When Fresh Water launched in September 2010, we promised to highlight Cleveland's most progressive and creative people, businesses and organizations. But more importantly, we endeavored to place those subjects against the most compelling backdrop of all: Cleveland and its wonderful neighborhoods. Each Thursday, our readers are invited to dig a little deeper into this city we call home. What follows is a list of the 10 most-read features of the previous 12 months. Looking at the subject matter of those stories, it's clear that the most important topics to our readers include neighborhood development, sustainability and transportation, and, of course, food and booze.

The City of Cleveland, Neighborhood Progress Inc. (NPI) and ParkWorks recently launched ReImagining Cleveland II, a $1 million push to fund sideyard expansions, vacant lot beautification, and market gardens in Cleveland. They hope the program will improve vacant land, enhance local communities and further green the city.

"In a city like Cleveland, rebuilding the housing market really means taking down bad houses and reclaiming vacant land," says Bobbi Reichtell, Senior Program Officer with NPI. "We're focusing the sideyard expansions in areas where there are already a number of other things happening, such as Model Block programs and the Opportunity Homes rehab program, so that we can get a real impact."

Reichtell anticipates two-thirds of the funding will go to yard expansions, while one-third will go to stabilization projects like market gardens, wildflower gardens and vineyards. Over 50 applicants have already applied for sideyard expansions, while 16 stabilization sites have been identified. Funding will be used to clean, grade and fence properties before they are transferred to their new owners.

Reichtell also stressed that the city has a formal application process, and that it retains sites with critical short-term development potential. Owners with code violations or tax delinquencies cannot be accepted into the program. Applicants must also invest some of their funds to acquire a lot or create a project.

Lilah Zautner, Sustainability Manager with NPI, says the reaction to the program differs radically depending upon the individual and where they live. "Some view sideyard expansion as the suburbanization of the city, while others view it as homesteading -- they're adding gardens, pools, gazebos and more."

Since the program launched, there's been no shortage of applicants. "We've had an overwhelming response so far, but we are still accepting applications," she says.


Source: Bobbi Reichtell, Lilah Zautner
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Brooklyn, Old Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Centre – who can blame us for being totally and utterly befuddled? Fortunately, Fresh Water writer Erin O'Brien is here to offer some insight into the Brooklyns of and around Cleveland. Read up: There just might be a quiz later on.

Residents of Lyndhurst typically live 24 years longer than residents of the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, according to a recent analysis by the Cuyahoga County Place Matters Team. This health disparity is why the group, in collaboration with the Saint Luke's Foundation, has launched a speaker series at the City Club of Cleveland focused on creating healthier communities in Cuyahoga County.

"It shouldn't matter how much money you have, your community should still be thriving," says Sandy Chappelle, Senior Program Officer with the Saint Luke's Foundation and a leader of the Place Matters initiative. "Quality housing, safe streets and other factors all go into whether a community is healthy or not."

This past Tuesday, the Place Matters team hosted a City Club event with Ron Sims, former U.S. Department of Housing and Development Deputy Secretary, who spoke about how land use planning can impact public health outcomes.

The long-term goal of the Place Matters initiative, says Chappelle, is not to drive prescriptive policies, but rather to infuse knowledge of healthy communities into the larger, public policy decisions that are made at the regional level.

"One example of unhealthy planning is that many new schools are built so that kids have to take the bus, which contributes to lack of physical activity and obesity," says Chappelle. "Yet now we're becoming increasingly aware that all sectors must work together to tackle health outcomes. People are also more aware that this is directly connected to our region's economic viability."


Source: Sandy Chappelle
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in Hudson and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation have committed $3.2 million to train area young entrepreneurs through Blackstone LaunchPad, a venture coach program developed at the University of Miami, Florida in 2008.
 
Students, faculty and alumni at Baldwin-Wallace College, CWRU, Kent State and Lorain County Community College will have the chance to participate in the program, which takes applicants from idea to full-fledged business.
 
“A lot of schools around Northeast Ohio have strong entrepreneurship programs, but there’s an experiential gap for the students,” says Deborah D. Hoover, president and CEO of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation. “There are a lot of really good ideas simmering on campuses but the commercialization is lacking. This program will help with that.”
 
The Blackstone LaunchPad was first started in Detroit in 2010 at two colleges. The program provides participants with advice, mentors, resources, counsel and networks necessary to get their ideas started. Since 2008 Blackstone LaunchPad has generated 65 start-up ventures, 120 new jobs, and drawn nearly 2,000 student participants.
 
“One of the reasons they selected Cleveland was they are looking at regions being hit hard by economic downturns,” says Hoover of Blackstone’s decision. Participants will be selected in early 2012 and be in full swing by fall.
 

Source: Deborah D. Hoover
Writer: Karin Connelly
 
 

Local real estate pros like David Sharkey of Progressive Urban have been struggling to stay afloat lately, a drastic shift from the urban housing boom of the late-'90s. But slowly, they say, wary buyers are emerging from the sidelines. Their target: value-rich homes with energy-efficient features in neighborhoods with proven market appeal.

LaRick Calhoun has been an entrepreneur since he was 11 years old, when he started cutting hair for people in his neighborhood. His mother was a hair stylist and for $5, Calhoun would create his own styles.

“That’s where it all began,” he says. Then, years later as a real estate loan officer, Calhoun realized he could teach others the skills they need to be successful in business and created 2Excel Group.
 
“I noticed that at 100 percent commission, we really didn’t have any resources in training and development,” Calhoun recalls. “So I built 2Excel Group to provide resources to independent real estate professionals. Then I expanded it to all kinds of entrepreneurs. They really liked our meetings, and they didn’t want to miss any of our events.”
 
Officially launched in 2005, 2Excel Group is a marketing and consulting company that offers regular seminars on starting and growing a business. The company picked up speed in 2009 and now has four core people on staff, a business center in Garfield Heights, and plans to open satellite centers in East Cleveland and Warrensville Heights, as well as hire event and meeting planners. The business center is part incubator, part workspace, part inspirational and motivational center.
 
Calhoun plans to focus on young entrepreneur in 2012 with the Young Entrepreneur Professional Network. “We will have out-of-the-box activities for small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to be part of something fresh,” he says. “We will be an aggressive, different network. We have to prepare tomorrow’s leaders; we have to talk to them at a young age to motivate them.”

 
Source: LaRick Calhoun
Writer: Karin Connelly

The City of East Cleveland, a community that has lost thousands of residents in recent years due to the foreclosure crisis and decades of disinvestment, has celebrated two groundbreakings in as many months, suggesting that the city's new pro-development approach may be working.

Officials from the city, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the Cuyahoga Land Bank and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing this week celebrated the groundbreaking of a new 39-unit senior apartment building. It is being built on a patch of vacant land at Euclid Avenue and Belmore Road.

Last month, East Cleveland leaders were on hand to give speeches at the groundbreaking for the Circle East Townhomes, a cluster of market-rate apartments on Euclid being developed by the Finch Group.  

"We really encourage building in the City of East Cleveland," Mayor Gary Norton said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the senior building. "This project will give the senior citizens in our community a high-quality place to live." The small, enthusiastic crowd, who appeared as hungry for new development as the mayor, all but said "Amen!" each time Norton paused during his speech.

Mayor Norton has been called an effective new leader for this once-prosperous suburb. The Circle East Townhomes project has also been hailed as a rare instance of University Circle's development fervor spreading into East Cleveland. Yet while these two groundbreakings are no doubt worth celebrating, the rows of blighted properties along Euclid suggest the mammoth task that still lies ahead.

CMHA is building the Euclid-Belmore Senior Building with the aid of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding. It will be built using Enterprise Green Standards to ensure that it is comfortable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.


Source: CMHA, Gary Norton
Writer: Lee Chilcote

What is most unusual about Trailside at Morgana Run, a new development of 100-plus new homes in the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, is not simply that it is a rare example of speculative housing development in today’s morbid real estate market.

No, what seems even more unique is that Third Federal Bank, whose headquarters is located adjacent to the site, is actually the developer of the project. Typically, banks do not take an active role in development.

“Third Federal has historically been all about homeownership,” says Joe Del Re of Zaremba Homes, the urban homebuilder that has been hired to oversee construction. “What better statement could they possibly make to the community than to not only put their headquarters here, but also to build homes?”

Trailside features new, single-family homes that are priced from $135,000 to $150,000. The 2- to 3-bedroom units are highly energy-efficient and have access to green space filled with native plantings. Morgana Run, a trail that weaves through Slavic Village and connects to Mill Creek Reservation, runs by the site. 

Del Re says the project might appeal to young professionals as well as older homebuyers seeking to downsize from larger neighborhood homes. The units feature a first-floor bedroom option, yards and detached two-car garages.

Zaremba, Third Federal and Slavic Village Development worked together for more than five years to acquire and redevelop the project site, which was an environmentally contaminated brownfield until it was cleaned up a few years ago.

Del Re says that Third Federal is taking on the project because of its commitment to Slavic Village and because the site is literally located in its backyard.
 

Source: Joe Del Re
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Cities, suburbs and neighborhoods alike often have slick promotional materials that advertise yearned-for amenities such as good schools, low taxes, desirable homes and nearby shopping. What they choose to include offers a glimpse into what the community values. Yet very few of them can boast a giant, colorful wall of books that frames the entranceway to their community.

The Larchmere-Shaker Square neighborhood of Cleveland would be the one exception. To enshrine the east side community's love of books and recognize its rich diversity, local artist Gene Epstein has installed a 74-foot-wide mural of a virtual bookshelf on the side of Loganberry Books, an independent bookstore that has been a mainstay of the eclectic business district since the mid-1990s.

The vividly depicted book spines include "Some Things that Stay" by local novelist Sarah Willis; "The Life and Death of Great American Cities" by oft-cited urban planner Jane Jacobs; and a book about barbering, which was chosen to reflect the growing number of barber shops in the immediate area. Epstein painstakingly photographed each title, then installed the highly visible mural on the east-facing wall of Loganberry.

"The criteria we had was that the books should be 25 percent children's literature, 25 percent related to the Larchmere community, 25 percent representing the businesses, and 25 percent about Cleveland," explains Epstein.

The books were nominated by community members and culled by a committee of residents and shop owners to reflect the area's true diversity. After the mural was printed on vinyl-coated polyester and mounted on sections of plywood, Epstein spent about two weeks installing it in 12-foot-tall sections, much to the wonderment of passers-by and employees of nearby businesses.

Now that it is finally complete, Larchmere-Shaker Square has a work of public art that celebrates what it has already become known for: art and community.


Source: Gene Epstein
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Luther Heggs has been a roadie, sound engineer and lighting technician for rock and roll bands from the juke joints of Nashville to the splashy clubs of Las Vegas. He also had stints as an on-air personality for local radio stations. Yet when his kids were born, he switched to wiring studios as his way of earning a living. Still, he often longed for the excitement and drama of the rock and roll shows of his younger years.

That's why he created the Heggs House of Horror. For 15 years, Heggs has transformed the yard of his Old Brooklyn bungalow into a delightful, homemade scare-fest that is a tribute both to rock and roll and the Halloweens of his youth.

"He loves to put on a show, and this became an outlet," says Luanne Bole-Becker, a local filmmaker and personal friend who is creating a documentary about the so-called Master of Scare-a-Monies. "He builds these characters in his yard from all kinds of stuff, whether it's oscillating fans or stuff he finds at garage sales."

The Heggs House of Horror began modestly with a paper mache witch and a giant spider web. Today, the entire yard, driveway and side yard of the house are filled with an artful, ghoulish display that attracts thousands of visitors from Northeast Ohio and beyond each year. Some of the characters include Gene Simmons of Kiss, Freddy Krueger and classics from Heggs' childhood such as Ghoulardi.

"It's become sort of like a block party with a Halloween twist," says Bole-Becker. "Other families get together at Christmas, but his family hangs out at Halloween. Now there are other people on the street decorating their houses, too."

Ultimately, Bole-Becker says that the Heggs House of Horror is not intended to compete with more commercial fare -- Heggs spends his own money on the display and doesn't charge admission. It's designed to bring people together.

"For baby boomers like me, it reminds us of the Halloween of my childhood, when the neighborhood became magical," says Bole-Becker. "It sort of feels that way. This really plain bungalow all of a sudden becomes this odd wonderland."


Source: Luanne Bole-Becker
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit organization, wants every affordable housing unit in the U.S. to be green by 2020. Now, thanks to that bold ambition, a Cleveland apartment building will receive a green makeover, making it healthier and more energy-efficient for the people that live there.

Enterprise recently announced that it had closed on its first loan in the Ohio Green Communities Retrofit Fund, a $1 million program to renovate older apartment buildings so that they are more energy-efficient. Harvard Village Elderly Apartments, a 49-unit rental building for low- to moderate-income seniors owned by National Church Residences, will receive a $250,000 loan from the Fund.

National Church Residences plans a $1.4 million retrofit for the property, including new windows and doors and new insulation. The rehabilitation project will be funded by the Ohio Weatherization Assistance Program, the City of Cleveland and owner equity, in addition to the Enterprise loan.

"The theory we're trying to prove is that the savings realized by completing energy retrofits are more than sufficient to pay off the low-interest rehab loan," explains Marc McDermott, Vice President of Ohio Enterprise Community Partners. "It's a tough proposition, because you've got to have an owner that is confident in the energy audit's recommendations and willing to take on debt."

The Harvard Village Elderly Apartments was built as a schoolhouse in 1920. Slavic Village has become known for its commitment to sustainability initiatives, including community gardens, the Green Corps learning farm and a farmers' market.


Source: Marc McDermott
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Green City Growers, a for-profit, employee-owned produce company that is part of the nonprofit Evergreen Cooperatives, will break ground next week on a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse. The project, which will cost $17 million and is expected to eventually create about 40 full-time jobs, will be built in an east side neighborhood so wracked by poverty it has been dubbed "The Forgotten Triangle."

The greenhouse, which is being constructed on a scruffy, 10-acre patch of land at Kinsman and Ensign in the city's Central neighborhood, will grow fresh lettuce and herbs that will then be sold to large University Circle institutions, grocery store chains, and food service companies in Northeast Ohio.

"Cleveland is one of the leaders in the nation in terms of local food initiatives, and this project fits perfectly with where Cleveland is and where it's going," says Mary Donnell, CEO of Green City Growers Cooperative. "This greenhouse project will allow us to provide local food year-round to residents of Northeast Ohio."

A recent study by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition found that while 37 percent of Cleveland residents say it is important that their food is grown locally, only two percent of the food purchased in the region is grown here.

In addition to selling the freshest heads of lettuce and cutting the region's carbon footprint, Green City Growers aims to employ Cleveland residents -- especially those living in Central.

"We're creating good jobs and distributing the profits back to worker-owners," says Donnell. "People are looking at Cleveland and Evergreen Coops from all over the country -- they're calling it 'The Cleveland Model.'"


Source: Mary Donnell
Writer: Lee Chilcote

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

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

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

Christopher Celeste and Blake Squires have business in their blood. Over the course of their careers, each has made his way through the political world, the marketing and digital music world, and everything in between. Together they founded and fostered Solon-based Findaway World before each eventually left the company.
 
The two came together again when they realized they most liked forming businesses, and wanted to put their knowledge to work helping others do the same.

“I spent a lot of time in my career helping people bring ideas to market,” says Celeste. “One on the things I realized I wanted to do is help other people create businesses.”
 
So the two created Hatch Partners, which stands for Help At The Critical Hour. The company helps entrepreneurs all over Northeast Ohio bring their ideas to life, whether it’s through mentoring, advising or financing.
 
“The idea behind Hatch is that every entrepreneur has that moment of Should I pursue this idea?" explains Celeste. “We like being at the moment if inception when an idea is really coming to life.”
 
While Hatch occasionally provides capital to its portfolio of startups, its underlying function is to encourage other entrepreneurs. “We have no interest in becoming venture capitalists,” says Celeste. “The idea is really being an advisor and coaching.”
 
Unlike other business incubators in the area, Hatch is focused on coaching. “We’re neither place-based nor institutional,” says Celeste.  “We’ve had a lot of good fortune in our lives. There were always key people who said, ‘Yes you can. You can build this business.’”

 
Source: Christopher Celeste
Writer: Karin Connelly