Site plan for the proposed Shaker Square car wash. North is at the top of the image, with the southeast commercial quadrant of Shaker Square visible at upper left (Kimley Horn). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Landmarks Commission OK sought June 16
Shaker Square, although faded from its peak decades ago, remains Greater Cleveland’s seminal example of transit-oriented community design in which the rapid transit system, pedestrian activity, and vertically mixed uses are juxtaposed to support each other.
But at a 1.7-acre site in the Shaker Square Historic Landmark District where a retail building was demolished last year for a potential multi-family development, the developer is instead proposing to build an automated car wash. The $138,000, 15,322-square-foot car wash would be surrounded by drive-through lanes, plans show.
Paran Realty Group, through its affiliate Bonwit Teller LLC, is requesting a recommendation on June 16 from the Greater Cuyahoga Valley Historic Design Review Advisory Committee for its plan to build a Clean Express Auto Wash at 2750 Van Aken Blvd., just north of Drexmore Road.
That non-binding recommendation, or the lack of same, would then follow the project to the next stage in the design approval process — the City of Cleveland’s Landmarks Commission.
The commission could then award or deny a legally binding certificate of appropriateness to build the car wash in the Georgian Revival-styled Shaker Square Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
All four sides, or building elevations, of the proposed car wash are shown here as part of the plans submitted to the Cleveland Landmarks Commission (SBA).
NEOtrans reached out to City Planning Director Calley Mersmann and Landmarks Commission Secretary Dan Musson for comment on the car wash proposal but neither responded prior to publication of this article.
Joe Del Balso, Paran’s managing director, also didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment and more information about its plans. Paran’s offices are located next door in a curved, two-story, 86-year old office building at Van Aken and Shaker boulevards.
Next door in the other direction is a car-oriented use — a gas station. That site has been a gas station property since Shell Oil Co. purchased it in 1939, county property records show. Shaker Square was substantially developed by 1929.
Critics have decried the proposed car wash as being the antithesis of transit-oriented development (TOD) and not contributing to the historic district either architecturally or economically.
“As co-owner of Shaker Square with Burten, Bell, Carr Development, we are concerned about the proposal for the adjacent property,” said Cleveland Neighborhood Progress CEO Tania Menesse in an e-mail to NEOtrans.
In April, looking south from Shaker Boulevard, to the right of Van Aken Boulevard is the site where a single-story retail strip stood until late last year and where the car wash is planned. At far right are the offices of Paran Realty Group which owns the office building and the car wash site (Google).
“The Shaker Square Vision Plan, which we completed in January 2025 with surrounding communities, aims to enhance the walkability and transit-richness of this historic area,” she added. “The proposal does not reflect that vision, and we will be expressing that concern at the City’s Landmarks Commission.”
That vision plan urged a redesign of Shaker Square’s settings and connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Those linkages are key because, according to a public survey associated with the square’s Vision Plan, most visitors to the square walk or bike there from the surrounding neighborhoods.
Adjacent residential development sites were encouraged by the plan because they would help boost the purchasing power of the nearby neighborhoods and create more retail and restaurant opportunities at the square, the masterplan noted. The masterplan has not been formally approved by the City Planning Commission.
The Vision Plan also recommended redeveloping with residential the underused parking lots behind Dave’s Market and Atlas Cinemas, the CVS store and the former Edwins restaurant that surround the square.
While the Bonwit Teller site was not among those identified for residential redevelopment by the masterplan, it was identified by Paran. Last year, at the Landmarks Commission where it got approval to demolish the strip shopping center, the developer said its goal for the site was multi-family.
A conceptual rendering of what a multi-family building could look like on the site where the car wash is planned instead. The Shaker Square commercial district is at the top of the image (RDL).
“We don’t really have a transition plan at this time, other than the site being marketed toward multi-family development,” Del Balso said in February 2025. “We had interested parties that are interested in the site including the ownership group themselves participating.”
The developer first sought an interim parking lot for the site until it could be developed. But the Landmarks Commission expressed concern that the parking lot could become permanent and instead approved a landscaped greenspace for the interim.
Brian Schriver, Northeast Ohio director of All Aboard Ohio, a rail and transit advocacy group, said the proposed car wash is an about-face and, if approved, would weaken what makes Shaker Square special.
“Shaker Square’s strength lies in its transit infrastructure and historic character,” he said. “New development should reinforce the square as a destination through housing, retail, or medical facilities that bring foot traffic, drive transit ridership, and support existing storefronts.”
“The developer proposed this type of vision when securing a demolition permit for the property,” Schriver added. “Replacing those structures with a car wash instead is a broken promise that completely disregards the district’s master plan. The planning commission should reject this proposal.”
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