Upscale East Side urban housing options (Cleveland, Cleveland Heights: apartment, condo, townhomes)

[gasgangrene]

I went to Case Western Reserve a couple decades ago and am considering moving back to Cleveland for a great job opportunity. I'm assuming a lot has changed since 1994, and I'm looking for advice about housing near University Hospitals/CWRU. My wife and I have kids that will be in college soon, so schools are not a huge issue, but I need to live within a 20 minute drive of UH. We are currently living in a very suburban area (big house/big yard) but we'd like to do something different--ideally down-size and move to an area with a little more of an urban vibe. We can spend up to $1million or so, if needed. Walkability to shops/restaurants is a plus, older historical homes are a plus, a lot of complex landscaping/suburban sprawl is a minus, and safety is very important to my wife. An area with densely packed single family homes or row houses might be nice, but we have no interest in large apartment buildings, or newer condo developments.

I loved living in Little Italy as a student, but at this point we'd like something a little nicer, but still close to University Circle.

Any thoughts from those of you who know the current lay of the land within a quick drive of UH?

[teacherdad]

With that budget, Shaker Heights? Historical area has some incredible homes. Might be too large, though.

You should get something smaller for about 300K in a great area near there.

[costello_musicman]

There are new townhomes in Little Italy and University Circle in the $500K range.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/19...96329274_zpid/

I would look along Fairmount BLVD and the surrounding area.

Here's a cool looking one close to Case in the Larchmere neighborhood. Close to Shaker Square. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12...33416835_zpid/

[Clevelander17]

I would also suggest looking in Shaker Heights or maybe certain parts of Cleveland Heights off of Fairmount Boulevard.