During much of its 100-year existence, the Metroparks has been a system of parks largely disconnected from the urban core. But that's beginning to change as the park rolls out its Emerald Necklace Centennial Plan, which will expand its footprint, strengthen connections between sites, and add a renewed focus on sustainability.

The City of Euclid recently completed Phase I of its ambitious Waterfront Improvements Plan, creating an expanded fishing pier, a new multi-purpose trail and an accessible switchback ramp to the lakefront.

Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik says the $1.7 million project is part of a larger, $30 million push to expand Euclid's waterfront with a new, three-quarter mile beachfront and marina that he hopes will become a regional draw.

"We want to re-establish the hi... Read more >

A veteran urban developer has broken ground on a three-unit, single-family development on Columbus Road in the Flats. Phase I of the project is sold out, and the owner is planning three additional high-end, custom-built homes on an adjacent parcel.

David Sharkey of Progressive Urban Real Estate, who is both the sales agent and a developer of the Columbus Hill project, says the development is unlike anything else currently on the market. The homes mesh with the topography ... Read more >

Beaumont School recently broke ground on a $9.5 million addition that will include a STEM education building, student commons, administrative offices and new school entrance that fronts North Park Boulevard.

The 25,000-square-foot building will house eight science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms that replace a dated science wing. The expanded labs will allow for more hands-on learning that can be integrated into the entire curriculum.

“A... Read more >

Creative reuse centers are popping up all across the nation, including Cleveland. These craft-astic places are filled with useful materials that otherwise would end up in a landfill. Adored by artists, teachers and other crafty folks, they also create green jobs, reduce waste and offer affordable supplies for projects.

Welcome to Waterloo, which is fast becoming the weirdest, most creative strip in Cleveland. Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Kresge Foundation, this neighborhood will increase to 25 the number of new arts-based businesses that recently opened along the main drag.

Speaking last week at the annual meeting of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), the regional transportation planning agency for Northeast Ohio, Executive Director Grace Gallucci promised a more strategic distribution of money for projects and greater emphasis on multi-modal transportation options.

"We want more choices; that's what freedom -- being an American -- is about," she said. "NOACA is not trying to vilify the automobile; we... Read more >

The Hildebrandt Artist Collective is set to open studio and gallery space in the historic Hildebrandt building, a gigantic warehouse located on Walton Avenue on Cleveland's near west side, sometime next month.

The group joins existing tenants Rust Belt Welding, Soulcraft Woodshop and Wake Robin Fermented Foods in the sprawling complex, which was built a century ago as a meat packing company but has evolved into a hub for local food and art.

Fiber artist Katie... Read more >

Cleveland's economic leaders have worked hard to parade the city as a hub for innovation. A chance to further show off Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurial acumen is a driving force behind Shaker Heights accelerator LaunchHouse's sponsorship of Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week (Cleveland EW), an upcoming four­-day celebration of business success.

The event, scheduled for November 4-­8, was created to give entrepreneurs and investors the knowledge and resour... Read more >

The entrepreneurs behind Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt, who opened their first location in the old Grog Shop space on Coventry Road less than a year ago, will open their second location in Ohio City this fall.

Adrian and Cosmin Bota, Romanian-born brothers who grew up in Parma, have also signed a letter of intent on a retail space at West 117th and Clifton.

The Ohio City location is a slender, 1,100-square-foot storefront that's sandwiched between Crop and Bonbon... Read more >

Core and shell renovations of the 150,000-square-foot Victory Center, a $26 million project located along the Health-Tech Corridor, are almost complete. Tenant build-outs will follow, and although none have signed leases yet, developer Scott Garson says that will change as his team finishes the common spaces and shows the property to more prospective tenants.

"Everybody thinks it's wonderful, great… The trick is getting the first one in," he says. &qu... Read more >

Cleveland, like most American cities, has had its challenges regarding segregation. But emerging patterns of desegregation can significantly advance our city's position as a center of innovation. This represents a key opportunity to reconstitute a new American neighborhood model by harnessing the potential of diversification.

Kelli Hanley Potts has lived in Denver and Albuquerque, where she got involved in the slow food movement, replaced her front lawn with a vegetable garden, and worked for some of those cities' top chefs. When she got the urge to move back home to Cleveland, she knew she wanted to do something food-related.

That's when she stumbled upon a business idea. Despite the rise of the local food movement, most people had no idea how to cook kale, make jam or preserve food. ... Read more >

As millenials, empty nesters and other demographic groups flock to downtowns across Ohio, business improvement districts -- or BIDs -- are playing an important role in ensuring that these areas are clean and safe and that residents, office workers and property owners have the amenities they need to thrive.

A business improvement district is a defined area in which property owners pay an additional tax in order to fund projects and services that enhance the area. Downtown ... Read more >

Are you sustainable, Cleveland? That's the question environmentally conscious city officials are asking heading into the fifth annual Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit. The initiative to build "a green city on a blue lake" is at the halfway mark, and Cleveland's new chief of sustainability believes Northeast Ohio is meeting the metrics set out a half decade ago.