Cleveland wants a home for manufactured homes

Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity installed five modular homes Oct. 23 at
11830 Matherson Ave. on Cleveland’s West Side. Each was a three-bed, two-bath,
1,350-square-foot home and was the first significant project to build new homes
in Ward 11 since 2005. But the nearest plant for building modular homes is more
than 100 miles away. City officials want one in Cleveland to increase the supply
and reduce transportation costs (Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity).
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The city of Cleveland and the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund announced today they have issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to modular home manufacturers across the United States and internationally to establish a manufacturing facility in Cleveland. The city and fund officials said they are responding to industry requests for such a facility.

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Look to Milwaukee to rid lakefront of freight trains

Reducing freight train traffic off Downtown Cleveland’s lakefront is a realistic
possibility, one that was bolstered  by a similar project in Milwaukee that was
just funded by the federal government. One of the benefits would be to reduce
the amount of time the Norfolk Southern drawbridge at the mouth of the
Cuyahoga River is lowered for so many long freight trains (KJP).
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One month ago, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) won a $72.8 million federal grant to reroute freight train traffic south of the Menomonee River and away from Downtown Milwaukee. The project has many similarities to a local concept for rerouting most freight traffic south of Downtown Cleveland, away from the lakefront.

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Cedar Branch YMCA to become African Town Plaza

Opened in 1942 and closed 70 years later, the Cedar Branch YMCA at East 77nd
Street was a safe and welcoming place for young African-American men. It could
be that again, led by Nigerian immigrant and real estate development James Sosan
who is seeking to give back to his adopted hometown (Google).
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On this Thanksgiving, we’re reminded that there was a place on the city’s East Side that was once a source of thanks and appreciation to young African-American men for 70 Thanksgivings. That place was the Cedar Branch YMCA that helped young men gain a foothold to start climbing in the community. It could be that again for future Thanksgivings after it is renovated as a mixed-use project thanks to plans and financing that are now coming together.

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Lakewood’s Barry Buick to fall, apartments to rise

Looking west on Detroit Avenue from Rosewood Avenue in Lakewood, two apartment
buildings and a new Huntington Bank branch are planned to be built on the three blocks
of the former Steve Barry Buick car dealership. A view of some of the existing conditions
 is shown later in this article (Vocon). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Another one of Lakewood’s former car dealerships on Detroit Avenue is about to come down. Next to fall is Steve Barry Buick, 16000 Detroit Ave., that closed in 2018, to be replaced by a pair of four-story apartment buildings plus a stand-alone bank branch. Site work could potentially start in a few months, said a Lakewood city official.

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New Shaker Square apartments stir again

The Van Aken Plaza at the east end of the Shaker Square commercial district is coming
down. After 85 years, the venerable shopping center along Van Aken Boulevard, south
of the two-story office building at right, will be demolished for future development,
possibly a a modern, competitive, multi-family building atop ground-floor retail
spaces (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Development projects in Shaker Square and elsewhere in Greater Cleveland that have languished in recent years are showing signs of life again. That new energy is thanks in part to new state funding that was awarded to make their development sites ready for construction and renovation.

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Downtown Heinen’s store to be reconfigured

Heinen’s Downtown Cleveland grocery store is being simplified for
customers by placing everything on the first floor (Michael Collier).
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Work is underway to reconfigure what many have called America’s most beautiful grocery store. The work represents the most significant renovations to the Downtown Cleveland Heinen’s store, 900 Euclid Ave., since it opened in 2015.

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Ex-Leisy Brewery site back on the market again

The former Leisy Brewery property on Vega Avenue at Fulton Road at the south-
west corner of Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood was envisioned as a residen-
tial redevelopment site by its current owner and others. But due to internal issues,
the owner is selling the property only 18 months after buying it (The Sweda
Group). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Only 18 months after buying the former Leisy Brewery property, 3400 Vega Ave. in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, an affiliate of Sanctus Capital LLC of Westlake has put the site back on the market again. It’s the second former brewery this year that was put up on the market in this part of town. Across Fulton Road, the closed Platform Brewery was put up for sale in May.

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