Bay Village Retail Improvement Strategy, Phase 2 - Bay Village
The City of Bay Village is an underserved market for office and convenience retail uses, and the UDC recently prepared a plan to attract new mixed use development in the city, in conjunction with public space and civic improvements. The resulting plan is now being refined to create a detailed development program that can attract investment while remaining appropriate to the image of this suburban community.
Bolivar Village Master Plan – Bolivar
Bolivar is a historic village located along the southernmost stretch of the CanalWay Ohio Heritage Corridor. The development of the corridor gives Bolivar the opportunity to improve its open spaces, both to tell the story of the Ohio Canal and to enhance the historic character of the village. The UDC is developing a plan for these key open spaces, as well as the main streets that connect them.
Brimfield Town Center Plan – Brimfield
Brimfield’s Town Center is a former rural crossroads that is now subject to considerable commercial development pressure. Without a design vision for its future, the town center could well become an unattractive collection of discreet auto-oriented businesses. The UDC has been asked to look at existing development patterns and zoning and create a town center vision that will channel new investment into a coherent pattern for the future.
Ward 5 Forgotten Triangle – Cleveland
As part of the Innerbelt reconstruction project, the Ohio Department of Transportation has proposed a new surface route from Interstate 490 to the University Circle institutional and cultural district. This route runs through an area of the Central neighborhood, sometimes called the “Forgotten Triangle.” While Burten Bell Carr Development Corporation has been able to achieve considerable investment in new housing over the last several years, the neighborhood remains one of Cleveland’s most disadvantaged areas, and it is important that the new infrastructure investment brings new opportunities for residents. To this end, the UDC is working in collaboration with Richard Bowen Associates and the Burten Bell Carr Development Corporation to identify sites for new investment along the “Opportunity Corridor” and consult with the community to address land use conflicts that may arise as the corridor is developed.
City of Hubbard Downtown Revitalization Concept – Hubbard
Like many small cities in Northeast Ohio, Hubbard’s downtown is challenged by competition from freeway oriented retail development. The UDC was asked to develop a vision for Downtown Hubbard that would build on its historic main street character. Through meetings with community members and property owners, the UDC is developing guidelines for existing and new structures. The plan also includes proposals for an enhanced green space network and infrastructure improvements to resolve conflicts caused by truck movements through the city.
Clifton Boulevard Streetscape Enhancement – Lakewood and Cleveland
Clifton Boulevard is a major through street running from the far West Side of Cleveland to the western border of Lakewood. The Cleveland portion of the street contains a somewhat disjointed mix of uses, but it is the commercial heart of the Edgewater neighborhood. In Lakewood, the boulevard is mostly residential and is lined with stately trees, making it one of the region’s finest thoroughfares. Clifton is scheduled to be re-surfaced soon, and the UDC has been asked by the two cities to develop options for streetscape enhancements that will build on its considerable assets. These include careful examination of turning movements, street furniture, curb cuts and the possibility of a landscaped median in some areas.
Cudell Commons TOD Master Plan – Cleveland
In previous UDC projects (Detroit Avenue Land Use Study and Cudell-Edgewater Master Plan), the area within a five-minute walk of the West Boulevard-Cudell rapid transit station was identified for further study based on transit-oriented development principles. Building on existing and proposed residential development in the area, the UDC has studied pedestrian and open-space improvements to calm traffic on Detroit Avenue and West Boulevard and make the transit station more accessible. Proposed improvements include narrowing Detroit Avenue, and these improvements are currently being modeled and tested by NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency).
CSU College of Science/Crime Lab Facility Site Analysis – Cleveland
The College of Science at CSU is partnering with Cuyahoga County on a new crime lab facility, and CSU has asked the UDC to study a number of possible sites on or near the CSU Campus in oder to locate the facility in conformity with the UDC's CSU Campus Master Plan. The resulting site anlaysis and guidelines will then be included in requests for proposals from design firms.
Cuyahoga County Government Center Illustrations – Cleveland
The Cuyahoga County Commissioners recently decided to locate a new consolidated government center in the former Ameritrust Headquarters in Downtown Cleveland. The UDC has been asked to provided conceptual illustrations of alternative development options for the site so that the Commissioners can make an informed decision about the program to be submitted for bids from private consultants.
Fairfax Neighborhood Merchant Directory – Cleveland
Fairfax Neighborhood Development Corporation has asked the UDC to do graphic design work on a neighborhood merchant directory. This publication will be available in a print version, but it will be developed in format that can be adapted to an interactive web-based format, as well.
Landside Communities Conceptual Master Plan – Lake County
The Lake County Planning Commission recently commissioned a comprehensive plan for its Lake Erie waterfront and approached the UDC for ideas on how the benefits of waterfront enhacement could result in more comprehensive improvement of nearby urban areas and villages. The UDC staff is working with students in a 2nd year graduate urban design studio to develop a conceptual master plan for these "landside" improvements. As part of the project, the UDC/CUDC team is also producing a series of more detailed focus area plans for specific sites near the county's Lake Erie waterfront.
Lee-Miles-Harvard Corridors Master Plan – Cleveland
The Lee-Harvard area is one of Cleveland’s most prosperous neighborhoods, yet Lee Road, Miles Avenue and Harvard Avenue present a non-descript and run-down appearance that does little for the image of the community. The UDC has been asked to study the three corridors, as well as two open spaces that are of great value to residents. Working with residents and community leaders, the UDC has developed a program of incremental steps that will, over time, create a sense of place and strong development opportunities in the neighborhood.
Lower Big Creek Greenway Master Plan – Cleveland
The UDC is working with the City of Cleveland, Old Brooklyn Neighborhood Development Corporation and the Cleveland Metroparks to prepare a plan for watershed restoration and recreational amenities for lower Big Creek, a tributary of the Cuyahoga River that runs through the Old Brooklyn neighborhood.
NASA Glenn Master Plan Investigation – Cleveland and Sandusky
NASA Glenn has proposed the development of an overall master plan for the orderly management and future development of real estate property assets including land, facilities, resources, and infrastructure at its Lewis Field campus in Cleveland and the Plum Brook Station in Sandusky. The purpose of the Master Plan is to sustain NASA Glenn Research Station’s contribution to the overall NASA mission and to consider the re-use of land that is no longer needed for that mission. The UDC is acting as the local consultant to this multi-year process, which is now in the initial investigation phase.
Neighborhood Progress Inc. Special Initiative Areas – Cleveland
Neighborhood Progress, Inc. (NPI) is a non-profit that supports strategic investment in Cleveland's neighborhoods through the city's network of commuinty development corporations. The UDC is coordinating the work of consultants developing plans for six NPI-designated special initiative areas throughout the city. In addition, the UDC is itself preparing the neighborhood development plan for the initiative area in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
Steps to a Healthier Cleveland Bicycle and Pedestrian Maps – Cleveland
The UDC is collaborating with EcoCity Cleveland and the Cleveland Department of Public Health to create a series of neighborhood maps showing networks of bicycle and pedestrian routes, focusing on neighborhood schools.
Village of Richfield Development Analysis and Guidelines – Richfield
Residents of the Village of Richfield in Summit County value the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley landscape of their town, and they are concerned that its qualities will be lost to excessive or inappropriate development. The Village asked the UDC to look at possible development programs for two sites that face imminent development. Taking into account public input and the sensitive topography, the UDC is developing alternative land use programs for the two sites, attempting to balance economic pressures against community values in a sustainable way.
West 65th & Franklin Improvement Strategy - Cleveland
Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway is a tree-lined street of historical homes. However, this distinguished street is interrupted at West 65th Street by a node of bland, auto-oriented buildings. The Charles and Helen Brown Memorial Foundation has asked the UDC to develop proposals for improvements to the intersection. Working with a property owners and the Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization, the UDC is looking at opportunities for landscape and public space improvements in the near term and redevelopment of key parcels in the longer term to complement significant recent investment in the Gordon Square neighborhood to the north.
Youngstown State University Campus Heritage Project – Youngstown
The UDC is working in conjunction with the YSU Center for Urban and Regional Studies in a set of interrelated projects to enhance the historic assets along the Wick Avenue Cultural Corridor at the eastern edge of the YSU Campus. The corridor includes the Butler Museum of American Art, the McDonough Museum, Youngstown Public Library, several historically significant churches and the original educational buildings around which the YSU campus was founded. Supported by a grant from the Getty Foundation, the Campus Heritage Project includes a national register inventory and studies for adaptive re-use of key properties. The project includes a lecture series and other educational components to build awareness of the significant historical assets in this part of Youngstown.
Youngstown State University Campus Master Plan - Youngstown
The YSU campus has long been developed with little attempt to connect it to the surrounding urban fabric and little attention to the University's potential as a development catalyst. The UDC has been asked to re-think the campus master plan, providing for future educational needs but particularly concentrating on re-connecting the campus to the surrounding neighborhoods. While focused on the campus master plan, an asset management plan, and design guidelines, the master planning effort has been a catalyst for the integration of potential development opportunities throughout downtown.
