The energy surrounding University Circle in the form of new housing, retail options and mixed-use space is fueling live-work-stay opportunities in surrounding neighborhoods. Within the corridors adjacent to Cleveland’s center for eds, meds and culture, there are a range of projects led by area community development corporations (CDCs).
“We are thrilled to see a number of investments,” says Elise Yablonsky, chief place management officer at University Circle Inc.
In the Circle proper, Yablonsky points to the Circle Square project that includes The Artisan on Chester Avenue with 298 units and Library Lofts on Euclid Avenue with 207 units. Meanwhile, a new Martin Luther King Jr. Library branch is also due to open this summer, while the future Circle Square with 66,000 square feet of retail and about 300 residential units by Midwest Development Partners is underway.
Stokes West will offer 255 apartments and eight townhomes developed by ACRE via a ground lease with University Circle Inc., Yablonsky adds.
Groundwork is in play to complete a master plan to chart a course for streetscapes and public spaces, Yablonsky adds, relating a goal to connect the Circle’s institutional assets to commercial developments.
She emphasizes the Greater University Circle Initiative, a legacy of The Cleveland Foundation, to encourage and fund initiatives linking the Circle and surrounding neighborhoods. “It’s part of an ongoing effort to facilitate and support institutions in buying, hiring and living local,” she says.
University Circle Inc. President Kate Borders underscores the symbiotic relationship between strong, growing surrounding neighborhoods and vitality in the Circle to generate a positive ripple effect.
“We think this is a world-class neighborhood and that is because of everything within the Circle and the neighborhoods surrounding us,” she says.
Now is a tipping point. “We have been master planning for years and what people are seeing now is the culmination of that,” says Denise VanLeer, executive director, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation.
Innovation Square is a shining example that catalyzed real estate development in Fairfax with a completed greenspace called Playwright Park, a new Meijer Fairfax Market and housing at The Aura.
Meanwhile, Cuyahoga Land Bank’s extensive Circle East and Circle North initiatives build off of nearby amenities, says Dennis Roberts, its director of real estate development.
