An east-side developer has purchased the historic streetcar power station on Larchmere Boulevard. Once home to the American Crafts Gallery, which is thought to be the oldest gallery of its kind in Cleveland, and which is now housed within the Dancing Sheep boutique down the road, the property has been vacant for years. Ilene Greenblatt, who has developed properties in Chicago before moving back to Cleveland to be near family, bought the building and expects to wrap up renovations by March.

"It's a very handsome building and I've always loved it," says Greenblatt. "When I saw it was for sale and the price was reasonable, I jumped in and bought it."

Renovating the building has not been quite as reasonable. Shortly after the purchase, the back wall caved in and the roof collapsed. Greenblatt soldiered on, fixing a leaky basement, cleaning out an old tunnel leading to the street that was stuffed with trash, and rebuilding a mezzanine that was too dangerous to stand on.

The property, which has soaring 30-foot ceilings, brick walls and large windows, will soon house Wolfs Gallery, a long-running fixture on the Cleveland art scene that opened a gallery on Larchmere a few years ago. Owner Michael Wolf plans to relocate to the 6,000-square-foot space in spring, a dramatic expansion from his current storefront.

"I love the people in the area, they're wonderful," says Greenblatt. "The building was neglected for so long, it needed a lot of money and a lot of work. But it will be here for at least another hundred years, easily."

Source: Ilene Greenblatt
Writer: Lee Chilcote