Fresh Water updates five major development projects that will prove to conventioneers this July that Cleveland is a city on the move.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is making progress on a new rapid station set for the site of the current station at 2830 E. 34th St. A community meeting to discuss the proposed improvements will take place tonight at 6 p.m. at Cuyahoga Community College's Metro Campus Student Center.
 
The preliminary design for the $7.5 million project was shown to RTA's board of trustees on March 1, while an updated station design proposal was completed earlier this month. The new station, which like its current iteration on East 34th Street, will serve all three rapid lines, and be upgraded with better lighting and ADA-compliant features.
 
Attendees of tonight's get-together will see the same design concept presented to board members, says Mike Schipper, RTA assistant general manager of engineering.

"Our next step is to get feedback from the public," says Schipper.
 
The plan's design phase will wrap by December, when RTA also expects to begin the construction bidding process. Work is scheduled to start next spring and will take a year to complete, officials say.  
 
Plans for the new station include relocating the main entrance to the intersection of East 34th Street and Broadway Avenue, a space which will also offer a covered waiting area for riders, says Schipper. New LED lighting and a disabled-accessible ramp are among the project's other highlights. 

Though close to Tri-C's metro campus, the East 34th Street station currently does not get much use, Schipper says. However, thanks in part to the advocacy of Campus District stakeholders, RTA agreed to design and build a new facility instead of closing it altogether. 
 
The district's community development group has committed to work with RTA after the new station is finished to promote increased ridership. Proximity to Tri-C as well as special rates for students could give those figures an additional boost.
 
"We hope as we rebuild the station Tri-C will engage surrounding businesses and the Campus District as a whole," says Schipper, adding that a built-out rapid facility can also compliment a community that's undergone heavy development in recent years.
 
"This is our investment in the area," says Schipper. "We look forward to growing with the neighborhood."

MOCA's cosmopolitan flair is rooted in its commitment to connect Cleveland to points across the globe via art and people.

On May 21 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., NASA’s Glenn Research Center will host a free public open house at its Lewis Field main campus, 21000 Brookpark Rd.
 
The center will offer plenty of things to do and see on both days, including walking tours and glimpses inside vacuum chambers, wind tunnels and other world-class facilities that have advanced aviation and space exploration.
 
NASA aircraft will be on display and Glenn engineers, scientists and technicians will be on hand for questions and discussions. The event will also feature exhibits, demonstrations, hands-on activities and special presentations.
 
Food, beverages and NASA souvenirs will be available for purchase. This is NASA Glenn’s first public open house since 2008. The event is part of a yearlong celebration of Glenn’s 75th anniversary year.
 
Complete information is available here.

 

A group of high school seniors will light up Beachwood High School on April 30 with fun, food trucks and 200 vendors ranging from international giants and local businesses to student entrepreneurs at EntrovationCLE.

Three programs in Northeast Ohio that attract high school students from across the globe offer an intense and realistic preview of life in a college arts program.

A young local entrepreneur is on the verge of introducing a unique portable studio to the world and giving everyone a chance to be a professional recording artist, wherever they may be.
 

On Saturday, April 9, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., the Warren A. Sill Fund (WASF) will host "Spring out of Hibernation," at the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, 1309 Euclid Ave. Two hundred attendees are expected to celebrate the launch of the Fund’s early education program and its past scholarship recipients.Tickets are $35 and can be purchased here.
 
The WASF board of directors will unveil an innovative partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and the Children’s Museum of Cleveland (CMC) that will provide quality extra-classroom experiences to 20 underprivileged pre-kindergarten students at Euclid Park Elementary, 17914 Euclid Ave.
 
“Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Euclid Park PreK-8 School are excited that we were given the opportunity to join this incredible partnership. Through the generosity of The Warren A. Sill Fund, our PreK students will benefit greatly from hands-on, inquiry-based learning through the Children’s Museum of Cleveland,” Qianna Tidmore of CMSD’s Office of Early Childhood Education said in a release.
 
“The Fund’s greatest quality is its ability to dream – beyond the tragedy of Warren’s passing and now beyond the parameters of traditional education philanthropy,” Tyler Allchin, chair and cofounder of WASF added.

“In partnership with two tremendous institutions, the Fund has the opportunity to deliver an extraordinary return on a strategic investment in Cleveland’s PreK population,” said Allchin in the release.