Lee Chilcote

harvest neo app connects people to wide array of local foods
Thanks to the volunteers at this year's Cleveland GiveCamp, there is now a downloadable app for local foods information in Northeast Ohio. The free app brings together information on community gardens, orchards, farms, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, U-pick locations, and farmers markets and stands into a single, easy-to-browse format.

Nicole Wright of the Ohio State University Extension Urban Agriculture Program says the Harvest NEO app is available on iTunes and will soon be available to Android users, too.

"It's a simple tool that brings together information on different types of local food locations," she says. "It generates a map based on your current location when it opens, and you can search either using the map or by an alphabetical listing."

The OSU Extension submitted an application for the Harvest NEO app to Cleveland GiveCamp earlier this year. The annual weekend event, whose tag line is "geeks in the home of rock and roll coding for charity," is part of a national effort to connect technology professionals with the needs of local nonprofits.

This year, Cleveland GiveCamp was held on July 29th at the offices of LeanDog and Arras, technology and marketing companies that are investing over $500,000 to renovate the former Hornblower's floating barge into state-of-the-art offices.

Wright says that OSU Extension will soon export a local foods map to its website so that the information is available in one place for web users, too. The nonprofit is also committed to improving the Harvest NEO app's functionality over time. Ideas for improvement include adding the ability to search by category.

"Hopefully, it is a tool that can help people become more involved and engaged with local foods, either by growing it or purchasing it," says Wright.


Source: Nicole Wright
Writer: Lee Chilcote
fashion boutique moves into long-vacant shaker square storefront
Fashions by Fowler, a popular women's clothing boutique run by sisters Renay and Tracy Fowler, has relocated to a Shaker Square storefront that has been sitting empty for years. Previously home to Metropolitan Galleries and Ann Taylor Loft, the 5,200-square-foot space is considerably larger than the boutique's old home on Mayfield Road.

"It's been very exciting," says Renay Fowler of the new space. "Shaker Square is so diverse in terms of nationalities and cultures, which I love. We're also positioned right between a bank and a Subway store, so we get a lot more walk-in traffic."

Fowler says that she has had little trouble filling her larger digs with both merchandise and customers. "We have a very diverse inventory, and we specialize in unique, one-of-a-kind items," she says. Some of the items the store carries include costume jewelry, furs and cowhide boots inlaid with rhinestones.

"If you're looking for something fun, glitzy and one-of-a-kind, that's what we do," says Fowler. "People assume our inventory is more expensive than it actually is -- you can get an entire outfit in our store for under one hundred dollars."

Fashions by Fowler features work by local clothing designers as well as smaller companies that are based in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta. In addition to its unique clothing inventory, the store employs an in-house milliner and a staff person that repairs costume jewelry.

"That's very hard to find these days," says Fowler. "People can bring a drawing in and get a hat or costume jewelry made for them."


Source: Renay Fowler
Writer: Lee Chilcote
artist recycles vinyl siding from home renovation into provocative sculpture
Ben Faller and Jesse Honsky's aim was to restore their home on E. 128th Street between Larchmere and Shaker boulevards to its original character based upon photographs they'd uncovered. Vinyl siding, noxious and non-recyclable, was an unfortunate side effect. Painstakingly removing the siding from their home, they knew, regrettably, that the chemical-laden strips likely would end up in a landfill.

Was there another option?

That's when one of their neighbors came up with the idea of turning it into a work of art. Katharyne Starinsky, founder and co-chair of the Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour, contacted a local artist and got the ball rolling.

"We wanted to find a way to celebrate what they were doing while also promoting green living," says Starinsky.

She contacted Tremont artist Ian Petroni, who was immediately intrigued by the proposal. "I told her that I loved the opportunity but that I hated vinyl siding, and she said, 'That's exactly the point,'" recalls Petroni.

The artist's provocative sculpture, entitled 'Invasive Species,' refashions the strips of yellow siding into a bountiful and oddly beautiful vinyl jungle that shoots up from Faller's and Honsky's front lawn like a rapacious, fast-growing plant.

"I decided to call it 'invasive species' because it doesn't fit into the historic environment and because it chokes out other species," explains Petroni. "I wanted to get people to start thinking about the drawbacks of vinyl siding."

Petroni was not only concerned with the impact of vinyl siding on the character of historic neighborhoods, but also with its toxic effect on the environment. "The production of vinyl is dangerous to people and ecosystems," he says.

Since its installation, the sculpture has been a conversation starter as well as a popular draw during the home tour. "It's like a Christmas lighting display, the way the cars slow down as they drive along 128th," says Starinsky with a laugh.

Neighbors on the street have begun to approach the homeowners about buying portions of the sculpture to install in their yards. Starinsky says she hopes to eventually sell the sculpture as a fundraiser for the home tour.

Within the next 7 to 10 days, Petroni plans to move the sculpture to the side yard of Felice, a popular restaurant in the neighborhood. There, spectators will be able to gawk at it throughout fall. (Hopefully it won't cause accidents.)


Source: Ian Petroni, Katharyne Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote
east cleveland's growing urban garden scene helps quench food deserts
The growing number of urban gardens in the city of East Cleveland prompted the second annual Urban Gardens and Farmers Market Open House. Held last Saturday, the event highlighted the blossoming of urban farms and gardens in a community that lacks even a single major grocery store, says Nicole Wright, Program Coordinator with the Ohio State University Cuyahoga County Extension office, who helped to organize the event in collaboration with local residents.

Wright says the proliferation of local gardens is helping local residents to grow and eat healthier food, save money on food expenses, reuse and beautify vacant land, improve community health outcomes and potentially earn money by selling locally grown produce at the Coit Road Farmers Market.

"We're definitely making an impact," says Wright, citing the presence of nine community gardens in the city. "East Cleveland has an unusually high concentration of gardens for a small city. When you look at Cuyahoga County as a whole, it actually has the second highest number of gardens."

Three years ago, OSU Extension, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission applied for and were awarded a grant from the Center for Disease Control. The resulting program, Creating Healthy Communities, helps to address public health issues in East Cleveland and Euclid by providing better food choices and encouraging healthier lifestyles.

"We chose East Cleveland because it has low access to fresh foods and high rates of chronic, preventable diseases like heart disease, diabetes and obesity," says Wright. "We want to help people to become more self-reliant."

East Cleveland was also selected because of its Coit Road Farmers Market, a local institution that is not frequented often enough by local residents, says Wright. One of the goals of Creating Healthy Communities is to turn that trend around.

In recent years, the farmers market has been encouraging local residents to grow and sell their produce at the market. This fruitful partnership is helping to reengage local residents with this fresh food venue. "This is about promoting the market that's right there in the community," says Wright.


Source: Nicole Wright
Writer: Lee Chilcote
university of akron opens satellite branch in heart of downtown lakewood
With its youth-friendly atmosphere, vibrant arts and culture scene, and main drags lined with restaurants, bars and funky shops, Lakewood has long felt like a college town without possessing a single university.

That's about to change. This week, Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of a new University of Akron satellite branch in the heart of that city. It will occupy an 11,000-square-foot space in the newly renovated Bailey Building at Warren and Detroit. Although it will open with only a handful of students, it eventually will offer classes to a few hundred pupils at a time.

"This is going to bring more people into downtown Lakewood, which will add to the urban vibrancy that's already here," says Ian Andrews, Executive Director of Lakewood Alive, a nonprofit economic development organization that will help to the market the branch. "More people on the sidewalk checking out the great amenities Lakewood has to offer will further drive up demand for goods and services."

The University of Akron has said that it plans to concentrate a few specific programs within the space, including health care and education degrees. The branch will also likely offer continuing education and distance learning programs.

This Thursday, the University of Akron and Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of the new branch with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 pm and a public open house from 5-8 pm. Planned activities include guided tours, performances by groups from Lakewood High School and a distance learning technology demonstration. Members of the public are invited to attend.


Source: Ian Andrews
Writer: Lee Chilcote
developer recycles 80 percent of lakewood church's building material
St. Paul's Lutheran Church couldn't save itself, yet the developer of a new CVS in Lakewood is at least saving it from the wrecking ball. Zaremba Group, a Lakewood-based developer, has recycled 80 to 90 percent of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at 15501 Detroit Avenue, where a new drug store is slated to be built this fall.

Some of the church's finer elements have been rescued from the landfill and soon will gain new life as locally-made furniture or raised garden beds. The bulk of the steel, brick and concrete will be crushed and recycled as fill.

Sean McDermott, Senior Development Manager with Zaremba Group, says that while it's unusual for retail developers to recycle old buildings, the historic character of the church cried out for some kind of creative reuse.

"We found huge timbers in the roof trusses -- eight-inch-square yellow pine that was over 100 years old," he says. "Because of the age of this stuff and the fact that you can't find it anymore, we knew reusing it was the right thing to do."

Zaremba Group partnered with Reclaimed Cleveland, a Lakewood-based company run by Aaron Gogolin, to harvest the church's floorboards, woodwork and oak doors. These materials will be made into furniture. 

The developer also donated truckloads of bricks to Lakewood Earth and Food for use in the city's community gardens.

While several large trees on the property are being cut down, that wood will also be used to make furniture. Additionally, Zaremba plans to plant several large trees that will ultimately grow to a height of 35 feet.

The most costly aspect of the recycling project, according to McDermott, was the time delay it caused. He adds that while this the biggest recycling project Zaremba has undertaken, the company would definitely consider doing it again.

The new CVS will also have some green features, including three bioswales that will catch and release storm water into the ground rather than into storm sewers. This will help to reduce stormwater fees, which are rising with the Northeast Ohio Sewer District's new regulations, while also helping the environment.


Source: Sean McDermott
Writer: Lee Chilcote
ohio supreme court says voters should be allowed to decide oakwood rezoning issue on election day
With the recent decision by the Supreme Court of Ohio that South Euclid voters should be allowed to vote on a rezoning referendum this fall, the controversial Oakwood Commons big box retail project has taken yet another interesting turn.

Citizens for Oakwood, a group that opposes the redevelopment of the former Oakwood Country Club into retail, collected over 600 petition signatures earlier this year to place a referendum on the ballot. Yet the group was dealt a blow this summer when their petition was disqualified due to a legal technicality.

According to a protest filed by developer First Interstate Properties, a set of pre-petition documents were not filed with the correct City of South Euclid department. The city agreed with the developer, and decided that the referendum was invalid and could not be placed on the ballot. Citizens for Oakwood filed a lawsuit, and the matter ended up before the Supreme Court of Ohio.

In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Citizens for Oakwood and directed South Euclid to repeal the rezoning decision or put it on the November ballot.

“The Court granted a writ of mandamus to compel council to either repeal a zoning amendment ordinance or submit it to a vote of the city’s electors on Nov. 8,” according to the announcement on the Ohio Supreme Court website.

"We're very grateful that the Supreme Court of Ohio has upheld a basic tenet of our government -- people's right to vote," says Fran Mentch of Citizens for Oakwood. "Clearly, First Interstate is fighting this because they realize they've met their match in the will of the people of South Euclid."

South Euclid City Council unanimously approved the rezoning in June. That allows First Interstate, which bought 62 acres of the Oakwood land that lies in South Euclid in December, to build a mix of retail and residential properties there. First Interstate has also offered to set aside a portion of the property for parkland.

First Interstate has argued that the development will benefit the City of South Euclid with needed tax revenues and will provide additional retail to an underserved inner suburban area. Citizens for Oakwood has said there is too much retail in the area already and the property should be turned into a park.

On Monday, First Interstate filed a request for reconsideration of the Oakwood ruling with the Supreme Court, leaving open the possibility that it could be reversed.

If the ruling stands, then South Euclid voters will have the opportunity to vote 'yes' or 'no' on Nov. 8th regarding their support for the rezoning of Oakwood for a mixed-use retail development.


Source: Fran Mentch
Writer: Lee Chilcote
new vegan bakery rises in ohio city's ever-expanding market district
A new bakery on W. 25th Street is out to prove that dairy-free desserts can be just as addictive as the most decadent slice of chocolate cake -- while also cutting back on the calories, health risks, and guilt associated with many of our favorite vices.

Just ask Margaret Bilyeau, owner of the newly opened Maggie's Vegan Bakery, who boasts of her vegan "chocolate" cupcakes with "cream cheese" icing: "You need to come try them -- they're wonderful."

That shouldn't be too hard; she offers free samples to customers who stop in her store, located at 1830 W. 25th Street in Ohio City's ever-expanding Market District.

Bilyeau first started baking professionally in 1994. She sold her goods at farmers markets and the now-closed Food Co-op on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. Advised by a Co-op employee that she should start baking vegan because few others were serving that market, Bilyeau started doing just that.

But first she had to learn what being vegan actually means. "I said to him, 'What's that? How do you do it?'" she says. "He told me, 'You have to figure it out.' At the time, not very many people were doing it. It's a much bigger market now."

Although Bilyeau prepares her vegan baked goods strictly sans dairy, her customers aren't limited to hardcore vegans or vegetarians. Increasingly, they are also heart patients or elderly people that can't eat dairy for health reasons, or people who aren't consuming dairy products because of religious reasons.

Bilyeau also makes gluten-free baked goods to serve another growing market -- people with Celiac Disease who are allergic to wheat, rye and barley. "It's hard to find fresh gluten-free bread," she says. "It's flying off of the shelves."

Her ultimate goal is to ramp up her distribution business and ensure that more restaurants in Cleveland carry vegan and gluten-free desserts and other baked goods.

Bilyeau chose Ohio City because she shops at the West Side Market and saw new businesses opening up in the area.

"We're right between the new Mexican restaurant, Orale, and Johnnyville Slugger," she says. "I love being here."


Source: Margaret Bilyeau
Writer: Lee Chilcote
homegrown national conference aims to make cleveland hub for marketing
The decline of traditional newspapers, rise of the Internet, and advent of social media has led to a dizzying media revolution in the past two decades. A new conference aims to help marketing and communications professionals to keep up with these fast-paced changes -- and to make Cleveland a hub for marketing worldwide.

Content Marketing World, a first-ever national conference that will take place at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, aims to help businesses and nonprofits place storytelling at the center of their work and to create their own marketing channels to reach consumers rather than relying on traditional media.

"To create and attract customers, marketers need to create valuable, relevant, timely content," says Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, a company headquartered in Cleveland, and organizer of the event. "Customers are bombarded by marketing all day long -- more companies realize they need compelling content during all parts of the buying cycle."

The event will feature more than 50 speakers from around the country, including bestselling authors David Meerman Scott and Sally Hogshead. Comedian and filmmaker Kevin Smith, who bucked Hollywood with the independent release of his early films and is set to release "Red State" this fall, is also part of the lineup.

Given the rich history of marketing and custom publishing firms rooted in the city, Pulizzi hopes to shine a spotlight on Cleveland's content marketers -- and to tout the city as a great place to do business.

"You don't have to be in Hollywood or on Madison Avenue anymore to tell a good story," he says. "Why not Cleveland?"

Content Marketing World takes place from Sept. 6th-8th.


Source: Joe Pulizzi
Writer: Lee Chilcote
lake erie ink inks deal for coventry school space
When Cynthia Larsen stopped teaching English full-time in 1995 to pursue a Master's in Creative Writing, she watched in dismay as the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" was passed by Congress a few years later. It tied teachers' hands, she thought, forcing them to teach to the test and squeezing creativity out of the classroom.

So Larsen decided to do something about it. She volunteered at her children's schools in Cleveland Heights, teaching and helping students with creative writing projects. Then she met Amy Rosenbluth, a fellow teacher who was running youth poetry slams at a neighboring school. Soon Lake Erie Ink was born.

Now the nonprofit organization, which offers creative writing classes, camps and workshops for school-age youth, has made the jump to leasing space at the former Coventry School and plans to offer additional classes beginning in September.

"My kids went to this school, so it's great to be back in the building, and for it to be put to good use," says Larsen. "Originally, we were looking for a storefront, but the district offered us a deal too good to pass up. Plus, this place is a kid magnet."

The former Coventry School is located at the corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights, adjacent to a playground, the Peace Park and the Coventry Library.

Since launching Lake Erie Ink in 2010, its founders have learned that there is significant demand in the community for their services. In fact, the group had waiting lists for all three of its summer camps this year. "When the students started coming to us, we realized we were really onto something," says Larsen.

This summer, Lake Erie Ink held a play-writing camp (the kids produced 22 separate plays), a comic book camp, and a "people and places" camp where students interviewed local businesses and wrote down their stories.

"The need here is so apparent," says Larsen, who got part of her inspiration for Lake Erie Ink from the 826 Valencia literary centers launched by writer Dave Eggers. "We provide a welcome relief for the parents, teachers and kids."


Source: Cynthia Larsen
Writer: Lee Chilcote
campbell's popcorn and sweets opens in ohio city's ever-expanding foodie district
Campbell's Popcorn and Sweets has opened a new factory store in Ohio City's Market District, at which customers can watch the production of its signature products as well as sample tasty, unusual flavors such as garlic parmesan, dill pickle and barbeque.

Owner Jeff Campbell says he decided to expand in Ohio City because of the loyal customers he's generated at his West Side Market stand, which has seen 25 percent annual growth since he opened it in 2004.

"Ohio City is already Cleveland's foodie area," says Campbell. "I believe it will become nationally known as a foodie neighborhood."

Before the store opened at the beginning of August, Campbell and his crew made all of their popcorn and sweets in two tiny stands at the West Side Market. "We probably should have been here a year ago," he says with a laugh.

The new store is airy and spacious by comparison. It is playfully decorated with bright orange walls and a creamy brown ceiling that stir up cravings for cheese popcorn and chocolate-covered pretzels as soon as one walks in the door. Large storefront windows allow passersby to watch popcorn pop and other treats being made before being lured inside for a taste. Next month, a large sign with Campbell's new logo will be installed on the exterior of the building.

Campbell says he's encouraged by the new businesses that are opening on West 25th Street. "We're planning on adding sidewalk dining, and the owners are close to signing a deal with a hostel that would occupy the floors above us," he says. "Ohio City's growth will come down West 25th Street."

This is in addition to the recent news that Mitchell's Ice Cream will take over the former Moda space down the street.

Campbell's Popcorn and Sweets is located on West 25th St. south of Lorain, near Chatham Ave.


Source: Jeff Campbell
Writer: Lee Chilcote
F*SHO will display cle's hottest furniture designers in midtown warehouse
F*SHO, a trade show that showcases the growing cadre of contemporary furniture designers who call Cleveland home, is set to take place on Friday, Sept. 9th in a Midtown warehouse.

This year's show, which is the third annual, will be bigger than ever. It features more than 20 designers, including two that are based in Columbus and Toledo.

"The furniture design industry here keeps growing -- this year we even had to turn a few people down," says P.J. Doran of A Piece of Cleveland (APOC), who organized the event along with Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel. "We'd like this event to evolve each year, and hopefully begin attracting more out-of-state designers."

The show's organizers hold the event in a new space each year to highlight unique properties. In addition to the building's raw industrial beauty, the artwork of owner Giancarlo Callicia, a sculptor, will also be on display. Part of the designers' challenge, Doran says, lies in how to take advantage of the open space.

"This isn't a typical trade show with velvet ropes and white platforms where the work is displayed," he quips. "Each designer will personalize their display."

Doran is particularly excited about the younger designers taking part in the show, many of whom are graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) who emphasize sustainability. "These pieces are made to last," he says. "We call them heirloom pieces, which means there are multiple lives to the product."

He should know: APOC fashions furniture products using 'upcycled' lumber from reclaimed from buildings before they are deconstructed or demolished.

Doran expects more industry collaboration and more buzz about Cleveland's growing furniture design community to come out of this year's event. "We started the FGroup last year as an offshoot of the furniture show, and people started working together," he says. "We're showing there's strength in numbers."

As for the customers, Doran loves seeing visitors' surprised faces the night of the show. "People are always surprised by how much is being made in Cleveland."

F*SHO takes place on Friday, Sept. 9th from 2 to 11 p.m. at 6550 Carnegie Avenue.


Source: P.J. Doran
Writer: Lee Chilcote
no vacancy: with more residents moving downtown, occupancy rates reach 95 percent

“Downtown is where the action is,” says Alex Cortes, an attorney who lives in the Warehouse District. Cortes is one of the 10,000 people who call downtown home. But to reach the 20,000-resident figure that boosters say Cleveland needs to truly become a vibrant neighborhood in the city, more retail, green space, and housing options will have to come online.

new east 4th yoga adds to growing list of downtown residential amentiies

A vacant Euclid Avenue storefront has now become a community hub thanks to East 4th Yoga, a new studio that offers free yoga classes and aims to enhance the sense of community downtown.

The studio, which launched last month, offers complimentary, donation-based classes on Saturday mornings at 10 in the former Bang and the Clatter Theatre space at 244 Euclid. While geared towards downtown residents, anyone is welcome to attend. Organizer Tammy Oliver, an East 4th resident, says the studio creates a community gathering space and promotes downtown living.

“There aren’t many opportunities for this kind of gathering space downtown,” says Oliver. “The more opportunities we provide people to live, work and play, the more likely they’ll be to live downtown. We’re trying to create a neighborhood.”

To fund the program, Oliver secured a sponsorship from Oasis Health Care. Additionally, MRN Ltd. has donated the former theatre space, and yoga instructors from across the city volunteer their time. Finally, MVP Valet offers free valet parking for individuals traveling from other parts of the city.

Oliver, who organized the yoga classes as a volunteer, is also the leasing agent for East 4th Street. She says the idea was generated through discussions with friends who can’t afford to take regular yoga classes, and through brainstorming with downtown residents about other amenities that are needed downtown.

“It’s not enough to provide nice living spaces, we need places to shop, hang out and meet our neighbors,” says Oliver. She adds that MRN Ltd. is actively working on plans to recruit additional retailers to the East 4th and Euclid Avenue area.

The funds raised from class donations will be used to purchase equipment such as yoga mats and blocks that will be donated to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Oliver is hoping to work with a group of yoga instructors and CMSD to create a yoga program that is geared towards urban youth.

“We can use yoga to enrich and bring peace to young people’s lives,” she says.


Source: Tammy Oliver
Writer: Lee Chilcote

breakthrough: will charter schools save cleveland's neighborhoods?
"We're taking boarded-up schools in Cleveland's neighborhoods and bringing them back to life," says Alan Rosskamm, CEO of Breakthrough Schools. "This is about keeping families in the city." With a lofty goal of opening 20 new charter schools by 2020, Breakthrough is on a mission to provide quality education to Cleveland students regardless of zip code. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that charters create a two-tiered education system that siphons off the best students.
wells fargo and bank of america donate foreclosed properties to cuyahoga land bank
Call it poetic justice: Through an innovative partnership with the Cuyahoga Land Bank, some of the lenders whose lax lending practices helped spur the national foreclosure crisis are now helping to address problems of abandonment that are rife in Cuyahoga County.

The Cuyahoga Land Bank, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce urban blight and improve property values by acquiring foreclosed properties and either returning them to productive use or tearing them down, is getting some help from two new partners. Bank of America and Wells Fargo began donating vacant and foreclosed properties to the Land Bank along with a $3,500 to $7,500 contribution towards demolition in July.

Wells Fargo and Bank of America are not the only partners to contribute to this program; others include Fannie Mae, HUD and J.P. Morgan Chase.

"Each partnership we establish provides us with more resources to tackle the issues of blight created by foreclosure and abandonment in our communities," Gus Frangos, President of the Land Bank, stated in a release.

Such collaborative approaches can also lead to solutions on a national scale, stated Russ Cross, Midwest Regional Servicing Director for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Recently, Wells Fargo announced an alliance with the National Conference of Mayors on addressing similar issues in cities across the country. Cross plans to share the Cuyahoga Land Bank model with mayors in other cities.

Many of these same lenders have also stepped up efforts to keep delinquent or at-risk homeowners in their homes. Bank of America recently launched a homeownership retention and foreclosure prevention initiative in Cleveland, including a recent mortgage modification outreach event where customers met with homeowner retention specialists over a three-day period to receive face-to-face counseling and underwriting of mortgage modification requests.


Source: Cuyahoga Land Bank
Writer: Lee Chilcote


redesign of perk park to be completed in october
Long-planned renovations to Perk Park, a downtown park where two men were shot in a grisly robbery more than two years ago, are now almost finished. The new park is set to reopen in October.

The $1.6 million first phase of the project, which was completed last fall, removed sunken areas that were considered unsightly and unsafe because they provided places for individuals to hide. Funding for this phase came from the City of Cleveland, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, businesses and foundations.

The $1.3 million second phase that is now underway includes new seating, trees, plants, art and a trellis along E. 12th Street. Construction for this phase stems from the $20 million sale of the Convention Center to Cuyahoga County.

The Perk Park project was originally designed in 2003 during Mayor Campbell's administration, but was not constructed at that time due to lack of funding. The nonprofit organization ParkWorks led the redesign process. Landscape architects Thomas Balsley of New York and James McKnight of Cleveland designed it.

The new park adds to the number of redeveloped green/public spaces that exist in downtown Cleveland. There are nearly 3,000 residents living within a three-minute walk of the park, according to Downtown Cleveland Alliance. The Erieview District, as it's called, has the second largest concentration of downtown residents (the Warehouse District is first). The location is also a major hub for office jobs.


Source: Downtown Cleveland Alliance/ParkWorks
Writer: Lee Chilcote


shaker nature center launches 2-year plan to replace invasive plants with native species
Although the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is well-known for its picturesque cattail-filled marsh, the plant is actually an invasive species. It was somehow introduced here in the 1970s, and has been multiplying wildly ever since.

In recent years, the aggressive species has established such a dominant presence here that it has crowded out many other plants. The result has been a less diverse ecosystem in the marsh, including fewer species of birds and other animals.

Now, thanks for a $78,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nature Center is in the midst of a two-year project to remove the cattails from the marsh and return it to greater ecological health. This spring, Nature Center staff and volunteers planted some 3,000 grasses and wildflowers, 200 shrubs and 20 large trees, all of which are native to Northeast Ohio.

To kill the hardy, fast-spreading cattail plants, a variety of treatments were used, including cutting, hand-pulling and spraying with a low-percentage herbicide.

More than 25,000 people visit the Nature Center annually. Staff here are using the marsh restoration as an opportunity to highlight the problem of invasive species in Ohio, the importance of preservation and what ordinary citizens can do.

The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes was founded in 1966 as the result of a grassroots community effort to preserve the Shaker Heights park lands from becoming the route for a new freeway connecting the east side to downtown. Today, it is recognized as a model urban environmental resource center.


Source: The Nature Center
Writer: Lee Chilcote


csu to raze viking hall, its first dorm, to clear way for development
The bunker-like concrete building at the corner of Euclid and E. 22nd was built in 1971 as a Holiday Inn. It became Cleveland State University's first dormitory in 1986. Over the years, Viking Hall has come to be seen as something of a relic -- and a barrier to the new, outward-focused identity of the university.

Now, after being closed since 2010 when CSU opened the nearby Euclid Commons residential development, the Campus District eyesore is set to be demolished. CSU has applied for a $2 million "Clean Ohio Fund" grant to help pay for asbestos removal and demolition, and university officials have stated their intention to bring the building down as soon as possible. Grant awards from the Ohio Department of Development will be announced in November.

CSU aims to turn the site into a $50 million commercial, retail and residential development. Currently, the university is preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to obtain ideas from developers for potential uses of the property.

The demolition of Viking Hall and preparation of the site for future development is part of a larger effort by the university to transform its campus into a more welcoming, more residential campus. Promoting student life and building a walkable campus environment and retail amenities will encourage students to apply to CSU while helping to improve the neighborhood, say university officials. CSU also received a boost from the completion of the Euclid Corridor project, which has improved infrastructure and spurred new development in the area.

CSU officials plan to use the project to better link Euclid with Wolstein Center to the south. A public walkway or green space are possibilities. The university would like to find a developer for the site by sometime next year, and begin construction by 2013. CSU plans to remain involved in the development project to ensure that its outcome aligns with the goals of the campus Master Plan.

Adding to a slew of recently completed development projects, the university also has announced plans to partner with Polaris Real Estate Equities to develop Campus Village, a $45 million, 308-unit project being built on Chester at E. 22nd that aims to attract faculty, staff, graduate students, professors and young professionals to live on campus.


Source: Cleveland State University
Writer: Lee Chilcote