Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood Guide – Cleveland
Detroit Shoreway is a lakefront community and one of the few places in Northeast Ohio where you can walk to the beach. New residents are moving in, Businesses are setting up shop, theaters are opening., the EcoVillage is blossoming, block clubs are growing and visitors are arriving. Less than two miles west of Downtown, this neighborhood is quickly becoming a great place to live, work and play.
New retail outlets and restaurants seem to crop up overnight. The city has noticed and is investing millions into an economic initiative that will define the neighborhood as a true arts destination.
Neighborhood Gems
The restoration of the ornate, 1920s-era Capitol Theatre is one of the main projects funded by that investment. The Capitol, which sat empty since the mid-eighties, will reopen its doors in Spring of 2009 as an art-and-independent movie theater. It will join a renovated Cleveland Public Theatre and the new home for the Near West Theatre as the cornerstones of the Gordon Square Arts District.
“It takes a lot of vision, courage, and effort to launch a renovation like this,” says Joy Roller, executive director of the Gordon Square Arts District. Changes include dividing the balcony into space for two additional screens and adding a concession area. However, much of the theater’s original appearance will remain. “It will be as if you’re walking into a 1920s theater,” says Roller.
New single-family homes, attached Chicago-style townhomes and condominium loft units are also sprouting up here. Battery Park, 13-acre parcel on the site of the former Everyday Battery Plant, is the result of a $100 million-plus development project that began in 2005. Fifty units span from west 73rd to West 76th streets, bordered by Goodwalt Avenue and Father Caruso Boulevard. One-third of the property is designated green space.
Prior to construction, Marous Brothers, Vintage Development, Council Matt Zone and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization conducted open meetings encouraging neighborhood attendance. The neighbors responded voicing concerns ad sharing input about this new construction project and any issues that may impact the neighborhood.
The transparency of the project and the open communication contribute to what Matt Lasko, director of housing for Detroit Shoreway, says has been an amazing response. “Any neighborhood would be concerned about its gentrification, but this has been a seamless transition. Our neighborhood is better because of these efforts.”
Local Resident
“The first week I moved in I was immediately welcomed to the neighborhood. We have social gatherings, block meetings and groups forming to get things done. Plus, there’s so much diversity, culture and opportunity, I am constantly being surprised and impressed by this area and all that’s going on. The great boutiques and restaurants make it that much more fun.”
– Millie Davis
Gordon Square Arts District
Gordon Square Arts District is the economic cornerstone of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The driving force for the district is a triad of successful arts venues — Cleveland Public Theatre, Near West Theatre and The Capitol Movie Theatre — that will provide entertainment, attracting audiences from throughout the region. Already underway, the Gordon Square Arts District is helping to infuse more than $500 million in economic development into the surrounding community, including an exciting new streetscape along Detroit Avenue in the heart of the Arts District.
- Location: Lakefront; directly west of Downtown Cleveland. Bordered by Ohio City, Cudell, Edgewater, Stockyards and Lake Erie.
- Size: 2.19 square miles
- Population: 17,382 (2000 census)
- Shopping: Detroit Avenue Arts & Retail District, Lorain Avenue Antiques District
- Dining: Snickers Tavern, Cheddars, Stone Mad, Redstone, Parkview, Happy Dog, Gypsy, Minh- Anh, The City Grille
- Arts/Culture/Entertainment: Cleveland Public Theatre, 1point618 Gallery, M% Gallery, 78th Street Studios, Saigon Plaza, Capitol Theatre
- Recent Housing Developments: Battery Park, EcoVillage, Courtland Court, The Green Cottages at Pear Avenue, Villas at Waters Edge, Painters Lofts, Franklin Blvd. Townhomes, Kings Terrace, Kings Hill Townhomes, Lakepoint Townhomes, Bridge Square
Points of Interest
- Edgewater Park (tunnel connection at end of W.65th)
- Gordon Square Arcade @ 6516 Detroit Avenue
- Capitol Theatre @ 1400 W.65th
- Stone Mad Pub @ 1306 W.65th
- Parkview Nite Club & Grille @1251 W.58th
- Saigon Plaza @ 5400 Detroit Avenue
- Cleveland Public Theatre @ 6415 Detroit Avenue
- 1point618 Gallery @ 6421 Detroit Avenue
- Gypsy Beans & Baking Co @ 6425 Detroit Avenue
- M% Gallery @ 6519
- ReddStone Bar & Grille @ 1261 W.76th
- EcoVillage, offices @ 6516 Detroit Avenue
- Battery Park Development @ 1201 W.73rd
- Lorain Avenue Antiques District from W.45th to W.85th
- Gordon Square Arts District(www.gordonsquare.org) from W.58th to W.73rd