Who decides what the best use of real estate is in a community? In Old Brooklyn, it appears the neighbors get to weigh in, especially in the case of the commercially zoned two-plus acre grassy patch in the midst of single-family homes on Memphis Ave.
Previously a community garden, a public elementary school, and a church, the property at 4103 Memphis Ave. has a long history of public use dating back to the early 1900s. For the last six years, Anthony Nunes Insana (together with his winery Vino Veritas) has been a sub-lessee of this property. The sublease is with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, but the city of Cleveland has owned the property since 2005 and can change its agreement with the county and any sublessees, says newly elected Ward 13 Council Member Kris Harsh. Despite objections from Insana, the city is moving forward in determining a new, public use for the property and is asking Old Brooklyn residents to weigh in.
An evolving parcel in an evolving neighborhood
As Old Brooklyn grows, the community is thinking strategically about the two-acre lot. Interest in this parcel sparked as other development projects have gained headway in the area, including the multimillion dollar revamp of the corner of Memphis and Pearl Roads, which is home to the historic Pearl Road United Methodist Church and St. Luke’s.
The Memphis Ave. lot has changed over the years, too. For about 80 years, it was home to Memphis Elementary School. The school, which was built around 1914, stood until its demolition in the mid 1990s. The city of Cleveland purchased the property in 1996 and sold it to a local church group, Archangel Crusade of Love, in 1997.
The city repurchased the property in 2005, but created a lease agreement with Cuyahoga Land Bank to operate the property as greenspace. In describing its role as lessee on its website, the Cuyahoga Land Bank said the city “continues to support quality community gardens and green space for its citizens.” Before the winery moved in, the property was an urban farm. Rising Harvest Farm was established there in 2012 “as a sustainable urban farming system serving the local community; creating employment and educational opportunities; improving the availability of healthy food; and supporting Cleveland’s green efforts,” the land bank said on its website.
The winery promised continued use of community gardens and public access and received permits to build a fence, barn, and greenhouse in 2014. But many neighborhood residents have complained that the garden is not always accessible or well-maintained, and the greenhouse was recently torn down. Amid rising community complaints about noise and lack of community access, “there is a general consensus that the land is not at its highest and best use,” said Council Member Harsh.
Old Brooklyn is growing
While the neighborhood’s relationship with the Memphis Ave. lot has been evolving, so has Old Brooklyn itself. Sensing increased public interest in major redevelopment of the Memphis Ave. and Pearl Road corner, the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation (OBCDC) gathered input through an online digital survey and in-person meetings and recorded responses from 275 people. According to OBCDC’s December meeting minutes, they reached out to ”members of city council, city planning, residents and business owners, to get as much perspective as possible to inform the process.”
The surveyed residents’ priorities included bringing in new businesses and activating the corridor, adaptive re-use, and developing the corner into “a signature feature, signaling change/investment, and sparking more development/investment in the neighborhood.”
This interest in revamping Old Brooklyn to attract investors and developers is “a really big deal,” Harsh told The Land. “Whenever you invest millions of dollars in a corner, other people want to be around that. Money is like a magnet. When you invest money, money comes in.”
The OBCDC staff summarized their interest in “much needed investment into middle neighborhoods like Old Brooklyn, with projects that demonstrate a transformational potential.” This work is slow and ongoing; the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation took possession of the abandoned church in January of 2020 and selected architecture and development firm Desmone in December of 2022. Desmone’s winning proposal stated, “Our hope is the development of Memphis and Pearl will be a catalyst that ignites a rebirth for the business corridor.”
Deciding what’s next for the Memphis Ave. greenspace
With this development underway in Old Brooklyn, there is renewed interest in the Vinos Veritas-occupied lot, which is the largest chunk of undeveloped city-owned land, said Harsh. This is an exciting time for Old Brooklyn, the largest neighborhood in Cleveland, as it is finally seeing money being invested for the first time in 50 years, he said. In Old Brooklyn, there are only a few parcels that are city-owned, which makes this grassy lot a gem of possibilities.
Harsh focused the February ward meeting solely on 4103 Memphis Ave. because he “really wanted to know what the neighbors felt would be the best use of that space.” A dog park, community garden, farmer’s market, food trucks, and a gazebo amongst the mature trees were some of the projects suggested for the parcel. Meeting coordinators recorded resident ideas on giant post-its. The post-it designated to record nonprofit ideas was filled quickly, and the post-it for profitable ideas lagged.
Despite some confusion among the public over the current lease terms, a clear consensus was established: The neighbors value green space over potentially more profitable development options. Singular calls for veteran housing, senior housing, and even a new 2nd district police headquarters were squashed by the overwhelming majority expressed by loud applause for maintaining the current green curb appeal of the lot, although not necessarily with the current tenant.
Ben Franklin Community Garden, food start-ups, and the Saturday morning market are all vying for a piece of the pie as this parcel potentially opens up for public use, says Harsh. Each of these uses would preserve the current green appeal, and potentially appease neighbors looking for better access to the space. Although the parcel is wedged between the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Brookside Reservation, both of which offer greenspace, neighbors argued that the view of this grassy lot with mature trees is good for property values and the community.
Harsh summarized, “They were pretty clear, that was very helpful to me… so green space it is!”
It’s still early in the process of making the next greenspace at 4103 Memphis Ave. a reality. Interim steps, for example, may include “downzoning” the property from commercial zoning to give it legal protection as a greenspace. Another option under consideration is dividing the property into multiple public uses. In any event, said Harsh, this effort to maximize both property use and public access to it will mean ongoing conversation with the community.
Learn more about Old Brooklyn’s plans through the OBCDC website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Find contact information for Council Member Kris Harsh here.
Hopeanne Wohlers was a participant in The Land’s community journalism program.
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