Summary
- Schematics — or early designs — have been approved for 44 new units at Rainbow Terrace Apartments in the Garden Valley neighborhood, a little more than one year after an explosion and fire left one dead, several people seriously injured and dozens of families displaced.
- There was heated disagreement among commission members, project representatives and Cleveland’s legal counsel around the Cleveland Planning Commission (CPC)’s authority to extend a parking designation to the lot at the former Oppman Garage site. The owner — Geis Cos. — was ultimately approved to create a surface parking lot on the Oppman Garage site.
- The master plan for the Midline — Cleveland’s largest ever industrial redevelopment project — is being finalized and will be brought before the City Planning Commission later this year.
Follow up questions
- All parties agreed to demolish the garage at 6313 St. Clair Ave., though a meeting attendee noted that someone may be living in the structure currently — what follow-up and social service intervention is standard in evacuating this building for those using it as shelter?
- Regarding the Geis Cos. cases: How is there so much confusion around which agency is the right audience for these projects? Is anything being done to clarify and streamline this process?
Scene at the Cleveland City Planning Commission meeting
This meeting of the Cleveland City Planning Commission (CPC) was called to order at 9:18 a.m.
Roll call
- Erika Anthony, chair
- August Fluker, vice chair
- Charles Slife, Ward 15 Cleveland City Council member
- Denise McCray-Scott (arrived a little late)
- Andrew Sargeant
- Anthony Whitfield
Other staff members and presenters were also present in person and virtually.
Find excerpts from the meeting coverage below.
44 new, larger apartment units coming to Rainbow Terrace
SOUTHEAST DESIGN REVIEW: CSE2026-007 – Rainbow Terrace – APPROVED
PRESENTERS: Chris Young, vice president of American Community Developers (ACD), and Paul Weber, head of architecture at ACD
SUMMARY: In June 2025, a gas main leak caused an explosion and apartment fire in Cleveland’s Garden Valley neighborhood, displacing more than 40 families. This past year, ACD and the city have engaged the community and have cleared the site to prepare for the building of an entirely new apartment complex. Weber presented these schematics to the CPC for approval.
- The proposed Rainbow Terrace schematics include layout modifications and improvements based on feedback from the local community and displaced residents.
- Each of the 44 units will be around 200 to 300 square feet larger than in the old complex, and each will have a single point of entry.
- Facade enhancements were informed by recommendations from the local Design Review Committee.
No public comment.
Pavilion and sculpture garden also to be built
Fluker asked whether any quality-of-life improvements were incorporated in these designs. Weber explained that the only installations planned include a community pavilion and sculpture garden, noting that the larger property around the apartments recently completed recreation and quality-of-life enhancements separate from this project. Nearby amenities include a sports field, a basketball court, a dog park, and a daycare center.
Slife said he would have loved to see measures incorporated in the design that address the neighborhood’s food access, such as a small ground-floor market or cafe. He said this note was not intended as a critique or request for revision, but a reminder to all planners, developers and city officials to think about how all new builds can be used to address community needs.
Saving Shaker Square
CENTRAL EAST DESIGN REVIEW: Shaker Square vision plan – APPROVED
Presenters: Cory Riordan, neighborhood investment strategist at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP); Allen Penniman, project manager at Agency Landscape & Planning.
Riordan and Penniman presented a complete Shaker Square vision plan focused on improving walkability, streamlining traffic, boosting retail and dining, expanding housing and celebrating the district’s vibrant history. The final plans were approved, with Commission Member Anthony Fluker, who is treasurer for the board of directors for CNP’s real estate development arm, recusing himself from the vote.
- The Shaker Square shopping district on Cleveland’s East Side has been co-owned by nonprofits Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Burten, Bell, Carr (BBC) since 2022.
- Penniman said they have deeply engaged neighbors this past year through in-person outreach such as monthly steering committee meetings, youth workshops, public presentations and pop-up activation across geographies where they had received low levels of resident input.
- The current vision plan is built on three key pillars:
Inviting
- Expanding public spaces in front of retail locations
- Connecting greenspaces from the central square out to retail and residential properties
- Maintain and attract a diverse range of primarily locally owned businesses, including full and limited-service restaurants, goods and services, home and apparel, medical and human services and existing retail anchors (CVS and Dave’s Market are noted on a map in the presentation slides)
Inspiring
- Create clear and celebratory “gateways” or points of entry into the square from all directions for pedestrians, motorists and RTA riders
- Widen sidewalks and add seating to make pedestrians, families and other shoppers feel safe and prioritized
Timeless
- Design and install signage, historical markers, and infographics to reflect and share Shaker Square’s past
- Seek community partnerships and potential property owners who are committed to upholding the vision plan and responding to interests of the community
- Penniman said that a note given to CNP from a member of their steering committee said, “Don’t reinvent us — relaunch us.”
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Deborah Gray, Ward 3 City Council member and a nearly 40-year East Side resident, attended the meeting to voice her support for the Shaker Square vision plan. Fluker invited her to speak.
“The team was fantastic,” she said. “The purpose was rewarding.”
“We are here to save Shaker Square, because that is our main nucleus of the neighborhood. I do support this presentation.”
The floor was then opened to public comments, but there were none.
Looking for a developer for the Square
Erika Anthony asked if there is the intention of keeping the steering committee active going forward.
Riordan said, “I am in touch with probably half of them on a weekly basis as they continue to check in.”
Anthony also asked if people are currently making use of the upper levels of the existing retail and business locations in the Square. The plan imagines these as offices, open workshops and appointment-based businesses. Penniman said it varies from quad to quad, but the northwest quadrant of the Square is at about 40% upper-level occupancy.
Anthony Sargeant asked what safeguards are in place to see that the vision plan will be followed through. Penniman said CNP has been actively seeking development partners and has not yet found the right fit. They put out a request for proposals (RFP) but did not get the level of interest they were hoping for, so CNP will maintain ownership and responsibility for advancing the plan while continuing conversations with the city.
Closing Shaker boulevard through the Square
Charles Slife, Ward 15 City Council member, who serves on both the City Planning Commission and the board of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, spoke to the vision plan’s intention to keep the center of the square open to east-west vehicle traffic. “My experience was that most of the people, instead of traveling through Shaker Square, divert to Larchmere, Woodland or Buckeye … I am not sure that maintaining Shaker [Boulevard] through the square is hypercritical.” His concern centered around a desire to reduce oversignaling in this dense shopping district. [Editor’s note: Slife said he didn’t recuse himself because he serves on CNP’s board in his capacity as a council member and therefore it is not a conflict of interest.]
Penniman reminded commission members that a previous plan included this road closure but received vocal pushback from the community. The redesigned plan maintains the existing cut-through but with curb extensions and added parking spots on each side of the road to slow traffic at the square. Gray added that “next year we are doing a full west and east side resurfacing of Shaker Square. So that’s gonna help with the traffic flow.”
Readying the site for The Midline
Midline Design Guidelines – Site Readiness Fund Team
PRESENTERS: Representatives from the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund, LAND studio and Utile
SUMMARY: The Midline is Cleveland’s largest ever industrial redevelopment project, rehabbing and activating more than 200 acres of polluted land. The plan seeks to support an industrial district that can support trucking, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in an environment that is functional, clean, accessible and beautiful. The team will return with a complete master plan this fall. Commission members encouraged the team to expand community engagement and focus on making the plan more digestible to residents outside the development world — especially youth, as they stand to experience the greatest impact from this project later in life.
There’s more: Read the full notes from this meeting by Documenter Hannah Morgan.They include details about the St. Clair-Superior demolition and the Geis Cos. quest for parking lots.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
