Construction work has begun on a $1 million facelift to W. 6th Street, which will soon be transformed into a more attractive pedestrian-friendly environment that will include wider sidewalks, larger outdoor cafes, new public art and a branding campaign.

Thomas Starinsky of the Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation says that the impetus for the project came when officials realized that most of the buildings in the area had been restored, and that neighborhood leaders now needed to focus their attention on improving the "space between buildings."

"As the Global Center for Health Innovation, Convention Center and Ernst and Young Tower became a reality, we realized we needed to kick it up a notch," he says. "We pushed the City of Cleveland to make sure this project would be completed before the Global Center and the Convention Center open."

The project, which should be completed July 18th, is being funded through federal transportation enhancement dollars combined with a 20 percent city match. New banners and flower baskets are being paid for by sponsorships and memberships.

The downside is that businesses along W. 6th Street will sacrifice their patios this spring. "They're excited, but not about four months of construction," says Starinsky. "But we're taking it off like a band-aid and getting it done fast."

Although W. 6th perhaps is best known for its (occasionally infamous) clubs, Starinsky says the district's identity is not only diverse -- he cites a range of excellent ethnic cuisine in a few compact blocks -- but also quickly evolving.

"We have 3,000 residents and employees today, and we're adding 2,000 more employees with the Ernst and Young Tower," he says. "We recognize there will be a different type of person walking around here from the Convention Center and Global Center. We look at this as an opportunity to step up the Warehouse District."

Starinsky cites Take 5 jazz club as an example of the kind of new business that he hopes will add to the Warehouse District's ever-blossoming entertainment and dining scene. "There needs to be more diversity of food and entertainment."

The project also will include public art that tells the story of the Warehouse District. The 11-foot tall displays, which will be installed in the streetscape on W. 6th Street and eventually throughout the district, are designed by artist Corrie Slawson and authored by Warehouse District Director Tom Yablonsky.


Source: Thomas Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Think you know Cleveland? Well, thanks to $4 billion in new downtown development, you just might not recognize it anymore. Soon-to-be-completed projects like the Global Health Innovation Center, Convention Center, Ernst and Young Tower, Aloft Hotel and those in PlayhouseSquare have pushed the city to a tipping point in its evolution.

A group of Cleveland furniture makers who have earned national attention for their work plan to open a gallery in the 5th Street Arcades in downtown Cleveland in order to showcase their work.

They believe a downtown gallery can be successful by co-locating with other like-minded retailers, serving the growing base of downtown residents and hosting shows to attract crowds. Thus far, 12 Cleveland furniture designers have signed up to take part.

Soulcraft Gallery was recently named a finalist in the 5th Street Arcades Retail Development Grant Competition, a program that will award grant funding, favorable lease terms and discounted space to five startup retailers.

The other finalists are Bliss Books (indie bookseller), Bright Green Gift Store (organic gifts and home wares), POUR (coffee shop) and Sushi 86 (restaurant). All of the finalists have launched crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo to leverage the funding they've been awarded by Charter One Growing Communities.

Downtown Cleveland Alliance and Cumberland Development, which is the master lease-holder for the 5th Street Arcades, are also partners in the unique effort.

"The furniture scene is really growing here," says Peter Debelack of Soulcraft Woodshop, a cooperative woodshop that is located in the Hildebrandt Building in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. "Cleveland is a good fit for this in part because of how decimated it's been. We have so much amazing industrial space that Joe Schmoe can get for a really low cost. Then there's the wealth of reclaimed materials like industrial salvage. For pure designers, we're also in close proximity to the Amish, who are some of the finest furniture makers in the world."

The 900-square-foot gallery will feature 40 feet of window space on the corridor. It will function as a gallery with regular hours, but will also host special events and openings. Debelack plans to run it along with designer Shelley Mendenhall. Other furniture makers include A Piece of Cleveland, 44 Steel and Rust Belt Welding.

Debelack says the store will contribute to the revitalization of Cleveland and downtown while growing the furniture making scene here. He also wants to nourish the burgeoning maker movement, calling Soulcraft an "open source gallery" where talented amateurs will also be able to proffer their work.

Although no date is set, Debelack expects Soulcraft Gallery to open this summer.


Source: Peter Debelack
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When Jack Bialosky founded Bialosky and Partners back in 1951, he was just 27 years old and fresh out of serving in World War II. His vision and determination as an architect prompted him to follow his entrepreneurial urges and break away from his employer to pursue the clients he wanted to serve.

“He was working for architect Charles Kohlman at the time,” says Jack Bialosky, Jr. “As more work started coming in, Kohlman wasn’t interested in taking it on. So, Dad went out on his own.”
 
The move paid off. The senior Bialosky began with single family residential homes, including some of the first modern homes in Shaker Heights. The homes were known as “Bialosky-Designed Homes” at the time.
 
The practice has expanded over the years to include some of Cleveland’s most notable structures. It began with designing the May Company building in University Heights -- the largest retail project in the country when built in 1951. “That was the beginning of a big commercial practice for us,” says Bialosky, Jr.
 
More recent retail structures include Eton Chagrin Boulevard and Crocker Park. The firm has designed buildings at Ursuline College and Tri-C’s hospitality management program as well as RTA’s headquarters. Bialosky and Partners also has a reputation for its religious buildings, like Cedar Road Synagogue.
 
“We’ve been in business long enough that a lot of our buildings have come down, but a lot of them also have become landmarks,” says Bialosky, Jr.
 
Today, Bialosky and Partners is a family-run business. Jack Jr. joined the firm in 1986 and brother William Bialosky heads up the New York offices. The firm has grown over time to 40 employees in Cleveland and six in New York. The firm has made the Weatherhead 100 three times, and the average tenure of employees is eight to 10 years -- a long time in the industry.
 
Bialosky Jr. credits their success with being a diverse architectural firm. “We were advised that if we wanted to grow we had to specialize or become boutique,” he says. “That didn’t sound like fun, so we bucked that advice, and it’s a good thing we did.”

 
Source: Jack Bialosky, Jr.
Writer: Karin Connelly

Gordon Food Service, a 115-year-old company that specializes in large package food items and kitchen supplies, is opening a new retail location on West 117th Street on a former J.D. Byrider car lot.

The new store, which has been fully approved by the City of Cleveland and is set to break ground this month, reinforces the strength of the west side Cleveland trade area, says Anita Brindza, Executive Director of Cudell Improvement.

"With the density of our population, we have a market here," she says. "They liked the proximity to downtown, the west side of Cleveland and Lakewood, and of course to I-90 for deliveries. It worked out that this would an ideal location."

GFS Marketplace Realty paid $1.25 million for the property last year. Plans have come together quickly, and company officials expect to invest approximately $4 million in the location, Brindza says. The store would employ about 20 people.

"We're always looking for additional locations that will serve our existing customer base as well as [new customers]," says Mark Dempsey with GFS. "We have locations in the suburbs of Cleveland, but we do not currently have a location that serves the city's near west side very well. This is really about convenience."

Dempsey touted the company's ability to deliver "restaurant-quality products in large packages" and items that consumers "can't get at a grocery store" in addition to its ability to help restaurants and institutions "keep their operations cooking."

Brindza says the family-owned company has accommodated local concerns. "They initially thought about a truck entrance off W. 116th, but both the Councilman and Cudell Improvement said that would be inappropriate. We said we'd like a pedestrian entrance off W. 116th to serve local residents, and they agreed."

GFS did not request any incentives from the City of Cleveland, says Brindza, whose organization helped shepherd the store through various city approvals.

Brindza believes GFS will happily coexist with local grocery stores as well as the planned grocery at the Shoppes on Clifton development. "You don't go in there to buy a single loaf of bread, but if you're looking for economy-size Betty Crocker cake mix. If you're having a party, family gathering, something with 50 people."

If development proceeds as planned, the store will be open before Thanksgiving.


Source: Anita Brindza, Mark Dempsey
Writer: Lee Chilcote

A waterfall swing developed by Cleveland creatives has amassed over 2.7 million hits on YouTube, garnering the makers international recognition and business opportunities. Created by local engineers and artists, the waterfall swing has been featured at tech festivals from New York to California, hi-profile TV ads, and the Today Show.

If phrases like "circuit board" and "stereo inspection microscope" sound daunting, you're not alone. The tools of the high-tech maker trade can be über intimidating -- unless you live in Cleveland, where user-friendly places like TechCentral and Think[box] help normal folks to create.

Some creative, outside-the-box thinking by the city's leading urban design and cycling advocates has led to the creation of four additional "bike boxes," which are to be installed this spring in various Cleveland neighborhoods.

The newest wave of bike boxes are modeled after a successful pilot project at Nano Brew in Ohio City. That installation transformed a steel shipping container into a colorful curbside bike garage for two-wheeled visitors.

By offering secure, covered parking in a bike corral that also functions as dynamic, placemaking public art, the Bridge Avenue bike box does more than simply provide practical parking: It brands the city as a place that prioritizes cycling.

"It's really a center of gravity," says Greg Peckham, Managing Director of LAND Studio, the nonprofit that spearheaded the project with Bike Cleveland. "It's as much about a safe, convenient, protected place to park your bike as it is about making a statement that cycling is an important mode of transportation in the city."

Peckham says that Ohio City's bike box is very well used on days when the West Side Market is open and in the evening when riders coast in for dinner or a drink. With the street's bike racks often at capacity, the bike box was critical, he says.

The new bike boxes will be installed in time for Bike Month in May. The locations are Gordon Square (a barn-red beauty outside Happy Dog), Tremont (two "half loaves," as Peckham calls them, outside South Side and Tremont Tap House), St. Clair Superior (location TBD) and a final, undetermined community.

The bike boxes are being custom-fabricated by Rust Belt Welding, which is an entrepreneurial duo that has made creative bike parking a calling card for their work. Each of the boxes is being designed with neighborhood input -- hence Tremont's half-boxes, which amount to a shipping container split in two.

The project is being supported by Charter One Growing Communities, which has also funded retail attraction efforts in Ohio City, downtown and St. Clair Superior.

Peckham says the new designs accommodate more bikes and use lighter colors. Users can expect more innovations in the future -- LAND Studio is working to secure funding so that green roofs and solar panels can be added to the boxes.

The bike boxes are being maintained through partnerships with neighboring businesses, which agree to maintain, clean and keep secure the facilities.


Source: Greg Peckham
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The once-dumpy strip mall in downtown Lakewood known as "Drug Mart Plaza" will no longer be boring. Dan Deagan, owner of the popular Deagan's Kitchen and Bar, plans to open a wine bar in the renovated plaza sometime this summer.

"Lakewood doesn't have any wine bars, and we sell a lot of wine here," says Deagan. "Lakewood has been good to us; I wanted to do something close."

Since Deagan named his first venue after himself, he said that he decided to go with a more modest name this time around. Thus, the new place will be called Humble Wine Bar.

The name also is a nod to the kind of venue he wants to create -- one in which wine snobbery is left at the door and anyone can learn about and enjoy good wine.

"A lot of people are intimidated by wine bars, and honestly, I'm one of them," he says. "I walk in and they hand me a War and Peace-size wine list, and it's overwhelming. We want it to be approachable and affordable."

Creating the right atmosphere is less about the size of the wine list than having a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere and a knowledgeable staff that can educate customers about wine and make suggestions. "It won't be cold and stuffy," promises Deagan.

The 60- to 70-seat venue, which will employ 15 to 20 people, will have a full liquor license and also sell craft beers. A "simple but very good" cocktail list will also be available.

Humble Wine Bar's roll-up glass garage doors and new patio on Detroit will help transform the long-dumpy plaza into yet another pleasant outdoor venue in Lakewood.

Deagan says the open kitchen will offer thin, Neapolitan-style pizzas, antipasti, cheeses, cured meats and other small plates. He's shooting for a June opening.

Deagan is opening Humble Wine Bar with his wife Erika, business partner and soon-to-be sommelier Amanda Bernot, and business partner Dan Stroup.

Humble Wine Bar will be located at 15412 Detroit Avenue.


Source: Dan Deagan
Writer: Lee Chilcote

On March 31st, Cuyahoga County will turn over the Global Health Innovation Center -- formerly known as the Medical Mart -- to its individual tenants so they can begin to build out each of their spaces. 

It will be a landmark moment for the project, says Dave Johnson, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the GHIC. He expects the project to be majority leased when the ribbon is cut in June.

"The project will open ahead of schedule and under budget," says Johnson, who also cites the building's LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) status, a sought-after sustainable building rating.

GHIC tenants include a partnership between the Cleveland Clinic and GE Healthcare, a partnership between University Hospitals and Phillips Healthcare, Johnson Controls, and the Health Information Management Society.

The GHIC will include a display of the "home of the future," which will be built out by vendors and will feature medical devices that allow people to stay in their homes. UH and Phillips will showcase scanning equipment, while Johnson Controls will display the latest in hospital operating systems. Visitors will be able to view the behind-the-wall systems that would otherwise be invisible.

The Health Information Management Society will rotate exhibits based on what's hot in healthcare management. "It will be like a pretend hospital," says Johnson. "This is the organization around healthcare IT. The display will show equipment and how it interfaces. This is an entity bumped from the cancelled Nashville Med Mart project. It will become a magnet for companies to test IT equipment."

Officials are planning a public grand opening in June with a weekend of festivities.


Source: Dave Johnson
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Captain Jeff Sanders has spent the past few decades training ship captains. He operates a training school in Seattle, where he lives full time. Yet the Cleveland native has always wanted a place to stay when he comes back to Cleveland, which he does frequently to visit his 95-year-old mother in a nursing home. 

Recently, Sanders completed renovations on a historic four-unit property that seemed destined for the wrecking ball until Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corporation (DSCDO) steered it into the hands of the right owner.

The Trenton sits at 7418 Franklin Boulevard (at the corner of W. 75th Street). The unique property features Italianate architectural details, a two-story front porch and an interior courtyard that lets additional light into the apartments.

Sanders, who converted the home into a three-unit, just received a community improvement award from DSCDO for his efforts. The project received special financing from the Cleveland Restoration Society's Heritage Home Program.

The renovation was a gut job. Sanders tore off the vinyl siding and restored the exterior with a handsome olive and red color scheme, redesigned the interior and installed all new mechanicals. The property includes many sustainable features.

Sanders combined two units into a townhouse-style apartment. "We blew out the dining room and created a cool interior staircase," he says. "We retained the old fireplaces."

One surprise was the floors. Initially, Sanders did not believe the old, three-inch pine floors were salvageable, but once sanded down, they refinished quite nicely.

Sanders plans to rent out two of the units -- including the 2,000-square-foot townhome for $1,400 per month -- while keeping one apartment for himself.


Source: Jeff Sanders
Writer: Lee Chilcote

In 1960, the late Keeva J. Kekst founded ka architecture in his attic, where he designed apartment buildings. Today, under the third generation of ownership, ka architecture is behind the designs of some of Northeast Ohio’s newest and most prominent structures, including the Horseshoe Casino in Public Square and the new Eaton Corporation world headquarters in Beachwood.
 
“We’re pretty proud that we’re still around and we’ve weathered this recession,” says ka president and COO John Burk. He credits ka’s success in part to the firm’s ability to work well as a team with other firms. Both the Horseshoe Casino and the Eaton project involved multiple firms working together.
 
As executive architects, ka had to coordinate all the players. “Both were interesting projects,” says Burk. “And both projects were team projects -- it was not just ka ownership, but owner reps, contractors and consultants -- a huge list. Working with other firms and good clients in a team atmosphere, it’s only challenging because there are so many people. But it’s not difficult if you put the right team together.”
 
ka’s work in Cleveland has led to additional projects elsewhere. “Based on our performance on the Cleveland casino, we were asked to be a part of the team working on the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore,” says CFO Alan Siliko.
 
Today, ka has 46 employees. The firm added two architects in January and an entry-level associate earlier this month. Burk says they will add to the staff, if need-be. “We never grow to grow,” he says. “We hire because we foresee an extended period of growth. And we’re cautiously optimistic.”

 
Sources: John Burk, Alan Siliko
Writer: Karin Connelly

“Cities are back, downtowns are back, and the places that we call anchor districts are leveraging growth in cities,” says Chris Ronayne of UCI. In Cleveland and beyond, stakeholders like universities, hospitals and museums ('eds and meds') are leading the way in reshaping cities into vibrant, livable places.

This week, Ohio City Incorporated and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization launched an unprecedented joint process to develop a streetscape plan for long-suffering Lorain Avenue.

The street, which runs through the heart of Cleveland's west side, was historically a bustling neighborhood retail corridor. Although it fell on hard times beginning in the 70s, it has recently drawn investment by entrepreneurs like Ian P.E. of Palookaville Chili and David Ellison of D.H. Ellison Architects.

The street's classic, character-filled architecture as well as investment by major players like St. Ignatius High School and Urban Community School have made it an attractive breeding ground for up-and-coming members of the creative class.

If this week's public meeting was any indication, neighborhood residents, businesses and stakeholders will have plenty of passionate opinions about the future of this main street. They won't hold back in sharing them, either.

A capacity crowd that showed up to the meeting at Urban Community School voiced concerns about on-street parking, bike lanes, retaining the mixed-use character of the street and ensuring that low-income residents are engaged.

Behnke Associates and Michael Baker Jr. Inc. have been hired to help develop a plan that will include "traffic analysis, utility and signage recommendations as well as cycling analysis, green infrastructure and complete streetscape treatments," according to a handout provided by OCI, DSCDO and the City of Cleveland.

Early signs indicate that the plan will be quite different from those developed for Detroit Avenue and West 25th Street. For one thing, Lorain Avenue is narrower than those streets, which will make it tougher to widen sidewalks and create dedicated bike lanes. Secondly, the street's tenants range from antique shops to manufacturing businesses, making it a distinct challenge to serve all of them.

Nonetheless, representatives of the city and both CDC's pledged to create an inclusive plan that could serve as a model for "complete and green streets" that incorporate all modes of transportation and minimize environmental impacts.

Want to voice your vision for Lorain? A survey will be available beginning March 11th on the OCI and DSCDO websites, and a workshop is scheduled for May 28th.


Source: OCI, DSCDO, City of Cleveland
Writer: Lee Chilcote