The Cuyahoga Land Bank continues to be a strategic partner in South Euclid’s award winning (Crain’s Cleveland Business Emerald Award) Green Neighborhoods Initiative. This NSP grant-funded neighborhood revitalization program has performed five green retrofits of bungalows in South Euclid in collaboration with the Cleveland Institute of Art and Zaremba Home Again Restoration Company. The initiative has also created five community gardens, and is in the process of building three new community parks on in-fill parcels where demolitions have occurred. In addition to partnering with the city’s new community development corporation – One South Euclid – to sell vacant lots to individuals wishing to build their home in the city, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has been instrumental in helping the City of South Euclid obtain many of the parcels for the Green Neighborhoods Initiative projects.
Perhaps one of the most exciting collaborations to date is the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s demolition and donation of the property at 4088 Linnell Road for the construction of the South Euclid “Idea House.” This newest phase of the South Euclid Green Neighborhoods Initiative will showcase the potential for new construction throughout inner ring suburbs due to increased demolition. This brand new 1,500 square foot, “green from the ground up” home is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, single-family home that will be constructed for under $150,000. Like all Green Neighborhoods homes, it features first floor living possibilities to accommodate a variety of lifestyles and life stages and meets Enterprise Green Communities Standards for energy efficiency. As in prior projects, the interiors are being designed in cooperation with the Cleveland Institute of Art. The project, currently under construction by New Century Builders, will be completed in September. A community “unveiling” is planned for early fall. The Idea House shows the potential for affordable new construction on a typical suburban in-fill lot.