Among Tremont residents, it's a running joke that the area has almost as many dogs and cats as people. Now this pet-friendly neighborhood will gain another asset in the form of the Tremont Animal Clinic, which is set to open on W. 14th Street by the end of the year.

"We grew up in Cleveland, born and bred," says Katie McCoy, who is opening the clinic with fellow veterinarians Sara Tippins and Bob Litkovitz (known as "Dr. Bob" to all who frequent Gateway Animal Clinic, where he and Litkovitz has worked for years). "We looked at Independence, Hinckley, but always came back to wanting to be a part of the city. We walk down the street and see people we know. Tremont is a nice, small, supportive community, and we love that."

Tremont Animal Clinic will be a full-service clinic that offers appointment times and segregated examination rooms. The vets decided to open the clinic to offer an alternative to Gateway, which is walk-in only and has large, open rooms. The facility will be open Monday through Saturday, and will be open until 7:30 p.m. at least one evening per week.

The building, located at 3148 W. 14th Street, is the former home of the Rodeo Bar, a nuisance that Tremont residents have complained about for years. Local entrepreneur and Treehouse owner Tom Leneghan is completely renovating the place, having gutted it down to the studs. A hair and nail salon is located next door, and a barbeque joint called Nana's BBQ is slated to go in on the other side.

"People were so happy to see us go in here because the Rodeo had been a problem for years," says McCoy, who is aiming for a soft opening before Christmas.


Source: Katie McCoy
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has announced plans to launch the first-ever Cleveland-Europe express ocean freight service, an effort that is currently being finalized and will be cemented next month if the agency's levy passes, officials say.

Port Authority business is already strong, Executive Director Will Friedman said at a recent press conference, with last month's port traffic having exceeded pre-recession levels. The new service will enhance those business fundamentals by offering "lower-cost, faster and greener" direct service.

"For freight, this is like the equivalent of a Cleveland Hopkins direct-to-Heathrow flight from our airport," said Friedman. "We feel that it will be well-subscribed by the maritime community in Northeast Ohio and beyond. There's a huge market -- fifty percent of the country's population is within an eight-hour drive of us."

"We believe this new service will be a game-changer for area companies, helping them become more competitive in the global economy," added board chair Marc Krantz, who stressed that it will help goods and products reach Northeast Ohio manufacturers and companies more quickly and result in more money spent locally.

Without this service, containers shipped from Europe are sent to East Coast ports, where they are then placed aboard a truck or freight line to be transported to Ohio. With the addition of this service, being chartered by the Port itself, both travel time and cost are reduced.

Friedman says the service would create 361 new direct and indirect jobs and generate $34.4 million of total personal income earned. The Port already generates $1.8 billion in annual economic activity.


Source: Will Friedman, Marc Krantz
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Phoenix Coffee, known for setting the standard for Cleveland coffee culture throughout the past two decades, recently moved into a airy new digs on Coventry Road. The roomy, contemporary storefront boasts large windows and a design that incorporates reclaimed materials.

Coffee Director Christopher Feran says that Phoenix's goal was to relocate from its unworkable space down the block to a storefront that it could completely customize, adding to the renaissance of local businesses near the northern end of Coventry.

With help from a low-interest storefront renovation loan from the City of Cleveland Heights, Phoenix completely renovated the space, which formerly housed C. Jones Coffee and Tea. The design incorporates reclaimed materials such as Mason jar lanterns, old subway tile, a wood planking design accent with Phoenix Coffee logo and a cream station made from an old cog from Bethlehem Steel. AODK, Rust Belt Welding and the Foundry Project all helped with the project.

The new Phoenix coffee shop also has a pour-over bar, where customers can sit and watch coffee being made to order by the cup, a growing trend in artisan coffee over the past several years.

Next up: Phoenix is scouting for a fourth location with commissary space, a central kitchen where food and coffee can be prepared in an open and viewable space. Ideal locations include the near west side, including Ohio City.


Source: Christopher Feran
Writer: Lee Chilcote

“We’re shifting because the times are shifting,” says Grace Gallucci of NOACA, adding that the planning agency will shift its focus to multimodal transportation, developing a fix-it-first approach that prioritizes existing infrastructure over new road projects, and basing funding decisions on their regional economic development impact.

The Enterprise Nurture an Idea Crowdrise Challenge offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to win $10,000 by competing to raise the most money online. Eleven innovative ideas in Cleveland are competing between now and November 8th for that big grand prize.

Ideas include a bike composting business in Gordon Square, an initiative to open retail startups in former shipping containers in downtown parking lots, a healthy corner store in Tremont, and a food cooperative distribution center in St. Clair Superior.

Daniel Brown of Rust Belt Gardens studied successful operations in other cities before setting his sights on launching a bike composting business. He says that such a business not only can be profitable, but also can help homeowners divert waste from landfills, create green-collar jobs and improve soil at community gardens.

"We need to buy specialized bikes and trailers, get the website up and running, and start to educate people about what is compostable and not compostable," Brown says of his startup. His partners in the challenge are Detroit Shoreway Community Development, Bike Cleveland and Groundz Recycling.
 
Cleveland Bike Composting would charge $10 to $25 per month to pick up five-gallon compost buckets from a home or business, depending on how often it is scheduled.

"At our community garden, we can't compost enough," says Brown of the demand. "Purchasing compost is expensive, but the process to make it is fairly easy if you know what you're doing. People in Cleveland are really buying into the local foods movement, and that lends itself to there being demand for a composting service."

Currently, there is no business in Cleveland that helps individual homeowners to compost, much less that does so by bike, which raises the sustainability to a new level of green.


Source: Daniel Brown
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Earlier this year, Hotcards CEO John Gadd moved the local printing and marketing company's headquarters to the former Futon Factory at 2400 Superior Ave., expanding from 14,000 to 22,000 square feet and giving the company the opportunity to do a ground-up renovation of new offices.

"We were able to do it from scratch, the way that we wanted, in order to reflect the culture we're trying to build," says Gadd, who has injected new life into Hotcards since he bought the company a few years ago.

The new space features 15-foot ceilings, expansive windows and walls adorned with tons of Cleveland artwork. Eleven people work in the Cleveland office. The company also has offices in other parts of Ohio as well as a Columbus manufacturing facility.

Gadd says the company's growth can be attributed to its "customer-obsessed" culture, which "takes care of people we serve" with utmost attention to detail.

Now Gadd aims to make the company burn even hotter -- and seek some thrills and raise money for worthwhile charities in the process -- by setting 20 people ablaze along the banks of the Cuyahoga River in a Guinness World Records-setting attempt.

"It's a magical spectacle to watch -- people lit on fire look like an art display," he says. "Because we’re Cleveland, we'll turn a negative [burning river thing] into a positive. We'll also raise a bunch of money for charity and make some news."

Gadd has brought in stunt expert Ted Batchelor of Chagrin Falls to manage the event. He says it's so safe it almost takes the excitement out of it. The current record is 17 people set on fire at one time, a feat that Batchelor himself pulled off in 2009.

The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 19, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, with spectators invited to watch from Shooters (tickets start at $15). The fire department and Coast Guard will be on hand in case of emergency. Local YouTube superstar Madi Lee will sing the national anthem before the big burn.

Gadd isn't sure how much money he'll raise for charity, since the event costs about $50,000 to produce. But any additional proceeds will go to the Cleveland Foodbank and Brick by Brick, a nonprofit group that builds schoolhouses in South Africa.


Source: John Gadd
Writer: Lee Chilcote

A grassroots urban placemaking movement that started in Portland has made its way to Cleveland, and a few weeks ago, residents from three Cleveland neighborhoods came together to remove blight with community-led art.

City Repair, which started in Portland as a guerilla movement to add splashes of color to city streets, is so new here that the City of Cleveland denied a permit request at the last minute, forcing organizers to scramble to adapt their project. The original idea was to paint city intersections, and Cleveland officials now acknowledge that they need a new policy to deal with these requests.

In the end, City Repair Cleveland created three successful projects and built a greater sense of community in the process, says Adele DiMarco-Kious, consultant to the effort.

"This is about neighbors getting to know one another and taking shared action about things important to them in their neighborhood," she adds. "You get people to come together, take ownership of the public realm and start taking action and it has a multiplier effect. People build trust, take action and build a sense of power."

In Buckeye-Shaker Square, residents created a vision for a mural that they hope will be painted on a bridge over the RTA tracks that historically has divided their two neighborhoods; Clark-Fulton residents beautified the long-neglected Newark Court alley by painting a mural of the river that once ran through the community; and Stockyard residents covered up a blighted retaining wall with colorful designs.

DiMarco-Kious says the impact goes far beyond the physical projects themselves, as neighbors work shoulder-to-shoulder and families come out of their houses to help paint.

City Repair Cleveland was supported by Neighborhood Connections, a small grants and community building program affiliated with the Cleveland Foundation.


Source: Adele DiMarco-Kious
Writer: Lee Chilcote

During much of its 100-year existence, the Metroparks has been a system of parks largely disconnected from the urban core. But that's beginning to change as the park rolls out its Emerald Necklace Centennial Plan, which will expand its footprint, strengthen connections between sites, and add a renewed focus on sustainability.

The City of Euclid recently completed Phase I of its ambitious Waterfront Improvements Plan, creating an expanded fishing pier, a new multi-purpose trail and an accessible switchback ramp to the lakefront.

Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik says the $1.7 million project is part of a larger, $30 million push to expand Euclid's waterfront with a new, three-quarter mile beachfront and marina that he hopes will become a regional draw.

"We want to re-establish the historic beaches along the shoreline and make sure they're accessible, as Cleveland and the Metroparks are trying to do," he says.

Phase I of the waterfront plan was funded by $1.4 million from the City of Euclid and $355,000 from the State of Ohio. The city will seek additional aid to support future phases of the plan. "We'll be stopped dead in our tracks if we don't have assistance from the federal, state and county governments," Cervenik says.

Euclid now owns the majority of the three-quarter mile stretch of lakefront thanks to a donation from the K&D Group, a large apartment developer that owns lakefront property.

Over the long-term, Cervenik envisions a paved multi-purpose path along the entire stretch of cobble beach, which would include restored natural habitat. He also envisions sailing and kayak lessons and boating at the new marina once built.

For now, Euclid residents and visitors can enjoy the revitalized Sims Park, which Cervenik says complements nearly $14 million of recent development downtown.


Source: Bill Cervenik
Writer: Lee Chilcote

A veteran urban developer has broken ground on a three-unit, single-family development on Columbus Road in the Flats. Phase I of the project is sold out, and the owner is planning three additional high-end, custom-built homes on an adjacent parcel.

David Sharkey of Progressive Urban Real Estate, who is both the sales agent and a developer of the Columbus Hill project, says the development is unlike anything else currently on the market. The homes mesh with the topography of the Columbus Road hillside to offer outstanding views of downtown, the Cuyahoga River and the Flats.

"It's a very unique spot down there," says Sharkey. "It's in the middle of nowhere and the middle of everything at the same time. The amount of development will be limited because there isn't much land, but you can walk to West 25th Street."

The homes, just up the hill from Hoopples bar and the Columbus Road bridge, feature living rooms with 12-foot ceilings, 3 or 4 bedrooms, attached garages and massive roof decks. They are selling in the upper $300,000s. Tremont-based developer Civic Builders is spearheading Columbus Hill.

Asked if Cleveland's high-end new construction market is on the rise, Sharkey says, "Absolutely. The biggest thing holding it back right now is appraisals. We had a hard time getting the first unit appraised... I hear that other developers are holding back because of that. Right now, the market's topping out at 400."

The buyers primarily are empty-nesters from out of town who wish to customize their finishes and are willing to wait 9 to 12 months for the new homes to be built.
 
 
Source: David Sharkey
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Beaumont School recently broke ground on a $9.5 million addition that will include a STEM education building, student commons, administrative offices and new school entrance that fronts North Park Boulevard.

The 25,000-square-foot building will house eight science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms that replace a dated science wing. The expanded labs will allow for more hands-on learning that can be integrated into the entire curriculum.

“An education at Beaumont provides our young women with excellent opportunities for academic achievement, but also inspires them to give back to the community to make a difference in society," says Sister Gretchen Rodenfels, OSU, president of Beaumont School, in a release. “With an improved campus and dynamic STEM presence, Beaumont students will be given a strong foundation to solve the problems affecting society now and in the future.”

With the U.S. falling behind other countries in math and science education, many schools have been renewing their focus on STEM education. Beaumont's new STEM building will help young women advance in cutting-edge careers.


Source: Sister Gretchen Rodenfels
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Creative reuse centers are popping up all across the nation, including Cleveland. These craft-astic places are filled with useful materials that otherwise would end up in a landfill. Adored by artists, teachers and other crafty folks, they also create green jobs, reduce waste and offer affordable supplies for projects.

Welcome to Waterloo, which is fast becoming the weirdest, most creative strip in Cleveland. Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Kresge Foundation, this neighborhood will increase to 25 the number of new arts-based businesses that recently opened along the main drag.