Shaker Heights - Mercer Area (Cleveland, Warren: apartments, condominium, houses)

[mkearns111]

Hi,
My family is looking at moving from the Twinsburg area to Shaker Heights and we need help deciding where in Shaker to buy. Currently, we like the Onaway, Fernway, and Mercer areas. I have talked to people in Onaway and Fernway that all say they love those neighborhoods. The problem is I haven't been able to find anyone to talk to about the Mercer area. We found some houses we liked in that area, between Shaker Blvd. and Woodland, but we don't know anything about the area. Are there a lot of families with young kids? Is it a friendly neighborhood, like I have heard about Onaway and Fernway? Just trying to get a general sense of the neighborhood so any insight is greatly appreciated.

[dr_j_planning_shaker]

Originally Posted by mkearns111

Hi,
My family is looking at moving from the Twinsburg area to Shaker Heights and we need help deciding where in Shaker to buy. Currently, we like the Onaway, Fernway, and Mercer areas. I have talked to people in Onaway and Fernway that all say they love those neighborhoods. The problem is I haven't been able to find anyone to talk to about the Mercer area. We found some houses we liked in that area, between Shaker Blvd. and Woodland, but we don't know anything about the area. Are there a lot of families with young kids? Is it a friendly neighborhood, like I have heard about Onaway and Fernway? Just trying to get a general sense of the neighborhood so any insight is greatly appreciated.

OP, I technically live in the Mercer neighborhood, but please understand that the "official" names of neighborhoods in Shaker Heights refer to the areas assigned to particular elementary schools. Here is a map with the attendance zones for Shaker's elementary schools: http://www.shaker.org/Downloads/Shak...rict%20Map.pdf. As you can see on the map, all of Shaker Heights east of Warrensville Center Road is assigned to Mercer, but there are several, smaller neighborhoods within the Mercer Attendance Zone that have their own distinct characteristics. The students in the Moreland neighborhood (located south of Chagrin Boulevard and east of Lee Road) are also assigned to Mercer Elementary School. Here is a breakdown of each neighborhood within the Mercer Attendance Zone (please note I have assigned my own nomenclature to distinguish each neighborhood from one another):

1) University School (US): area bound by Shaker Boulevard West, Warrensville Center Road, Fairmount Boulevard and Belvoir Boulevard. This is an area characterized by large, stately pre-war (some mid-century) homes on expansive lots surrounding the US Lower & Middle School Campuses. Served by the RTA Green Line (Warrensville Center Road and Belvoir Boulevard Stations).

2) Poet's Corner: area bound by Shaker Boulevard West, Belvoir Boulevard, Fairmount Boulevard and Green Road. Homes and grounds similar to the streets around US. Served by the RTA Green Line (Belvoir Boulevard, West Green and Green Road Stations).

3) Laurel School: area bound by Shaker Boulevard West, Green Road, Fairmount Boulevard and Sulgrave Road. Homes tend to be a bit newer than either US or Poet's Corner (more mid-century) and not quite as large, but still very expansive on good-sized lots surrounding the Laurel campus. Served by the RTA Green Line (Green Road Station).

4) Mercer Elementary School: area bound by South Woodland Road, Warrensville Center Road, Shaker Boulevard East and Sulgrave Road/Oval. This neighborhood is larger than the first three described, running a long way east and west, and actually contains Mercer Elementary School on Green Road. This neighborhood also contains Shaker Heights Middle School and Bertram Woods Branch of the Shaker Heights Library. Homes are less expensive than those north of Shaker Boulevard, characterized by classic mid-century wood frame with brick and stone accents (there are a few larger, older homes scattered throughout) on more modest, right-sized lots. Served by the RTA Green Line (Warrensville Center Road, Belvoir Boulevard, West Green and Green Road Stations).

5) Thornton Park North/Canterbury: This neighborhood appears less cohesive on the map because much of the area south of South Woodland Road, between Warrensville Center and Green Roads, is occupied by Canterbury Golf Club and lies within the City of Beachwood. Nevertheless, the homes along the south side of South Woodland Road, Almar Road, Canterbury Lane and portions of Somerset, Belvoir, Bryden and Hermitage lie within Shaker Heights and the Mercer Attendance Zone. If you want to live on a golf course and have your kids attend Mercer, Canterbury Lane is the street for you. The other advantage of this location are the walkable shops along Warrensville Center Road, north of Almar Drive. These include J. Pistone's Market, Sgro's Barbershop, and Fussy Cleaners, as well as a tailor and a florist. The homes here are a bit more diverse, ranging from sprawling residences along the golf course to older, very charming early- and mid-century colonials, capes and bungalows along Lower Almar Drive. This neighborhood is also characterized by more diverse terrain. While you can walk to RTA Green or Blue Line stations from this area, the Rapid is not as convenient as it is from the other Mercer neighborhoods.

6) Thornton Park: This is my neighborhood and is quite small. This neighborhood consists of homes closest to Thornton Park on Farnsleigh, Helen, Colton, Halburton and Halworth Roads (all north of Chagrin Boulevard and east of Warrensville Center Road). The homes are much more modest mid-century colonials, capes and bungalows on smaller lots and gardens; this area was specifically zoned for smaller homes. These homes are closest to the Van Aken District (The Van Aken District | Shaker Heights Ohio), the anticipated "downtown" district for Shaker Heights, which currently consists of large surface parking lots and two commercial strip shopping centers. Both strip centers and some adjacent, vacant commercial buildings are slated for demolition in 2016 to make way for high-density, mixed-use, transit-oriented apartments, shops and offices. The closing of Northfield Road and Van Aken Boulevard to make Chagrin-Warrensville a traditional four-way intersection with sidewalks and improved pedestrian/bicycle safety is the first, and current, step of this multi-year process. This neighborhood is the most topographically diverse, with many of the homes built into the sides of hills. There are also numerous mid-rise apartment and condominium buildings along the east side of Warrensville Center Road, both north and south of Chagrin Boulevard. Shopping includes The Fresh Market, Van Aken Hardware and Pearl of the Orient. Served by the RTA Blue Line (Warrensville Center and Farnsleigh Road Stations).

7) Moreland: This neighborhood is disconnected from the rest of the Mercer Attendance Zone. Located south of Chagrin and west of Lee, this community is borders the City of Cleveland and is characterized by very modest, early 20th-century frame houses, including many multi-family units (Cleveland Doubles). This is probably the most affordable neighborhood in Shaker Heights and is known for being a long-standing African-American community with very tight neighborhood cohesion. This neighborhood is very proximal to Shaker Heights Library (main branch), Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Center and Shakertowne shops and restaurants (including Heinen's and Shaker Hardware). Served by the RTA Blue Line (Lee Road Station at Van Aken Boulevard).

I hope this helps; please feel free to inquire with any further questions!

[TheProf]

^Nice job, dr J planning_shaker -- this is comprehensive and super informational.

[maxmodder]

Shaker property taxes are the highest I believe. As long as that money is managed correctly, it's all good.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

Shaker property taxes are the highest I believe. As long as that money is managed correctly, it's all good.

RE taxes are VERY high in SH and it's a bit of a problem, esp with some of those rambling estates north of Shaker Blvd-- indeed, some sit empty. Shaker was the idyllic satellite city when it grew during the Jazz Age, when Beachwood ideal/model of attracting commercial businesses and lowering taxes was nonexistent in that era before the auto became the primary method of urban commuting and commerce began moving out to the edges of town closer to where people live. Now Shaker's almost completely built out so there's little room for industry now ... that area around the Chagrin/Warrensville/etc intersection was about the only area, and OfficeMax was founded and had a nice run there; UH is in OM's old building nowadays.

[mkearns111]

dr J planning Shaker, thank you for the comprehensive reply on the mercer area. It is really informative and gives us a much better idea on where to look at houses.