Alex Tapie has always wanted to open an art gallery, the kind of space that provides young, emerging artists with an opportunity to show their work to an audience.

"I wanted to create a space that was interactive and that would demystify the art experience," says Tapie, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art. "A collective gallery, studio and venue space."

She mentioned the idea to fellow artists Brian Straw, Dan Price and Suzanne Cofer. "We all clicked creatively," Tapie says. Survival Kit art gallery was born.

The gallery opened with a bang in December, attracting over 200 people to its first show. Rotating exhibits and events, including music and craft fairs, are planned for 2011. On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21-22, Survival Kit will host the 4th Coast Pop Up Market, an exhibit by local artists, designers and vendors that features art, vintage clothing and music.

Getting to this point wasn't easy, say the owners. To turn vision into reality, Tapie and her cohorts first had to find a space. They stumbled upon the perfect location, a 4,500-square-foot space in the 78th Street Studios, a hub for arts-related businesses in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, which Tapie labels "a great arts community."

The problem was that the space was "trashed." Tapie talked the landlord into letting her fix it up in exchange for cheap -- even free -- rent. The artists spent five months cleaning trash and debris, scraping tile, painting floors and building walls.

As for the name, Tapie says it's fitting because the gallery is a creative lifeline for young artists seeking community here. "We started joking around that this project was our survival kit -- that we could survive collectively," Tapie says. "The name just fit." And stuck.


Source: Alex Tapie
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When it comes to retail, how much is too much? That's the question being raised by residents who live near the former Oakwood Country Club, a 154-acre parcel where First Interstate Properties proposes to build a shopping mall that would rival nearby Legacy Village in size.

"There are moribund, vacant retail areas all over the Heights, so why do we need another mall?" asks Fran Mentch, president of the Severance Neighborhood Organization (SNO), a Cleveland Heights-based neighborhood group. "It would be one thing if the project added value, but this would only hurt existing stores."

Oakwood Commons, as the proposal is called, is a mixed-use lifestyle center on Warrensville Center Road. The retail portion of the development would be 63 acres and include a mixture of large big-box stores, smaller shops and restaurants. The developer also wants to preserve nearly half of the property by giving it to Cleveland Heights and South Euclid to create a park.

"This densely populated area is underserved by national retailers," counters First Interstate president Mitchell Schneider, "and there is more demand than can be accommodated by University Square, Severance and Cedar Center." His development would include stores that are new to the area. And because "investment begets investment," he explains, it would also lead to improvements in older retail areas.

According to a 2007 study completed by professor James Kastelic of Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs, Northeast Ohio has a retail surplus of just over 22 million square feet. Between 2000 and 2007, the study shows, Cuyahoga County's population declined by 6% while its retail space grew by 5%.

According to Kastelic, a Senior Park Planner with the Cleveland Metroparks, new retail could only be successful by luring customers from existing areas. Because the region is not growing, he stresses, "It would cut the pie into more pieces" rather than add value.

Schneider takes issue with Kastelic's study. "Much of that retail is functionally obsolescent," he says. "When it comes to national retailers, Northeast Ohio is not over-retailed. We have fewer square feet per capita than many other metro areas."


Source: Fran Mentch; James Kastelic
Writer: Lee Chilcote

What soul food restaurants lack in ambiance, they often make up for in good, down-home cuisine -- the modest digs are part of the charm and lend authenticity to the tried-and-true menus of chicken and biscuits, greens, and mac and cheese.

Yet Zanzibar Soul Fusion, a new restaurant now open at Shaker Square, is no ordinary soul food joint. The new hotspot offers soul food with a twist, dishing out traditional southern comforts in the atmosphere of an upscale lounge.

"We offer a foundation of soul food fused with other popular food items from different ethnic groups," says owner Akin Affrica. "It's Southern comfort food for the masses."

Affrica, a third-generation restaurant owner whose family also owns Angie's Soul Café, says that soul food fans will recognize the scratch cooking, traditional recipes and fresh ingredients, but will be surprised by the fresh, unusual take on soul food.

Instead of artichoke and spinach dip, for instance, chef Tony Fortner substitutes collard greens. Other unique, mouth-watering treats include the shrimp Po' Boys with lime zest sauce and slaw, and the Soul Rolls, a southern take on the Chinese egg roll.

Zanzibar also adds a new flavor to Shaker Square, the historic east side shopping center that's become a restaurant destination since it was purchased by the Coral Company in 2004. "I've always wanted to open a soul food restaurant here," Affrica says, "so when the owners contacted me, I figured it was meant to be."


Source: Akin Affrica
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When it comes to rainfall, we tend to focus on keeping it off of our heads -- not where it goes after hitting the pavement. Yet storm water runoff is a major issue in Northeast Ohio. With every downpour, millions of gallons of rainwater run off parking lots, streets and sidewalks, carrying pollutants into our streams, rivers and Lake Erie.

A new program launched by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) in December aims to address Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) that result in untreated wastewater entering our rivers and Lake Erie. NEORSD is evaluating the potential to control CSO's by helping communities to design streets, sidewalks and other impervious areas in ways that reduce runoff. NEORSD has committed to spending at least $42 million to control a minimum of 44 million gallons per year of CSO through the use of better storm water management or "green infrastructure." commits

"This is about the re-greening of our urban areas and potentially making a positive out of our vacant land problems," says Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Manager of Watershed Programs with NEORSD.

Take your local commercial district as an example. Landscaping requires water and maintenance. Every time it rains, the water sluices towards the catch basins in the street, ending up in the lake. What if communities designed streets so that rainwater funnels to the plants, providing more sustainable landscaping and reusing the water?

Forty-two million is a razor-thin slice of the $3 billion sewer upgrade, but NEORSD officials are hoping that a few key pilot projects will lead to a big change in how Northeast Ohio communities plan and implement infrastructure projects.


Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, NEORSD

Don't call us Silicon Valley just yet, but Cleveland has a growing list of small and mid-sized technology companies that call downtown home. In late December, Strongsville technology company MCPc announced that the firm will join their ranks, bringing 165 jobs and their corporate headquarters to downtown Cleveland in June.

MCPc, an international provider of tech products and support services with 320 employees, will move to the Plain Dealer building at 1801 Superior Ave., just east of the central business district. As two reasons behind its move, the company cited a desire to join downtown's growing hub of tech companies, and to be more centrally located. Incentives from the City of Cleveland and State of Ohio sweetened the deal.

"From major sporting events to entertainment venues, downtown Cleveland has a lot to offer our customers," says Beth Stec, Director of Corporate Communications and Human Resources. She added, "Our CEO, Mike Trebilcock, was excited about moving downtown."

The move was also celebrated by the Plain Dealer, whose headquarters is now just 70 percent full after years of cost-cutting. The building was completely occupied when it was built in 2001. MCPc plans to fill about 48,000 square feet on the third floor, as well as 49,000 square feet within the first floor parking garage. MCPc will spend about $3 million on improvements, including a new Customer Experience Center to allow clients to experience products first-hand, and a technology and distribution center.

MCPc plans to create at least 45 new jobs in downtown Cleveland. Since 2004, more than 30 technology companies have set up shop downtown, bringing over 1,000 jobs. More than half of these businesses moved from Cleveland suburbs.


Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Beth Stec, MCPc

The recent announcement of a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create urban farms along Kinsman Avenue is just one example of the growing power of the green movement in Cleveland's urban neighborhoods.

Another example is the 2009 award of a $75,000 grant from the U.S. EPA to help create Neighborhood Leadership for Environmental Health (NLEH), a partnership between three nonprofits to improve the environmental health of four east side neighborhoods. Organizers launched the program in 2010 and convened a neighborhood summit in October.

"This is a grassroots effort to help people to understand the issues, prioritize the ones that are most important, and develop ways to address them," says Mark McLain, Director of Health and Environmental Initiatives at Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI). "It's about taking action to make our communities healthier."

NLEH is a partnership between Environmental Health Watch, the Earthday Coalition and the Neighborhood Leadership Institute. The four targeted neighborhoods are Central, Fairfax, Mount Pleasant and Buckeye-Woodland. Since launching the effort, organizers have brought together a group of residents and stakeholders to brainstorm top environmental issues. Currently the group is winnowing down the list to their most important concerns, as well as specific projects to address them in 2011. Issues include air pollution, energy inefficiency in homes, childhood lead poisoning and asthma.

Once the planning is complete, the nonprofits plan to apply for additional EPA funding to implement projects to improve the environmental health of these communities.

McLain says this project is unique because it uses a grassroots approach and focuses on 'greening' entire neighborhoods. "There is growing awareness in inner-city neighborhoods that issues like health, safety and education relate to the environment," he says.


Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Mark McLain, Neighborhood Leadership Institute

Technically, Ohio Knitting Mills' first retail store in Cleveland is temporary. "But the reception has been tremendous," says owner Steve Tatar, "and it's encouraging for staying the long term."

Tatar's Ohio Knitting Mills sells sweaters and other apparel manufactured long ago -- between 1947 and 1974 -- by a large Cleveland-based company of the same name. "Beginning after World War II, the Mill plucked samples of each style they produced and put them into storage," the website explains. "We've opened this time capsule, and offer to you our collection of perfectly preserved American fashion and industrial craftsmanship."

In addition to selling online, Tatar ran a retail shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a couple years before returning to Cleveland in 2008. The new "pop-up shop", at 6505 Detroit Rd. in the Gordon Square Arts District (the former home of Room Service), has been well received, even by those who know nothing of the company's intriguing story.

"At first people were coming in and were like, 'This is cool -- what am I looking at? Who are you, what are you doing here?'" Tatar explains. So the store has become something of a gallery or museum, reviving interest in Cleveland's extensive but unheralded history as a garment-manufacturing center.

The store is also helping Tatar meet more Clevelanders who are creating things, like clothing and furniture, and slowly creating national buzz in their respective industries. Ohio in general, and Cleveland in particular, are reclaiming their reputations for high-quality manufacturing. As Tatar put its, "We still have the souls of makers."


Source: Steve Tatar
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

The recession grinds on, but the new store Native Cleveland has found a surprisingly lucrative niche: Local.

"Business is great," says manager Megan Coffman. "Everybody wants holiday gifts that are locally made."

Pushing local products is Native Cleveland's business model and mission. Located on Collinwood's Waterloo Road, in the former home of Shoparooni, Native Cleveland carries mostly products made in Ohio, and most are from the Cleveland region. Coffman says the idea for the store came from her time at CLE Clothing and seeing how well that company's Cleveland-themed gear sold at festivals and other events.

Native Cleveland is a featured vendor for CLE Clothing products, and Coffman says they're selling well there, too. Another big seller is exclusive Cleveland-themed prints from Grey Cardigan. Current inventory also includes buttons and signs from Northcoast Zeitgeist and Cleveland, Akron and Kent baby onesies.

Native Cleveland's holiday hours are noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.


Source: Megan Coffman
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

The first attempt to secure the former Oakwood Country Club for park land has failed. The 90-day purchase option held by the Trust for Public Land expired recently, before the San Francisco-based group could raise enough to buy the 150-acre privately owned site, which spans Cleveland Heights and South Euclid.

Fran Mentch, of the Severance Neighborhood Organization, is disappointed but continues to hope that mostly undeveloped land can be preserved as a public park. As a Facebook page for supporters of this plan notes, " It is a landscape of open rolling hills with tree-lined paved paths and, most notably, a section of Nine-Mile Creek."

"It comes down to, what kind of community do we want to live in?" she explains. And the inner-ring cities of Cuyahoga County need green space, not more commercial or residential development. "If someone had wanted to develop it," she adds, "it would have been a done deal by now."

Mentch says that SNO would like to partner with other groups to raise enough money to buy the land -- the asking price is $5.9 million -- and give it to the Cleveland Metroparks. SNO recently started pushing a letter-writing campaign to Metroparks, and Mentch plans to attend the December 16 board meeting.

"If they would work with us," Mentch says, "the whole thing could move forward. … I'm very optimistic. This is our generation's Cain Park."


Source: Fran Mentch
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

With their city's centennial coming up in less than 13 months, Shaker Heights officials will spend a lot of time in the new year preparing to celebrate history. But many are already looking much farther into the future, implementing the Economic Development Strategy adopted by Shaker City Council last month.

Crafted over several months with a consulting firm in Maryland, the plan outlines steps Shaker can take now and in the foreseeable future to ensure a stable and growing tax base. The fundamental step: "Instead of concentrating solely on the maintenance and improvement of Shaker Heights as a premier residential community, it must also aggressively encourage commercial development."

And not just retail development, which, the report notes, is important but less lucrative than offices. The plan names industries to target: health care and social services; design services; information systems; government and regulatory agencies; and small law firms.

The problem, the report notes, is that "Shaker Heights, similar to most first suburbs, has many commercial properties that are functionally obsolete. [The city] will need to create a climate of commercial property investment that will upgrade or replace existing facilities as well as catalyze the development of new office buildings suitable for modern tenants looking for space in a supply-rich leasing environment."  

Tania Menesse, Shaker's director of economic development, is looking at several ways to achieve this citywide renovation, including tax abatements, matching funds for building improvements, and partnerships with the community development departments of local banks.

"Everything," she says, "is focused on making the [office space] supply more attractive." Two areas of Chagrin Boulevard – near Lee Road, and near Warrensville Center Road – are especially promising, due to the commercials spaces available for lease or purchase there. She foresees many new and relocating small businesses moving into these areas, once buildings constructed for larger tenants have gotten new looks and floor plans.

"As a community, we've always done a good job focusing on our neighborhoods and parks and schools," Menesse says. "But we haven't done as good a job with our commercial districts."
 
The timing couldn't be better, what with the Shaker Launch House business incubator opening in a former car dealership in February. Says Menesse, "We want to be the east side place for people looking to start a company."




Source: Tania Menesse
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

 

And now for a small dose of good news from the foreclosure front: Two Slavic Village homes that sat empty for more than a year will be opened to potential buyers on December 16.

The homes -- on East 69th and East 75th -- were acquired from the banks that had taken them in foreclosure and fully renovated through the Opportunity Homes program, a joint venture between The City of Cleveland, Neighborhood Progress Inc., the Cleveland Housing Network and six Cleveland community development corporations.

"These are really good deals," says Stacy Pugh, housing director for Slavic Village Development, one of the six CDCs. The homes have been renovated top to bottom – everything is new, including the energy-efficient appliances. And yet they'll sell for well below the cost of those upgrades, which averages about $125,000, including acquisition, says Pugh.

"We're also willing to work with people," she adds, in light of how much more difficult securing a mortgage has become. Six-month lease-purchase deals are available for those whose credit might also need some renovating.

For details on the open house, contact Pugh at 216-429-1182 x 117 or stacyp@slavicvillage.org.


Source: Slavic Village CDC
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

Amy and Montri Visatsud met in a Thai restaurant, so it's only fitting that they'd open their own. Banana Blossom debuted in November at 2800 Clinton in Ohio City.

The couple considered Brunswick, but the choice wasn't difficult. "I'm a Cleveland native," says Amy, "and I'm really excited to see all the new businesses coming into the neighborhood, and this seemed like a good opportunity to get in there."

The move quickly paid off. Amy says she's pleasantly surprised by the local support, especially considering that the site -- the former home of Jazz 28 and Halite -- is a couple blocks off the main West 25th Street drag. "We have a lot of regulars already," she reports. "We had one girl who was there four times in the first week we were open."

Montri worked in an aunt's restaurant in Seattle, but is a first-time owner. Partner Sengchan Misaiphon is the chef. Both are from Bangkok, and they strive for authenticity in their extensive menu, which includes 58 entrees.



Source: Amy Visatsud
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

It may seem like the massive and sometimes controversial Innerbelt Bridge project has been in the works since Elliot Ness called Cleveland home, but design planning is reaching its final stages. Tremont residents and others with questions or concerns about what this behemoth will look like, particularly where it touches down on city streets, should not miss the Ohio Department of Transportation's next public meeting.

"The lion's share of the design work is already committed," says Chris Garland, executive director of Tremont West Development Corporation, which has worked with ODOT on this project for several years. What remains are "the more subtle aspects," like placement of lighting and the type fencing to be used on the Abbey Road bridge, which will remain the neighborhood's connection to downtown.

Design options, and a survey, have been posted online. But Garland stresses the importance of attending the meeting, December 13, 5-8 p.m., at Pilgrim Church Fellowship Hall, 2592 W. 14th St. Various design options will be displayed, and ODOT officials will be on hand to answer questions. "Just because you don't see something [in a design] doesn't mean it won't be included," he notes. His message to residents has been, "The most important thing is to show up."




Source: Tremont West
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

There is no downtown "plan," per se, but there is a hell of a lot going on. The newest piece to the revitalization puzzle is the NineTwelve District, a new identity for the declining business corridor between East 9th and East 12th streets, and Euclid and Lakeside.

The area once known as the financial district "is really going through a change," says Joseph Marinucci, president and CEO of the non-profit development group Downtown Cleveland Alliance. "Change" is a polite way of noting the slow but steady erosion of businesses there, exacerbated by the recession. More than a quarter of the office space is currently vacant, and more major employers -- including Key, Eaton and some law firms -- are expected to leave in the next few years.

Marinucci says the committee of stakeholders that is pushing the NineTwelve plan forward sees a mixed-use community, with more residential options, street-level retail, public spaces, perhaps even trolley service. He likens this thinking to public broadcasting entity ideastream's move to Playhouse Square, which has been beneficial for both.

"Young people especially are looking to be in a more vibrant district," he explains. "They pay attention to the environment they're living and working in."

The project is still in the "visioning" phase, Marinucci notes, and DCA is looking for funding for preliminary elements like branding and the development of public spaces. He warns that patience will be needed: "This is a multi-year strategy. We can't just wave a wand and in 12 months have a new district."


Source: Downtown Cleveland Alliance
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

You'd be forgiven for thinking that "Indians Snow Days" refers to contingency plans in the event of a repeat of 2007, when the home opener was delayed, and finally called, due to snow. In April. Actually, Snow Days is an entirely different first in Major League Baseball: an off-season theme park inside a stadium, with the theme being wintertime fun.

According to Rob Campbell of the Indians' communications department, Snow Days was inspired by the National Hockey League's surprisingly successful Winter Classic, an outdoor hockey game played each New Year's Day. In its first year, 2008, the game filled Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, where the Bills play. The 2009 game, played at Chicago's Wrigley Field, set TV ratings records for pro hockey. Last year's match, at Fenway in Boston, was the finale of a Super Bowl-like week of events.

Lacking an NHL franchise, Cleveland would seem to have no chance of attracting the Winter Classic. Still, says Campbell, Dennis Lehman, the Indians' executive vice president for business, and Jim Folk, v.p. for park operations, were intrigued by the notion of opening the gates of Progressive Field in months when it's typically dark and quiet.

Campbell says that a great deal of market research went into determining what would lure folks downtown during the day in winter, a tradition that had gone the way of Higbee's and ice skating on Public Square. Some Metroparks offer snow tubing, and there's an outdoor skating rink at Wade Oval. But Snow Days brings these activities, and others, together in one place -- a place that's surrounded by restaurants and shops. And ultimately, says Campbell, making downtown a wintertime destination again is what it's is all about. Opening weekend attracted more than 6,000 visitors, and the team hopes for more than 50,000 before the whole thing wraps up on January 2.

"They're taking a huge step in [promoting downtown]," says Joe Marinucci, president and CEO of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. "I'd love to see them expand it beyond the holiday season." That's definitely a possibility next year, Campbell says.

Snow Days was a hot topic at MLB's November meetings, Campbell adds. Once again, Cleveland is a national leader in creative reuse of vacant land.


Source: Cleveland Indians
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

When Cleveland Heights resident Michael Adams first got serious about making the switch from law to opening a restaurant, he looked at lots of forgettable locations -- "kind of cookie-cutter," he recalls. Then someone told him about a space on the second floor of the Rockefeller Building, at the corner of Mayfeild and Lee roads. For Adams, it was love at first sight.

"It's a gorgeous space," Adams says of the former bank, with its original, well-preserved stone floors, fireplace, plaster walls, oak rafters and soaring ceilings. "A space like that needs to be seen." And, thus, Rockefeller's was born.

The building, which now houses a Starbucks, sporting goods store and other retail on the first floor, was built in the 1930s by John D. Rockefeller Jr., as a commercial center for the family's residential development along the Cleveland Heights-East Cleveland border. Later, Ameritrust Bank occupied the second floor. After Ameritrust went out of business, a kitchen was added and for decades the site was rented out for parties and events.

A portion of the large space will be given over to a bar and lounge (with its own menu), while the rest will be reserved for more upscale dining. Adams, a first-time restaurateur, has hired Jill Vedaa as executive chef. Vedaa's resume includes stints at Lola, Flying Fig, Wine Bar in Rocky River, Mise and Saucy Bistro. Adams promises an American menu, with lots of local food and seasonal changes.

Rockefeller's is scheduled to open on January 11, 2011.


Source: Michael Adams
Writer: Frank W. Lewis