On Tuesday, over 500 guests gathered at the Victory Center in the Health-Tech Corridor to celebrate the sold-out Vibrant City awards, hosted by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.

CNP President Joel Ratner told the crowd, “The facts are there. Data shows that our region is gaining brains and income, our city schools are making terrific improvements, and Cleveland’s population loss is ending. We are headed into an era of exciting growth.”

City of Cleveland Community Development Director Daryl Rush was honored with the inaugural Morton L.Mandel Leadership in Community Development Award. Other recipients were:

CDC Catalytic Project/Program Award
Fairfax Renaissance Development -- Intergenerational housing

Urban Realtor Award
Keith Brown and Dave Sharkey – Progressive Urban Real Estate

Developer Award
Keith Sutton and Dave Territo, Sutton Builders

Neighborhood Branding & Marketing Award
Downtown Cleveland Alliance – You and Downtown Video

Community Collaboration Award
Gordon Square Arts District (DSCDO, NWT, CPT)

Corporate Partner Award
Third Federal Saving

This week, taste traditional Somali fare at Kafaya’s Kitchen, support independent journalism at Belt’s bar crawl, take a moonlit bike ride on the Towpath, learn to construct a pinhole camera and more.

Improvements being planned for Gordon Square include a $2 million streetscape extension, redevelopment of Detroit Avenue as an arts corridor, and greater connectivity to the lake and surrounding neighborhoods. 

It's not just millennials who are looking to ditch the suburban doldrums and get in on the urban excitement. Baby boomers have become the fastest-growing group of people migrating to downtown.

With the click of an app, a car from Lyft or Uber can be at your door in minutes. Despite controversy, ridesharing services are making it easier to get around Cleveland without worrying about parking and driving.  

You've likely driven by the Cultural Gardens many times, but have you stopped and experienced them? Here's the story of one person's discovery of what the Gardens mean, to him and possibly the rest of us too. 

Brian Schaffran has been riding motorcycles for 15 years, starting with a 1978 Honda CB750 he found on the side of the road in his hometown of Strongsville. He quickly fell in love, not just with the romantic notion of riding itself, but with the restoration and maintenance required to make his baby street-ready.

"There's a gratifying aspect to fixing something with your own hands," says Schaffran, 43.

A mechanical-minded DIY attitude is something Schaffran aims to impart with Skidmark Garage, a 2,800-square foot space for riders to roll in and work on their choppers, crotch rockets, hogs or other hotrodding euphemism of choice.

The garage, located in the Hildebrandt Building on the corner of Clark Avenue and Fulton Road in downtown Cleveland, will rent out tools, lifts and storage bays to motorcycle enthusiasts. If all goes well, the space will also create a community of folks to share advice, spare parts and perhaps a beer or two while they maintain their rides.

"I'm not a mechanic," says Schaffran, a former history and computer teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. "I'm providing a place to hang out and work on your bike."

Although the space is open for business, its owner is preparing for a grand opening celebration scheduled for May 2. Schaffran hopes to draw not just current riders, but people from surrounding city neighborhoods who don't yet own a motorcycle as apartment life leaves them few storage options.

"My average customer will probably be a guy in his 20s who bought some used piece of junk and doesn't have anywhere to put it," says Schaffran.

The bike-loving entrepreneur has been sitting on the idea for a community fix-it clubhouse since he himself was in his 20s. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Schaffran would borrow tools from friendly mechanics and tinker with his vehicles at home.

"Friends would come over and work in my garage, too," he says. "I thought how cool it would be to have a place with a couple of lifts for people to work on their vehicles."

Schaffran has excitedly expanded that picture in his head now that it's becoming closer to reality. "I can see a garage full of 10 or 15 guys helping each other out and fixing their bikes, no matter what time of day, then leaving here feeling like they accomplished something huge," he says.

Cracking open this year's film fest guide can feel like a commitment on par with starting a particularly complex novel. How do you manage the abundance without giving up? Never fear! We've got tips. 

The new George Gund Building at the Cleveland Institute of Art is the perfect complement to the Uptown district, and a place where students can collaborate and create.

Downtown Minneapolis is booming with new residents, and growth is spilling into outlying neighborhoods. Now plans are in the works to ensure that existing residents and artists have a seat at the table. 

Built as an elite garden suburb, Shaker Heights has reinvented itself through attracting startups, nourishing small businesses and welcoming international families.

"The vibrant redevelopment of a corridor linking art, educational and healthcare institutions with surrounding neighborhoods, creating lively outdoor gathering spaces, retail shops and restaurants, student and market-rate housing, and public transit connections," stated the Bruner Foundation its website.

Read the full list of winners here.

The Health-Tech Corridor was once a forgotten stretch of Euclid Avenue. Today the three-mile stretch between downtown and University Circle has become a hub of growing biotech and startup companies, with another round of development on the way.