Clearing the Way for Redevelopment in Southeast Suburbs

Dormant factories, closed gas stations, obsolete warehouses, and other types of vacant and abandoned properties have long plagued many of Cuyahoga’s inner-ring suburbs. These abandoned, blighted properties associate with crime, environmental contamination and plunging property values. Each year, the Cuyahoga Land Bank receives dozens of requests from local municipalities to remove these very visible and unsightly buildings from their communities. 

In the last three years alone, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has served as an agent for its partner cities to demolish numerous commercial/industrial properties with a concentration in several southeast suburbs of Cleveland. These sites, all of which were funded by the Cuyahoga County Demolition Program, include the former:

Moonglow Tavern, 34 Union Street, Bedford

Arco Heating & Air Conditioning, Bedford Heights

Reach Out Disposal, 7515 Grand Division, Garfield Heights

Alliance Printing & Litho Company, 13950 Broadway, Garfield Heights

Medical Office Building, 9700-9710 Garfield Boulevard, Garfield Heights

Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodge, 5121 Warrensville Center Road, Maple Heights

Ceo’s Bar, 4678 Warner Road, Garfield Heights

2800 Hermit Avenue Garage, Newburgh Heights

Harvard Metal Treating, 2819 Harvard Avenue, Newburgh Heights

Miles Road Greenhouse, 18706 South Miles Road, Warrensville Heights

The site (above) on Garfield Boulevard has already been re-purposed by the Garfield Heights Board of Education which constructed a new facility to house and service its fleet of school buses.  Bedford Heights is gearing up to combine the cleared Arco Heating & Air Conditioning site with adjacent land it owns and to market the combined 5-acre assembly to developers.

“Removing older, rundown and abandoned commercial and industrial properties increases public safety, boosts property values, and improves the community’s image and pride. It provides a clean slate for positive redevelopment,” says Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel for the Cuyahoga Land Bank. “We are committed to helping return unproductive properties to productive use and to helping these cities flourish for years to come.”