Proposed design concept for the Shaker Square car wash (SBA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Opposition steers project elsewhere
Clean Express Auto Wash, a Cleveland-area express car wash operator and a brand of Express Wash Concepts, issued a statement today today that it has withdrawn its application for a proposed car wash location in Cleveland’s Shaker Square.
The newly vacant site, 2750 Van Aken Blvd., will likely remain a landscaped green space until a new project can be found that the community will support. The 1.7-acre parcel is owned by an affiliate of the Paran Realty Group whose offices are located next door on Van Aken.
“After hearing directly from Shaker Square residents, it became clear the community has a different vision for this site, and Clean Express Auto Wash respects that,” the company said in its statement. “It has withdrawn its application and wishes Shaker Square well in its continued revitalization.”
When the car wash company identified the Shaker Square site, it said its goal was to design a facility worthy of the neighborhood. It proposed a fully enclosed car wash, consistent with the site’s existing zoning, that reflected the area’s architectural character and rich history, and that would serve as a genuine community amenity for decades.
Proposed site plan and location of the Shaker Square car wash, on Van Aken Boulevard at Drexmore Road in Cleveland (Kimley Horn).
An advisory panel to the City Landmarks Commission, along with Tom McNair, Mayor Justin Bibb’s Chief of Integrated Development, on June 16 declared its steadfast opposition to the car wash’s proposed Shaker Square site. They said the proposed use was “wildly inappropriate” for the pedestrian- and transit-oriented designated landmark district that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Of 149 letters and e-mails plus 12 phone calls received by the Greater Cuyahoga Valley Historic Design Review Advisory Committee, only one e-mail and one phone call were supportive. All of the others were in opposition, to which the car wash’s development team said at the meeting that they were “taken aback.”
“We have tremendous respect for the Shaker Square community and the vision residents have for its future,” said John Roush, Chief Executive Officer of Express Wash Concepts.
“Our goal has always been to be a good neighbor — providing Clevelanders with an affordable, environmentally responsible service to keep their cars clean, while creating real jobs and careers in the communities we serve,” Roush added. “Cleveland deserves the right project in the right place, and we’ll keep looking.”
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