Medical Mutual redo starts as Project Scarlet

The former Medical Mutual headquarters is going under the knife to be converted from
office building to a mix of residential, hotel and ground-floor restaurant-retail uses. Side-
walks on Prospect Avenue and East 9th Street were closed off and streets narrowed to
allow work to begin (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A clear sign of a project getting underway is when street barriers and fencing go up around that project’s site. In this case, it’s the vacated Medical Mutual of Ohio headquarters, 2060 E. 9th St. in Downtown Cleveland, that’s about to see work get started.

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Safar is a journey from Tick Tock Tavern

Saravanan “Babu” Chandrababu oversees renovations to the former Tick Tock Tavern that
will convert it into Safar and open at the end of this month. With a Cleveland-Lakewood
map mural in the background, the Legacy bar shown here will offer traditional American
foods while two other rooms will offer a fusion of Indian foods in a fine-dining and speak-
easy lounge setting (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Two journeys are represented at the site of the former Tick Tock Tavern that saw its nearly eight-decade-long run end in December 2024. One is that of the tavern and the other is of its new owner Saravanan “Babu” Chandrababu.

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GCRTA’s new trains’ arrival schedule

The first new rapid transit trains in Cleveland since the Reagan Administration are
due to arrive here in June. But the general public won’t be able to ride them
in regular service until the following summer (Siemens Mobility).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Among 45 U.S. cities with urban rail transit systems, Greater Cleveland has the nation’s the oldest train fleet. The first tangible evidence of that changing will arrive in June when the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) is expected to receive its first new rapid transit railcars since 1985.

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Historic mansion serves its last

This 19th-century mansion on Cedar Avenue in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood faces
demolition as the adjacent Gardens of Fairfax Healthcare Center is about to expand
under new ownership (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

A nursing home complex is proposed for a major expansion but requires the demolition of two historic homes, including a 19th-century mansion designed by a famous local architect. A permit application for the mansion’s demolition was submitted to the City of Cleveland last month and is still pending.

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Woodhill Homes moves hundreds of units closer to transit

Woodhill Station East adds 69 housing units next to the 120 already
already available at Woodhill Station West. Previously, these
blighted sites across from the Woodhill light-rail station held the
remnants of a demolished Burger King and a vacant elementary school
(Harrison Whittaker). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Replacing the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s (CMHA) aging Woodhill Homes, hundreds of housing units are being constructed next to some of Cleveland’s most frequent bus and rail transit routes.

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GCRTA’s choices: victim or solution

Although University Circle is Greater Cleveland’s fastest growing
   employment district and one of its fastest growing residential areas,
its transit offerings haven’t changed much in decades. The HealthLine
offers less frequent and slower buses than before 2008 and has
only one rail line which skirts the district (NEOtrans).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

If the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) was a human being, it might look like the Black Knight from the 1975 movie “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” after being confronted by King Arthur. In the British comedy, the king had hacked off the knight’s arms and legs, yet the knight continued to fight, claiming “It’s just a flesh wound.”

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Camelot Bakery OK’d for city’s West Side

Camelot Bakery is proposed to be built in phases at the intersection
of Madison Avenue and West 105th Street in Cleveland’s Cudell
neighborhood, replacing their existing, cramped building on the
same site. This is an updated rendering showing a new color palette
and glass-block windows along the first floor of the Madison frontage.
The bus in the background is shown on West 105th Street (Meraki).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

It’s the kind of success story just about everyone cheers for and it’s a story that Cleveland needs more of. It’s the story of a husband-and-wife team growing a business they started, outgrowing their first building in Cleveland to the point they need a new one — and are staying in Cleveland.

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