Muskoka Under Construction!

Northeast Shores Development Corporation continues to commit and increase the number of homeownership opportunities in the neighborhood by acquiring and renovating vacant, abandoned and previously foreclosed properties.

This fall, Northeast Shores commenced construction on 19205 Muskoka, which is a three bedroom, one bath colonial home scheduled to be completely renovated top to bottom. We are proud to say this property is presold to an artist couple whom are relocating from Lakewood to become a part of our growing artist community. The couple is eager to move closer to where they work, entertain and join their artist friends who already live in the neighborhood. Northeast Shores has worked closely with the buyers to design their home to meet their needs as artists.

19205 Muskoka combines the best of vintage charm with today’s modern conveniences. The first floor includes a mid-size living room with carpet and a brick fireplace. The buyers have a significant interest in having open space, so we were able to remove the dividing wall that divides the dining room and kitchen. Removing this wall has allowed the homeowners to install bar-height countertop which offers better usage of the space and allows additional seating while entertaining their guests. This is just one of the many designs implemented to convert this once-vacant property into a renovated home designed directly for the needs of the buyer.

Northeast Shores offers affordable housing and maintenance-free living in our community. Check out the Northeast Shores website which lists several properties that still need homebuyers. Please don’t hesitate to call Northeast Shores Development Corporation if you which to tour our properties and select your new dream house.

General Membership hears final Rec Center Plans

This past Tuesday, the general membership of Northeast Shores was invited to hear a presentation covering the final designs for the new Recreation Center to be built on Lakeshore Boulevard.

Attendees heard from Paul Volpe of City Architecture as he reviewed the process of the designs and showed the detailed plans for the center. The drawings were quite impressive and thoughtful for what the community has requested over the years. The center, once built, will truly be state of the art with all the modern amenities needed to be a first-class building.

Attendees had the opportunity is ask questions of Paul Volpe and he was very diligent to respond to all the questions.

Tired of missing great community meetings like this? Become a member of Northeast Shores today! Just go here: http://www.northeastshores.org/membership.php

Missed the presentation but want to read Steve Litt from the Plain Dealer review the designs? Just go here: http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2009/10/city_architecture_design_for_c.html

Ribbon Cutting at Lakeshore Beach Apartments

This past Monday, the Lakeshore Beach Apartments were officially completed with a ribbon cutting attended by Mayor Frank Jackson and Councilman Michael Polensek.

The complete renovation of the 108 units at Lakeshore Beach Apartments was hailed as a model public-private partnership. This $14 million project was completed with assistance from the Department of HUD, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, the City of Cleveland and US Bank.

Mayor Frank Jackson commented about how important the improved apartment community was to the quality of life for the renters living there. Councilman Polensek expressed how impressed he was with the workmanship done by the contractor and how quickly the transformation occurred.

Lakeshore Beach Apartments is majority-owned by Dominium Development & Acquisition. Non-profit minority owners are Northeast Shores and Christian Relief Services. Jeff Huggett, principal for Dominium, stated during his comments that "the project went through a lengthy local review process and that process actually led to the project being improved."

Brian Friedman, Northeast Shores Executive Director, shared the history of Lakeshore Beach Apartments and how the renovation is one more incremental step in the fulfillment of the Lakeshore Plan. He commented that "Admittedly, we were skeptical of Dominium because they were new to the area. After underwriting their experience and reputation, we found that Dominium was a great for-profit developer to work with." Brian Friedman finished his comments by sharing some specific details where Dominium showed their thoughtfulness and finished his comments by inviting Dominium to please return to the community and invest again soon.

The ribbon cutting was held at the brand-new community center available for use by the residents. This new building, located in the center of the project, boasts a computer center for residents, meeting room, and playground. The total project went very smoothly due to the total cooperation of the residents that remained on-site through the total redevelopment.

Congrats to Scene Best of Cleveland Winners

This past week, Scene Magazine printed their annual Best of Cleveland awards. Several neighborhood businesses and individuals won accolades. Many even have Northeast Shores relationships worth noting. So, how did North Collinwood clean up during this year's awards? See below:

Direct (and rather obvious) Northeast Shores Connection

Best Politician Quotes - Mike Polensek, Ward 11 Councilman (page 54)
Councilman Polensek is awarded for his candid representation of the neighborhood and his strong stance on many topics of city importance. Connection to Northeast Shores? As many of you are aware, Councilman Polensek is a strong supporter and funder of Northeast Shores and its initiatives. It would be difficult for Northeast Shores to even be founded, no less continue without the ongoing support of this seasoned politician.

Best Neighborhood Catalyst - Cindy Barber (page 54)
Cindy is recognized for the impact the Beachland Ballroom has had on not only Waterloo Road but the entire neighborhood and region. As noted, several galleries and shops are now opening to be near the Beachland Ballroom. Connection to Northeast Shores? Cindy is the current president of the board for Northeast Shores. We have the pleasure of experiencing her guiding leadership and vision as she participates in various Northeast Shores committees and decisions.

Best Music Store - Music Saves (page 58)
Music Saves won not only the editorial award but also won the people's choice award in this category. Melanie and Kevin that run Music Saves should be very excited that their music store at 15801 Waterloo Road won both of these awards, effectively sweeping the category. And they won for good reason - Music Saves is a fabulous store where you can find music not commonly found at your big box retailer. Music Saves also does a great job promoting up and coming acts with in-store concerts and their listening station. Connection to Northeast Shores? Melanie and Kevin came to Northeast Shores almost six years ago with a dream to open Music Saves. Northeast Shores purchased their building and assisted with renovations and financing for their operation. After establishing themselves, Northeast Shores assisted with finding bank financing and sold the property to Melanie and Kevin to cement their place on Waterloo for years to come. This opening under a lease then converting to an ownership model has been repeated several times since Music Saves.

Winners with not so obvious connections to Northeast Shores

Best Place to Buy Trashy Pulp Novels - Blue Arrow Records (Page 54)
Blue Arrow Records (run by Pete and Debbie Gulyas) are awarded not because of their great depth of vinyl, but instead for the various old '50s and '60s pulp novels available at the store. Connection to Northeast Shores? Blue Arrow Records is located at 16001 Waterloo Road in a building formerly owned and modestly rehabbed by Northeast Shores.

Best Museum You Probably Haven't Been To - National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame (Page 57)
The Polka Hall of Fame is recognized for preserving the history of over 100 years of Slovenian-style polka. Many of the most famous polka artists (such as Frankie Yankovic) are displayed in the hall of fame located just next to Euclid City Hall. Connection to Northeast Shores? For many years of the East 185th Street Festival, volunteers from the Polka Hall of Fame sold beer at one of the three beer stands at the festival. For volunteering, Northeast Shores and the Polka Hall of Fame split proceeds from the beer stand.

Best Behind the Scenes Organizer - Myra Orenstein (page 69)
Myra was recognized for the wide range of projects that she is involved in, especially running the Coventry Village Special Improvement District. Connection to Northeast Shores? Myra was the layout and publishing consultant for the Northeast Shore Lines for the last several issues. This publication was in the black each time Northeast Shores printed it. Recently, the Shore Lines stepped aside for the new Collinwood Observer (which Myra is not involved in). We are hoping to work with Myra on some other project in the future, because she was incredible to work with.

Best New Bookstore - Horizontal Books (page 60)
Horizontal Books was recognized for their new bookstore located at 1921 West 25th Street. West 25th Street? Huh? Connection to Northeast Shores? The owners of Horizontal Books originally were looking at locating in the LaSalle Theater. Challenges and delays in Northeast Shores acquiring the vacant theater led to the owners seeking a more immediately available spot and, voila, West 25th Street. Many of the ideas discussed with Northeast Shores and our architect are evident in the new store. We are hoping that Horizontal Books may consider a second location now that we own the LaSalle Theater and their West 25th Street location is open and established.

Also, check out the great ad for Waterloo on page 100 of the Scene Magazine. The ad was created by Marlee from Shoparooni and states that Waterloo is the best neighborhood on the whole friggin planet. Nuff Said.

LaSalle Theater purchased covered by Crain's

Crain's Cleveland Business covered Northeast Shores purchase of the LaSalle Theater and Tavern.

The article read as follows:

LaSalle Theatre awaits next act
Northeast Shores sets stage for revitalizing E. 185th St. landmark
By Stan Bullard

After staking its claim to the old LaSalle Theatre in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood by buying the foreclosed property, Northeast Shores Development Corp. is exploring ways to revive the landmark on East 185th Street.

“We're not a preservationist group, but we want to make sure it has a good shot at survival,” said Brian Friedman, executive director of the Northeast Shores neighborhood group. “We want to bring the power of our nonprofit status to bear on it and explore every option for restoring the property. If we come to the conclusion we have to demolish the building, we will be the one making that decision.”

Northeast Shores commands LaSalle's fate after paying PVF Capital Corp., the Solon-based parent of Park View Federal Savings Bank, $150,000 for it on Sept. 28, according to Cuyahoga County land records. Besides the 800-seat theater, the block-long, 25,000-square-foot complex at 819 E. 185th includes three storefronts, five second-floor apartments, a parking lot and an adjoining tavern — all empty.

Mr. Friedman said his staff's “marching orders” from its board are to secure financing to renovate the property and find new uses for the complex.

The biggest unknown is what to do with the theater. Northeast Shores will take an entrepreneurial approach to that task.

“It's really finding someone with a vision for the theater more than anything else,” Mr. Friedman said.

Nearby multiplex movie theaters already serve the area, so putting a cinema in the space is not viable, he said, as it was at the renovated Capitol Theatre on the city's West Side.

One avenue the nonprofit is pursuing is renovating the empty apartments as four lofts. It has applied to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for $300,000 to help restore the apartments, Mr. Friedman said. If it wins a grant, the nonprofit would need to decide if the prospects for other space are strong enough to spend the money.

Councilman Michael Polensek, whose Ward 11 includes the theater, sees making a go of the complex as essential.

“It's a symbol of East 185th Street,” Mr. Polensek said. “We've had some successes on East 185th Street, but the challenge is the economy.”

Putting the block-long LaSalle complex back into working condition should take about $2 million, Mr. Friedman said.

Keith Hamulak, a CB Richard Ellis retail broker who has sold properties on the street for a new supermarket and construction of two new banks, said Northeast Shores has the expertise to advance a project, even if it means leveling the 1927 landmark. He described East 185th as a “healthy corridor” in the city.

Thoughts from the Northeast Shores Intern

We asked Megan Lanning to share some thoughts about her current experience interning here at Northeast Shores. Here is what she wrote:

As an intern at Northeast Shores and the newest member to their team, I am able to see first hand what it takes to improve the North Collinwood area. My name is Megan Lanning and I am the Commercial District Intern at Northeast Shores. I am a member of the Villa Angela-St. Joseph class of 2005 and a soon to be graduate of Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levine College of Urban Affairs class of 2010 with my degree in Urban Planning. Part of my graduation requirement was to fulfill an internship from a list of places that CSU provides. Instead of using their suggestions I decided to contact Northeast Shores for and Internship opportunity where I knew I would get hands on experience in the field of Urban Planning. It wasn’t long after the initial contact that I had an interview and then a position.

Since my first day on the job, I have been introduced to new programs and projects everyday. I have learned about programs and projects such as, the Paint Program and the Storefront Renovation Program, to the LaSalle Theater project and the Corsica Gardens. Through observing these programs, I have learned so much more about Northeast Shores than I knew before. I have such a great respect for the amount of community involvement each member of the staff has, no matter how great or small the task, the staff here at Northeast Shores makes it a point to inform and get the opinions of the community. Like most college students I am nervous to graduate and enter the real world, but Northeast Shores has shown me how to apply the concepts I have learned in the classroom to the problems most urban areas are facing. I will be graduating in May and couldn’t be more proud to say that I had the experience of working with Northeast Shores Development Corporation.

Megan is a pleasure in the office and her time with us is passing way too fast!

Community Organizer on Channel 19

Our own Community Organizer, Denise Lorek, was on Channel 19 News talking about the power of block clubs and cameras in reducing burglaries.

Check out the story here:
http://www.woio.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=4189710&at1=News&h1=Action News Alert: Burglaries on the Rise&flvUri=&thirdpartymrssurl=

Waterloo covered on Channel 5 News

Jerry Schmidt, owner of Waterloo 7 Gallery, was interviewed about his metal sculpting work and the redevelopment on Waterloo Road. Check out the Channel 5 news story here:
http://www.newsnet5.com/video/21206608/index.html?taf=nn5

If you see Jerry, thank him for positively representing the neighborhood.

Northeast Shores sponsors Purple Light Nights

For the second year, Northeast Shores is a sponsor of Purple Light Nights, which is an initiative to raise attention during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

We are shining our purple lights at Northeast Shores to remember domestic violence victims, celebrate the courage of those who have survived, and provide hope, information and services to those who are still living with violence and abuse.

For more information or to see Purple Light Nights activities, visit the website at www.domesticviolencecenter.org