One of Cleveland’s most unique districts is Shaker Square but had worn out over the years. The commercial district fronting the square and the residential areas around it are starting to get some long overdue attention (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
New funding for rehabs; Square redesign refined
While a large federal grant was awarded to improve existing conditions at Shaker Square in Cleveland, plans to make long-term changes that reenergize the 95-year-old square are advancing. The short- and long-term work on the square is based on the belief that this historic district can and should be a neighborhood gathering spot rather than try to compete as a regional retail draw.
Short-term help arrived recently in the former of an $800,000 federal grant to advance community development and infrastructure improvement efforts. Funding was awarded to Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc. (BBC), a nonprofit community development corporation.
Since 2022, BBC has co-owned Shaker Square with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), a nonprofit that provides financial support and technical assistance to community development corporations. The funding was awarded Oct. 22 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
“Congratulations to BBC on being awarded $800,000 in federal economic development funding to help revitalize Shaker Square,” said Rep. Shontel Brown (D-11) in a written statement. She presented the grant to BBC.
“This grant will support business growth and new jobs,” Brown added. “I strongly support this federal grant and am working to bring more funding like this to communities and neighborhoods that have been historically overlooked and under-invested in.”
At a grant award ceremony two weeks ago, Briana Perry of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Joy Johnson of Burten, Bell Carr Development Inc., U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown and Jacklyn Chisholm of Step Forward Corp. celebrate the receipt of funding for Shaker Square (CNP).
“We’re thrilled to receive this transformational grant that will expand Shaker Square’s accessibility and support quality jobs in this neighborhood,” said BBC Executive Director Joy Johnson. “This funding is part of our ongoing investment in ensuring a bright and prosperous Shaker Square for generations to come.”
This grant will go towards the following:
- Creating 29 jobs at Shaker Square businesses, 75 percent of which will be for low-income individuals;
- Partnering with Step Forward Corp. to provide wrap around services to individuals to reduce the barriers to employment;
- Installing an elevator in Shaker Square’s northeast quadrant;
- Supporting the renovation of the Dave’s Markets grocery store at Shaker Square;
- Supporting additional capital improvements around Shaker Square;
While Shaker Square has always been a neighborhood retail district, it is no longer a regional draw having been replaced by newer shopping centers in newer neighborhoods. So a study is underway to identify how best to improve the square’s linkages with its neighborhoods (Agency).
Step Forward, a local community action agency, will work with BBC to provide wraparound services to the employees supported by this program. Wraparound services are a collaborative, strengths-based model of care that helps people with behavioral and mental health needs.
This grant follows $4.5 million worth of renovations and physical improvements made by CNP and BBC that were announced in August. The work included replacing old roofing, heating/air conditioning units, lighting plus repairs and restoration of woodwork to refresh the iconic Shaker Square facades.
Paving and striping parking lots, repaired stone and brick masonry, new paint and new canopies along with plumbing and sewer maintenance were among the remaining improvements made since BBC and CNP acquired Shaker Square.
The work helped retain Dave’s Market grocery store, which extended its lease at the square. A new tenant on the opposite side of Shaker Square, at 13201 Shaker Square, Cafe Indigo is due to open this month. The recent investments are intended to attract interest of potential buyers for the commercial buildings fronting the square.
Not everyone is convinced that enough is being done to improve Shaker Square, including its public safety. Brandon Chrostowski, owner of Edwins Restaurant and Edwins Too on the other side of the square, has complained publicly about the safety situation and has reportedly threatened to relocate his restaurants.
A proposed redesign of Shaker Square that restructures parking and makes it less confusing. It also opens up the opportunity to redevelop underutilized parking lots and buildings behind the commercial district with modern housing and thus more retail customers (Agency).
“I am writing you all this morning because Brandon Chrostowski, Edwin’s Leadership Institute, has started calling board members and former board members regarding his interest in moving his restaurants out of Shaker Square,” wrote CNP President and CEO Tania Menesse.
Her comments were shared in a private letter sent by e-mail last month to board members of the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) and those of its subsidiaries New Village Corporation (NVC) and Village Capital Corporation. NEOtrans received a copy from an anonymous source.
“He initially couched this interest in safety concerns, sending a legal letter several weeks ago indicating that we were not in compliance with our lease,” Menesse added in the letter.
She did not respond to an e-mail seeking further comment; neither did an Edwins spokesperson. Days later, in commenting to a Web site controlled by the oligarch Newhouse family, Chrostowski denied there was a deal in place to relocate Edwins to the old Nighttown space in Cleveland Heights.
The owner of Edwins and Edwins Too restaurants has threatened to relocate his establishments out of Shaker Square unless his concerns for safety are addressed (Google).
Meanwhile, planning continues for the potential redesign of Shaker Square’s settings and connections to the surrounding neighborhood. Those linkages are key because, according to public survey associated with the square’s Vision Project planning work by Agency Landscape + Planning consultants, most visitors to the square walk or bike there from the surrounding neighborhoods.
Out of 540 people surveyed, 305 said they regularly walked or biked to Shaker Square. Another 229 people said they usually drove to the square. Another 46 said they took the train or bus to Shaker Square and another six people said they used other transportation such as scooters or ride-hailing.
Surveyed persons also said they seek local, affordable shops. That, combined with the input that most people walk or bike to Shaker Square, shows that the square is not a regional draw and relies on the surrounding neighborhoods for its business traffic.
Shaker Square has been losing out to newer, suburban east-side retail centers ever since Severance Mall opened in 1963. That was followed by Beachwood Place in 1978. While Eton Chagrin Boulevard opened as a strip mall in 1975, it was dramatically expanded in 1990 and again in 2006. These were driven by and helped exacerbate urban sprawl in a metro area that has seen no population growth since the 1960s.
This apartment building was proposed in 2018 by Paran Management to replace outdated retail buildings along Van Aken Boulevard, southwest of Shaker Square. The plan was revived and revised in 2022 but so far no project has moved forward to address a lack of modern, competitive housing next to Shaker Square (RDL).
Then came the lifestyle centers which provided much of what Shaker Square had — retail, residential and offices in the same walkable setting. First was Legacy Village, opening in 2003. Pinecrest arrived in 2018. It was followed in 2019 by phase one of the Van Aken District just down the tracks of the light-rail Blue Line. Phase two is nearing completion.
The sprawl pulled lower-income city residents behind it, chasing suburban jobs. To the west of Shaker Square, household incomes range from just $20,000 to $41,000, the Vision Project reports. Immediately east of the square in Shaker Heights, household incomes are about $60,000. Median household income for Greater Cleveland in 2023 was $39,041, the U.S. Census says.
Shaker Square’s Vision Project suggests restructuring parking spaces on the roadways around and through the square. It also recommends developing with residential the underused parking lots and other buildings behind the commercial structures surrounding the square. It would respond to the strong leasing response to First Interstate Properties Ltd.’s 121 Larchmere development in the nearby Woodland-Larchmere District.
Although there has been at least one attempt by a developer to add modern housing next to Shaker Square, it has yet to succeed. But the Vision Project notes that such development would help boost the purchasing power of the nearby neighborhoods and create more retail and restaurant opportunities at the square.
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