Topic: Cleveland Neighborhoods in 2016

[8ShadesofGray]

It seems like there is a lot of strategic planning, branding and housing innovation going on in Cleveland neighborhoods. So who's doing it right? Who's efforts are going to pay off big?

I apologize in advance if I've left out any neighborhoods that are up-and-coming - please add them. I did intentionally left out the standard fare neighborhoods (The Edge, Little Italy, Ohio City, Shaker Square and Tremont).

[Map Boy]

Do you mean to ask which ones will add a significant number of residents?  Some of those places (Westown, Old Brooklyn) are already very solid residential areas.  Others, like University Circle and the Flats, should add significant numbers, but won't have their numbers.

[8ShadesofGray]

^Obviously, everyone can use their own measures of success. The rationale for the post was that with every Cleveland relocatee that asks for info on ideal neighborhoods, we usually offer the same exact opinions - Edgewater, Ohio City, Tremont, Little Italy and Shaker Square. I guess I'm curious which neighborhoods people think will be added to this list in ten years, i.e. which neighborhoods will have "the vibe" going on. I've included some neighborhoods with significant residential populations currently (Brooklyn, Collinwood, Westown, Woodland Hills) because a) they may have numbers but currently lack the word-of-mouth enthusiasm you get about Ohio City, etc., and b) because they are all engaging in major rebranding, development, etc. that could lead them to be THE places to live in Cleveland.

[Map Boy]

so, which neighborhood will be the HOTTEST, in other words...  gotchya

[blinker12]

I voted for Detroit-Shoreway, though really it is already booming. They have more than 700 new or renovated units in progress over there right now, and it (along with the OC and Tremont) is the local epicenter of infill housing.

Chinatown per se doesn't have a whole lot of room for infill housing, and the housing that currently exists is pretty solidly in the hands of the Chinese (which is a good thing IMO). However, I could see some very interesting things happening in the old industrial buildings along Hamilton Avenue in the next decade or so.

[8ShadesofGray]

^ I agree that Detroit-Shoreway is already booming. For whatever reason, perhaps ongoing perceptions that it is crime-ridden, I don't hear about this as frequently as its neighbors OC and the Edge. I do, however, hear often that it's ready to pop, what with Battery Park, Gordon Square, West Boulevard, EcoVillage, etc. Definitely one that's going to be hot in 10 years.

My vote went to the Near East, however. There is scant room for infill, but there is an abundance of industrial buildings within the footprint of the live work overlay district, and I think we're already seeing some exciting housing options emerge (Mueller Lofts, Payne Avenue Lofts and Florian Courts). Between the artist in-migration, major housing investments directly to the West, a collaboration between 3 CDCs to more effectively brand Chinatown and the potential that ECP will offer, I think this area is REALLY going to surprise Clevelanders in 10 years time. Gotsta root for the underdog! Plus, I'm ready for Cleveland to give the Near East Side some love!

[Map Boy]

I've seen the possibility along Hamilton & Lakeside too B12.  Barring some major economic shift in the region, though, I don't think that'll happen for a while.  I think we're more likely to see Superior and places like Tyler Village thrive before things push north.  For now, it seems like a fairly active industrial district and goodness knows we need the jobs, so I can live with that!

[conovercourt]

I think neighborhoods adjacent to current hotspots will improve as prices rise in hot neighborhoods. Detroit-Shoreway, and Cuddell are the missing links on the West Side - Downtown to Lakewood corridor. Anything with Coastal access is only going to  get more valuable. As the seacoasts get  overpriced for the masses, Cleveland's Lake Coast will become more of an asset.

My Dad and I took the Rapid downtown, and walked back to my aunt's house on   W. 87th St. all the time. Edgewater Park was a short bike ride away. I remember waking to foghorns many times, a sound that in San Francisco, made me lonely for Cleveland!

If I were investing in Cleveland real estate, I would make sure it was within a mile of the Lakefront  ...

[3231]

Besides Battery Park and a few storefront renovations at W.65th, where is all the "booming" going on in Detroit Shoreway?  I know that there are some townhomes for sale around 58th and Bridge, but those seem to have gone nowhere.

[CtownD]

I gave my vote to Slavic Village.  With projects like Hyacinth Lofts and other infill/renovation projects the awareness of the neighborhood should grow in the next few years.  Also, being between the Downtown and Rockside Road office districts can only work in its favor. That, coupled with with The local film industry which has a strong footing at Hyacinth Lofts (NY Times article) it could very well be on the path to being one of the next hot areas by 2016.

[Mov2Ohio]

I hope that in 10 years all these 'hoods are HOT. University Circle though seems to have the brightest future because of all the jobs to be created as well as the entertainment and cultural draws that exist or will be built. It seems like that area will be exciting and people will be drawn there. That said I think The neighborhoods between E. 55th and University Circle will also be attractive.

[StrapHanger]

Nice poll/post 8Shades- it's fun to look into the future.

I voted for UC because of its already-existing drawing power, amenities, transit connections and proximity to the affluence of the eastern 'burbs.  Nothing new, but I think UC has the potential to be fancy in a good way.  So much of our city housing boomlet has been boho/yuppie/urban pioneer-driven, I think it would be cool to see a more elegant side too.

[LAsam]

Is none of the above an option?  Or does that just fall under other?

I kid.. I kid..

[8ShadesofGray]

^ Booooooooo! I actually considered it, as we might as well get a more accurate reflection of perceptions, but I feared that pranksters from the other two C's might skew our results 

^^ Agreed. I think it's probably pretty apropos that people are starting to talk about University Circle as Cleveland's Uptown.

I'm excited that people are seeing a positive future for the city's east side. I for one would love to see a corridor of mixed-income neighborhoods on the east side similar to the Edgewater/Detroit-Shoreway/Ohio City/Tremont corridor that's taking shape on the West Side. Perhaps something along the lines of Theatre & Avenue/CSU & Quadrangle/Chinatown & Live-Work/Hough/University Circle & Little Italy/Shaker Square. Just imagine if we could get a functional corridor (without boarded up buildings, etc.) from Lakewood's border to the edge of the Heights ... I think that would position us well for drawing people back in from the suburbs and for recruiting businesses and labor.

[JDD941]

I personally think whichever hood I live in will be the hottest...

[LovesIt]

Near East Side and University Circle are the ones that currently have the most potential, but I think the Near East Side will see a much bigger leap in the future.

[blinker12]

Besides Battery Park and a few storefront renovations at W.65th, where is all the "booming" going on in Detroit Shoreway?  I know that there are some townhomes for sale around 58th and Bridge, but those seem to have gone nowhere.

Those aren't just storefront renovations around W. 65th; there are also about 100 units of housing being renovated (those above the Gordon Square Arcade, the Muriel, the old Lou's Furniture and a couple above the old adult bookstore). Plus you've got about 400 units under construction at Battery Park and planned expansions of the Ecovillage, Bridge Court (which actually are doing well; I think the latest phase sold out -- why do you say they're going nowhere?). When you add that to new prospects for redevelopment via the West Shoreway project (firm) and the Gordon Square Arts District (less firm), you end up with a pretty hopeful picture.

As much as I love the Near East Side (I live there after all!), I don't think it has quite the same momentum, nor is it surrounded by other promising neighborhoods as Detroit-Shoreway is. That said, I do think the Near East will improve a lot in the next 10 years and will benefit a lot (perhaps even more than the OC or Tremont) if the downtown housing market pops as we all hope it will. University Circle should do well too. I guess it's really a three-way tie!

[3231]

To me, Battery Park and the new art theater are the most promising thing about Detroit-Shoreway.  There are some other nice things going on, but not so much that it would lead me to put them near the top of the list.

-There are three townhome projects on Bridge. Bridge Court, I believe, is in Ohio City and sold all three of its units this summer. The other project (Bridge Square) is close to about W.60th and appears that none have sold. Courtland Court, which was supposed to start this summer, has not broken ground.
-I've been reading about this next phase of EcoVillage for almost three years now. Is this really a project?
-The 100 or so apartments above the storefronts near W.65th are nice, but aren't they subsidized? Aren't these just renovations and not new units on the market (besides Lou's)?
-I believe that Battery Park is closer to 300 units than 400.

[blinker12]

^I don't know exactly how sales are going at Bridge Square, but they're up to Phase III which is pretty good in my book.
Yes, the 100 are mostly renovations... though I think the Muriel had been vacant for a while, and obviously Lou's is an adaptive reuse. At any rate, I would consider renovations as counting toward neighborhood improvement -- in fact preferable to new construction in many ways. These units are all low-income, but again I'm not sure exactly what difference that makes unless we're talking about gentrification rather than revitalization.

And don't forget the Shoreway reconstruction -- this neighborhood stands to benefit greatly from increased connectivity to the lake. It will be Cleveland's most lakefront-oriented hood once that project gets finished.

[MyTwoSense]

University Circle, which will help places like Hough, Fairfax, Northern Woodland Hill and the Shaker Buckeye area.  St. Lukes to me is really just the western part of shaker Square.  The areas between are already messing.

[Evergrey]

Slavic Village due to its unique gritty character and quick access to Steelyard Commons power center.

[smackem81]

Quick thought, Chinatown old west of the innerbelt or east of the innerbelt. They are both "chinatown" but are different chinatown. Anyways I voted for it, my reasons are as follows.

Neighborhoods that emerge from the brink of sorts are ones that are any of the following 1) The artists are migrating there 2) They gays are restoring there 3) Some ethinic group is holding steadfast there 4) Some neighborhood nearby is becoming cool, and 1 2 or 3 is moving along.

Little italy, ohio city, tremont, edgewater have become what they are from one of those methods. Detroit shoreway could become the same way as well as chinatown. Detroit shoreway has its future proximitity to the lake, artists and near 2 other cool neighborhoods going for it. Chinatown has the ethnics, artists, and its proxmity to downtown working for it.

I say chinatown has a bit more going for it. It has all the warehouses on superior going for it, tyler village plan, and lots of smaller warehouses that get made into buildings like muller and payne ave lofts. Clevelanders eat that sh!t up, we love living in old rehabbed buildings. If cleveland state ever gets its ass in gear and fleshes out its master plan more, no doubt in my mind that the area between superior and payne will be filled with mid rise apartments and condos.

[X]

I voted for the Flats.  I really do think that with the plans for both the East and West Bank of the Flats in the works that it is quite likely that area will really explode.  I'm optimistic that they really will happen.

I also think the future for Detroit Shoreway and Chinatown is probably bright.  DS has a lot of development going on, and Chinatown/Near East seems to have growing cache.  DS is definitely ahead in this game.  I would say it is almost with Tremont and OC.  None of them are truly gentrified, but the momentum is solidly and consistently up for them.

UC may see new housing, but I don't think it will be enough to change it to anything approaching a residential neighborhood.  It will continue to be dominated by the massive institutions that call it home.

North Collinwood, Westown, Brooklyn and and to a lesser degree Woodland Hills(although I'm not quite sure what is included in this neighborhood for this purpose) seem relatively stable, so there isn't much upside prospect.  They're fully developed, with room for only marginal improvement.  I worry more that they will slide.  I don't see much happening in South Collinwood.  It's a seperate neighborhood and a seperate situation than North Collinwood.

Slavic Village worries me.  It seems to be full of both potential and ideas to harness it, and yet it's absolutely convulsing over issues of crime, racial change, absentee landlordism, foreclosures and board ups.  I worry that it may be a microcosm of Cleveland- some bright spots, some valiant efforts, and yet a tide of devastation that wipes away all but a few bastions.  (I'm feeling a little glum tonight)

[blinker12]

I think the reason Cleveland neighborhoods haven't been improving faster is the housing stock. Very little extent stock meets the tastes of upper- or even middle-class people of today. Much was built fast and cheap for working-class immigrants. We'd have to seriously incentivize redevelopment of these old houses (i.e., restrict new development) to get them into use again. Slavic Village is a case in point. Breathtaking commercial district at Broadway and E. 55th, but the middling housing stock outweighs that.

[Map Boy]

^Well, that, and the fact that big suburban housing developers continue to flood the market with new housing on the periphery of the region.  Where's our damned growth boundary already?

[Mov2Ohio]

I think the reason Cleveland neighborhoods haven't been improving faster is the housing stock. Very little extent stock meets the tastes of upper- or even middle-class people of today. Much was built fast and cheap for working-class immigrants.

Despite what many believe most of Cleveland is single family dwellings, with a good amount of two, three and four families as well as large apartments. Those single family homes average between 3 and four bedrooms and 1 to 2 bathrooms, and additional space in the attics. Those single families could be spruced up and made attractive especially to the middle class.

[MayDay]

^I don't disagree that the stock needs some sprucing up, but in some cases it's a matter of how things are configured. I've seen some living rooms in lovely older homes that were nice, but they wouldn't fit a sectional, entertainment center/armoire, etc. Same thing with bathrooms - there's a reason that having double sinks are also called "marriage savers"

[CtownD]

^Well, that, and the fact that big suburban housing developers continue to flood the market with new housing on the periphery of the region.

That's the exact reason I'm not shedding any tears over the departure of Kimball Hill Homes and the downsizing of Ryan Homes' local office.  I don't know that any of us expect a growth boundary soon, but seeing builders that work almost exclusively in exurban areas cutting back can be nothing but a good thing in a low-growth region such as NE Ohio that can't support any sizeable influx of new homes without having a detrimental effect elsewhere in the area, namely in the central core and first tier suburbs.

[8ShadesofGray]

^Unless we start seeing corresponding cutbacks by developers who favor the city and its inner ring. I think we're on the front end of finding out whether the national slump in real estate sales is going to effect how aggressively new units are built in the city of Cleveland. And that could be a whole new thread - what should Cleveland's game plan be if city-based development does start to stagnate? How do we keep this neighborhood revitalization energy going?

[3231]

I am starting to think that NPI ought to downgrade from 6 'neighborhoods of choice' to 3.  (Now if they actually do that, I might be out of a job!).  I would like to see a more concentrated effort to re-establish some key neighborhoods.  Specifically, I would like to see a greater subsidization of the rehabbing of homes.

I should flesh out my thoughts a bit more. but i should also get some work done..

[Mov2Ohio]

^we'll need to get developers and investors to do smaller less risky projects. Cleveland still has a good number of Buildings with retail or office space on the ground floor and apartments above, that are simple boarded up. Renovating those would be less risky than lets say The Avenue district, and it would be slowly revitalizing a neighborhood. Also continue to spruce up existing neighborhoods and build infill housing. We should do that anyway. Additionally get new or expanding companies to locate in city neighborhoods.

[bizbiz]

I think that UC will grow big time once the CC and UH complete their expansions, around the same time that the Euclid Corridor will be completed. Also with the CC/CWRU shared facility, "The Triangle" and the re-location of MOCA, we should see some housing thrown into all of that. Good examples of UC's bright future can be hinted by looking at how Woodhaven and Beacon Place are just about fully sold out. Then you have the Parklane Villa, University View, Heritage Lane, and Ashbury Houses all underway. Once the stuff on E. 105 sells out, I expect to see the developers of Ashbury Houses continue the re-hab process up and down Ashbury, as most of the houses are patiently waiting to be restored.

I also think that Chinatown will become the premier loft/artist district in Cleveland that it's trying to become.

About Hyacinth Lofts and Slavic Village: I always thought Slavic Village was the area encompassing Fleet, Broadway, and Harvard?? Hyacinth Lofts are way up by E. 55th and I-490's terminus point. Not to say Slavic Village doesn't have potential, but I would say North Collinwood and Overlook Dr. are the epicenter of Cleveland's film culture - you have a very tight knit group living in that area and they displayed their powers by hosting the over-successful outdoor film fesitval at Overlook Park in August; Many of the neighborhood's residents showed their involvement in the Cleveland film industry. Not to mention Donnybrook, Welcome To Collinwood, and the 2-3 short's shown at the film festival last month which were done by North Collinwood residents.

[Mov2Ohio]

^ Don't forget about The Cultural Gardens Condominiums being built at the Amasa Stone House on East Boulevard. This project will add another 30 units to the market.

[KJP]

About Hyacinth Lofts and Slavic Village: I always thought Slavic Village was the area encompassing Fleet, Broadway, and Harvard??

Some still consider that area part of Slavic Village. I don't. I've seen city maps call "North Broadway" -- and that seems more appropriate to me.

[OompaLoompa]

I voted for Detroit Shoreway.  It's already well on it's way, I am impressed with how much has been accomplished in that neighborhood.  And I think the arts district is going to be hot, perhaps even more so if Beck Center moves out to Westlake.