Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources awarded $8.29 million in Clean Ohio Trails Fund grants (PDF), including $468,000 to the Cleveland Metroparks for the West Creek Greenway, $350,000 to the City of Euclid for a Lake Erie waterfront trail and $88,524 to ParkWorks for the Lake Link Trail in Cleveland. ODNR also awarded $1.87 million in grants from its Recreational Trails Program, which includes $150,000 (PDF) for the trail in Euclid.

Update: the News-Herald has more information about Euclid's plans.

The City of Euclid began renovating the first of 25 to 30 houses under its Housing Acquisition and Rehabilitation Program, an initiative funded by the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Development of the Shores of Edgecliff project has not progressed as Euclid leaders hoped it would. The residential lakefront development remains unfinished, and two homeowners are suing the Coral Co., its developer.

On Monday, Euclid City Council unanimously voted to adopt the Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan. The City will now seek funding for the $47 million project.

The most recent episode of NEOtropolis looked at neighborhood revitalization in Euclid and downtown Akron. Panelists Raymond Cox, Gus Frangos, and Hunter Morrison also discussed the subject.

The final draft of the Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan (PDF) is available for public review, and the Euclid Planning and Zoning Commission will hold public hearings about the plan on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Consultants from JJR presented a draft of their waterfront plan (PDF) to Euclid leaders on Wednesday. The City intends to hold three as-yet unscheduled public meetings about the plan.

Update: editors of the News-Herald are "among those eagerly awaiting the final details."

Officials in Cleveland, Euclid, and Lakewood have expressed interest in RTA's proposed new Weekly Shopper Service, a once-weekly shuttle that would succeed its discontinued community circulator routes. RTA will organize a series of community meetings.

The Great Lakes Expo Center is a new meeting and convention center in Euclid. The 215,000-square-foot facility on Babbitt Road is a former Kmart store.

Consultants for the City of Euclid are developing plans for ways to better connect the City to its Lake Erie waterfront. They will present a revised proposal at public meetings this fall.

Concrete crushing continues at the PMX site in Euclid. The resulting gravel will be used for new roads on the property and for the foundations of new buildings.

Euclid City Council authorized the City's housing department to acquire additional houses for demolition or renovation. The houses will be purchased from HUD and banks in groups of ten.

The City of Euclid will proceed with the second phase of planning for the Harbor Town Marina project. Consultants JJR will continue to develop plans and the City will begin applying for federal and state permits.

Cleveland Institute of Art students will present an exhibition titled "Greyfield: Reconsideration of a Space" on April 25 at Euclid Square Mall. It's intended to encourage reconsideration of "the dead shopping mall as critical space by forging a relationship between the artworks presented and the location."

The Euclid City Schools will not convert Euclid Square Mall into a school building, but leaders are considering other options for building large middle and elementary schools.

The City of Euclid will purchase at least 10 homes for $1 each through HUD's Dollar Homes program. Some will be demolished and others will be rehabilitated through the use of the City's Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.

Euclid officials are encouraging residents to install rain barrels at their homes.

Concrete crushing will soon begin at the former PMX site in Euclid. Concrete from the foundations of the site's old industrial buildings will be crushed for reuse in a new roadway leading into a planned new industrial park.

Update: WTAM's Bill Wills spoke with Mayor Cervenik about the redevelopment of the site.

The City of Euclid has joined the City of Cleveland in asking HUD to demolish distressed houses it owns instead of reselling them. Euclid intends to use its $2.6 million federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds award to rehabilitate 24 homes and demolish 65 others. Meanwhile, South Euclid City Council authorized officials to purchase properties at up to $25,000 without prior approval from City Council. Officials say that they will use only dollars from grants for the purchases.

Cuyahoga County's $420 million wish list for federal stimulus dollars includes gray and green infrastructure projects, green energy initiatives, and social service programs. The State of Ohio is accepting suggestions for stimulus projects at a special website.

Update: this week's Sun Newspapers have more details about the requests made by Euclid and Broadview Heights leaders.

The City of Euclid published the Euclid Harbor Preliminary Marina Feasibility Analysis (PDF). The report prepared by JJR, LLC "summarizes the current status of the planning, design and permit application efforts for a new marina in Euclid, Ohio and offers an evaluation of the current design program."

Update: the News Herald reported on the release of the study.

The City of Euclid demolished 23 neglected houses in 2008. City officials will continue the program in 2009.

Consultants recently released the second part of a study of the planned marina at the proposed Harbor Town development in Euclid, and City officials remain confident that the project will proceed.

The population estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Euclid's African-American population continues to rise.

Euclid officials plan to use the City's funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to identify, purchase, and demolish 74 foreclosed homes. The City of Brook Park will begin participating in a program that will allow it to take ownership of abandoned homes.

The Ohio Department of Development awarded 12 Job Ready Sites program grants, two of which were for projects in Cuyahoga County. The City of Cleveland received $5 million for the Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center, a planned redevelopment of a 57-acre brownfield site near the Cuyahoga River. Ray Fogg Building Methods received $4.3 million to assist in the development of an industrial park on the 80-acre PMX site in Euclid.

The City of Euclid will receive roughly $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding in 2009, the same amount it received this year.

Euclid City Council passed rain barrel legislation earlier this month. The City of South Euclid has also enacted rules for rain barrels.

Remediation of two brownfield sites in Euclid has been completed, and the Ohio EPA issued a covenant not to sue. Cleanup was finished at the 66.2 acre Euclid Business Park and at an 8.5 acre property owned by Lincoln Electric Co.

A study conducted for the City of Euclid says that there is enough demand for a marina in the planned Harbor Town development.

Euclid City Council agreed to allow Providence Baptist Church to indefinitely delay its plans to build 100 homes off of Hillandale Drive. The church still intends to build new facilities on the site.

Providence Baptist Church is reconsidering its plans to build houses alongside its new church in Euclid, and is seeking City Council's approval to start by building just the church.

Euclid officials have undertaken a major rewrite of the City's zoning code and map. The first area to undergo revisions is the campus/institutional classification. The Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss the changes at meetings on June 24 and July 8.

The Euclid City Schools expect to receive school construction funds from the Ohio School Facilities Commission, and will either convert Euclid Square Mall into the proposed K-8 Euclid Educational Center or will build new elementary and middle schools. One drawback of the mall site is that it would necessitate busing for nearly all students.

In addition to the other projects mentioned earlier, the Ohio capital budget bill includes $500,000 for lakefront development in Euclid.

Update: the bill also includes $150,000 for the renovation of League Park, $100,000 for the redesign of the Euclid Beach Pier, and $15,000 for the completion of a walking trail in Parma Heights.

This week's Free Times tells a story about the demolition of an abandoned house in Euclid.

The planning of the proposed lakefront development in Euclid continues to be slow, frustrating some officials.

Randall Park Mall will close on June 12, although the anchors with exterior entrances will remain open. Mayor Smith of North Randall views it as an opportunity for redevelopment. Meanwhile, consultants for the Euclid Board of Education raised the possibility of turning Euclid Square Mall into the Euclid Educational Center.

Euclid City Council authorized the purchase of houses from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for $1 each. The City will turn the houses over to Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland for rehabilitation and resale. If the houses are beyond repair, the City will demolish them.

Euclid officials recently approved the first phase of Providence Baptist Church's plans for a branch church and about 110 houses on 68 acres on the City's southeast side

The City of Euclid and Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland may purchase up to 17 foreclosed homes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and refurbish them for resale.

A group of Euclid residents wants the aging noise barriers along I-90 to be replaced.

Last week, Euclid City Council passed a resolution calling for public funding of a Lake Erie breakwall. Mayor Cervenik objected to the resolution, calling it "very disturbing."

Two Euclid councilmen introduced a resolution that calls for municipal funding for a proposed breakwall. The breakwall is viewed as essential to the construction of a marina and related lakefront development.

If Euclid's population falls below 50,000 in the 2010 Census, the City may lose its status as an entitlement community and the $1 million it receives annually in Community Development Block Grants.

Fogg Corporate Properties is in the process of purchasing the 83 acre PMX site in Euclid from Commercial Development Co. of St. Louis, and plans to redevelop the property as an industrial park. The company obtained a $1 million brownfields cleanup grant from Cuyahoga County last week, and is seeking a $5 million grant from the Ohio Job Ready Sites program.

Euclid City Council's Executive and Finance Committee unanimously voted to establish a 25 year TIF for the forthcoming CVS store on Lake Shore Boulevard. The precise boundaries of the TIF zone have yet to be determined.

Cleveland Councilman Michael Polensek met with Bishop Lennon to discuss the future of the St. Joseph Christian Life Center property.

Neighbors of the recently closed St. Joseph Christian Life Center in Euclid are concerned about the future of the 12 acre site. They worry that the Catholic Diocese will board up the building and sell the lakefront property to developers.

Making progress on planned lakefront developments is a priority for Euclid City Council. The Executive & Finance Committee passed a resolution stating that the project should include a marina, public access, a boardwalk, a lakeside restaurant, and public parking.

Although a councilman is questioning the plans, developers of the proposed lakefront Harbor Town project in Euclid are optimistic about its future. They hope to begin clearing the property in the next 60 days so that they can start construction next spring.

Cleveland Heights City Council passed a resolution implementing the East Derbyshire Road Neighborhood Improvement Project, which will use $700,000 of federal funds to offer grants and abatements to potential homeowners. The neighborhood mostly consists of duplexes, and the City hopes to increase the level of owner occupancy. Euclid, meanwhile, has begun demolishing abandoned houses.

Euclid City Council unanimously approved a zoning use district exception for the proposed Cathedral Worship Center on Euclid Avenue. In addition to the church, the complex will include a banquet facility and a gym.

Cathedral Worship Center, currently in Wickliffe, wants to build a 37,000 square foot facility at the former Sims Buick property on Euclid Avenue in Euclid. The proposal requires City Council approval.

Euclid leaders hope to work with local housing nonprofits to renovate 100 vacant houses owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They estimate that there are 400 abandoned or foreclosed homes in the City.

Euclid City Council President Ed Gudenas has proposed two options to encourage development in the southeast quadrant of the City. The first is the creation of an incentive zone that would give a .85% income tax rebate to companies that are willing to develop properties in that area. The second involves establishing a tax increment financing district.

The City of Euclid must better market itself for the planned Harbor Town project to succeed, say developers. City officials and developers were counting on federal funds that have not yet materialized to support the development. They are holding private meetings to develop a new strategy.