Robert Higgs, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After sitting idle for more than a decade, the East Side Market is finding new life, with a grocery expected to open before the end of the year.
A $6.9 million revamp of the market property will allow Mazzulo's Fresh Market to open its doors in a matter of weeks at St. Clair Avenue and East 105th Street in Glenville.
What's the project?
has spent several years developing the plans and seeking the money to bring the building back to life.
Robert Higgs, cleveland.com
The city of Cleveland had committed more than $350,000 in funding for the project, and recently City Council approved a grant of $500,000 more to be used to reimburse NEON for cost overruns.
Cuyahoga County has committed $750,000 to the project.
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Why is the project important?
The new market will help revitalize the neighborhood and attract jobs and other businesses, Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell has said.
The grocery is expected to provide employment for at least 25 full-time equivalent positions. Those positions would generate an estimated $520,000 in annual wages that would go back into the local economy and another $13,000 in city income taxes.
A job fair likely will be set up as the opening date for the grocery store nears, said David Ebersole, Cleveland's director of economic development.
Robert Higgs, cleveland.com
The grocery is an important piece toward putting an end to a food desert -- an area devoid of fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables.
The nearest supermarket to the site now is well over a mile
As part of the makeover, Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services intends to open a demonstration kitchen and community and wellness center to promote better nutrition and healthy eating.
Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University Library Collections
What's the timetable?
The East Side Market opened in 1988 after the downtown Central Market closed its doors. The market once had nearly 25 merchants who paid rent and covered overhead.
But as the neighborhood's population dwindled and poverty increased, the market faced challenges. It closed in 2007.
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In September 2015, Cleveland City Council
the property to Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services. The city later provided a 75 percent tax abatement for 15 years on improvements made to the property.
Construction work has been progressing at the site, and Mazzulo's had been targeting a November opening. It appears now that won't happen until December, Ebersole said.
The demonstration kitchen is scheduled to open sometime in the spring.
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