Saturday, February 22, 2025

Universities worldwide compete to redesign Cleveland’s Lake Shore Power Plant site

With Lake Erie and Interstate 90 in the foreground, the background is changed from
a polluted former power plant site into a dynamic urban community between Gordon
Park and East 55th Street. Thisconcept, by a partnership of Harvard University and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was just one of 82 submitted to an international
design competition (Harvard-ULI). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

With deference to the classic movie “Casablanca,” of all the abandoned industrial sites in North America, the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Hines Student Competition picked Cleveland’s vacated Lake Shore Power Plant site as the canvas for its 2025 design competition. Four finalists were announced today in the competition that drew 82 entries from universities worldwide, with the winner to be named April 3 in Cleveland.

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Friday, February 21, 2025

Public Square info hub gets grant, design approval

A proposed programming hub for Downtown Cleveland’s Public Square was approved
today by the City Planning Commission and could appear this spring next to Superior
Avenue (LAND Studio). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Improvements to Cleveland’s Public Square took a step forward today when the City Planning Commission unanimously approved a temporary, yet robust programming hub. The hub, designed to replace tents currently used by staffers for downtown events would not only provide workers shelter and a place to store materials, but also function as a kiosk for posting event schedules and wayfinding.

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Thursday, February 20, 2025

Watterson-Lake Apartments design approved

The corner of Detroit Avenue and West 74th Street in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway
neighborhood could regain more of its urban settings in a couple of years with the
construction of the Watterson-Lake project and encourage further restorations of
 the urban fabric in the area (Stantec). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Efforts by city officials to repopulate Cleveland neighborhoods don’t always go smoothly when residents and community officials have gotten used to not having people, density and activity around for decades. But a mixed-use project intended to restore some of that urbanity got approved today by the Landmarks Commission in a contentious meeting.

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Pioneer/Jaja restaurants at INTRO set repair plans

The area outlined in red including an elevator suffered structural damage from a car
crash early in the morning Oct. 31, 2024. Also, the bollard next to the arrow sign at
left was damaged along with the sidewalk. All of those items will be restored to their
original condition by September (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Just after 3 a.m. on Halloween 2024, an Audi crashed at high speed into a section of the INTRO mixed-use complex, at 2050 Gehring Ave. in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. While the driver wasn’t seriously hurt, the damage to the structure was so severe that two restaurants, Pioneer and Jaja, affected by the crash are still closed and repairs won’t be completed until 10 months after the initial impact.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Rebuild Cleveland, FutureHeights unite to add housing

Modular home construction in Greater Cleveland is becoming increasingly popular
with improved manufacturing quality and housing styles. Such infill housing can
be affordably built on-site in a matter of hours once the foundation is in place
(Rebuild Cleveland). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Rebuild Cleveland, LLC and FutureHeights, Inc. have embarked on an official collaboration to bring transformative infill housing development to Cleveland Heights. This partnership leverages Rebuild Cleveland’s considered approach to residential development and FutureHeights’ extensive track record of creatively engaging the community to develop exceptional housing that is responsive to the community’s needs and respectful of its architectural heritage.

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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Van Aken District’s next big project starts in March

The Arcadia at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights is scheduled to see
construction start in March with completion set for Fall 2026 (RDL).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

When one project is completed at a megaproject district, a good sign of its health is to see another project in same area start soon thereafter. That’s what is due to happen in a couple of weeks at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, according to a Columbus-based developer.

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Monday, February 17, 2025

Lake Shore Power Station site redo a long play

Northeast of Downtown Cleveland, a lake-fed discharge pond is left over from the
former First Energy Lake Shore Power Station that was demolished in 2017. Several
cooling ponds and associated structures are proposed to be demolished in the next
few years by a new property owner to make way for future development (IDA).
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

The owner of one of Cleveland’s largest privately owned lakefront properties announced its intentions to redevelop the site. But some of its proposed uses were not welcomed by a lakefront advocacy group.

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