June 22, 20186 yr After the recent streetscape re-do, I would hope there's a plan in place and actual investment coming in with new construction rather than empty lots.
June 22, 20186 yr The "streetscape" money would have been better spent renovating these buildings. I'm not sure the folks in charge understand what a streetscape really is.
June 23, 20186 yr Here are a couple of tweets from the Exec Director of Slavic Village's CDC re: the demolitions: Every property on Fleet we have attempted to rehab through Chain Reaction and many other means over my four years at SVD, but have found no takers. Each one would require no less than $80,000 to pull out of condemnation... (1/2) These have been vacant for over ten years & were originally built to last 50 years, assuming constant care. If you can find me somebody to invest in these, Let Me Know. Not a decision taken capriciously. Vacant, neglected buildings discourage investment in other buildings. (2/2)
August 22, 20186 yr Author Forgotten former industrial site to become an urban nature preserve http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/breaking-ground/MorganaBluff082118.aspx "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 23, 20186 yr Forgotten former industrial site to become an urban nature preserve http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/breaking-ground/MorganaBluff082118.aspx Yikes, calling this site "forgotten" makes me feel like a dinosaur. The city suffered one of its biggest fires in recent decades there 25 years ago, and it was very big news at the time: https://clevelandhistorical.org/index.php/files/show/7766
August 23, 20186 yr Author I haven't forgotten it. The black smoke from the burning, oil-soaked wood floors trailed off over my part of Geauga County. I drove past the site a few days after the big fire, with fire crews still on site tending to the smokey hot spots. The whole area looked like something out of post-war Germany, with brick walls partially standing and lots of twisted metal beams sticking up out of the endless piles of rubble. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 23, 20186 yr Interesting to consider what might have come of the complex if it hadn't burnt down. Perhaps it could have been a renovation to new uses, with it's scale it could have had an enormous impact on bringing Broadway back to a functioning neighborhood. GD shame.
August 23, 20186 yr Interesting to consider what might have come of the complex if it hadn't burnt down. Perhaps it could have been a renovation to new uses, with it's scale it could have had an enormous impact on bringing Broadway back to a functioning neighborhood. GD shame. If it hadn't happened yet it wasn't going to, with those buildings. Frequently old buildings like that just aren't economical to redevelop for a multitude of reasons. Look at Cedar and Ashland (between 55th and 65) for an example, that's right in the heart of Midtown.
August 23, 20186 yr Author For once, I agree with E-Rocc. Consider the scale of the Richman Brothers warehouse, the Warner & Swayze complex and the Westinghouse complex. I'm pretty sure all three of these are smaller in terms of square footage and none have active redevelopment plans pending. A comparison of the conditions of their surrounding neighborhoods is debatable except for the Westinghouse complex. The fact that this complex hasn't been redeveloped tells me the Worsted Mills had no chance. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 23, 20186 yr How many WWI-era factories, anywhere, have been successfully repurposed? There are all kinds of obstacles and no outcomes that make much sense. These structures are rarely located in desirable areas and it's their own fault-- nobody wanted to live near them in the first place.
August 23, 20186 yr A comparison of the conditions of their surrounding neighborhoods is debatable except for the Westinghouse complex. The fact that this complex hasn't been redeveloped tells me the Worsted Mills had no chance. I worked at the Westinghouse factory a million summers ago when I was a college student. It contained at least three massive drop-forges in spaces with 50 ft. or higher ceilings. The whole building shook when one dropped, which probably makes any structural changes super expensive. Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
August 24, 20186 yr How many WWI-era factories, anywhere, have been successfully repurposed? There are all kinds of obstacles and no outcomes that make much sense. These structures are rarely located in desirable areas and it's their own fault-- nobody wanted to live near them in the first place. Off the top of my head, in Cleveland alone, there is the CIA facility at University Circle (1915 Ford assembly plant); Tyler Village (1913 steel wire); 78th Street Studios (1905); the Powerhouse (1892 power generation); Wagner Awning (1893 awning factory); and in the pipeline, Ferry Cap and Screw (1907-1919). I'm sure there are others in Cleveland, too. There are many, many others in old cities with strong housing markets. No doubt the immediate neighborhood would have been a challenge, and who knows what condition the building was in structurally. But sometimes the stars do align... Definitely a bummer we'll never know.
August 25, 20186 yr For once, I agree with E-Rocc. Consider the scale of the Richman Brothers warehouse, the Warner & Swayze complex and the Westinghouse complex. I'm pretty sure all three of these are smaller in terms of square footage and none have active redevelopment plans pending. A comparison of the conditions of their surrounding neighborhoods is debatable except for the Westinghouse complex. The fact that this complex hasn't been redeveloped tells me the Worsted Mills had no chance. I think it happens once or twice a year. :)
August 26, 20186 yr A comparison of the conditions of their surrounding neighborhoods is debatable except for the Westinghouse complex. The fact that this complex hasn't been redeveloped tells me the Worsted Mills had no chance. I worked at the Westinghouse factory a million summers ago when I was a college student. It contained at least three massive drop-forges in spaces with 50 ft. or higher ceilings. The whole building shook when one dropped, which probably makes any structural changes super expensive. This has been an issue near the Wyman Gordon plant in the "Jackowa" section where my family comes from. The neighborhood shakes sometimes. It would be an issue with Sifco Forge up near 65th and St. Clair, if not for a little bit of "urban renewal" in 1944. It's surrounded with light industrial and Dominion EOG property. The people who lived near those places often worked there, and were tolerant of those issues. When they closed, they bailed. This happened quickly of course. CERCLA is also a challenge to repurposing for residential use.
August 27, 20186 yr Author Rebuilding a neighborhood, one house at a time By Amy Scott August 20, 2018 | 1:49 PM In the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, you can still see the scars of the foreclosure crisis — vacant houses with sagging porches and broken windows, empty lots where houses once stood and a still-thriving demolition business tearing down abandoned homes. The neighborhood, named for its historic population of Central European immigrants, became a target for subprime and predatory loans in the 1990s and 2000s. When those loans went bad, “the zip code 44105 in 2007 had the highest foreclosure rate in the entire United States,” said Tony Brancatelli, who represents the larger Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood on the Cleveland city council. “We were losing about two houses a day to foreclosure.” MORE: https://www.marketplace.org/2018/08/20/wealth-poverty/divided-decade/rebuilding-neighborhood-one-house-time "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 20, 20186 yr Author Really cool article I missed posting last month. If i had to do my life over again, I'd start a business renovating old houses... Before-and-after photos show Cleveland's abandoned homes that now sell for less than $90,000 https://amp.businessinsider.com/homes-cleveland-slavic-village-renovations-2018-6 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 9, 20186 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 9, 20196 yr Author Four houses on what appears to be a pleasant street are slated for demolition for a possible expansion of Central Catholic High School. I do not know what the new use would be. Please tell me it's not for parking.... EAST 2019-012 CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC DEMOLITION REQUEST 6525 Osmond Court Request for demolitions EAST 2019-011 CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC DEMOLITION REQUEST 6512 Osmond Court Request for demolitions EAST 2019-010 CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC DEMOLITION REQUEST 6508 Osmond Court Request for demolitions EAST 2019-009 CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC DEMOLITION REQUEST 6500 Osmond Court Request for demolitions https://www.google.com/maps/place/6508+Osmond+Ct,+Cleveland,+OH+44105/@41.4599452,-81.6446929,3a,75y,96.07h,86.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1snboSnxMbmE3uOut6U68heg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x8830fb2a54e60a3d:0xb6bfd4579c894d34!8m2!3d41.4597525!4d-81.644728 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 16, 20196 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 16, 20196 yr That's a very nice project. Forgetting for a moment the bulldozing of Fleet Avenue (hopefully that comes to a stop), I'm really liking whats been happening in this neighborhood. In addition to this, there is another large, 88 unit, new-build apartment building NRP and University Settlement plan on Broadway. They just won funding for it today: https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/05/eight-area-projects-awarded-ohio-housing-finance-agency-tax-credits-for-affordable-housing.html
May 17, 20196 yr Author That's the old St. Alexis Hospital site. I didn't even remember it being renamed as St. Michael's Hospital in 1994. I always remembered it as St. Alexis. I remember going there for a meeting in the early 1990s shortly after the massive Worsted Mills fire. It was a large hospital with multiple buildings/wings of at least several floors. Glad to see something useful is FINALLY going in there. I wish that Slavic Village CDC would forget about making the area inside the OC Blvd access road a public greenspace. That's a horrible use for that land. Put a 10-story affordable housing building with ground floor retail (donut/coffee shop, drug store, job training center, childcare center, etc) in that spot. These deadzones next to this station, the stations at East 79th, and the one at East 105th are a unique opportunity to build tall/dense without angering nearby residents because there aren't many/any. Building big offers the chance to change the ridership equation for the rail system and help reverse the region's outmigration and poor jobs access situation. Sorry, but I just don't understand the tendency of resorting to four-story apartment buildings when there are so many financial tools and low-cost construction methods to allow building bigger. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 17, 20196 yr 11 hours ago, PoshSteve said: That's a very nice project. Forgetting for a moment the bulldozing of Fleet Avenue (hopefully that comes to a stop), I'm really liking whats been happening in this neighborhood. In addition to this, there is another large, 88 unit, new-build apartment building NRP and University Settlement plan on Broadway. They just won funding for it today: https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/05/eight-area-projects-awarded-ohio-housing-finance-agency-tax-credits-for-affordable-housing.html Fleet's a good two miles south of the Hyacinth neighborhood. My family owned a house on 65th just south of Francis until my grandma passed in the late 90s, we actually lived there when I was born. It's still there though there's a lot of vacant lots. It held it's own pretty well through the 80s, we caught the very end of the decline to the point where I would carry (illegally) when collecting the rent. Very different character neighborhoods. 65th-Francis was primarily residential with a few small shops and some industry on the peripheries, Fleet was mixed use.
May 17, 20196 yr 8 hours ago, KJP said: That's the old St. Alexis Hospital site. I didn't even remember it being renamed as St. Michael's Hospital in 1994. I always remembered it as St. Alexis. I remember going there for a meeting in the early 1990s shortly after the massive Worsted Mills fire. It was a large hospital with multiple buildings/wings of at least several floors. Glad to see something useful is FINALLY going in there. I wish that Slavic Village CDC would forget about making the area inside the OC Blvd access road a public greenspace. That's a horrible use for that land. Put a 10-story affordable housing building with ground floor retail (donut/coffee shop, drug store, job training center, childcare center, etc) in that spot. These deadzones next to this station, the stations at East 79th, and the one at East 105th are a unique opportunity to build tall/dense without angering nearby residents because there aren't many/any. Building big offers the chance to change the ridership equation for the rail system and help reverse the region's outmigration and poor jobs access situation. Sorry, but I just don't understand the tendency of resorting to four-story apartment buildings when there are so many financial tools and low-cost construction methods to allow building bigger. My brother was born at Alexis and family friends owned the funeral home (also demolished) across the street. We found out years later that under the previous owners, Francis (probably the torso killer) Sweeney worked there, which may be why it seemed creepy even by funeral home standards. I don't think anyone except the admin people ever called it "Michael's". Quite frankly, I'd close the 79th street station and do what you say at 105. At 55th I'd expand it and make it a controlled entry/free transfer hub.
May 17, 20196 yr Author 4 hours ago, E Rocc said: My brother was born at Alexis and family friends owned the funeral home (also demolished) across the street. We found out years later that under the previous owners, Francis (probably the torso killer) Sweeney worked there, which may be why it seemed creepy even by funeral home standards. I don't think anyone except the admin people ever called it "Michael's". Quite frankly, I'd close the 79th street station and do what you say at 105. At 55th I'd expand it and make it a controlled entry/free transfer hub. Well, RTA is going to rebuild the East 79th Red Line station after it got commitments and plans from the city and BBC that they would redevelop the East 79th corridor with some walkable density. The Red Line station rebuild has $9.5 million in funding and RTA has issued a limited notice to proceed with bidding for the project. There are no plans that I'm aware of to rebuild the East 79th Blue/Green lines station. But that shouldn't be a terribly expensive project. It could probably be rebuilt for a million or two. But the CDCs are still thinking small when it comes to their station areas. The market finally favors a reversal of outmigration and it is getting more difficult to add density to the hot neighborhoods. So why not work with developers on incentivizing a few neighborhood re-boots with transformative density of 10ish-story buildings right next to stations? EDIT: BTW, why add another park in such a noisy location surrounded on all sides by heavily-trafficked roads? The Hyacinth Park is a nice park in a quiet location. It can continue to serve this neighborhood well. And it's far enough from the station so that its lack of density doesn't detract from station ridership. Edited May 17, 20196 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 1, 20195 yr I apologize for being late to the thread-- It's been a while since I've been active. We are pushing to have the area within the access road slated for development. The "greenspace" inside is just a placeholder, because ODOT has been loath to approve development within that space (and they ostensibly control that spot). So, we're focusing on areas where we do have control, with an eye toward increasing density closer to the station.
July 1, 20195 yr Author 27 minutes ago, Avogadro said: I apologize for being late to the thread-- It's been a while since I've been active. We are pushing to have the area within the access road slated for development. The "greenspace" inside is just a placeholder, because ODOT has been loath to approve development within that space (and they ostensibly control that spot). So, we're focusing on areas where we do have control, with an eye toward increasing density closer to the station. @Avogadro That's great news, Chris. Thanks for the update! I hope ODOT will come around. Maybe a push from a state lawmaker or three (Dave Greenspan of Westlake chairs the Ohio House Finance Subcommittee on Transportation. Mike Skindell of Lakewood is the ranking member on the subcommittee. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood is on the Senate Transportation Committee)? Let me know if you need some endorsements of your efforts -- [email protected] Edited July 1, 20195 yr by KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 2, 20195 yr 18 hours ago, KJP said: @Avogadro That's great news, Chris. Thanks for the update! I hope ODOT will come around. Maybe a push from a state lawmaker or three (Dave Greenspan of Westlake chairs the Ohio House Finance Subcommittee on Transportation. Mike Skindell of Lakewood is the ranking member on the subcommittee. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood is on the Senate Transportation Committee)? Let me know if you need some endorsements of your efforts -- [email protected] Will do. I know that our two state lawmakers (Williams and Howse) are both supportive. Thanks!
July 8, 20195 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 20195 yr Author But there's already a Walgreen's across the street (6410 Broadway)..... http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/brd/detailDR.php?ID=3306&CASE=EAST 2019-026 East Design Review Case Report WALGREENS - 6401 BROADWAY Return to Case List | Start Over | Print Report (PDF format) Project Information East Case # EAST 2019-026 Address:6401 Broadway Ave. Company:Great Lakes Resources Architect: Description: New building construction: Commercial. Seeking Conceptual Approval. Notes: "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 20195 yr 5 minutes ago, KJP said: But there's already a Walgreen's across the street (6410 Broadway)..... http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/brd/detailDR.php?ID=3306&CASE=EAST 2019-026 East Design Review Case Report WALGREENS - 6401 BROADWAY Return to Case List | Start Over | Print Report (PDF format) Project Information East Case # EAST 2019-026 Address:6401 Broadway Ave. Company:Great Lakes Resources Architect: Description: New building construction: Commercial. Seeking Conceptual Approval. Notes: They are closing two city/inner ring Walgreens that I know of. Libby Lee (Maple Heights) and E 156th Lakeshore. The rumor is that a small pharmacy is to be built in an old Burger King close to the latter, I am not sure if Walgreen's will run it or not. They don't have a lot of crime that I know of on Lakeshore, but do have armed security full time. They may be doing the same in SV.
September 11, 20195 yr Walgreens is going through a large reorganization of their stores and locations right now, including shrinking in size and focusing more on pharmacy instead of store (such as taking over all fast food locations). One of the South Euclid locations is closing too, while they just recently finished upgrading the other location. I imagine the Slavic Village locations are part of the reorganization - downsizing from the large store to a smaller one across the street.
September 29, 20195 yr It's great to see the inclusion of affordable housing with market rate in this Slavic Village development. https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local_news/university-settlement-embarks-on-game-changing-plan-for-housing-with/article_8f586ec4-e2f8-11e9-9f86-ff61395d9c82.html
September 29, 20195 yr Not sure if the design has changed since last year, but here are some renderings of this project.
September 30, 20195 yr Would be wonderful to see this come to fruition. The potential is over there, though it’s got a long way to go. This would be a great shot in the arm.
September 30, 20195 yr The part that really makes this feasible is all of the other planned and ongoing developments in the neighborhood. Slow but eventually there'll have Inca Tea near the Broadway and E 55th intersection. A big wetland nature preserve will be coming in behind the boys and girls club on reclaimed land. The next phase of the Trailside homes is coming along well. The opportunity corridor is coming along and will provide a great link to the neighborhood. The St. Hyacinth development will be gaining more steam as the corridor nears completion. And rezoning plans for the neighborhood are all encouraging a more walkable, dense neighborhood. Sure there was a lot slowing this down especially with the recession but things are finally coming under control. Vacancy rates earlier this year were 8.5%, the lowest they've been since 2007 before the mortgage crisis. These vacancies have paved the way for SVR to renovate empty homes and unsavable homes have been used as opportunities to give to neighbors as side lots or to turn into pocket parks scattered throughout. Slowly but surely things are improving, both in Slavic Village and throughout the rest of Cleveland.
September 30, 20195 yr The Broadway and East 55th intersection will be one of the coolest parts of the city in 10 years.
September 30, 20195 yr 4 minutes ago, marty15 said: The Broadway and East 55th intersection will be one of the coolest parts of the city in 10 years. It's one of the best collections of intact buildings in the city.
October 4, 20195 yr https://finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/nrp-group-partners-non-profit-172100343.html And a rendering:
October 5, 20195 yr To spur community development, a similar, mixed-use development, with affordable housing, is needed in almost every Eastside neighborhood.
October 17, 20195 yr http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2019/PDF/East_Agenda_10-22-19.pdf Slavic Village Gateway C 5163 Broadway Ave. Slavic Village Andrew Kalnitsky, NRP Group LLC Schematic Approval: New Construction-Mixed-Used Building
October 29, 20195 yr NRP, University Settlement team on Slavic Village plan STAN BULLARD A joint venture by University Settlement, a long-established social service provider in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood, and Cleveland-based apartment developer NRP Group stands to replace a vacant five-acre site at 5163 Broadway Ave. with a $16 million housing development. The plan, dubbed Slavic Village Gateway, calls for constructing two four-story apartment buildings facing Broadway and low-rise townhouse suites on the block's eastern perimeter. Backers hope it will spur additional real estate development on nearby vacant parcels on the northern stretch of Broadway, which differs vastly from the largely intact Broadway commercial district near Fleet Avenue. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/nrp-university-settlement-team-slavic-village-plan
October 30, 20195 yr At first I thought the movement was just part of the movie filming already going on by the intersection, but I now have been informed that renovation is ongoing at the building Inca Tea will be going into.
October 30, 20195 yr Almost forgot about this one: Giancarlo Calicchia, Italian-American stone sculptor who lives in Cleveland bought the Corlett Movers building. It's about 240,000 sq ft. I'm told that he plans to use it for sculpting and possibly some kind of artists organization along the lines of Ingenuity. I'll try to get more refined details soon.
October 31, 20195 yr That's an amazing building, so I really hope that he's able to make it work, and that it allows for some public access, as well.
October 31, 20195 yr http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2019/11012019/index.php Walgreen's Drug Store New Construction: Seeking Schematic Design Approval 6401 Broadway Avenue (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4627089,-81.6456976,3a,75y,76.96h,88.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8nqe9h2oP20qTQcNCEy6Iw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
November 14, 20195 yr It is a smaller concept Walgreens, similar to what they are doing across the country. Unsurprisingly, we continue to see retrenchment in the drug store industry after the over-saturation of markets (and we're seeing the same thing taking place with dollar stores). The small concept design is... unlovely. We're pushing for more windows facing Broadway as well as ped/bike connections from E. 65th north to the Morgana Run Trail. We're also working already with NRP on the second phase of Slavic Village Gateway (the mixed use development on the old St. Alexis site). This will likely not drop until after ground is broken for Phase 1 (Spring 2020). Also on the November 15th Planning Commission Agenda are replattings for the next four Trailside Slavic Village single family homes (to be built on Gerome Court on the vacant parcels in the foreground of this photo taken late last year. The six houses that were under construction all sold within three months of each other. Prices start at $159,900 for the next four. For reference, the last couple of homes in the first phase were selling in 2015 for just under $100K.
November 14, 20195 yr On 7/7/2019 at 9:49 PM, KJP said: It would be nice if the city did something to honor him.
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