Some storefronts sparkle with inviting merchandise, while others languish behind a layer of dust. For the latter, Cleveland's Storefront Renovation Program has been lending a helping hand to entrepreneurs for almost two decades with financial assistance for exterior improvements and signage.

Jonathon Sawyer, the award-winning chef behind Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat, is opening a new restaurant with his wife Amelia. The venue, to be called Trentina, will feature cuisine from the Trento region of northern Italy, where Amelia's family is from. It will open in the former Sergio's space in University Circle in the coming months.

Sawyer describes Trentina as a "passion project" that will allow him to pay tribute to his wife's heritage while introducing the cuisine of Northern Italy to a wider audience.

"I always had an affinity with 'the Boot,' as it were," he says. "When I started Bar Cento, it was really a Roman restaurant in the style of the street mongers of Rome. I didn’t want to repeat that, but I knew my wife’s family had tie-ins with Trento."
 
He traveled there and fell in love. "We subsequently returned -- more than 100 days in past four years, in fact. The thing I keep coming back to is how similar the growing seasons are in Trento and the Cuyahoga Valley. The indigenous people are very similar to the ethnic backgrounds of a lot of Clevelanders; there's Austrian, Swiss, Slovenian… so much more so than just straight-up Italian."

To help fund the restaurant and pay for some extras like a pasta extruder, wood-burning grill and double-sided hearth, Sawyer launched a Kickstarter campaign. The original goal was $21,999, but the project already has exceeded that amount by nearly $10,000 with 18 days still left to go.

So Sawyer set a new, loftier goal: "We want to be the most-funded hospitality Kickstarter campaign in Ohio, whatever that is," he jokes.

Sawyer certainly has earned his fan club, but the campaign rewards also don't hurt. For $100, you can take a cooking class that normally would cost $150. Three hundred bucks buys a cocktail named after you, while $600 gets you meals shipped to your home for six months. The list goes on and on, all the way up to dinner at your house for 20 of "your foodiest friends and family," cooked by the chef himself ($500).

Trentina will offer fine dining with showy tableside service like polenta seared over burning embers. Sawyer says, "For us, it will be the first time we'll be able to accurately portray cuisine with ingredients from just outside our back door."


Source: Jonathon Sawyer
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The historic Terminal Tower offices of the Van Sweringen brothers, the duo that built the iconic skyscraper and the streetcar suburb of Shaker Heights, will soon be occupied by a women-owned consulting firm that helps businesses and organizations embrace a more sustainable future.

BrownFlynn is relocating from Highland Heights to the tower's 36th floor. The firm, which provides sustainability consulting, communications and training, needs more space. The 7,000-square-foot office, boasting panoramic views of the city and located a few flights below the Observation Deck, will be completely renovated by the end of April.

"Clearly, we're committed to the city and want to be part of its vibrancy," says principal Margie Flynn. "We're committed to sustainability and want to make sure we're walking the talk in what we're doing. And the essence of sustainability is really historic preservation."

Flynn says her employees, many of whom live in the city, are very excited about being downtown. The office gives BrownFlynn room to grow, and the firm can welcome out-of-town guests via RTA's Red Line, which stops in Tower City.

"The space has a tremendous amount of natural light," Flynn comments. "We're going to adapt the space as a very open, collaborative work environment."

Vocon is helping to design the space, while Forest City, which owns the Terminal Tower and has been a major player in corporate sustainability nationwide, will facilitate renovations. Instead of reusing the massive corner offices as private suites, as the Vans once did, the principals plan to convert these spaces into open offices to encourage collaboration and stimulate creative thinking.

"The most important thing is to have a very open inviting environment for our team," says Flynn, adding that BrownFlynn could grow from 14 to 21 employees in the coming years to keep up with growing demand for its services.

BrownFlynn secured a job creation grant from the City of Cleveland to help facilitate the move.


Source: Margie Flynn
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The for-sale housing market remains tepid in many Cleveland neighborhoods, but it never really cooled down in Tremont. That's because this historic neighborhood remains popular, full of vitality and, frankly, small, which means there never is an abundance of houses on the market. When a properly priced Tremont house is listed, it usually sells.

And that's certainly true of the Cottages on Thurman, a new Tremont development. Developer (ARC) form of Tremont has pre-sold two detached, green-built townhomes off of plans. Principal and founder Jeffrey Eizember expects to break ground and go vertical within the next two months.

"It's a very efficient design," he says. "Our philosophy is that we want to help the buyer get a customized product that is not exorbitantly priced."

With starting prices at $379,900, the townhomes might become the first LEED-certified units in Tremont (the ratings are preliminary at this point) and the first to participate in the Department of Energy Home Challenge. Additionally, they have an unusual design feature: the bedrooms are located on the second level, while the living spaces are on the third level to best take advantage of the views.

"How often do you spend time in your bedroom other than going to sleep?" Eizember asks. "Why give all the good views to that area?" The benefits don't stop there. "This layout also puts the living level in closer proximity to the rooftop deck."

That rooftop deck will offer even better views of downtown Cleveland, the industrial Cuyahoga Valley and the church spires and steeples for which Tremont is well known.

The units, which are a little over 2,000 square feet, have attached two-car garages, two bedrooms, two and a half baths, 100-year-old reclaimed maple flooring, and tankless hot water heaters to maximize efficiency, among other features.

The developers also will harvest 60 percent of the rainwater accumulated on site. "It can be used for irrigation or to wash off your car," Eizember explains, adding that, "Ninety percent of the site is permeable."
 
(ARC) form is a design and construction firm that blends architectural services, contracting and interior design into one package. The firm specializes in "using conventional materials and techniques in unconventional means."

With just two lots available, the project already is sold out. "We didn't have a hard time selling them once they were listed," Eizember says. "They went pretty fast."


Source: Jeffrey Eizember
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When Jeff Battershell and his wife lived in Ouray, Colorado, for six years, he fell in love with the numerous small town craft breweries in the area. A Cleveland native, Battershell moved back home a year and a half ago with the initial thought of starting a brewery.
 
“It was always kind of our plan to go out there and experience something different and move back,” Battershell explains. “But I felt like I was missing out on Cleveland’s renaissance.”
 
When he got back to Cleveland, Battershell’s environmental science and entrepreneurship education from BGSU kicked in. “Breweries seemed like a saturated market,” he says. “I was being honest with myself. I wasn’t good enough to compete with places like Great Lakes Brewery and Market Garden Brewery.”
 
Then Battershell got the idea to pair his environmental studies with his love for beer and start an apparel business that benefits water conservation groups while promoting breweries. He started Keepin’ it Fresh, a company that sells baseball caps and t-shirts with embroidered brewery logos. A portion of the proceeds will go to water conservation groups or projects; a percentage goes back to the brewery.
 
“I bounced the idea off of my friends in the industry and they really liked it because it was one more way to promote their business,” he says. “And beer depends on the quality of water they’re brewing with.”
 
Keepin’ it Fresh has four Southwest breweries signed on and is working with a number of well-known Cleveland breweries on agreements. Right now, Battershell is embroidering baseball caps on one machine out of his house. He plans to hire one part-time employee by 2015 and his five-year plan calls for five employees and additional embroidery machines.
 
Battershell’s site will be selling apparel by April. In the meantime he is working with organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Brewers for Clean Water Campaign and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
 
Source: Jeff Battershell
Writer: Karin Connelly

Even as the economy recovers, Americans are driving less and taking public transit more. With all that demand comes congestion and backups at major rail hubs. But smart cities are anticipating and adapting so that the transit station of tomorrow is a true neighborhood amenity.

How hot is the rental market in and around downtown Cleveland? Not only are there wait lists at most downtown apartment buildings, but developers are scrambling to bring more units online. But more than just beds, these new developments are boosting the vitality of urban neighborhoods while bringing with them much-needed retail.

The developers behind University Place Townhomes, a 19-unit project on E. 118th Street in University Circle, have broken ground on their new project. With two sales in hand, they're laying the foundation and intend to start vertical construction in the spring.

"The demographic is pretty much what we thought it would be," says Russell Lamb, a principal with Allegro Realty and partner in the project, which includes several Allegro principals. "The buyers are either people who work in the Circle, particularly medical institutions, people who want to move back to an urban environment who are downsizing, or young professionals."

"We're the only for-sale project in University Circle," he adds. "We're pretty comfortable with where we are right now." The developers hope to obtain several additional sales in the spring so they can start construction on additional units.

While much of the action these days is in the rental market, the for-sale market also is showing signs of renewed life, says Lamb. He believes University Circle is a particularly strong, underserved market, in part because there's so little developable land. The parcel on E. 118th was a rare vacant property within the district's boundaries that could be developed.

The units range in size from 1,100 square feet to just under 2,100 square feet, with prices starting at $250,000 and climbing to $450,000. Lamb describe the prices as "expensive for Cleveland, but not expensive for University Circle," an area that commands a premium.

The project design features five separate buildings around a central, European-style courtyard utilizing modern building techniques including cementitious exteriors. Dimit Architects designed the units. The interiors, while not extravagant in terms of square footage, are "modern, open and airy; there's a good use of space," Lamb says.

Uptown has been a particular "center of gravity" for the project, he adds, providing much-needed amenities that will attract the home-buying set.

What's needed to complete the Circle? "More people," Lamb says. "If any place in Cleveland has got it all, it's gotta be University Circle."


Source: Russell Lamb
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Over the past decade, personal office space has dropped in size by 30 percent per person. That downward shift has accelerated as corporations seek to become more efficient and productive by embracing a mobile, open and collaborative workplace culture. 

While the West Side Market and Terminal Tower demand center stage, what about the hidden gems, wallflowers and untold stories? With CityProwl podcaster and veteran architect Jennifer Coleman as our guide, we discover one treasure after another, from a tiny neighborhood worthy of Dickens to bouquets of flowers fit for a giant.

What's the big idea behind the South Euclid Idea House? Housing Manager Sally Martin says the goal of the energy-efficient, 1,800-square-foot home, which was completed this fall, is to stimulate new thinking about the future of this built-out, inner ring 'burb.

That future now includes seven new-construction homes scattered throughout the community, five community gardens and three pocket parks. These projects rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the foreclosure crisis -- South Euclid has now demolished 56 homes, with more to come. The city also has inspired at least one private builder, Weathervane Homes, to build homes in the community.

"We built the Idea House to show that you can live big on a small lot," says Martin. "The 'big idea' is that infill development is a great possibility for the private sector, and that houses can be built here in a modern way that modern buyers will like."

In the past, Martin says, many builders looked past South Euclid to the exurbs. The modest silver lining in the housing crisis, which resulted in many vacant homes, is that infill lots are beginning to open up. One South Euclid, a new community development group, now offers these lots for development.

The Idea House features an open floor plan, upscale finishes, first-floor master bedroom or den, and energy-efficient design. The house, which was built using Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding, is under contract for $162,000.

Martin says the new homes, coupled with green space initiatives, aggressive code enforcement, nuisance abatement and offering of lots to private developers, have spurred the beginnings of a renaissance.
 
"We've planted the seeds, and it's taken off from there. We've seen a small increase in the housing market. There's hope."


Source: Sally Martin
Writer: Lee Chilcote