Change is coming to Shaker Square. On Thursday, the public got a first look at what those changes might mean to the nearly 100-year-old shopping center in Cleveland near the Shaker Heights border.
"The community has spoken — authenticity is Shaker Square’s key asset," said Tania Menesse, CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, a nonprofit that co-owns the shopping center with Burten, Bell, Carr Development, a neighborhood development organization.
The owners have been collecting public input on the project for months. The first Shaker Square consensus-building event took place in May. About 200 people attended. Feedback included a desire for additional security, local business support, safe crossings and walkways for pedestrians, more programming and a space for artists, according to the Shaker Square Vision Project.
One of the central messages organizers have received in collecting feedback on the square's future, including survey results from nearly 500 people, is that the public doesn't want the square reinvented, Menesse said. It wants it relaunched.
Shaker Square was built in 1929 and is the oldest shopping district in Ohio, according to Case Western University. The 168,000-square-foot octagonal-shaped building was originally planned as a traffic circle at the intersection of Shaker and Moreland boulevards with connection to the Shaker Rapid Transit. The circle was changed to an octagon to accommodate automobile parking.
Currently, businesses such as the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, Dave’s Supermarket and EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute rent space, according to the square's website.
The city of Cleveland purchased Shaker Square in 2022 and named nonprofits Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Burten Bell Carr coowners. Since then, more than $5 million has been set aside by funders including Cuyahoga County and the Cleveland Foundation to upgrade the historic structure like replacing the roofs and updating the electrical, Menesse said.
Survey respondents have also said they would like the promenade area, an outdoor patio area in front of the restaurants, more fully utilized, Menesse said.
“Everything looks a little old, a little tired and a little hodgepodge, so really improving those spaces so that it could really benefit the retailers and restaurateurs,” she said.
Safety is also a main concern, said Brandon Chrostowksi, founder and president of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute.
“We just had that carjacking a week or so ago, [and] there’s a broken window every other day, just having presence from the ownership and leadership would be helpful,” he said.
Preliminary plans also include some remapping of merchants.
Menesse said the square would benefit from moving some merchants to the second floor of the square's buildings along with medical, yoga and chiropractic offices. The first floor spaces lend themselves to restaurants, retail stores and coffee shops.
Along with creating a vibrant retail center, other plans for Shaker Square include decluttering the promenade area, creating bump outs and speed tables to slow down traffic, using lighting and public art to create a sense of safety and consolidating trash, according to the Vision Project.
There are also plans for outdoor seating, a pavilion with shade and a play area, a stage for events and a vendor zone.
Thursday's event included a walkthrough with four stations for the public to review proposed plans for the future of the square and provide feedback. Music and food were provided at Cafe Indigo, a new business at Shaker Square that’s opening this fall.
“The most important thing is that we get a good sense from the community that we’re moving in the right direction,” Menesse said.
Menesse said ownership will continue to refine the plan over the next two months.
The final Shaker Square Consensus Building Event will take place later this year.
