A surface parking lot on the north end of the Moreland Courts property is currently being targeted by local developer Dan Whalen for a possible single-family residential development (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Residential development sought behind Moreland Courts
After an express car wash withdrew its plans for a new Shaker Square location in response to residents’ protests, the question remains: how can developers navigate neighborhood opposition? For local developer Dan Whalen, the answer is simple — ask the neighbors.
Whalen has reportedly floated the concept of a single-family residential development on a 0.9-acre site owned by the Moreland Courts condominium community.
An earlier plan for the site that’s currently a surface parking lot involved apartments, according to a nearby resident whom NEOtrans spoke with.
Unlike the proposal for a Clean Express Car Wash, which caught the community by surprise after the site’s owner razed the historic Van Aken Plaza retail strip for a possible multifamily use, Whalen’s ideas for Moreland Courts have seemingly been guided by back-and-forth conversations with neighbors.
The Moreland Courts property, including a site which could be sold off for a potential residential development, are outlined at top. The site of the demolished Van Aken Plaza, now a vacant lot, is highlighted at bottom (Google).
NEOtrans’ source spoke with one of those neighbors, who stated that “the current design would be eight single-family homes,” with five facing Kemper Road and and three on the opposite side of the lot near Cormere Avenue.
According to this neighbor, the homes along Kemper would have street-facing entrances and walkways, but vehicular access for all homes would be from Cormere via North Moreland Boulevard.
“There are no plans to change roadways or traffic patterns,” the neighbor said, speaking on the condition of anomymity. “A pathway from the lot into CHALK (Cormere, Haddam, Ardoon, Larchmere, Kemper) would be maintained.”
This unofficial site plan depicting Whalen’s possible Shaker Square development was created by NEOtrans based on a low-quality image that circulated within a local neighborhood group (Google).
Each home would have a two-car garage with six additional off-street parking spaces for guests. At the northern entrance to the Shaker Square CVS, 15 surface parking spaces for customers would remain.
When NEOtrans contacted Whalen for details on the rumored project, he said he had “nothing to share just yet,” but clarified that the Shaker Square proposal is completely unrelated to his new role as managing director of Bedrock’s Cleveland office.
While he indicated that the project is still in the early planning phase, the neighbor wrote that “there was a 95-percent ‘yes’ vote from those who voted at Moreland Courts to explore the possibility of selling the lot to Dan (Whalen). He currently has a provisional right to purchase the lot, pending environmental and administrative reviews and other due diligence.”
Driveways and parking for eight proposed single-family homes would be located at the end of Cormere Avenue just off of North Moreland Boulevard (Google).
If Whalen moves forward with the plan, the development would require a zoning adjustment due to the narrower lot sizes, and would need to undergo the design review process via the Landmarks Commission.
The neighbor who spoke to NEOtrans’ source reported that homes would be constructed for approximately $500,000 each, with a 15-year tax abatement on the first $400,000 of their value.
“The current plan would to be to build and and sell two homes at a time. Thus there would not have to be pre-sales on the first houses in order to begin construction,” they wrote. “The earliest start of construction could be Spring 2027.”
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