Lee Chilcote
Lee Chilcote

Stories by: Lee Chilcote

Lee Chilcote is founder and editor of The Land. He is the author of the poetry chapbooks The Shape of Home and How to Live in Ruins. His writing has been published by Vanity Fair, Next City, Belt and many literary journals as well as in The Cleveland Neighborhood Guidebook, The Cleveland Anthology and A Race Anthology: Dispatches and Artifacts from a Segregated City. He is a founder and former executive director of Literary Cleveland. He lives in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland with his family.
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local label concord music group expands to new office space
Concord Music Group, a major independent music label that employs nine marketing staff in Northeast Ohio, recently moved to new offices in Beachwood. The company's new address is right across the street from its old one, yet it offers a few much-needed amenities, including a custom-built mastering studio and extra suites to accommodate future growth.

"Building the studio was quite a mountain to climb, but the landlord was willing to work with us to do the build-o... Read more >
graystone plans to spend $9-12m to ready 158k square feet of office space
The developer of a fast-growing entrepreneurial village on the eastern edge of downtown is planning a $9-12 million investment that would add nearly 160,000 square feet of office space. Michelle Asher of Graystone Properties, which owns the mammoth Tyler Village complex at East 36th and Superior, says that regional growth in the biotechnology, software development, multimedia design and film industries prompted the bullish move to ready new space for additional tenants.

&... Read more >
i-x center plans to invest $25-30m in physical upgrades
The I-X Center has launched plans to invest $25 to $30 million in renovations that will enhance its ability to host consumer mega-shows such as the Fabulous Food Show and International Beer Fest. Planned improvements include upgrading food and restroom facilities, adding a third lane to the main access road, and expanding the paved parking areas.

“Our goal is to grow attendance and become even more of a destination venue,” Robert Peterson, President of the I-X... Read more >
$5M gift will allow urban community school to expand, serve 200 more kids
Urban Community School recently announced it has received a $5 million pledge from an anonymous donor. That pledge, the largest in the school's history, will allow the well-regarded institution to expand by one-third and serve an additional 150 children.

"This gift will help us to continue to provide quality education to kids that don't otherwise have access to it," says Sister Maureen Doyle, Director of Urban Community School, which is located in Ohio C... Read more >
flats forward summit inspires conversation on leveraging $2B development
More than 100 people attended the Flats Forward Waterfront Summit, held this week in downtown Cleveland. Those in attendance learned how cities as far away as Duisburg, Germany, and as close as Pittsburgh, have leveraged their historic waterfronts into magnets for recreation, investment and tourism.

Flats Forward is a one-year-old effort to create a new identity for Cleveland's historic birthplace. Planners are now focused on improving the Flats' infrastructure, t... Read more >
deering vintage opens new store on bustling block in ohio city
Vintage maven Cindy Deering has opened a new store that brings her eclectic array of '60s and '70s clothing and accessories to a long-empty storefront on W. 25th Street in Ohio City.

Deering Vintage, which features hardwood floors, marble countertop from its days as a flower shop, and a mezzanine for the in-house seamstress, plugs one of the few remaining retail gaps on the street. Just one year ago, the Gillespie building at Bridge and W. 25th was half-dark. Toda... Read more >
steel distributor chooses warehouse district as location for growing business
Jeremy Flack, a steel industry entrepreneur who started his own steel distribution company last year, likes to brag that Flack Steel is the first new steel company to locate in downtown Cleveland in quite a while. Not only did he choose the Warehouse District to locate his fledgling company, he's also a downtown resident.

"People ask, 'Does anyone still make steel in Cleveland?'" Flack says. "The answer is Yes! In fact, the decline of manufactur... Read more >
midtown tech park and health-tech corridor designed to stem outward flow of medical start-ups
Every year, Cleveland’s emerging healthcare economy nourishes dozens of successful medical start-ups. Unfortunately, as many of these firms grow, they are forced to relocate to the 'burbs or out of the region entirely because of a lack of flexible, tech-ready urban space. Now, thanks to the MidTown Tech Park -- and Health-Tech Corridor -- start-ups have good reason to stick around.
slavic village apartments to receive $1.4m green makeover
Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit organization, wants every affordable housing unit in the U.S. to be green by 2020. Now, thanks to that bold ambition, a Cleveland apartment building will receive a green makeover, making it healthier and more energy-efficient for the people that live there.

Enterprise recently announced that it had closed on its first loan in the Ohio Green Communities Retrofit Fund, a $1 million program to renovate older apartment build... Read more >
downtown building boom attracts new four-star westin
The building boom kicking up dust in downtown Cleveland soon will give visitors to the Medical Mart, Convention Center and Horseshoe Casino another spot to lay their heads after a night out on the town. Optima Ventures and Sage Hospitality have purchased the former Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Centre hotel and plan to spend $64 million to renovate it into a new, luxurious 481-room Westin Hotel.

The project was spurred by an anticipated influx of visitors to downtown Clevel... Read more >
evergreen cooperatives prepares to break ground on $17m greenhouse in central neighborhood
Green City Growers, a for-profit, employee-owned produce company that is part of the nonprofit Evergreen Cooperatives, will break ground next week on a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse. The project, which will cost $17 million and is expected to eventually create about 40 full-time jobs, will be built in an east side neighborhood so wracked by poverty it has been dubbed "The Forgotten Triangle."

The greenhouse, which is being constructed on a scruffy, 10-acre pat... Read more >
30-year-old globetrotter to open 60-bed hostel in ohio city
Thirty-year-old Mark Raymond has stayed in hostels all over the world, and now he's bringing his passion, ideas and money to Cleveland to create a 60-bed hostel on West 25th Street in Ohio City.

"A hostel is a very valuable asset for a city to have, and I think Cleveland is a good place to start one," says Raymond. "Hostels attract nontraditional travelers on a shoestring budget, and if a city doesn't have a hostel, many will skip over it."
... Read more >
cleveland public art and parkworks merge to form land studio
Two prominent local nonprofit organizations, Cleveland Public Art and Parkworks, have announced plans to merge and form LAND Studio. If the organization's new name sounds like that of an edgy architect's studio, that may be no coincidence. LAND Studio hopes to foster great public spaces in Cleveland by leading civic conversations about design and urban planning.

According to a press release, the mission of the new nonprofit organization will be "to create pla... Read more >
statewide tour shows off growing power of green energy
The ninth annual Green Energy Ohio Tour, held last weekend at 260 businesses and homes across the state, featured more than 160 solar, wind and green energy projects in Northeast Ohio. Yet while education was the tour's primary goal, it also communicated a critical, attention-grabbing memo to policymakers: this fast-growing industry is driving development and job creation in Ohio.

"With some of our legislators currently doubting the value of renewable energy, our... Read more >
young artists beautify graffiti-tagged corner in ohio city
A group of teenage artists have cleaned up graffiti, added a fresh coat of paint and installed a large, colorful mural entitled "Waterworks" on a long vacant gas station at West 45th and Detroit Avenue in Ohio City. The artwork, which was created by the nonprofit Building Bridges Arts Collaborative, aims to raise awareness of water pollution issues in Cleveland and create job opportunities for local youth. 

"We wanted to take something that is spoiled,... Read more >
the write stuff: new breed of creative writing workshops inspires next gen of indie thinkers
In Cleveland, some wide-eyed literary activists are launching a new form of creative writing workshops. Not only will these programs measurably improve the writing and verbal skills of the students who enroll, they are inspiring youth to discover worlds beyond their own. In turn, these programs very well might be providing the keys to future success.
solar-powered bus shelters light up cleveland heights nights
The typical Cleveland bus shelter is a drab glass-and-metal box whose primary purpose is keep the wind, snow, rain and salt off riders. They are not exactly known for their aesthetic appeal.

Yet two new shelters installed by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) on Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights take a more creative, sustainable approach. The solar-powered shelters light up in various colors at night, contain larger, more comfortable benches, and fe... Read more >
historic detroit-shoreway building to undergo $3m renovation
The 22-unit Sylvia apartment building has been an eyesore ever since it became vacant two years ago. When its owner died unexpectedly, leaving nobody to care for the property, Detroit Shoreway neighbors watched as the vacant building, which is nestled mid-block on Franklin Boulevard, fell into disrepair.

Beginning this fall, however, nearby homeowners should have something to celebrate: The Sylvia is slated to receive a $3 million makeover that will preserve this historic... Read more >
haunted walking tour leads local couple to its dream home
The Historic Haunts Walking Tour, an event now in its fifth year, provides family-friendly Halloween treks through the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Local residents sporting top hats and toting lanterns lead audiences along historic West Clinton and Franklin Boulevards. They stop at porches to watch costumed actors bring to life tales of murder, love and mayhem from the neighborhood's storied past.

Yet last year, the event did more than just entertain. It also led Cl... Read more >