Design + Build

Aspen Place marks first new construction project for affordable housing in Detroit Shoreway
The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corporation (DSCDC) owns more than 300 affordable housing units in the neighborhood, but Aspen Place apartments marks the agency’s first-ever new construction project for affordable housing.
Heights citizens just want great designs for Top of the Hill development
As the Top of the Hill project—a mixed-use development with apartments, retail, and parking at the top of Cedar Hill—nears approval from the city’s Architectural Board of Review (ABR), a group of Cleveland Heights residents are voicing their disapproval of the planned design.
To raze or not to raze? Beaumont's decaying Painter Mansion begs the question
Surrounded by a historic stone wall in Cleveland Heights, Beaumont School's 21-acre campus is rich in Cleveland history, but the on-site Painter Mansion is showing all of its 114 years. School officials say they have no use for the deteriorated mansion, and the renovations would be too costly, so it’s time to tear down the house—but Cleveland's preservation community wants the historic home to get a second chance.
The 8 most interesting houses in Cleveland, second edition
In a city with architecture as unique as the people who call it home, we decided it was time to take another look at some of Cleveland’s most unique houses. From a pre-Civil war homestead to an ultra-modern villa, all eight of these local homes have a captivating story to tell.
It's Design + Build Month at Freshwater! Find out what's on our radar.
As part of our editorial calendar for FreshWater, we select a different theme to highlight each month in line with our 15 focus areas (which range from social change to technology). For March, we're turning our lens on Design + Build—find out what's on the FreshWater team's radar right now.
A new chapter: Cleveland Public Library prepares for the next 150 years
The "People's University" will enter its next era with an ambitious, library-wide revitalization project and a yearlong CPL150 celebration, along with the announcement that it will now be fine-free.
LAND studio is putting the 'public' in public art with a community-designed gathering place
It takes a village to build a community gathering place, and LAND studio is looking for that village to help build its latest public art project—Forum, a large, permanent outdoor pavilion designed to be a setting for public engagement and community gatherings.
Red Space set to unveil $650,000 expansion to its warehouse and event space
When Hotcards CEO John Gadd moved his company to the former Futon Factory at 2400 Superior Ave.—and subsequently bought the building in 2015—he didn’t know what he wanted to do with the 22,000-square-foot warehouse. But soon after moving in, the idea of converting the warehouse into an upscale urban event center came to Gadd, and Red Space was born.
Stranger things are afoot in Lakewood with opening of paranormal shop
Cleveland is a spooky place, and not just around Halloween. No one knows that better than Jessica Oktober and Marleigh McVeigh, co-founders of the Cleveland Area Paranormal Society (CAPS).Together the two lead a team of experts in serving up everything paranormal—from Haunted History Tours around Cleveland to cryptid crafts to tarot card and tea readings.
Cleveland's sailing and rowing hub continues to grow with dedicated boatbuilding space
The Cleveland Amateur Boating and Boatbuilders Society now has a permanent workspace instead of PHASTAR, near the Foundry and the Cleveland Rowing Foundation. It's part of a larger community boating center that PHASTAR is putting together that will house other groups—each with a unique tie to boating, the river, or Lake Erie, according to CABBS President Ed Neal.
 
Lee Road’s Kensington Pub finally on the brink of opening
Jeff King believes in doing things right the first time. That philosophy may have put him and his business partner, Brad Poe, more than a year behind schedule in opening the new Kensington Pub (2260 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights), but King says they are finally ready to open.
Church and State unite for a new community-oriented residential project in Ohio City
Ground has already been broken on the $60 million mixed-use development Church + State by the collaborative development team of Hemingway Development, GRAMMAR Properties, and Brent Zimmerman, but the group will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday, January 24, to kick off the newest addition to the Hingetown neighborhood.
The Cleveland Athletic Club building has found second life as the Athlon
After nearly 12 years of vacancy, the former Cleveland Athletic Club (CAC) at 1118 Euclid Ave. will soon come alive again as the Athlon at the Cleveland Athletic Club Building. The building will feature 163 luxury apartments, offices, and commercial retail space—all paying homage to a facility loved by Clevelanders since the CAC first opened its doors in 1911, then abruptly closed in 2007.
TRG Multimedia’s new, larger space will create one of the largest multimedia studios in the Midwest
It takes a lot of room to pull off projects like a 14-story mural and an entire marketing campaign, ­not to mention countless video, digital, and computer-generated imagery (CGI) projects—so the growing TRG Multimedia recently leased 75,000 square feet on the former American Greetings campus in Brooklyn.
 
Lakefront living options continue to grow with the expansion of The Shoreline
Most Clevelanders have driven past the former Quay 55 building thousands of times while zooming up and down the Shoreway. But what many locals may not know is that the building is now known as The Shoreline Apartments—designed to offer resort-style living right on the shores of Lake Erie, according to new owner John Carney.
Vocon recognized for its design work on Forest City’s new collaborative work space
When real estate giant Forest City first approached architecture and design firm Vocon back in 2016 about moving its 400-plus employees from its 240,000-square-foot headquarters inside the Terminal Tower to 111,000 square feet in Key Tower, Vocon design director Bob Porter’s creative juices started oozing.
Patient-centered design will set apart the new Centers for Dialysis Care in University Circle
It’s been a year since Panzica Construction started building a new two-story, 48,000-square-foot flagship treatment facility for the Centers for Dialysis Care (CDC) at Stokes Boulevard and Carnegie Avenue in University Circle—and the project will soon be rounding the bend toward completion.
After five years of planning, Van Aken District is coming alive in Shaker Heights
It’s not easy to take an historic neighborhood known for its charm, tree-lined residential streets, and opulent architecture and create a brand-new urban downtown. But, after more than five years of planning, that is exactly what the city of Shaker Heights and developer RMS Investment Corporation have done in building phase one of the Van Aken District—Shaker Heights’ new downtown.
This old house: Lakewood to introduce unique tool lending library for repairing century homes
There are more than 17,000 homes in Lakewood that were constructed 100 years ago. And while these homes comprise Lakewood’s charming and unique landscape, they carry their fair share of upkeep.

LakewoodAlive is working on giving its residents access to the tools they need to maintain, repair, and update their homes with its proposed Lakewood Tool Box—a tool lending library where members can borrow the tools they need for home improvement.
Signs of Cleveland’s past uncovered as Lumen construction progresses in Playhouse Square
In early April, crews broke ground on The Lumen—the 34-story, 396-foot, 318-unit apartment building at the corner of Euclid Avenue and E. 17th Street in Playhouse Square—and construction crews have been moving along ever since. During the routine foundation work, crews have uncovered some fascinating pieces of Cleveland’s history dating back as far as the early 20th century.