Upper Chester is a 100-acre development that aims to restore vitality to part of Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood that sits at a crucial juncture in University Circle, between the Cleveland Clinic and Case’s proposed West Quad research campus at E. 105th Street. Plans call for 840 units of new housing, plus 80,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial and retail space. The Finch Group and Heartland Developers of Cleveland plan to break ground on the first building in the complex in about a year, the Plain Dealer reported in March, 2008.

Combining living spaces and stores supplying everyday necessities within walking and biking distance of University Circle’s top medical and cultural institutions will be a boon for the area. What’s more, Upper Chester is one of three pilot sustainable urban neighborhood design projects under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.

What this translates into is green buildings in a setting that feels comfortable and accessible as a pedestrian without being gated or disconnected from the city grid. In fact, the LEED project manager, Lillian Kuri, is working with the city of Cleveland and City Architecture on making Upper Chester and the surrounding blocks into a green design district. When approved, the district will ensure that the green features in the LEED development reach into the surrounding neighborhood.

A few examples of details that Kuri would like to see in Upper Chester:

• A recycling program with specially designed bins in public and private spaces (including a recycling center where Kuri hopes to negotiate curbside pickup with the city).
• Sidewalks stamped with wayfinding symbols
• A collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic and the Site Center to devise a system for a fully accessible neighborhood

In addition, city officials and Kuri are hammering out a deal to create design guidelines as part of a green overlay district.

Kuri, who also serves as special projects coordinator for Cleveland Foundation, is discussing a list of items – most delineated by LEED – that would require all developers within an overlay district to abide by, including:

1. Slower speed limits
2. Bike lanes
3. Permeable pavement
4. Stormwater best practices (bioswales, rain gardens, tree pits)
5. Street sections/narrower lane widths
6. Recycling (curbside)
7. Cross walks (and LED-lit cross signals)
8. Recycled content/material selection
9. Light pollution reduction
10. Special signage