Cleveland's Large Factory Buildings Have Dynamic Collaborative Potential

To many it sounds dumb-but I wanted to see Cleveland cause it had a lot of large underused or empty factory buildings. Freshwater gives a good idea of the kind of creative ecosystems that can emerge just by throwing lots of diverse people and small businesses in one space where they can easily interact.

it takes a village: a redevelopment story for the ages

It starts with the sad story of another Cleveland business, which packed up and left for the suburbs (likely for a huge scale single floor factory) leaving one million square feet of empty space on Cleveland's east side.

Since that time, however, Tyler has been reborn as a thriving entrepreneurial district -- a bona fide urban village on the fringes of downtown. Each day 420 employees and 350 students come to learn and work at this village's two schools and 50-odd businesses. Toss in a coffee shop, peaceful green spaces, and a truly collaborative spirit and you've got one of the most unique redevelopment projects going.

So far they have been shocked by the demand as people seek them out-looking for just that kind of flexible, yet communal environment.

"Despite the fact that it is located 40 blocks east of Public Square, and comprised of little more than bricks, steel, concrete and glass, Tyler feels like its own little neighborhood. Employees grab their morning coffee from Pulley's Café, which is located in donated space and staffed by employees from another tenant, Solutions at Work. When one company at long last secured a recycling Dumpster from the city, he chose to locate it not at his loading dock but in a common area. New tenants make a point of buying their office furniture not online, but at APG, the on-site showroom."

Cleveland has several other similar buildings I know of--all of which are seeing solid demand.

The Tower Press Building
78th Street Studios

Cleveland: 78TH Street Studios Gallery and Studio Openings Friday, March 18

From a distance, the number of things I truly envy about Cleveland is short--The West Side Market, The Rock Hall, The Cleveland Museum, The Cleveland International Film Festival and for the moment them hosting NCAA tournament games.

Way up on my list is the few top to bottom buildings open to artist studios, galleries and creative businesses.


Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery

"Join us each third Friday monthly from
5-9p to explore 78th Street Studios, a vibrant community of arts & entertainment businesses housed in the former American Greetings Creative Studios, between West 78th & West 80th Streets in Cleveland. 78th Street Studios anchors the west end of the Gordon Square Arts District and is a true destination for visitors to the revitalized Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood."

This month the Adnan Charara show at Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery really peaks my interest. Also, Cleveland artist Dana Oldfather at Survival Kit Gallery the Cleveland West Art league's six in a studio project might be interesting.

I really miss this kind of convenient mix of studios and galleries I remember from Chelsea and Dumbo way back. Makes it really fun and easy to explore. In San Francisco it seemed that by popping into 49 Geary St., one could catch half the city art scene in one place.