38 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Shaker Square demolition to avail housing site
By Ken Prendergast / February 28, 2025

 

Although the demolition of an historic retail strip in Cleveland’s Shaker Square district was on Landmarks Commission’s docket, much of the panel’s discussion focused on what might follow the demolition. Ultimately, the commission unanimously approved razing the two-structured Van Aken Plaza located at 2742-2782 Van Aken Blvd. for a landscaped greenspace — for now.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2025/02/28/shaker-square-demolition-to-avail-housing-site/

So much better than any development I was expecting on Shaker Square in the next decade. Now let's hope it can make it to the finish line...

Hopefully the actual development moves quickly after demo. It sounds like the rendering was presented to allow demolition, not as a real project. 

Holy cow! See this is what Shaker Square actually needs. Talk all you will about how to use it, good designs, bad designs, sporadic petty crime, blah blah. Adding nice new units makes figuring out a plan for the square way easier.

 

I will miss the roof parking lot though. I used to bank at the nearby PNC when I first moved here, and that weird ramp up onto a random roof will always stick out as one of my first impressions of the city.

19 minutes ago, Mendo said:

Hopefully the actual development moves quickly after demo. It sounds like the rendering was presented to allow demolition, not as a real project. 

I hope so too, but after watching the presentation at Landmarks and reading Ken's article I am not getting a "development is imminent" vibe.  I am sure they are going to be hunting for a whole slew of public subsidies which take time under the best circumstances, and which might be more difficult to secure in the future as Cleveland officials encounter a landscape where federal monies to municipalities are not going to be flowing that freely, if at all.  Hope I am wrong.

Even if it's just a stand in image, it's far better than the previous proposal for that lot. The older image reminded me of the building below on East Blvd, which would have more of a fortress feel than a welcoming community feel. I'm not sure the market is there. But a taller building on that site would be cool. The apartments/condos on Shaker, right around the corner are all 10-12 stories.

 

 

3 hours ago, scg80 said:

Even if it's just a stand in image, it's far better than the previous proposal for that lot. The older image reminded me of the building below on East Blvd, which would have more of a fortress feel than a welcoming community feel. I'm not sure the market is there. But a taller building on that site would be cool. The apartments/condos on Shaker, right around the corner are all 10-12 stories.

 

 

I've always wondered what this part of East Blvd. Looked like before these. I've always assumed we lost some gems to build this ugly building.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/retail/shaker-square-releases-rfp-new-tenants

Shaker Square launches RFP for new tenants

TL;DR

• Retail Survey stated that 85.5% want a coffee shop added to the square, 70% want a bakery, 68.9% want a casual restaurant and 40.6% want a bar. Other results included an art gallery, a gifts/stationery store, a beer/wine/spirit spot, a maker space, home furnishing and health care.

• No deadline for proposals, just evaluate as they come.

I feel like long term the best thing for Shaker Square is to be controlled by the community, either owned by BBC or CNP in some form. I have to give credit to the work they’ve done there since taking over. My fear with a private owner is the situation it was in before the purchase.

Luchita's coming back to the square. This is exciting!

Cleveland Scene

Luchita's to Reopen at Shaker Square this Summer

It will join the Coyoacán brewery project taking place at the former Balaton space

^ very nice -- i can't think of a better surprize replacement for balaton aka the beloved restaurant of my people. 😂🌮

I went to Coyoacan's soft opening on June 10. So many people showed up that they had to restrict the number of people going into the restaurant to five at a time to keep from overwhelming the newbie servers. It's a fast-casual, Chipotle-style restaurant where you order and get your food prepared from a counter.

My son wanted to go with his friends, one of whom his parents own the Cosumel's chain and they just opened a new restaurant, Fiesta Acapulco, in Wadsworth. So with the line outside Coyoacan and my son's pressure, we went to Wadsworth. Glad I did. It was the best Mexican food I'd ever had. Looking forward to trying Coyoacan someday.