Get On the Bus with the Cleveland Colectivo

If you google "Colectivo," the first thing that comes up is the Wikipedia entry, which describes a colectivo as a type of bus in Argentina. It's a public bus built out of smaller vehicle chassis that includes hand-painted graphics and is well-loved by Argentinians.

There is, however, another kind of colectivo - the Cleveland Colectivo. This grassroots giving circle, which was formed four years ago by a group of friends and neighbors to make a difference in the city, is celebrating its fourth year of grantmaking. Later in April, the group will decide which grassroots projects to support for this fiscal year, offering grants of $500 to $5,000. All told, the group will give away close to $20,000 to support innovative, neighborhood-based projects that will improve Cleveland.

Past projects that the Cleveland Colectivo has helped to support include a community garden in Tremont, a summer camp that taught Cleveland kids how to make sailboats and then gave them a chance to sail them at Whiskey Island, and a deconstruction enterprise that reuses bits and pieces of dismantled Cleveland buildings, remaking them into beautiful, for-sale furniture (hey, one man's trash ... ).

This year, the Cleveland Colectivo is encouraging folks in Northeast Ohio to consider forming their own giving circle, and even offering a matching start-up grant. It's one way to make a difference in your community. Although foundations are hard hit by the economic downturn, and giving less, small contributions from individuals, when pooled together, can make a big differnce. (Typically, Colectivo members give $400 per year - the group has about 25 dues-paying members, and a whole bunch of other folks that come to meetings and volunteer.)

For more info, visit www.clevelandcolectivo.org or click here.

Pointing In the Right Direction

Record collector Pete Gulyas (pictured) opened a new store in the Waterloo Arts district last week called Blue Arrow Records and Books. Located at 16001 Waterloo Rd., the place is named for the vintage sign outside the building, and offers quality used LPs, 45s, and 78s from the 1950s to present day from all genres in the musical spectrum. Blue Arrow compliments the District's burgeoning and eclectic offerings including the Beachland Ballroom/This Way Out, Waterloo 7 Art Gallery, Music Saves and Shoparooni

Circle 118: First Residential Community Breaks Ground in University Circle

WXZ Development has broken ground on the Circle 118 development, the first new residential community to begin construction in the coveted University Circle area. In addition to being the first for-sale community to enter University Circle, Circle 118 also holds the unique distinction of being a green community.

Located at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 118th Street - Circle 118 is the intersection where art meets architecture and engaging environmentally conscious design created the new eastern gateway to University Circle. The pedestrian-centric design maximizes outdoor space with attached garages encircling a private courtyard. Smart building design features increase comfort, reduce utility usage, and provide synergy and vibrancy to the community.

“When it comes to University Circle’s Bring Back Euclid Avenue campaign, Circle 118 is everything we hope for on Euclid Avenue. With its pacesetting modern design, the project complements the emergent modern arts district at our eastern gateway,” states University Circle Incorporated president Chris Ronayne. “It anchors the new Euclid Corridor project as a transit oriented residential development. It enhances our effort to become an environmentally sustainable neighborhood. And, its signature address makes Circle 118 a five to ten minute walk to our world class universities, hospitals, arts and cultural institutions that make University Circle a premier urban district.”

In addition to enjoying the financial and philosophical benefits of living green, WXZ
Development president Jim Wymer is so confident in the market appreciation at University Circle and the value of WXZ’s green building investments that he’s offering a Circle 118 Price Guarantee. “In the event that a resident of Circle 118 desires – or needs – to sell their home, we’ll guarantee that the value of their home will be at least equal to the original sales price,” states Wymer. “We understand this is an uncertain time for many, so if, for some reason, the homeowner can’t sell the property for the original price after listing it with our partners at progressive Urban Real Estate for six months, we’ll buy it back at the original price.”

In addition to Circle 118’s Price Guarantee, Wymer explains that the combination of
KeyBank’s Urban Assist program offering buyers a 30 year fixed rate at 1.0 percent below market financing with no points and the city of Cleveland’s 100 percent tax abatement for 15 years provides homebuyers interested in Circle 118 with a financial advantage that expands their buying power over $100,000. Eligible employees of Greater University Circle non-profit institutions can receive up to $15,000 toward the purchase of a home through the Greater Circle Living Program.

WXZ Residential is a division of WXZ Development Inc. WXZ and its principals enjoy a
strong reputation for innovative design and quality construction, with over 100 years of combined experience in developing commercial, public and residential real estate projects in Northeast Ohio and across the United States.

How 'Bout a Pint of Organic Saison? or Great Lakes Goes Green

Great Lakes Brewing Co. plans to release a new Grassroots Ale in six and twelve packs in April. This year, the brewers are attempting to use as many locally grown herbs – like lemon balm, chamomile and lemon basil – as possible. Grassroots Ale is considered a “saison”, the French word for season (as in, we have four of them, and one of them goes a bit long).

OK, ok, maybe that’s a little pretentious – it’s just good beer, after all! But the new Grassroots Ale is local and organic, and Great Lakes Brewing Company is an Ohio City anchor that has done a great deal to market Cleveland as a fantastic beer town (which it is, thanks to GL) … so go ahead, try it!

Cleveland Public Library Ranked as one of Top Libraries in the Nation

The national rankings are out, and Cleveland Public Library is at the top of the list. Over 7,000 libraries were ranked on a five star scale by the Library Journal. CPL received the highest ranking of five stars.

"This is wonderful news, and underscores, what the people of Cleveland already know: CPL is a Cleveland treasure," commented Felton Thomas, the recently appointed Director of CPL.

This Cleveland asset also recently celebrated its 140th anniversary. Congrats on both counts!

Civic Innovation Lab Sparks New Businesses, Organizations

The Civic Innovation Lab, a project of the Cleveland Foundation, is just one example of the kind of innovative, entrepreneurial activity that is taking place in our region.

This project provides funding to entrepreneurs – whether nonprofit or for-profit – to start a project that will foster economic development or address a civic need in Northeast Ohio.

Recently, Jennifer Thomas, the Executive Director of the Civic Innovation Lab, spoke with Crain’s Cleveland Business about the program’s successes and failures. Thomas deems about 25% of the projects that the Lab has funded to be successes, about 50% to be promising, and about 25% to be struggling. She says that this success rate is typical for entrepreneurs founding start-ups.

The 40+ projects that have received funding from the Civic Innovation Lab all have something in common – risk taking. That’s what it will take to reverse Northeast Ohio’s brain drain and to spark innovation in our region, and the Civic Innovation Lab is one example of a program that rewards risk taking.

For more information about the Civic Innovation Lab, please visit their website at www.civicinnovationlab.org.

Green Cottages Add to Vitality of Cleveland EcoVillage

The first of the Green Cottages is nearly complete! Developed by the Cuyahoga Community Land Trust, these homes are a unique development, offering homeowners significant energy savings, healthy indoor environments, and accessible features.

The Green Cottages are located in the Cleveland EcoVillage (Phase I is located at W. 58th/Pear). The project will meet Enterprise Green Communities standards, and will be the first affordable single-family development in Northeast Ohio to achieve LEED for Homes certification.

The Green Cottages will be permanently affordable homes that support the healthy, mixed-income character of Cleveland's near west side. Through the Land Trust, homeowners purchase the home at a substantially reduced price. When they sell, they agree to allow a portion of the increase in the value of the home to stay with the home in order to bring the sale price down for the next moderate-income buyer. Applicants need to meet minimum and maximum income eligibility requirements, which are based on family size.

These homes are universally designed, life-cycle homes that allow aging in place. They will include accessibility features. The cottage designs grew out of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition's Emerging Designers initiative, which brought together young architects to learn about green design while applying what they learned to real projects.

Additional project partners are Civic Builders, Cleveland EcoVillage, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, Environmental Health Watch and Larsen Architects. For more information and a complete list of project partners and supporters, visit www.cclandtrust.org .