What can we do about Buckeye? (Cleveland, Lorain: appointed, section 8, apartments)

[Cleverfield]

I feel like Buckeye is the biggest problem facing the Southeast side of the city right now. It is an absolute hot bed of crime, and yet it's so close to Shaker Heights, and Shaker Square, which are both great areas. There are also great potential assets in that area, such as the awesome 1920's apartments on North Moreland, and the dense, walkable commercial area. But development or improvement will be impossible with the out of control crime that currently exists there. I know several years ago, a bakery (Lucy's Sweet Surprises) opened on Buckeye, and the owner ended up getting shot, so they moved to Shaker. The owner said they were disappointed that the CPD didn't do more to try to make the area safer. How can we get the city to get this area under better control?

[costello_musicman]

I'll reserve my opinion for another day, but I wanted to post an interesting snapshot video from 1970:

Like the Bubbles in the Wine - Montage

Ironically enough, I too was pondering the proximity of Buckeye to Shaker Square recently, and find it interesting Cleveland considers it the same neighborhood...Buckeye-Shaker.

[Cleverfield]

Wow, thank you for that video. Such a sad, but important bit of history. I imagine that's a story that played out all over the East Side. Interestingly, unlike other neighborhoods like Glenville, a few remnants of that community (Benedictine, St. Elizabeth's church, Orban's) still hang on there.

[TBideon]

I suppose one could find some cheap property and start a small business, with the hope that it will succeed and result in ancillary businesses sprouting up. In Chicago's Englewood, there is a very good independent coffee shop in the heart of that warzone, which has received much support from the community. And now a Whole Foods of all things is coming neaby (though it is receiving Tif funds). Maybe something like that if you can find self-finance it or find private investors.

Or buy out some cheap propeties and rent them out to people who want to send their kids to Shaker (presuming this is the part of Cleveland that overlaps to Shaker's school system). Advertise the location being so close to Shaker Square/transit before it goes through all those dead zones. Advertise the quality of Shaker schools. Under no circumstance accept Section 8'ers or people with criminal histories.

I don't see much Tif money going to that area otherwise; the city has few resources and little interest in the neighborhood.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by costello_musicman

I'll reserve my opinion for another day, but I wanted to post an interesting snapshot video from 1970:

Like the Bubbles in the Wine - Montage

Ironically enough, I too was pondering the proximity of Buckeye to Shaker Square recently, and find it interesting Cleveland considers it the same neighborhood...Buckeye-Shaker.

Thanks for that depressing reminder. If those old folks in the film were alive and could see what their houses look like now I am confident they would die.

[SmittyXCWRU]

Honestly, I think our best chance of fixing up Buckeye is if the University Circle area grows enough to crowd out non-students into living in Shaker Square. If this happens enough, Shaker Square could help gentrify Buckeye. Otherwise, I don't see a ton of hope for Buckeye unless we can start finding ways to repair and rebuild struggling neighborhoods from within instead of gentrifying them, but that's a far greater problem than Buckeye. I agree Buckeye could be a cool little commercial district if you could go there with valuables without taking your life into your hands.

I don't think we're anywhere close to the point where this is going to start happening though. Shaker Square is holding its own, but a whole bunch of other areas are seeing rapid gentrification right now between University Circle, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, and Tremont, not to mention the population growth Downtown. Maybe someday it will be Buckeye's turn, but I wouldn't be surprised if East Cleveland or Glenville flips first even.

[bjimmy24]

I really think Buckeye could be great. Right on the rapid line, some old houses that would be beautiful with a little upkeep. I am not quite sure if Shaker Square can really help all of Buckeye though...

[Clevelander17]

Buckeye does not feed into the Shaker Heights schools.

The architecture in this area is really cool.

Benedictine, as mentioned above, still thrives despite how the neighborhood has changed, but that's only because the school has gone out of its way to isolate itself.

[Cleverfield]

People are willing to locate shops there, with its proximity to SH and its historic Hungarian roots (could have been like a Little Hungary if residents had taken a tougher stance in the 70's like Little Italy). But they would really need to step up policing before people will even think about it. If they could partner with Shaker Heights and create a Buckeye-Ludlow PD, like the UCPD, maybe they could start to get there.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by TBideon

I suppose one could find some cheap property and start a small business, with the hope that it will succeed and result in ancillary businesses sprouting up. In Chicago's Englewood, there is a very good independent coffee shop in the heart of that warzone, which has received much support from the community. And now a Whole Foods of all things is coming neaby (though it is receiving Tif funds). Maybe something like that if you can find self-finance it or find private investors.

Or buy out some cheap propeties and rent them out to people who want to send their kids to Shaker (presuming this is the part of Cleveland that overlaps to Shaker's school system). Advertise the location being so close to Shaker Square/transit before it goes through all those dead zones. Advertise the quality of Shaker schools. Under no circumstance accept Section 8'ers or people with criminal histories.

I don't see much Tif money going to that area otherwise; the city has few resources and little interest in the neighborhood.

This is nonsense with serious racial overtones. I think people are going way overboard about crime in Buckeye. Obviously, this isn't Shaker Square or Larchmere, but it's not anywhere close to being a "war zone" particularly the commercial strip around E. 116, which btw happens to have more commercial potential than fraternal twin, Larchmere, because Buckeye's strip is narrower, denser with brick commercial buildings (many still in solid condition and occupied by residents and businesses), and even contains the old Buckeye movie theater, which has been sealed for decades and is dilapidated condition inside. Ironically, for some reason, the Buckeye strip gets better (less rundown) the further you get away from S. Moreland and Shaker Sq. and closer to E. 116. But it's a very long strip of many mixed-use buildings that makes one feel Buckeye could come back...

I'm not saying that sprucing up Buckeye is going to be simple, but I think it's potential revival is a lot easier, and even closer than the 'decades away' prediction cited above. As for bring-back potential, and crime, this area is similar to W. 65/Lorain which is also near a Rapid station, at the far edge of a trendy area (Detroit-Shoreway) and is at the junction of 2 RTA bus crisscrossing routes... But Buckeye is stronger than W. 65th for several reasons: again, it has much greater building density (and none of those awful, gazillion used car lots that pock-mark Lorain), there's greater housing density as well. Yes, some are foreclosed or rundown or even burned down empty lots, but the bulk are intact with some very well kept with neat lawns and some gardens, including some duplexes veneered in brick.

Also, Buckeye has a number of viable businesses, including many health-related such as the substantial Metro Health facility (E. 116) and Beech Brook (lovely/restored old stone office building at E. 118-Buckeye) and several law firms and dental offices. While the TOD potential of most of these stinks -- they're generally 1-2 story suburban-type, they do insure a substantial daytime population of professionals and their support staff which adds a veneer of safety and some vitality. You also have the relocated Cleve. Pub Library and still new Harvey Rice elementary School right at the Rapid stop... I've walked around the main Buckeye strip at E. 116 a number of times, esp in warm weather and never felt threatened.

Also, there is some Larchmere gentrification that is quietly creeping over and down MLK/E. 116 to around. The presence of the Rapid stop near a few blocks from the E. 116-Buckeye core will soon bear fruit imho. Key Rapid stops all around the city are seeing rebirth from W. 25, to E. 120 (soon to be relocated a few blocks to Little Italy), to Flats East Bank to Warrensville/Van Aken and to Lee Rd/Van Aken... RTA even just announced a few days ago that it's moving forward with a total rebuild of it's E. 116 stop, which should help considerably.