Puritas Longmead Is a Great Place to Live and Work

Cleveland's West Side is home to the Longmead Puritas Neighborhood, also known as Bellaire Puritas. It makes up almost a quarter of Cleveland's economic base. It has an exciting future ahead of it for several reasons: it's close proximity to NASA and Hopkins International Airport; it's already existing rail and commuter rail lines; and it's fabulous newly constructed and 'to be constructed' public schools. And the neighborhood's vibrant shopping areas enhance it's live ability even more.

First a Bit of History: The area started out as a 'railroad town' so to speak, but became a hub of industry. Most of the areas housing development occurred after World War Two, so unlike some of the other West Side neighborhoods, the general housing stock is a tad newer. Northeast Ohio is known for it's inventors and entrepreneurs: in 1898 John E. Gooding is credited with bringing the first horse drawn and then steam powered carousels to Ohio. They were featured in Puritas Springs Park which in 1898 was THE place to go! We aren't talking small here, this amusement park featured: a roller rink, fast rides like the Cyclone Roller Coaster, a dance hall and ball fields! It was on a trolley line so many Northeast Ohioans who had newly discovered the term leisure time (due to the Industrial Revolution) enjoyed their families at Puritas Springs Park.

Three aspects of this community make it a fantastic place to live. 1) Affordable housing; 2) Industry; 3) Schools

The housing stock runs the gamut in market value. You can get a classic home, maybe a Cleveland bungalow with a spacious front porch and old world features like leaded glass china cabinets in the dining room with a window seat between; there is an abundance of these beautiful homes. You can also get new construction. Puritas Park town homes is a fabulous development with multi-level living areas, vaulted ceilings, and a close proximity to the Airport; in fact I have sold to flight attendants who find them a great place to live and less than a fifteen minute commute to work! There is also an oasis of bungalows built in 2000 called Julia Court, with tax abatement exceeding 8 years left on the community. It is on an idyllic section of W. 145th street that dead ends and abuts a meadowland/marshland that is not only never to be built on, but has recently been found to be on a migratory bird path for some distinctive and apparently rare birds!

I had the delightful opportunity to talk with two creative and interesting members of the Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC): Bryan  Gillooly, Executive Director, and Rachel Napolitano, Community Organizer. Their enthusiasm about the neighborhood was contagious, and I wanted to share some of our conversation with you. Bryan and Rachel are the ones who filled me in on the migratory bird information. (Look for more on that in future posts.)

BPDC does a lot of work to assist the neighborhood. They run a computer learning center for residents to improve job skills; they work with WIRENET to operate and fund a training program for future machinists (more on that later too).They help residents with loans in order to make home repairs. Not just keeping up but enhancing the neighborhood is their goal, and believe me they are enthusiastic about it.

What had them smiling and proud when I was talking with them revolves around neighborhood schools. Riverside Elementary School has already reopened and it is a fabulous structure. Now in the works? Three completely new elementary schools: Artemus Ward (I am featuring their latest 'school report card' published by the State of Ohio and made available to the public), R.G. Jones, and Garfield. I was excited to see the architectural renderings and believe me they are fabulous. I particularly loved Garfield's plans with an almost Jetson like design. The goal is to allow students from all grades up to High School to learn in one building, with separate entrances for different grade levels. We will be planning some public open houses to talk about these schools, if you have not already attended the School Boards meetings. You are going to be very impressed and probably wanting to get on the bandwagon and move to the neighborhood. John Marshall High School is also up for renovations. We know the grand old Art Deco building has an elegant beauty. By the time all of this is completed, four public schools in the neighborhood will be new or updated!

The BPDC has also built and rehabbed neighborhood homes. Their Longmead Townhomes (complete with their own day care center) are selling out fast, all have a 15 year tax abatement with very pretty and efficient floor plans and all the modern amenities.

Two more reasons to live here (if you need more after all this!): The Thriving Commercial Districts and The Parks.

The Bellaire Puritas Neighborhood allows you to live where you shop, work and play! The area parks and walking trails are beautiful. Crossburn Park has been recently revamped with a cool playground area. There is also McGowan Park, Halloran Park (with it's ice rink) and Gunning Recreation Center (with a fabulous pool). And of course this neighborhood is extremely close to the Rocky River Metroparks which is breathtakingly beautiful in itself.

Most area residents shop for all their grocery, pharmacy and specialty needs right in the neighborhood. We even have neighborhood hardware store there, Torch Hardware, where you can find everything you need, including the knowledge of how to do something with what you buy! It is a treasured neighborhood resource. Complete with it's own live in cat! The entire Lorain Avenue Corridor is a unique shopping experience where you can find antiques, a diverse array of food markets and restaurants (everything from Middle Eastern, Latino, Vietnamese, German to fast food), a shoe repair shop (how many of them are around anymore) and everything in between.

You can purchase a home in this neighborhood for well under $100,000, or you can spend more. There are two zip codes representing Bellaire Puritas: 44111 and 44135. Using statistics provided to me through our Northern Ohio Multiple Listing Service (their Third Quarter of 2006 Report): the average sale price on both zipcodes together is about $94,000. I took a photo of a home on Julia Court (pretty bungalow pictured above). These homes are listed on the market in the $200,000 range. The styles and price point choices are yours. Either way, this is a great place to live, work and shop.

As a Realtor® I love to sell this neighborhood, because it represents the diversity, history and livability of what I think cities and neighborhoods are all about.

If You Don't Shop Locally You Could Be Cutting Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face

Are we all guilty of not supporting our community stores? I know many of us who are active in the blogging world frequently comment on how we like the sense of community we all have here; it's important to us. Now most of us on Realtown Blogs  are involved in the Real Estate profession in one way or another (I am a Realtor®), so we also hear clients talk about their sense of community and we help them find communities in which to live. My take on it is that a Sense of Place, a Sense of Community is important to us, no matter what our jobs, be we Firemen, Lawyers, Teachers, or Shopkeepers! That last category is near and dear to my heart.

What got me going on this topic was my recent order of a blogging book. First instinct was to go to a famous on line bookstore and yes it's a fabulous site. And yes, I am out of books to read, and I get cranky when that happens, so I really don't want to wait too long to get this book - which I could have in several days if I get it from this famous on line bookstore. But then I thought about it again. Supporting my community (which I consider to be all of Northeast Ohio) is important, so why not buy it locally? I went to such a place, had a great conversation with the bookstore owner, who is ordering it for me and I should have it Wednesday or Thursday. Not too shabby. If I am really in book withdrawal between now and then I can go to the library!

Now maybe you are all rolling your eyes. Is she nuts? Well yes, but not about this. In order for our communities to thrive and keep making us feel like we belong somewhere, our shopkeepers need to stay in business! Let me throw out this theory: that without vibrant shopping areas communities die. Without vibrant shopping areas, no one wants to live there, the schools suffer, jobs suffer, the housing stock suffers. And yes I know, none of us has as much free time as we would like. I guess I'm not asking that we do ALL of our shopping in the neighborhoods, but I am saying, please think about it!

We have tons of cool places to shop here in Cleveland: The Lorain Station Historic District, is a long, long stretch of shops covering every kind of item imaginable. Ten Thousand Villages is run by volunteers and has several Cleveland locations. When you purchase gifts from them (and you Realtors® this is a fabulous place for closing gifts as well), you are supporting Fair Trade small business and craftspeople from all over the world. As well as your community!

As for that book I ordered, one of my favorite bookstores doesn't even have a website: Appletree Books in Cleveland Heights. But I have linked here some reviews that show you why people love it so much. Now if you DON'T live in Ohio, you might be tempted to not look at this link. I'm asking you to do it even if you live in New York or Idaho -- The sentiments expressed in these reviews, dollars to doughnuts, reflect how people in YOUR state feel about their independently owned bookstores too. I would venture to say that bookstores help me feel more lilke I have a wonderful Sense of Place than just about any other kind of store.

We all love our Internet (and thank you Al Gore for inventing it), our blogging, our websites. And yes, it is possible to develop, through a blogging community, a Sense of Community that we all would never want to live without. I'm just asking that you pause and think about how valuable your community is to you. And whenever possible, please support the shopkeepers within that community wherever you live, so your own hometown shopping districts can continue to thrive and prosper.

My name is Carole Cohen and I approve this message :-)

You know a book is good when you smile, laugh, are intrigued and can't wait to turn the page.  That is how I felt when I read Casey Daniel's latest book, Don of the Dead. And what makes it even better is that she is a local writer featuring Cleveland in the book, with a huge focus on Little Italy.  This is the first in a series of books she will write called The Pepper Martin series.  I'm going to include an excerpt from her own website to give you a clue (did you like the pun?) into her enthusiasm about this series, her background and what is coming up next.  Write fast, Casey!

CASEY DANIELS

• Home
• Don of the Dead
• About the Author
• What is next?
• E-Mail Casey
• Message Board
• Tips

 

A couple years ago I applied for a part-time job as a tour guide at a historic cemetery not far from where I live. Why? Well, aside from the fact that the job would force me to step away from my computer and remind me that there was a life beyond writing (even in a place where just about everybody was dead), I love cemeteries.

---

No, really. I mean it. I really love cemeteries.

Think about it. A cemetery--I mean a really good old cemetery, not these new “memorial parks” where every headstone is flat to the ground and every one of them looks the same--is really a museum without walls. Take a peek into any cemetery that’s more than sixty or so years old and you’re bound to see interesting architecture, sculpture and art. There are stories, too, everywhere you look. One memorial can give you a glimpse into generations of a family’s history. Another might suggest tragedy. Still others speak of undying love and precious memories.

Is it any wonder that a writer’s imagination is bound to take flight in a cemetery?
That’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t get the job, by the way, but as I drove home from the interview, I did get the idea for Pepper Martin, a cemetery tour guide whose enthusiasm for cemeteries does not rival my own. After all, what could be more perfect that an amateur sleuth surrounded by dead people? And if she just so happened to be able and see and talk to some of them, all the better!

I learned to love mysteries early thanks to my dad, a Cleveland Police detective who enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories and spent his days off searching for stolen cars. Often on those trips, I was in the back seat and to this day, I have Dad to thank for my knowledge of some less-than-savory parts of the city. Later, I read my way through every mystery story I could get my hands on. Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle are still among my favorites.

I have a degree in English, experience as a journalist and writing teacher, and lots of ideas for more Pepper Martin mysteries. When I’m not writing, I’m usually with my family and our two dogs, Ernie, an adorable Airedale pup, and Oscar, a rescued Jack Russell who spends far too much time watching TV. I enjoy knitting, gardening and of course, stomping through cemeteries in search of history, stories and inspiration.

For More information, or to send Casey a message, check out her website at: http://www.caseydaniels.com

 

Thinking Outside the Box is the name of a Panel Discussion to be held at the City Club of Cleveland next week.  This is the last panel in a four part series on revitalizing Cleveland's housing strategy for it's neighborhoods.  What a timely topic!  One thing we could use is on-going, creative synergy on revitalizing the neighborhoods in our hometown! Have opinions on what you'd like to see happen? More greenspace? More affordable housing? More housing near public transportation?  Or would you just like to hear what others are thinking?

The City Club is one of Cleveland's treasures; a bastion of free speech and lunch meetings all year long that are sure to pique your interest. For more information, or to sign up to attend the lunch, go to the City Club website at http://www.cityclub.org