Cleveland and other cities have struggled for years with vacant schools. As empty buildings hang in limbo, they deteriorate, increasing the likelihood that they'll be torn down. Adaptive reuse, while challenging, can be a tool for preservation.

Fortified with grants of $25,000 and $75,000, respectively from the Gund and Cleveland Foundations, Habitat for Humanity will be opening the area's second ReStore location this spring at 4601 Northfield Road.
 
Similar to the existing ReStore at 2110 West 110^th Street, the North Randall location will sell a mix of new and used furniture, appliances, housewares and construction materials. The new location is adjacent to a number of discount retail outlets as well as a Salvation Army thrift store, but ReStore director Matt Haren feels confident that the venture will add a new dimension to the existing competition.
 
"I think we're bringing in that uniqueness of furniture and building materials and household wares," he says.
 
The new 22,000-square-foot space requires some updates. The work is being financed by the grant money and will include flooring repair, new restrooms, a delivery door and a new employee/volunteer lunchroom to accommodate the planned staff of five and diverse volunteer pool. ReStore attracts volunteers through organizations that cater to the disabled, low-income and disadvantaged such as Bridges Rehabilitation Services, Towards Employment and LEAP.

The new site, which formerly housed a Unique Thrift outlet, will feature a 16,000-square-foot showroom and the same policies, product mix and layout as the successful West Side store, which turns around its inventory in a brisk 90 days.
 
"We're going to try and mimic the same philosophy and culture we have here and transport it over to the east side," says Haren. One of the reasons the formula works is that it's a win-win-win, for customers, workers and even the folks supplying all the merchandise.

"The donor population sees us as being able to move stuff into the community in both a recycling aspect and repurposing aspect," says Haran, "but also in taking those proceeds and applying them to our mission of putting families into homes."
 
The grand opening is tentatively scheduled for April 2. Haren hopes the day marks a new partnership between Habitat for Humanity and the North Randall community, as well as that entire southeast quadrant of the county.

"From our perspective," he says, "it's a community center. The community will shape what we're going to be all about."

Dozens of communities across the U.S. have formed effective, ongoing partnerships with the police that have improved safety and trust.

Our city seems to be constantly in the spotlight these days, for our innovations as well as our challenges. Meet a group of leaders who are redefining the narrative of our city and pushing us to collectively move forward.

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress has announced that it will be hosting two CLE City Life tours on Saturday, November 29th and Saturday, December 27th.

"Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is pleased to offer citywide bus tours to introduce (or re-introduce) you to some of the coolest and most unique places to live in Northeast Ohio," the website states. "Join us and see why Tremont and Ohio City receive so much publicity. We’ll  show you why University Circle is considered the most intellectual square mile in the nation. And you’ll understand why demand is so high for Downtown living options. All this and more!"

The cost of the tour is $12. You can register here.

Cleveland's ethnic diversity is represented in the city's markets. Replete with dazzling items and intriguing people, they offer a taste of home for newcomers and exotic flavors for the rest of us.

Young people born in Cleveland in the 90s don't feel a sense of nostalgia for the city's heyday. Instead, they see an increasingly vibrant city as a place of opportunity, provided we stay on our current path.

 
"Think big" was the theme of an Amplify Speaker Series luncheon on making the most of Northeast Ohio's steadily developing information technology presence.

The region must continue to expand its fiber optic infrastructure alongside ongoing efforts to transform Cleveland into a bustling tech hub with worldwide reach, said a foursome of panelists during the October 1 event sponsored by Contempo Communications.

The physical network itself is burgeoning, notes Lev Gonnick of OneCommunity, a nonprofit foundation helping to grow high-speed internet in Northeast Ohio. Since its founding in 2003, the organization has laid 111 miles of fiber in Cuyahoga County alone.

An advanced fiber optic/digital base transporting data at high speeds can be a boon for the area's already robust healthcare sector, says Kevin Goodman, managing director/partner of downtown Cleveland cloud-computing provider BlueBridge Networks. Crystal clear doctor-to-patient conferencing is just one example of how robust telecommunications can aid the industry.

If a healthy digital platform can help build industry and bring jobs, it will give Northeast Ohio an advantage in the hunt for young professionals over similarly sized markets, says Ashley Basile Oeken, executive director of Engage! Cleveland, a talent attraction/retention nonprofit.

"We're falling behind cities like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in bringing in talent,"  Basile Oeken says. "Cleveland has to find ways to stand out."

Dan Young, founder of technology and design agency DXY, is looking beyond county, state and even national borders when it comes to connecting with the next wave of innovators. Young helped establish a DXY satellite office in Germany, an experience that showcased the need for Cleveland to attract immigrant brainpower.

"The city has to be bigger and bolder about the conversation it's having," he says.

Creating a regional tech epicenter here would make drawing dynamic folks of disparate backgrounds all the easier easier, says Joy Roller, panel facilitator and executive director of Global Cleveland.
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"We need to be open to the flow of ideas and new people," she says. 

A fresh energy is crackling all across the 216, from ambitious new developments taking shape downtown and in University Circle, to bike-friendly avenues and the transformation of blight into pedestrian-friendly green space. But the fun’s just getting started. We rounded up 10 of the most exciting projects on the horizon that have us shaking with anticipation.

Tampa Bay successfully hosted the Republicans in 2012, and Denver hosted the Democrats four years before that. Fresh Water decided to reach out to representatives from each city to see if our fair city could glean some best practices on how to pull off a successful -- and inclusive -- convention.