Residents at the new
District apartments will
be surrounded by urban amenities.
They may not even need a car.
They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot. – Joni Mitchell
56 SPRING 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
AKEN
VAN
UPSTAIRS
Is it possible to take out a parking lot,
and put up a paradise? Shaker Heights is
about to find out. Gone are the strip mall
and its yawning expanse of asphalt at
the intersections of Van Aken Boulevard,
and Farnsleigh and Warrensville Center
roads. In its place and on the way to
completion are five acres of cutting-edge
retail, professional, and community
space. And the latest addition to Shaker’s
housing stock – Upstairs Van Aken.
Residents of Shaker Heights love
its walkability. Depending on exactly
where you live in the City, you can
enjoy a pleasant walk to any number of
destinations: parks, restaurants, shops,
services, and rapid transit. But what if
you didn’t even need to walk somewhere?
What if it were all just downstairs, and
you could walk out your front door into
the heart of Shaker’s new downtown?
That’s what Upstairs Van Aken is set
to provide later this year.
A downtown in Shaker Heights? It’s true that we’ve
never really had one. Shaker simply wasn’t built that way.
Our residential streets are intertwined and lead mostly
to each other rather than to any particular commercial or
community center.
By Sharon Holbrook
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE