Three Northeast Ohio architecture firms currently are working within the confines of niche industries like dining, education or healthcare. But far from staunching a designer's creativity, these disciplines are proving a playground where the imagination can run free.

Knowta recently raised more than $300,000 in angel investments, exceeding its goal of $250,000 to roll out the next phase of its software solution. The LaunchHouse company offers free or discounted printing at libraries in exchange for accepting advertising on the bottom of the printed pages. A percentage of the revenue generated from the full-color ads is then returned to the libraries to offset their costs.
 
Initially, founder Ryan Clark and his four... Read more >

The Willeyville is named after John Willey, the first mayor of Cleveland, who reputedly demolished a portion of the first bridge to Ohio City to keep a steady stream of business pouring into the Flats. In those bygone days, the area actually was nicknamed "Willeyville" because of the mayor's practice of protecting it.

The new restaurant, which opened at W. 10th and Front streets in the Flats, is a bridge to the city's past and future. With elegant, creat... Read more >

The two square miles of real estate between downtown Cleveland and University Circle are bursting with development. A local nonprofit has established a fund to ensure that work continues to flourish.

On June 20, economic development corporation MidTown Cleveland, Inc. announced the creation of the MidTown Cleveland, Inc. Endowment Fund at the Cleveland Foundation. The fund, under the foundation's guidance, proposes to build a sustainable revenue source to secure conti... Read more >

A trio of local creatives, whose work in the arts ranges from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, have been acknowledged for the impact they make on the community.

Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio, a nonprofit that promotes creative learning through the arts for local children and teenagers, announced the winners of its 2013 Arts, Education and Entrepreneurship Awards late last week.

As part of its 60th anniversary celebration, the organization recognize... Read more >

Clevelanders are spoiled with an abundance of natural resources -- from water and parklands to wide-open spaces. But that doesn’t give us liberty to be careless about the way we use those assets. We chat with a pair of local "green gurus" to see what we all can be doing to live greener lives.

For Gordon Square residents and Edgewater Park visitors, the long wait finally is over. The bike-ped underpass at W. 76th Street that connects the west side to Edgewater reopens next week -- albeit a few years late and millions over budget. Public officials plan to celebrate on Tuesday, July 2nd at 5 pm with a ribbon cutting at Battery Park Wine Bar.

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) spokesperson Amanda Lee says the delays were caused by environmental issues that r... Read more >

The jazz institution Nighttown has opened two new patios -- one for people and the other for people accompanied by their four-legged friends -- at its home on Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. They're not what you might expect: Unlike the traditional look of the restaurant's interior, the patios are very contemporary.

"The whole back of the building is basically a patio complex," says owner Brendan Ring. "We created two side-by-side patios, one enclo... Read more >

A Shaker Heights High School project about the Kent State shootings will be brought into classrooms throughout the Cleveland area thanks to a nonprofit that believes education is the key to stopping such events from happening again.

Facing History and Ourselves awarded Shaker Heights High School teacher John Morris $3,000 to collaborate with Kent State University professor David Hassler on the project. American history, literature and theater students at Shaker ... Read more >

Summer traditionally is the season for kids to laze about or get shuttled off to camp by their parents. Cleveland Public Library has whipped up an imaginative way keep children engaged in reading during the hot months through its Summer Reading Club.

This year's Make it a Great Summer program will run until August 2. While it is designed to keep the minds of its young participants active and ready for a return to the classroom, that doesn't mean sitting them among... Read more >

Both Bizdom and LaunchHouse received hundreds of entrepreneurs applying for their respective accelerator programs this year. LaunchHouse received a record 115 applications for 10 spots in its 2013 LHX accelerator program, while Bizdom already has seen more than 100 applications this year from all over the country.

Both organizations each received $200,000 from Ohio’s New Entrepreneurs (ONE) Fund earlier this year. So, Bizdom and LaunchHouse decided to collaborate in... Read more >

The developers behind a new 62-unit apartment building in Ohio City say they'll start demolition of existing buildings this week. Construction will begin later this summer, and moving trucks should start pulling up to the newly minted units by fall 2014.

"It's the right time to do something," says Brian Koch as to why he chose to pursue the long-stalled project on Detroit Avenue between W. 30th and 32nd streets, which originally was planned as condos bef... Read more >

As an entrepreneurship/business management senior at Ohio University, and the president of the school’s Entrepreneurship Club, Richard Rodman has started two successful companies during his studies. Most recently, he noticed the need for some guidance in the crowdfunding trend.

So Rodman first started 530Funds in November 2012, a search engine and news site for the crowdfunding industry. “It was really hard to sift through Google to find the right platform,&rd... Read more >

Stormwater run-off can overflow sewers, flood homes, erode roads and streambanks, and pollute our beloved waterways. Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is seeking to address these issues with a stormwater management program. Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, manager of watershed programs for NEORSD, explains what the venture means for the average resident.

A determined group of Heights parents who have long sought a creative educational experience for their kids are opening Cleveland's first-ever Waldorf school. It is expected to open this fall in the former Coventry Elementary School in Cleveland Heights.

"This is a great thing for Cleveland Heights," says Amy Marquit-Renwald, a Shaker Heights resident who grew up in Cleveland Heights and helped to create the new Urban Oak School. "We're going to see... Read more >

In hundreds of metalworking shops throughout the region, modern-day makers are carrying on a grand tradition that links them to our city's past. Early on, Cleveland produced the most cherished ornamental ironwork. Today, artistic fabricators are using iron and steel as their go-to material when crafting functional furnishings or imposing public art projects.