2009 and brings together local leaders of Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh to address shared problems, Briem points out. And the TechBelt Initiative brings together emerging technology industries of the greater Pittsburgh and Cleveland regions.
So, the next time you come across somebody wearing a Steelers jersey, say, "Howdy, neighbor!"
Read the well-reasoned piece here.
"It may be time to talk about the once-unthinkable," he writes: A combined Cleveland-Pittsburgh metro region.
In terms of population and workforce heft, the combined region is mighty formidable, he asserts.
"The metropolitan statistical areas of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Steubenville, Weirton and Youngtown, along with adjacent counties, add up to a population of more than 6 million and a labor force of more than 4 million," reports Briem.
To compete as a united front, he adds, both regions must share resources, ideas, capital and talent. "Cleve-burgh could take advantage of a much broader set of strengths than either Pittsburgh or Cleveland can tap on its own."
Aside from the gridiron, the beginning of a partnership already exists. The Regional Learning Network was formed in 2009 and brings together local leaders of Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh to address shared problems, Briem points out. And the TechBelt Initiative brings together emerging technology industries of the greater Pittsburgh and Cleveland regions.
So, the next time you come across somebody wearing a Steelers jersey, say, "Howdy, neighbor!"
Read the well-reasoned piece here.
cleveland pursues 'ingenious recovery strategies'
What do Munich and Cleveland, Barcelona and Seattle, Turin and Philadelphia, and Seoul and Minneapolis-St. Paul have in common? According to syndicated columnist Neal Peirce, who pens this editorial for the Seattle Times, these cities all have faced moments of serious economic challenge but then devised ingenious recovery strategies.
The recent Global Metro Summit, held last month in Chicago and sponsored by the Brookings Institution, celebrated the comeback efforts of the above cities, including those of Cleveland.
In the editorial, Peirce writes that "Seattle, the Twin Cities and the Cleveland area are even in the midst of what Brookings is heralding as a new era of applying modern business-style planning to the economic-development potential of entire citistates."
Touting "highly participatory planning processes that create vision," Peirce points to numerous examples of cities experiencing remarkable economic turnarounds.
"Could a U.S. region such as Cleveland and its sister cities of Akron and Youngstown -- erstwhile continental champions in steel, rubber, chemicals and auto assembly, now on the economic ropes -- produce similar results?" he asks rhetorically before offering the following encouraging words.
"Spirited Northeast Ohio efforts to coalesce and stop internecine warfare among the region's local governments have led to a business-type planning initiative, the "Fund for Our Economic Future." Spearheaded by more than 50 regional foundations, with an unprecedented collection of the area's local governments, business, civic and academic leaders signed on, it has developed an extensive data set, market-based intelligence and a new initiative based on boosting productivity of the region's 1,600 small to midsized manufacturing firms."
"The idea is that many Ohio firms that have traditionally worked in polymers, chemicals and metals could translate well into such current high-demand areas as global health, flexible electronics, transportation and clean energy."
Read the rest here.
The recent Global Metro Summit, held last month in Chicago and sponsored by the Brookings Institution, celebrated the comeback efforts of the above cities, including those of Cleveland.
In the editorial, Peirce writes that "Seattle, the Twin Cities and the Cleveland area are even in the midst of what Brookings is heralding as a new era of applying modern business-style planning to the economic-development potential of entire citistates."
Touting "highly participatory planning processes that create vision," Peirce points to numerous examples of cities experiencing remarkable economic turnarounds.
"Could a U.S. region such as Cleveland and its sister cities of Akron and Youngstown -- erstwhile continental champions in steel, rubber, chemicals and auto assembly, now on the economic ropes -- produce similar results?" he asks rhetorically before offering the following encouraging words.
"Spirited Northeast Ohio efforts to coalesce and stop internecine warfare among the region's local governments have led to a business-type planning initiative, the "Fund for Our Economic Future." Spearheaded by more than 50 regional foundations, with an unprecedented collection of the area's local governments, business, civic and academic leaders signed on, it has developed an extensive data set, market-based intelligence and a new initiative based on boosting productivity of the region's 1,600 small to midsized manufacturing firms."
"The idea is that many Ohio firms that have traditionally worked in polymers, chemicals and metals could translate well into such current high-demand areas as global health, flexible electronics, transportation and clean energy."
Read the rest here.
Northeast Shores Development Corporation continues its push to attract out-of-town artists by offering affordable housing. Since 1994, the North Collinwood-based nonprofit has rehabbed approximately 125 area homes. A more focused development plan is concentrating efforts within a tight 14-block footprint.