Rendering of the proposed Olde Cedar mixed-income multifamily homes in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood (CMHA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Olde Cedar Phase 1 seeks planning OK
The Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) sought to kick off the first phase of redeveloping Olde Cedar in the Central neighborhood with a visit to the Cleveland City Planning Commission on Friday.
And with it, they said they hoped to revitalize a former housing development-turned vacant lot with new homes near a rapidly-changing area of the city’s Near-East Side.
In partnership with The Finch Group Housing Resources (TFG) and RDL Architects of Beachwood, CMHA is proposing 62 multi-family units in 12 buildings and maintenance facilities at the corner of Quincy Avenue and East 46th Street.
Included in the project are a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with two floors. The site plan shows the proposed buildings fronting Quincy and Scovill avenues with parking oriented towards the interior of the site.
Site plan and proposed landscaping for the first phase of the Olde Cedar development (CMHA).
As the nearby Sankofa Village project wraps up its fourth and final phase, attention turns to this site which is already adjacent to several municipal services located in the neighborhood. These amenities include the Outhwaite Community Center, the Friendly Inn Settlement and the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center and Park.
Also adjacent to the Olde Cedar site are East Technical High School and Alfred Benesch School. The East 55th Street corridor connects the development to Midtown Cleveland to the north and Opportunity Corridor to the south. Olde Cedar’s revival is poised to benefit from sitting in between several critical areas on the east side.
The project is referred to as “Olde Cedar: Phase One” because it is intended to replace the units in three buildings removed for ODOT’s Central Interchange project (also known as phase CCG3A of the Cleveland Innerbelt Project). The unit counts proposed are a direct result of those existing units, according to CMHA.
The majority of the parcel’s land directly adjacent to East 55th is being reserved for later use and would constitute a future phase two of the project. The entire combined parcel, which is currently owned by CMHA, was home to the former Carver Park Estates A and B blocks about four years ago.
The variety of parks and amenities surrounding the proposed development site which is shaded in yellow and marked with a star at the center of the map (CMHA)
According to developers, the lack of on-site amenities such as a park, seating areas and playground are due to the fact that they can all be found within a block’s walking distance.
They are “leveraging what’s already in the neighborhood and not duplicating efforts.” Hence, the project could focus on providing as much housing as feasible on land already integrated into the community.
The Central neighborhood is a very traditional-feeling neighborhood according to RDL architects, who wanted to mimic that aesthetic while also bringing a different facade style than what is seen at Carver Park Estates and other adjacent housing projects.
The proposal calls for townhome-style buildings in order to provide a sense of home and place versus apartment-style living. Cool teal and gray siding accented with stone are highlighted in the proposal. CMHA is working with the city on how to integrate their development with a proposed Lonnie Burten Rec Center renovation project.
Renderings of townhome-style of residential buildings in phase one of the Olde Cedar redevelopment (CMHA)
With regards to connectivity, Planning Commission Vice Chair August Fluker asked presenters to “advocate for — in collaboration with the city — to create a more robust crosswalk because there’s gonna be kids crossing there — being more intentional about how kids cross the street.”
Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr, who was virtually present at the meeting, said he is on board with this project. “I do support the initiative with CMHA. I want to make sure there are parking spaces for every resident there so we can alleviate some of those on-street parking spots — those are some of the challenges CMHA has often had.”
Overall, city planning staff were fully in support of the project as a whole but asked the developers to consider reducing the amount of surface parking on the site. They also wanted to consider re-configuring the internal parking lot for safety purposes.
The project ultimately won schematic approval from the Planning Commission who unanimously approved for it to proceed to final approval in the near future.
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