The historic Terminal Tower offices of the Van Sweringen brothers, the duo that built the iconic skyscraper and the streetcar suburb of Shaker Heights, will soon be occupied by a women-owned consulting firm that helps businesses and organizations embrace a more sustainable future.

BrownFlynn is relocating from Highland Heights to the tower's 36th floor. The firm, which provides sustainability consulting, communications and training, needs more space. The 7,000-square-foot office, boasting panoramic views of the city and located a few flights below the Observation Deck, will be completely renovated by the end of April.

"Clearly, we're committed to the city and want to be part of its vibrancy," says principal Margie Flynn. "We're committed to sustainability and want to make sure we're walking the talk in what we're doing. And the essence of sustainability is really historic preservation."

Flynn says her employees, many of whom live in the city, are very excited about being downtown. The office gives BrownFlynn room to grow, and the firm can welcome out-of-town guests via RTA's Red Line, which stops in Tower City.

"The space has a tremendous amount of natural light," Flynn comments. "We're going to adapt the space as a very open, collaborative work environment."

Vocon is helping to design the space, while Forest City, which owns the Terminal Tower and has been a major player in corporate sustainability nationwide, will facilitate renovations. Instead of reusing the massive corner offices as private suites, as the Vans once did, the principals plan to convert these spaces into open offices to encourage collaboration and stimulate creative thinking.

"The most important thing is to have a very open inviting environment for our team," says Flynn, adding that BrownFlynn could grow from 14 to 21 employees in the coming years to keep up with growing demand for its services.

BrownFlynn secured a job creation grant from the City of Cleveland to help facilitate the move.


Source: Margie Flynn
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The for-sale housing market remains tepid in many Cleveland neighborhoods, but it never really cooled down in Tremont. That's because this historic neighborhood remains popular, full of vitality and, frankly, small, which means there never is an abundance of houses on the market. When a properly priced Tremont house is listed, it usually sells.

And that's certainly true of the Cottages on Thurman, a new Tremont development. Developer (ARC) form of Tremont has pre-sold two detached, green-built townhomes off of plans. Principal and founder Jeffrey Eizember expects to break ground and go vertical within the next two months.

"It's a very efficient design," he says. "Our philosophy is that we want to help the buyer get a customized product that is not exorbitantly priced."

With starting prices at $379,900, the townhomes might become the first LEED-certified units in Tremont (the ratings are preliminary at this point) and the first to participate in the Department of Energy Home Challenge. Additionally, they have an unusual design feature: the bedrooms are located on the second level, while the living spaces are on the third level to best take advantage of the views.

"How often do you spend time in your bedroom other than going to sleep?" Eizember asks. "Why give all the good views to that area?" The benefits don't stop there. "This layout also puts the living level in closer proximity to the rooftop deck."

That rooftop deck will offer even better views of downtown Cleveland, the industrial Cuyahoga Valley and the church spires and steeples for which Tremont is well known.

The units, which are a little over 2,000 square feet, have attached two-car garages, two bedrooms, two and a half baths, 100-year-old reclaimed maple flooring, and tankless hot water heaters to maximize efficiency, among other features.

The developers also will harvest 60 percent of the rainwater accumulated on site. "It can be used for irrigation or to wash off your car," Eizember explains, adding that, "Ninety percent of the site is permeable."
 
(ARC) form is a design and construction firm that blends architectural services, contracting and interior design into one package. The firm specializes in "using conventional materials and techniques in unconventional means."

With just two lots available, the project already is sold out. "We didn't have a hard time selling them once they were listed," Eizember says. "They went pretty fast."


Source: Jeffrey Eizember
Writer: Lee Chilcote

From a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse in the Central neighborhood, Green City Growers Cooperative grows and sells a staggering three million heads of lettuce and another 300,000 pounds of herbs per year. All of those products are sold locally to grocery stores and food service companies within a 50-mile radius.

When Jeff Battershell and his wife lived in Ouray, Colorado, for six years, he fell in love with the numerous small town craft breweries in the area. A Cleveland native, Battershell moved back home a year and a half ago with the initial thought of starting a brewery.
 
“It was always kind of our plan to go out there and experience something different and move back,” Battershell explains. “But I felt like I was missing out on Cleveland’s renaissance.”
 
When he got back to Cleveland, Battershell’s environmental science and entrepreneurship education from BGSU kicked in. “Breweries seemed like a saturated market,” he says. “I was being honest with myself. I wasn’t good enough to compete with places like Great Lakes Brewery and Market Garden Brewery.”
 
Then Battershell got the idea to pair his environmental studies with his love for beer and start an apparel business that benefits water conservation groups while promoting breweries. He started Keepin’ it Fresh, a company that sells baseball caps and t-shirts with embroidered brewery logos. A portion of the proceeds will go to water conservation groups or projects; a percentage goes back to the brewery.
 
“I bounced the idea off of my friends in the industry and they really liked it because it was one more way to promote their business,” he says. “And beer depends on the quality of water they’re brewing with.”
 
Keepin’ it Fresh has four Southwest breweries signed on and is working with a number of well-known Cleveland breweries on agreements. Right now, Battershell is embroidering baseball caps on one machine out of his house. He plans to hire one part-time employee by 2015 and his five-year plan calls for five employees and additional embroidery machines.
 
Battershell’s site will be selling apparel by April. In the meantime he is working with organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Brewers for Clean Water Campaign and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
 
Source: Jeff Battershell
Writer: Karin Connelly

Even as the economy recovers, Americans are driving less and taking public transit more. With all that demand comes congestion and backups at major rail hubs. But smart cities are anticipating and adapting so that the transit station of tomorrow is a true neighborhood amenity.

The hand-carved carousel that entertained the masses at historic Euclid Beach Park, though hasn't operated in decades, is getting a makeover. The newly restored gem is set for a November unveiling at the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) in University Circle.

When the restored 1910 Euclid Beach Grand Carousel opens in the Glass Pavilion of the History Center, it will be one of the few working carousels in town. Visitors will be able to purchase a ticket to ride what was deemed "the finest carousel ever made" when it first debuted over a century ago.

"This project has been 13 or 14 years in the making," says Alyssa Purvis, Communications Assistant with WRHS. "We still have people coming in and saying, 'I have a picture of my mom standing next to that horse. It's in my wallet.'"

The carousel also introduces a major new amenity to University Circle, providing yet another reason to visit WRHS. This nonprofit institution has undergone major renovations to its Crawford Auto Aviation Room to help reach a new audience and recently garnered a "Building the Circle" award from University Circle Inc.

The restoration of the historic carousel was undertaken in collaboration with the Cleveland Carousel Society, which helped recover the carousel from a park in Maine. The carousel operated in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland from 1910 to 1969, when Euclid Beach Park, a major attraction for generations of Clevelanders, shut down.

The colossal structure is remarkable, and it's housed in a stunning, light-filled room. The horses, which are some of the largest wooden carousel horses in the country, according to Purvis, are captured in dynamic running and jumping poses. Surrounding the horses are hand-painted chariots that also have been recently refurbished.

The centerpiece of the carousel, currently being restored by Carousel Works in Mansfield, is a massive automated music box that soon will crank back to life.

"The park was a real landmark in Northeast Ohio," says Purvis. "We felt that it was important to keep the carousel here in Cleveland and to make it run again."

WRHS has announced that the carousel will be ready to ride on November 22nd.


Source: Alyssa Purvis
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The developers behind University Place Townhomes, a 19-unit project on E. 118th Street in University Circle, have broken ground on their new project. With two sales in hand, they're laying the foundation and intend to start vertical construction in the spring.

"The demographic is pretty much what we thought it would be," says Russell Lamb, a principal with Allegro Realty and partner in the project, which includes several Allegro principals. "The buyers are either people who work in the Circle, particularly medical institutions, people who want to move back to an urban environment who are downsizing, or young professionals."

"We're the only for-sale project in University Circle," he adds. "We're pretty comfortable with where we are right now." The developers hope to obtain several additional sales in the spring so they can start construction on additional units.

While much of the action these days is in the rental market, the for-sale market also is showing signs of renewed life, says Lamb. He believes University Circle is a particularly strong, underserved market, in part because there's so little developable land. The parcel on E. 118th was a rare vacant property within the district's boundaries that could be developed.

The units range in size from 1,100 square feet to just under 2,100 square feet, with prices starting at $250,000 and climbing to $450,000. Lamb describe the prices as "expensive for Cleveland, but not expensive for University Circle," an area that commands a premium.

The project design features five separate buildings around a central, European-style courtyard utilizing modern building techniques including cementitious exteriors. Dimit Architects designed the units. The interiors, while not extravagant in terms of square footage, are "modern, open and airy; there's a good use of space," Lamb says.

Uptown has been a particular "center of gravity" for the project, he adds, providing much-needed amenities that will attract the home-buying set.

What's needed to complete the Circle? "More people," Lamb says. "If any place in Cleveland has got it all, it's gotta be University Circle."


Source: Russell Lamb
Writer: Lee Chilcote

On the heels of a successful merger that brought together under one roof three nonprofit community development organizations, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) has made a key hire to lead its policy and advocacy efforts. Alesha Washington, a Glenville native who most recently served as Director of Executive Administration and Government Relations at the Centers for Family and Children, recently joined CNP as its Senior Director of Advocacy, Policy and Research. Washington will lead strategic policy initiatives at the city, county, state and federal levels and identify and use academic research to inform community development strategies.

"Trying to create a shared advocacy platform for the CDC community is what attracted me to the role," says Washington. "There's a need and a longing for a very coordinated and aligned system. The goal is to work together to improve Cleveland's neighborhoods for all people."

"It's about connecting the dots," adds Joel Ratner, President of CNP. "The needs we're identifying at the neighborhood level should be articulated clearly, strongly and strategically to officials who are setting policy and government budgets."

In recent years, Ratner says, no such coordinated effort has existed. Policy priorities might include strategies and funding to address vacant and abandoned properties, maintaining and enhancing tax credit programs that lend to neighborhood development, and influencing the state budget.


Source: Alesha Washington, Joel Ratner
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress has awarded $340,000 to nine community development corporations for green space improvements in Cleveland neighborhoods. The funds, which stem from the WellsFargo CityLIFT program as part of a multimillion dollar national settlement, will be used to fund side yards, pocket parks, pathway parks and street-edge improvements across the city.

"We feel this is very impactful," says Joel Ratner, President of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. "Every day there are more vacant lots in Cleveland. The vast majority of them are scattered sites. How do we repurpose them in a way that supports neighborhoods? Urban agriculture is great, but you usually need larger pieces of land. This is a way of supporting the people that live on these streets."

Through a competitive process, CNP awarded funds to a pocket park adjacent to the E. 79th Street rapid station in Central, a pathway park in Tremont, and side yards in Stockyards, Brooklyn Centre and Clark-Fulton, among others.

The work will be completed on these lots in the spring and summer of 2014, with all improvements slated to be completed by November 2014.

"This is about the psychology of the neighborhood on some basic level," says Ratner. "It shows people their neighborhoods have not been forgotten. There may be many development opportunities in the medium or long-term future, but in the meantime, we want to keep the streets as strong as possible."

The grants were awarded as part of ReImagining Cleveland 3.0, a program whose earlier rounds fostered urban agriculture and greening projects across Cleveland.

Cleveland has been recognized nationally as a leader in urban agriculture and neighborhood greening as a response to population loss and the foreclosure crisis.


Source: Joel Ratner
Writer: Lee Chilcote