OHIO CITY, Ohio — It may only be made up of a few blocks, but the neighborhood known as Hingetown and the community it has fostered have landed on the map as a Cleveland destination for small businesses and families alike.
The hub of the neighborhood is largely centered around Detroit and Church Avenues along West 28th and 29th streets. There, passersby will see outdoor eateries and vibrant murals, small businesses and colorful art installations. But at the center of the community is an old firehouse, the spot where the development of the area sprouted from.
“When we came upon this firehouse that had been vacant for five years, we said, ‘this is awesome, this fits the bill,’ and it still had three poles,” said Graham Veysey, neighborhood developer for Hingetown, and a proud resident of the community. “So we fell in love with the history of the building, but also the potential for everything around it.”
In 2011, Veysey and his wife, Marika Shiori-Clark, who has a background in architecture, moved into the firehouse, aiming to use it as a workplace and living space hybrid. Immediately, they were struck by its historic value, built in the 1800s and serving as a cornerstone of the then-City of Ohio.
That area of West 29th not only served as a form of civic center in the area, but it carries its own rich history for the LGBTQ+ community.
The transformation of the firehouse began, the ambitious couple bringing their unique vision to an otherwise unused building.
Today, the red brick building houses a number of bustling businesses, including popular Northeast Ohio coffee shop Rising Star Coffee Roasters, florist Urban Orchid, and James Beard nominated Larder Delicatessen and Bakery. On the second floor, Shioiri-Clark and Veysey still have offices.
But the two quickly realized, revamping the firehouse would just be the start of what turned into a neighborhood development project.
“When we moved into the firehouse in 2011, there was a real need to add some additional vitality after some years of disinvestment,” Veysey said. “And when you look at just even the different building stock that had either gotten demolished or neglected, you know, we were excited to come in here and do our part. But it was really on the shoulders of generations of people that had built these buildings in the1800s, in the 1900s. And so we feel like we’re just stewards of this particular era.”
While the idea of transforming an area, blocks at a time, may have been daunting to some, for the couple, it was an opportunity.
“It felt like a place where somebody like me who was not coming in as a very wealthy person, but was coming in as a person with a lot of enthusiasm and ideas could actually kind of sink my teeth in and make a difference in the neighborhood,” said Shioiri-Clark, who grew up in California.
From the firehouse, the couple looked across the street to the Striebinger Block, built in 1919 by Maggie Striebinger. It would soon become their next project, one they would work on with Fred and Laura Bidwell.
“The Striebinger block was being used, but there was, you know, I would say maybe half of it was empty storefronts and empty apartments, the other half was occupied already” Shioiri-Clark said. “Several different kinds of warehouses that were empty then that, have now since been purchased by other people and redeveloped into other buildings and things like that.”
Standing on the sidewalk and looking up at the building, Shiori-Clark pointed out the smaller storefronts in the block, what she described as a fitting amount of space for a small business or entrepreneur who didn’t need thousands of square feet. While the vision was there, the couple quickly learned there was work to be done on the building, with a structural engineer informing them they would need to rebuild from the inside out.
Construction done, the block now houses both small businesses as well as apartments on the second floor. The building is a mix of newcomers, like home goods shop Him & His and coastal clothing boutique Shore Society, alongside tenants who were there when the couple remodeled the block, such as LGBTQ+ boutique the Dean Rufus House of Fun and salon Blow Hair & Nail Studio.
From there, the couple bought the print shop, dating back to the early 1800s, now home to more small businesses and apartments. They were also intrigued by the surface lot next door, and the potential for a new project there. Veysey said they teamed up with additional partners like Brent Zimmerman to build Church + State, two multi-story apartment buildings linked together by a walkway, with retail space on the first floors.
“I love thinking about ‘how can you use this space in a different way? How could you use it in a way that would create interesting public spaces and amenities for a community?’” asked Shiori-Clark as she walked through the neighborhood.
Some local businesses 3News spoke with described the area as one that housed a smattering of storefronts and warehouses that were empty or in disrepair sitting alongside occupied businesses prior to the couple’s arrival. While the couple is often credited with transforming the area, Veysey and Shiori-Clark insist it was a team effort.
Fred and Laura Bidwell worked with them on the Striebinger block, but also bought the Transformer Station and the Van Rooy Coffee building, converting the former into a contemporary art museum and the latter into a space for creatives and artists, such as SPACES gallery.
“It was rough and ready, and the neighborhood had great bones,” Fred Bidwell said. “We could see that, but really what convinced us was this beautiful building.”
The Transformer Station was once an electrical station, built in 1924 to power the trolley line downtown, according to Bidwell. Now, it houses artist exhibitions, and has a unique partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The Bidwells opened the museum in 2013, and describe the neighborhood they see today as one where people live, work, and have fun.
“I think one thing that has been the most dramatic change for us since we bought our first property here is dogs and strollers,” he said. “You just see moms with strollers, people walking dogs day and night, and the sidewalks are crowded.”
At Urban Orchid down the street, Jeff Zelmer and Brandon Sitler have found a home for their floral business inside the firehouse. They were among the first small businesses to take a chance on Veysey and Shiori-Clark’s Hingetown vision.
“Graham came up to us with this crazy idea to open up in this new area called Hingetown, which we didn’t know what he was talking about” Sitler said, laughing.
Zelmer and Sitler credit Veysey with helping support the businesses that moved into the neighborhood, businesses which would collaborate and host events together, creating a community of entrepreneurs and creatives.
“I don’t think Urban Orchid would be what it is right now if it hadn’t been for opening up in Hingetown,” Sitler said. “It’s crazy to think we went from five little shops on the corner to the mecca that it is right now.”
One of the newest additions to the neighborhood is Amba, a restaurant inspired by Indian cuisine, created by Doug Katz and Todd Thompson. Fittingly located on West 28th, in the building with the tiger mural, Veysey said he had been showing Katz spaces in Hingetown for years.
“Ohio City's just such a vibrant neighborhood right now, and it's so exciting to see how it has transformed from what it was to what it has become today,” said Thompson. “It's super exciting. We knew we really wanted to be in Hingetown in particular because of its proximity to downtown.”
For Thompson, Ohio City is familiar territory. He lived in the neighborhood in the 90s, but said when he was there, there weren’t as many businesses, and he described a lack of community feeling. Now, he sees a different story.
“It's really fun to see what, in particular, what Graham has done from starting from such a small space with the firehouse, and then to watch him take over a city block in such a positive way and put so much impetus into this neighborhood is really - it's amazing,” Thompson said. “And it's fun to be a part of it from that sense.”
Katz pointed out the passion he feels from other businesses in Hingetown, and said that sense of community made him want to be part of the neighborhood.
“When you see the vibrancy of Ohio City in general, and you think of joining a neighborhood that has such forward thought in terms of architecture, in terms of neighborhood, there's so many great plans happening in this neighborhood,” Katz said.
For Veysey and Shiori-Clark, the businesses who move in are crucial in creating a sense of community.
“Sure, we're neighborhood developers, but first and foremost, we're residents, and we’re neighbors,” Veysey said. “So to be able to support these businesses that, you know, we are excited to go to is a real important threshold for us as we're talking to folks.”
“I think that's the best part is that it kind of takes on a life of its own,” Shioiri-Clark said. “And you're just like, okay, great. We're kind of also just along for the ride.”
The latest eye-catching addition to Hingetown is City Goods at the Creative Hangars, a collection of local artisans and makers housed in a series of mental hangars, spearheaded by Sam Friedman and Liz Painter. Shiori-Clark said by far, this project is the one people have been most curious about.
Shiori-Clark and Veysey continue to work and live in the neighborhood, one which continues to grow as new businesses move in and they and their partners continue to create new concepts.
“There's such a passion for place from neighbors who have lived here for 40 years to neighbors who have lived here for four months, but having everybody in an urban environment together is a really beautiful thing,” Veysey said.
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