Description. In the late 1800s, Hough (which takes its name from the street named after two early landowners, Oliver and Eliza Hough) was a prosperous neighborhood with impressive mansions and wealthy residents. Today Hough is still predominantly residential but also home to a wide variety of institutional uses that are scattered around the neighborhood. Single-family, two-family, townhouse, small and large apartment buildings are also intermixed throughout the neighborhood.
Assets. Among the neighborhood’s most significant assets are:
- proximity to major employment centers like the Cleveland Clinic and University Circle
- being within the boundaries of the City’s Empowerment Zone
- Rockefeller Park which makes up the neighborhood’s eastern boundary
- institutional uses like the African-American Museum, the Ronald McDonald House, the Rainey Institute, Eliza Bryant Village and the Cleveland Society for the Blind
- League Park, former home of Cleveland’s professional baseball teams
- the Church Squareshopping center
- Martin Luther King and East High Schools and the Thurgood Marshall Recreation center
Challenges. Among the challenges faced by the Hough neighborhood today are:
- large numbers of vacant residential lots throughout the neighborhood
- large older homes that are expensive for residents to maintain and heat
- attracting retail and services that accommodate needs of the residents
- capitalizing on the proximity to University Circle, the Cleveland Clinic and Rockefeller Park to match residents with jobs and to make the neighborhood a choice for those already working at these major employers
Vision. Promote the combination of economic development and education initiative resulting in jobs and improved quality of life for Hough residents. Among the development opportunities and initiatives proposed are the following:
- offer economic and entrepreneurial opportunities for alternative industries such as music and entertainment using the Agora entertainment complex on Euclid Avenue
- capitalize on and celebrate the neighborhood’s rich arts and cultural heritage through developments such as the League Park revitalization, development of an African-American Museum Complex, the little Africa development, and a monument remembering the Hough riots
- take advantage of educational resources to provide the type of education and training needed by youth (ex. Wilson Middle School which will relocate at East 55 th Street with a curriculum focused on safety, health and public administration)
- develop a community where youth activity and youth opportunities are the cornerstone for long term stability (4 kids foundation)
- clean abandoned and contaminated land and add greenspace
- capitalize on the presence of, and proximity to, educational, medical and cultural institutions in University Circle and create connections to the Hough neighborhood
- continue to make Hough a neighborhood of choice for residents seeking high end and market rate housing while creating affordable housing in appropriate locations
- insure that Hough becomes a center for job creation with both high and lower end employment opportunities
- develop the Upper Chester neighborhood to capture existing employees and future employees of nearby institutions in University Circle and on Euclid Avenue
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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