In spring of 2015, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), as part of their new Strategic Plan, enlisted the services of the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) to update the 2007 neighborhood Master Plan. That previous study, though comprehensive across the entire DSCDO service area, focused particularly on the area between Gordon Square (Detroit Ave & W 65th St) and the Lakefront.
Almost a decade later, the development landscape of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood is remarkably different. Investment has outpaced 2007 predictions, with projects like Battery Park and the Gordon Square Arts District drawing new investment and residents to the north end of Detroit Shoreway. At the same time, the neighborhood at the Southwest corner of the DSCDO service area - between W 65th and W 85th, south of Madison Avenue - has shown a lack of related investment and development interest in the intervening years.
With this in mind, the 2015 Master Plan Update specifically focused on this Southwest section of the Detroit Shoreway service area with a desire to intimately study the neighborhood’s existing conditions and collaboratively generate ideas for new investment. Though current development speculation is modest, the area’s proximity to westside amenities and its affordable housing could offer an economical alternative for potential new residents and business owners. At the same time, much can be done for existing residents and stakeholders to improve their building stock and their public realm. The area is also home to the Lorain Avenue Antiques District, a unique shopping district with a core of active businesses.
This plan, presented in draft form to the community in November of 2015, breaks many of its recommendations into shorter-term (“quick wins”) and longer-term actions, in order to first build social cohesion and community buy-in and then work toward providing larger development opportunities and infrastructure improvements. In this way, the plan aims to help the neighborhood “grow a vision” for what their community could ultimately become.
Project Partners
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization