Drug Mart looking to have its way with Grace and Cohassett

[Justine Cooper]

Apparently it is a lower cost grocery store like Aldi's but it is owned by Giant Eagle and carries Giant Eagle brands. The "source" is an employee of Giant Eagle lol. It was news to me. For me that is too many stores and a lot of traffic near Garfield. Who in the world woud be excited about a Family Dollar store on the end of Grace?

[Myra Beckrest]

So there will be a Drug Mart directly next to Value World or is it Family Dollar? I'm getting confused.

It's a shame. I could use a Trader Joe's or a Meijer in my life!

[Justine Cooper]

Myra it SOUNDS like a Family Dollar is coming to the corner of Grace (?????) and the Drug Mart is moving to the next corner of Cohasset and ValueKing Grocery is moving to the old Drug Mart. If this is not correct I would love to be corrected because I feel so depressed thinking about that clusterF that certainly wasn't needed in Lakewood! If the good news of Drug Mart rebuilding was "fresh produce" for the east side, well then what do we need a low discount grocery store across the street for then? Yes a aTrader Joe's would have been amazing and needed and frequented in Lakewood. They might as well throw in a cell phone, check cashing and pawn shop next to these stores. All surrouning our new middle school. How sad.

Keep on developing the middle of Lakewood (although wing chains wouldn't have been my vision for downtown lakewood) and let the rest become discount stores? Someone's vision is so not what Lakewood really is. And all around our innovative schools. And children.

[Grace O'Malley]

Low budget stores are signs of low budget neighborhoods. It sends a message to outsiders.

If this city thinks a Value World thrift store opening is a coup, then I'm about ready to give up on Lakewood's leadership.

[Justine Cooper]

Amen to that. When a business or a person says "maybe I will leave Lakewood" Jim, maybe it is not a "card" or empty threat. Maybe people who love Lakewood for all its wonderful uniqueness and progressivness are thinking "it is time to start thinking about leaving Lakewood" because we don't want our children walking around their neighborhood which has become discount stores surrounding their schools. Maybe people who were willing to pay high property taxes and continue to put money into their old homes are losing pride in their neighborhood when THREE discount stores are being put up around some of the oldest and most beautiful streets in Lakewood and once again, surround our children's school. That we pushed levies for. That I take sick time at work to volunteer at when can.

It is not a card Jim, that kind of "development" has me wondering where I want to raise my kids with more green and less discount stores. sorry.

[Bill Call]

Low budget stores are signs of low budget neighborhoods. It sends a message to outsiders.

If this city thinks a Value World thrift store opening is a coup, then I'm about ready to give up on Lakewood's leadership.

The Mayor and Council do a good job managing the day to day operations of the City but to some extent I think they have made the unconcious decision to manage the decline rather than engineer a renaisance.

City leadership with some imagination would have pursued a more aggressive develpment plan at Rockport, built on the success of Rosewood, pushed through the Clifton Plan and fought the County's homeless resettlement plan. Instead they have remained motionless or worse. I say or worse because of a comment made by one memeber of council a couple of years ago. He said having a lot of section 8 housing was a good thing because that made the City elligible for more federal tax dollars. A guess that's a vision afterall.

Of course that begs the questions: Who pays the bills? Who buys from local vendors? Who eats at the local restaurants?

In a City like Denver or Nashville the area around Grace would be called the Victorian District and City leaders would be doing all in their power to preserve what they have and build on what they have. Here in Lakewood no one at City Hall seems to care. I'm sure some at City hall would strongly object to that characterization but caring doesn't mean saying I care, it means being proactive and aggressive in preservation and development.

Of course all of that takes money. I wonder what could have been done with the $10 million the City spent on the fire department overtime scam?

[Myra Beckrest]

Earlier this year while house-hunting, my husband and I were looking on Alameda. I remember thinking what a shame the top of the street looked like. The water division building and a Tire store. I guess I'm a dreamer, because I don't get it. Four streets with some of the most beautiful homes in Lakewood and their entrances ways look like fodder. Like the great idea for a McDonald's at the top of Arthur... It's amazing to me. I'm sorry if I'm insulting anyone, I don't mean to, but I keep seeing all of these great revitalization plans that never come to fruition, and in their place we get discount stores.

I don't get it.

[Justine Cooper]

Bill the fact that I agree with you more and more scares me a little and as long as I don't have to defend teachers with you I will vote you into City Hall! I know at the end of the day that you care about the whole.

Myra,
You are not insulting anyone except the "visionaries" destroying our neighborhood. When I have a friend visit me from an affluent neighborhood, and yes some make comments alluding to them being better than a Lakewoodite, it never ceases to amaze me how impressed they are with the historic houses. Last week my friend walked around commenting on the built ins, the woodwork (ours is quite humble compared to many), the double staircase, the window seat, the front porch...she mostly loved the front porch. She asked why the new builders don't build like this. You can't replace what we have in Lakewood. And you can't go back to get it once it is erased, demolished.

They paved paradise to put up a parking lot.

And fight over a Lakewood beach.

[Myra Beckrest]

Earlier this year while house-hunting, my husband and I were looking on Alameda. I remember thinking what a shame the top of the street looked like. The water division building and a Tire store. I guess I'm a dreamer, because I don't get it. Four streets with some of the most beautiful homes in Lakewood and their entrances ways look like fodder. Like the great idea for a McDonald's at the top of Arthur... It's amazing to me. I'm sorry if I'm insulting anyone, I don't mean to, but I keep seeing all of these great revitalization plans that never come to fruition, and in their place we get discount stores.

I don't get it.

Just correcting my brain thinking faster than my hands are typing. McDonalds at Woodward. CVS at Arthur.. Although nicely done, just weird choices for some of the locations of these businesses.

[Myra Beckrest]

You can't replace what we have in Lakewood. And you can't go back to get it once it is erased, demolished.

They paved paradise to put up a parking lot

Truer words were never spoken. 13205 Detroit Ave.... once upon a time.



You can't go back, but there should be some sense when moving forward.

[Justine Cooper]

Holy House! Which corner was this? I love my house, my neighbors, my city. But all of a sudden I feel like the caged rabbits I saw at the county fair. Caged in by discount stores! What a failure to this great city. If my friend's house on Clarence is on the Historical tour again, how will it look to look outside at the back of a dollar store?

[Thealexa Becker]

Holy House! Which corner was this? I love my house, my neighbors, my city. But all of a sudden I feel like the caged rabbits I saw at the county fair. Caged in by discount stores! What a failure to this great city. If my friend's house on Clarence is on the Historical tour again, how will it look to look outside at the back of a dollar store?

The house is on the corner of Grace and Detroit.

You can find the source of the image above here on Yesterday's Lakewood. http://images.ulib.csuohio.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/lakewood&CISOPTR=2556&CISOBOX=1&REC=1.

The website has thousands of historical images of the city of Lakewood. Those interested should check it out, it's a project managed through the Cleveland State University Archives. Just remember to cite the source if you use the images, since they are copyrighted.

[Justine Cooper]

Thank you Thealexa. My neighbor's house was on there. I would love to see pics our our 1899 house before the changes.