Description. Clark-Fulton may be able to lay claim to the city?s most diverse ethnic population, including a large and growing Hispanic segment and an increasing number of African-Americans?as well as a healthy representation of descendents of the Central and Eastern European immigrants?Germans, Czechs, Italians, Slovaks and Poles?who originally settled here in the mid-1800s to be near the factories and, it is said, the breweries that were springing up nearby. It became a part of the city when portions of Brooklyn Township were annexed to Cleveland in the late 1800s. Physical development patters in the Clark-Fulton area were also changed dramatically during the 1960's and 1970's by the construction of I-71 and I-90. These highways act to separate and isolate the neighborhood from surrounding areas.
Assets. Among the neighborhood’s most significant assets are:
- MetroHealth Medical Center founded in 1889 as City Hospital
- the West 25 th Street- Clark Avenue retail district which includes locally owned ethnic restaurants and stores that cater to the retail needs of this diverse neighborhood
- the 2 nd District police headquarters
- Lincoln-West High School and Meyer Pool
- new housing developments including Milford Place and Metro Lofts
Challenges. Among the challenges faced by the Clark-Fulton neighborhood today are:
- limited variety of housing options
- unattractive streetscape conditions along main commercial streets - Clark Avenue Avenue, Fulton Road and West 25 th Street
- vacant residential lots concentrated in northern portion of planning district
- abundant vacant commercial and second floor space in buildings along West 25 th Street
- vacant and underutilized properties on West 25 th Street in vicinity of MetroHealth Medical Center campus
Vision. Increase the appeal of Clark-Fulton as a residential locale through highlighting its traditional ethnic diversity, potential for new and varied housing stock and location along the Ohio & Erie Canalway Scenic Byway. Among the development opportunities and initiatives proposed are the following:
- pursue opportunities for adaptive reuse of commercial and industrial buildings as apartment and condominium-style loft residential units on West 25 th Street and on West 33 rd Street, in vicinity of St. Rocco Catholic Church
- facilitate infill housing development on scattered site residential lots
- develop a vibrant, ethnic-based mixed use district at corner of West 25 th Street and Clark Avenue consisting of residential, retail and office uses
- create infill retail development strategy for Clark Avenue between West 25 th Street and Fulton Road that benefits from traffic heading to and from Steelyard Commons
- tell the “neighborhood story” through the development of interpretive exhibits on West 25 th Street along the route of the Ohio & Erie Canal Scenic Byway
- establish development project of scale along west side of West 25 th Street, opposite MetroHealth Medical Center campus
- program streetscape improvements along major commercial arterials like West 25 th Street, Clark Avenue and Fulton Road
Printable version: can be downloaded here.
Maps (current as of May 2007): Assets, Development Opportunities, Land Use (existing and proposed), and Retail Strategies are available here. (PDF)
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