Description. The neighborhood takes its name from the intersection of Lorain Avenue and Rocky River Drive, which was called Kamm?s Corner in honor of Oswald Kamm, who opened a grocery store there in 1875 and later a post office. But it was the establishment in 1898 of Puritas Springs Park that was to make Kamm?s Corners a popular destination for the next 60 years and the hub of the area known as West Park. It was here that the street car and interurban lines converged and opened the way for substantial development after World War I. The neighborhood was annexed by the City of Cleveland in 1923. It is predominantly single-family residences with retail corridors along Lorain Avenue and Rocky River Drive.
Assets. Among the neighborhood’s most significant assets are:
- some of the strongest residential areas in the city
- its proximity to the Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Reservation
- Gunning Park Recreation Center on Puritas Road
- Fairview General Hospital located adjacent to the Kamm’s Corners retail area
- easy access to rapid transit stations in the eastern part of the neighborhood
Challenges. Among the challenges faced by the Kamms Corners neighborhood today are:
- arrest signs of disinvestment in retail corridor on Lorain Avenue
- control advancement of more retail uses on Rocky River Drive south of Lorain
Vision. The Kamm?s Corners neighborhood has maintained a vitality and desirability in its residential properties for many years. However, the commercial areas have been in need of a renaissance, which is currently underway. The following initiatives are contributing to this rebirth:
- strong marketing and application of the City of Cleveland’s Storefront Renovation Program has encouraged many property owners to reinvest in their commercial buildings
- implementation of the Kamm’s Corners Business Revitalization District has fostered a more aesthetically-appropriate commercial environment
- the Kamm’s Streetscape Improvement Project is expected to generate even more excitement and investment activity along Lorain Avenue, once all funding has been identified
- bike connections across the Lorain Avenue bridge to the Rocky River Reservation entrance will connect the neighborhood to the existing bike network in the Rocky River valley
- the promotion of residential developments along Rocky River Drive south of Lorain Avenue (with one or two retail nodes strengthened) is meant to keep the bulk of new retail development in the neighborhood along Lorain 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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