Industry Items of Interest

Community Murals To Be Documented for National Directory An online record of America's collection of outdoor murals is being assembled, and artists and nonprofit organizations are invited to contribute images. Rescue Public Murals is seeking to expand the mural images available for educational use in the Rescue Public Murals (Heritage Preservation) collection of the ARTstor Digital Library. The images will serve as a valuable record of murals in the United States. Artists and organizations with photographs of significant murals are encouraged to make these images part of this important national collection. Images may be submitted online, where you can find specific details about submission digital file requirements. Submissions will be accepted until March 31, 2010. If you submit a mural, please inform the Cleveland Restoration Society,  www.clevelandrestoration.org. 


Public Square Redesign--Frame It; Forest It; Thread It Public Square is Cleveland's most prominent and historic public space.  Acting as the central downtown location for thousands of transit users, residents, visitors and businesspeople on a daily basis, the Square is locally known as Cleveland's and even Northeast Ohio's "front door."  Public Square's current configuration creates a space that is inconvenient for public events and difficult for pedestrians and motorists to navigate, rendering it underutilized.  In 2008, Parkworks and Downtown Cleveland Alliance began a process to identify redesign options for Public Square.  They engaged Wilbur Smith Associates to conduct a comprehensive traffic study of the Square.  Wilbur Smith discovered that beyond the constraints of these streets exists a flexibility to explore a creative means of realigning the space more effectively and favorably.  Parkworks and DCA's next step was to distribute a request for qualifications (RFQ) in May 2009 to identify a design team that would address the scale, accessibility, connectivity and overall feel of Public Square.  Through an evaluation process hosted by DCA Public Square Taskforce, the design teams of New York based James Corner Field Operations and the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative were chosen.  The design team created a set of preliminary early-stage drawings to inspire conversation about what Cleveland's Public Square should become and what role it should play in the future growth of the city.  The design team created three concepts:  Frame It, Forest It and Thread It. 
Frame It: The Square would be framed with a giant steel lattice, with vines trained up the sides of the trellis to create a green wall around the square.  This design creates large, flexible civic rooms, iconic plantings and architecture, and leaving Ontario and Superior open to the public.
Forest It: It establishes "two urban rooms" by closing the north/south artery, Ontario.  The resulting two large rectangles would be flooded with greenery, including a large "Sun Lawn" on the northern rectangle and a "Renaissance Garden" on the southern rectangle.
Thread It:  This design would construct an artificial hill over the intersection of Superior and Ontario in order to equally connect all four quadrants.  Pedestrians could seamlessly walk from one corner of Public Square to the other.  Areas below the constructed hill would shelter bus stops and house amenities including public restrooms, newsstands and coffee shops.
Over the next several months of working with the City Planning Commission, a final concept will be chosen and a financing plan will be established.  To date, cost estimates and funding sources have not been identified.  For a more in depth view of the proposed concepts, visit www.downtowncleveland.com 


2010 Summer Sprout Summer Sprout is a program of the City of Cleveland's Division of Neighborhood Services that is run by the Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) Urban Agriculture Program.  Community vegetable gardens that are admitted to the Summer Sprout program receive vegetable seeds, plant starts, soil amendments, some soil preparation and assistance in getting a fire hydrant permit for watering.  To be a Summer Sprout garden, interested gardeners must: 

• Locate a plot within the limits of the City of Cleveland.
• Identify the owner and get notarized, written permission to use the plot for three years.
• Have five or more unrelated individuals involved.
• Identify a Garden Leader and Assistant Garden Leader who must reside in the City of Cleveland.
• Commit to keeping the garden maintained and weed-free.
• Donate time back to the Summer Sprout Program.
• Attend workshops and other learning opportunities.

OSUE works with all Summer Sprout gardens to provide technical assistance with garden set-up and education to provide further information as needed.  Together, OSUE's Urban Agriculture Program and Summer Sprout have been working for more than 30 years to help residents of Cleveland organize and maintain community vegetable gardens that provide healthful produce, neighborhood beauty and green space, and a positive community-building activity.  Applications must be received by Friday, March 19, 2010 to be eligible for this year's program.  You may download the application by visiting http://cuyahoga.osu.edu/.  You may fax, mail or hand deliver the completed application along with the Summer Sprout agreement and waiver to the Ohio State University Extension, Cuyahoga County, 9127 Miles Avenue, 44105.  Their fax number is 216-429-3146.  For further information please contact 216-429-8200, ext. 246.

Rebuilding Together Cleveland Rebuilding Together Cleveland is a part of a nationwide initiative dedicated to the rehabilitation and repair of homes owned by low-income families and individuals, particularly the elderly and disabled who are unable to help themselves.  Founded in January 1996, the Cleveland chapter of Rebuilding Together is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated in helping low-income homeowners to continue living in the warmth, safety and independence of their own homes.  This year, Rebuilding Together Cleveland will hold their annual "Rebuilding Day" on Saturday, June 26th.  This is a one-day blitz to repair and rehabilitate pre-selected homes.  Rain date is Sunday, June 27th.  Homeowner application forms are mailed to various individuals, non-profits and civic organizations.  Qualifying homeowners are selected based on required income, type of repairs requested, the ability to meet repair needs and other eligibility requirements. To download an application and for further information please visit www.rebuildingtogethercleveland.org. 

Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) Announces Innovative Space Awards Program    The MetLife Foundation Innovative Space Awards is a competitive national funding program that recognizes outstanding efforts in the design and development of affordable space for artists.  The program emphasizes the benefits artist spaces yield for both artists and their communities.  Leading artist spaces will be selected from across the country to receive unrestricted awards ranging from $10,000-$50,000 along with access to technical assistance and a learning community of peer institutions.  To learn more about the Awards, including the guidelines for how to apply, please visit www.lincnet.net.  For additional questions, or to request application materials in alternate form, you can contact Rise Wilson, LINC Program Manager, at 646-731-3275.

Member News

CNDC Housing Committee and Safeguard Properties to Provide Missing Link for Vacant Properties One of the greatest obstacles facing Cleveland's CDCs in their pursuit to abate neighborhood nuisances and acquire properties for development opportunities is finding a responsible party's direct contact information for a vacant or abandoned home.  As foreclosures and vacancies continue to escalate, combined with the lengthly process to move a property through default, helping housing directors, outreach coordinators and code enforcement specialists identify a point of contact is more critical than ever. The next Housing Committee meeting on March 24th will be hosted by Safeguard Properties at its headquarters in Valley View, where a free and valuable resource for CDCs will be demonstrated.  It is the "MERS Initiative" which resulted from a partnership between the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS), under the MBA's Vacant Property Registration Committee, chaired by Safeguard's founder and CEO Robert Klein. (For more information about the MERS Initiative, please click here.)
 
Community Development professionals will have the opportunity to view and test the MERS System at the March 24th meeting.  Safeguard will provide a hands-on demonstration and lunch will be provided.  To register, please contact Lynn Friedel of the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition at 216-928-8100 or by email at lynn@cndc2.org. by Friday, March 19, 2010.


Cleveland Foundation Grant Launches WECO Initiative to Help the Financially Underserved  With a generous grant of $100,000 from The Cleveland Foundation, WECO is launching a new initiative to develop and implement products and services to help Cleveland's under and unbanked learn basic financial skills, eliminate debt, increase credit scores, develop emergency funds, build savings, achieve financial stability, and ultimately enter and navigate the financial mainstream. The first product is credit builder loans - loans of $500 to $1500 for a variety of needs. When the loans are repaid, the payoffs are reported to the credit agencies so they can be positively reflected on credit reports. The second products are second chance checking and savings accounts - accounts for those who owe back fees to banks or who for other reasons cannot access traditional accounts.  Individuals who apply for these products will be required to complete financial education classes and participate in one-on-one coaching in order to qualify.  For more information, please contact WECO at 216-458-0250.


Detroit-Shoreway Receives Dominion Community Impact Award CNDC congratulates the Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization for being chosen as one of the winners of the Dominion Community Impact Awards.  Eight-seven entries were submitted from non-profit organizations for the 15th annual competition.  The Capitol Theatre project was chosen for the energy it has brought to the neighborhood, the new businesses that have opened and the 369 jobs that were created.  The Capitol is the centerpiece of a $30 million initiative known as the Gordon Square Arts District and includes the renovation of the Gordon Square theater, the construction of new space for Near West Theatre and a greatly enhanced landscape.  Newly planted trees, special backless benches and decorative laser-cut brick pavers in yellow and red adorn the sidewalks.  Jeff Ramsey, Executive Director of DSCDO says, "we're building a community here, it has regenerated funds back to the neighborhood."  DSCDO was honored at an awards luncheon with 10 other non-profit organizations some of which came from the Akron/Canton area and Allen and Mahoning counties.