new york times takes a shine to cleveland's reuse policies

In the Travel section of the New York Times, writer Peter Larson details the robust reuse approach to development taking place in Cleveland. Titled “Cleveland, a City Repurposed,” the article describes various projects in the city that made use of vacant historic structures.

“If there had to be a slogan to describe Cleveland as it is today, ‘what’s old is new again’ would undoubtedly be it,” Larson writes. “In the last few years, locals and businesses in this Midwest metropolis have been repurposing historic buildings from its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and turning them into restaurants, stores and draws for both residents and tourists. Many of these structures had sat empty for a decade or more before restoration efforts began infusing a vibrancy into this once-somewhat-downtrodden city.”

Examples given include Cowell & Hubbard, Zack Bruell’s upscale French restaurant that opened in a former jewelry boutique of the same name. The Horseshoe Casino, which now occupies the first four floors of the former Higbee’s department store. Ohio City’s Transformer Station, which was built in 1924 as a power-converter station for the local streetcar line. And the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, also built in a defunct power station.

Read the rest right here.