Saturday, May 18, 2013
After buying the property last year, city officials say the selling the home has been a bit of a challenge.
After buying a former "burdensome" boarding house on Grace Avenue last year, the city may consider demolishing it. That news comes after the city has been unable to sell the home. City officials recently told Lakewood Patch that the property, as an empty lot, may be offered to neighbors. According to LoveLakewood.com, a potential buyer approached the city last year with a plan to turn the home into a halfway house, but that proposal was turned down. The city recent dropped its asking price to $43,000, but the rehab could cost more than $100,000. The city’s building and housing director Dru Siley said that the high cost of fixing up the home makes it “very unattractive to potential investors,” according to LoveLakewood, adding doubt that …
41.483771
-81.803599
1446 Mars Ave, Lakewood, OH
/articles/city-may-demolish-former-boarding-house-on-grace-avenue
/locations/9399057
41.48358
-81.78034
1436 Grace Ave, Lakewood, OH
/articles/city-may-demolish-former-boarding-house-on-grace-avenue
/locations/9399058
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Those interested in planting a bike rack in front of their business are encouraged to apply with the city’s department of planning and development by May 3.
The city began to roll out its Bike Master Plan last year; officials are now looking to expand the program to more businesses. The whole idea is to establish bicycling as a “main means of transportation” in Lakewood. That means that residents can expect to see more of those U-shaped, blue bike racks dotting the city’s commercial corridors — with an emphasis on Madison Avenue. The city rolled out its first run of the bike rack program last year, with about 20 participating businesses. This year, there will be around two-dozen new racks in the city — at about $100 cost to businesses. The city will pick up the tab for shipping and installation. Businesses are encouraged to act fast: the city will accept the first 25 qualifying applicants by …
Friday, April 26, 2013
It’s been six years since the ordinance has been reviewed. Following the recent decision on the fate of the Heideloff property, the planning commission thinks it’s time for a second look.
Following the recent decision on the Heideloff property, the Lakewood Planning Commission wants to have another look at the city’s historic preservation ordinance. No changes to the ordinance are proposed, said Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development. “After the historic designation discussion about the Heideloff property, the planning commission wanted to put the ordinance on the docket as a discussion item to discuss any questions they have about the ordinance,” he said. “There were some concerns about ambiguity in the ordinance. “They’re going to begin that discussion.” Siley added that the planning commission had some questions about who could nominate a property and what determines whether a property should be …
41.49359
-81.78528
13474 Edgewater Dr, Lakewood, OH
/articles/planning-commission-to-revisit-city-s-historic-preservation-ordinance
/locations/9314712
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Once the message is delivered to Lakewood City Hall, it’s shared with the appropriate department — think building, housing, police or public works.
Got a busted up sidewalk? Notice a building falling apart? Or do you want to report that your neighbors’ unkempt lawn looks like the Amazon? There’s an “app” for that. With the city’s new “myLakewood” app, residents with smartphones can take a photo of an issue around town and notify the city. The entire process takes less than a minute. The system uses GIS mapping to locate the issue. Once the message is delivered to Lakewood City Hall, it’s shared with the appropriate department — think building, housing, police or public works. The app, which didn’t cost taxpayers a dime, is also free to download with an Android or an iPhone. Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development, called the app a “citizen engagement tool.” “Often …
Friday, February 22, 2013
The home at 1214 Gladys Avenue will likely be demolished after the property was deemed a nuisance under city ordiance.
A Lakewood man appealed the city’s recent decision to condemn his Gladys Avenue home after building and housing officials determined it to be a safety hazard. And on Thursday, the city’s board of building standards denied his appeal. “It is likely the city will have to demolish the home,” said Dru Siley, the city’s director of building and housing. Last month, the city of Lakewood declared the home at 1214 Gladys Avenue a “nuisance property” after some serious structural flaws were found. The walls are bowing out. The rear addition is detaching and falling from the home. In one night, the roof collapsed after a structural beam in the basement buckled. Those are just a few of the reasons for the city's nuisance declaration. “We’ve got kids …
41.489503
-81.801428
1214 Gladys Ave, Lakewood, OH
/articles/owner-of-condemned-home-loses-appeal
/locations/8863044
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
City officials expected to present the revised plan to Lakewood City Council this spring.
It’s been 20 years since Lakewood’s had a new Community Vision. In 1993, the most important issues facing the city were image, housing, economic development and physical environment. While those issues are still important, city officials set out last year to update Lakewood's Community Vision, a document that outlines the state of the city and provides an outlook for the future. The issues that were highlighted for the new vision include safety, mobility, housing, education & culture, community wellness and commercial development. And this time around, city officials hope to put the document into practical use. The city's planning commission recently reviewed — and OK'd — the new document. Lakewood City Council is expected to vote on …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The fast-food restaurant at Madison Avenue and W. 117th Street eyes major overhaul to the property.
The floor plan will largely remain the same at the Burger King on Madison Avenue and W. 117th Street. But that’s about it. Officials from the burger chain are planning a major renovation at the property at 11900 Madison Avenue — inside and out. The owner of the restaurant, Cleveland-based Franchise Operations, recently submitted plans to Lakewood City Hall. The city’s architectural board of review will hear the company's proposal at its Jan. 10 meeting. Plans include changes to the entrances, interior walls and drive-thru windows. According to the proposal, the shingled roof would be replaced a metal, seamed roof. New paint, signs and graphics are also planned. On the inside of the building, the proposal calls for an update to the …
41.47686
-81.76972
Burger King
11790 Madison Ave, Lakewood, OH
/articles/burger-king-eyes-major-facelift
1081410
/locations/8504128
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Community meetings wrapped up at the University of Akron, Lakewood campus on Wednesday.
In 1993, the most important issues facing the city were image, housing, economic development and physical environment. A lot has changed in Lakewood since then. While those issues are still important, city officials set out earlier this year to update Lakewood's Community Vision, a document that outlines the state of the city and provides an outlook for the future. This time around, city officials hope to put the document into practical use. About 25 people attended the city’s final workshop to update the plan at the University of Akron Lakewood campus on Wednesday night. The issues that were highlighted for the 2012 document include safety, mobility, housing, education & culture, community wellness and commercial development. “The process…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The position — in the city’s planning and development department — will pay between $46,000 and $65,000.
During the past two years, the city’s department of planning and development has been somewhat under-staffed. And with a reported $60 million in development on Detroit Avenue alone during that time, the workload hasn’t gotten any lighter. On Monday night, city council OK’d the creation of the new ‘city planner’ position. Two years ago, the city merged the director positions for the departments of planning and development with building and housing. Dru Siley, who was named the head of both departments, said his previous post (of assistant director of planning and development) went unfilled for two years. Another project specialist post wasn’t filled after a retirement in the department. “We had an opportunity to consider how our …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
City follows up on its comprehensive Residential Housing Survey. Of the 1,741 homes in Lakewood that “needed work,” almost half of them were improved over the summer.
Corrrection: 858 homes were reported improved. The previous version of this story had the wrong number of houses. After the city finished up the work of its comprehensive Residential Housing Survey earlier this year, the residents who received notices in their mailboxes began the work of fixing up their homes. The result? Of the 1,741 homes in Lakewood that “needed work,” almost half of them were improved over the summer. Most of the issues were minor: peeling paint, cracked driveways, broken fences. The updated housing survey map (to the right) shows hundreds of color-speckled dots on a satellite image of Lakewood telling the story of the current state of the city’s aging housing stock. Red is bad, green is good. There’s now more green …
Brandon Scullion
8:04 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
This sort of project is a dream of mine. At this point I still have to focus on smaller scale home purchases but if I had the means this home would be fully restored. Perhaps if they sold it for a dollar I could do it but that of course is not in the cards. more ›