Online petition drive supporting Shaker Square in midst of foreclosure nears 1,000

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The line of stakeholders concerned about the fate of Shaker Square continues to grow.

The latest groundswell of support for the embattled local landmark — now in court-ordered receivership and facing foreclosure — comes in the form of an online petition at Change.org, entitled “S.O.S. — Save Our Square.” Early this week, the petition was approaching its initial goal of 1,000 signers.

“We’ve never had a response like this,” Shaker Square Alliance Director and petition organizer Charles “Chip” Bromley said at the group’s April 1 online Zoom meeting.

“We want to let our elected officials, the judge and the receiver know that this is not an asset that’s going to be thrown away. This is the future of a neighborhood,” Bromley said.

The petition voices community concerns to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Ashley Kilbane, who has the ultimate authority to award the property to an eligible buyer, as well as to the current receiver, John A. Rothschild Jr., who has the ability to make recommendations.

“The iconic and historic Shaker Square shopping district is in deep financial distress,” the petition states, citing the fact that more than $10 million was owed last year on the square to bank mortgage holders, who then filed a foreclosure action in December.

While an affiliate of The Coral Company was sued by the banks, Coral CEO Peter Rubin said after last month’s meeting that the company does not own or have any financial stake in Shaker Square.

“It is true that Coral has managed the square since 2004, but we have done so on behalf of a private ownership group of local institutions and investors,” Rubin said.

The petition states that Rothschild will handle the day-to-day operations of the Square for the time being.

“However, if an individual or entity with the funds to purchase the Square makes a bid, it could be sold to them, regardless of their understanding of the property or commitment to the community,” the petition adds.

“We call on these authorities to only award the sale to a buyer with the knowledge, experience and commitment necessary to overcome the challenges facing Shaker Square and ensure a thriving future for this unique community asset.”

CNP steps up

In helping to mobilize that effort, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) CEO and President Tania Menesse said the petition is an important part of demonstrating grassroots support that the community doesn’t want to see the property go to auction.

“Among all of the stakeholders, the main focus has to be ensuring through this foreclosure process that Shaker Square winds up in responsible hands” rather than with an out-of-town buyer, Menesse said, adding that the long-term structure would likely need to be a public-private partnership.

Although relatively new at the helm of the nonprofit CNP, Menesse lives in the area and served as the Shaker Heights economic development director for eight years, then as Cleveland’s community development director from April 2019 until last October.

CNP also has two wholly owned subsidiaries that could provide assistance: Village Capital Corp., “providing real estate financing to catalytic community projects;” and New Village Corp., “leveraging resources and providing technical expertise.”

At the same time, Bianca Butts, neighborhood services coordinator with another nonprofit — Burten, Bell Carr Development — had held two separate meetings with Shaker Square merchants as of April 1, with further plans to meet with residents.

Rothschild is also willing to have a capital-needs assessment conducted to look at longer-term repairs that could factor into Shaker Square’s overall price.

It will all take some time, with Menesse noting that offers are “ideally” put forward within about six months. But with a capital-needs assessment in the works, that time frame may be “optimistic.”

Cleveland city officials are also sending out inspectors to check for potential commercial building violations that could affect that assessment.

Meanwhile, the online petition will be up for at least a couple more weeks, Bromley said Monday (April 5).

Best, worst case scenarios

Responding to a question from former Cuyahoga County commissioner, former state representative and current Larchmere resident Mary Boyle, Menesse said the involvement of Cleveland Playhouse Square officials at this point would mainly be for property-assessment purposes.

Bromley and Cuyahoga County Affordable Housing Chair Phil Star noted that Cleveland’s potential $541 million in American Rescue Plan stimulus funding could not be coming along at a better time, with Star pointing out that some of the “public domain” areas around Shaker Square could qualify for funding.

The petition, along with retired Cleveland Planning Director and Cleveland Heights resident Bob Brown, also mentioned the quandary that resulted from the Severance Town Center being put up at auction nearly five years ago, when it sold for $10.5 million to an out-of-town buyer.

“Other cases from nearby communities demonstrate how the wrong buyer for such a central community asset can create lasting harm,” the petition states. “Within a short period of time, much of Severance’s value was destroyed through neglect and lack of investment.

“Simple interventions could have made a big difference for this important property,” the petition added.

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