LIVING THE LIFESTYLE
Achieving Work-Life Balance The city is waking up again and as residents explore what live-work means today, an evolving approach to mixed-use development is taking shape.
ELECTRIC GARDENS // Tremont
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City Life
“Companies are taking different approaches to figure out the right balance,” acknowledges Aaron Pechota, executive vice president, NRP Group, a national real estate developer and contractor with its headquarters in Cleveland and local projects in Gordon Square, Slavic Village and Scranton Peninsula. Similarly, developers are also examining what drives city life — and ultimately, it’s activation and connection, Pechota says. He adds that developers should keep the residential component top of mind as more people seek the amenities city life has to offer, especially in a post-COVID world. Those amenities might include open workspaces, outdoor living environments and access to service-based retail. And as we enter summer, “You can see all the signs of life,” Greaner says of the city. A NEW MIXED-USE
Residential developments like Electric Gardens in Tremont include the coworking company Limelight — a modern, airy, 8,000-squarefoot work area. Residents can join at a discount. In MidTown, the Tech Hive by DigitalC offers an in-house cafe, parking passes, desks and meeting spaces and even phone booths and private offices. Ohio City’s Church + State also provides open space for plugging in. Meanwhile, integrating work and life in the city doesn’t have to look vertical, Pechota says. “Mixed-use can be having an office build-
COURTESY J ROC DEVELOPMENT
ore balance, more flexibility, more connectivity — the call for mixed-use living is especially strong in the city as people return to live, work and enjoy all of the entertainment and amenities that Cleveland offers. “At the end of the day, people come downtown because they want opportunities to connect with other people,” says Ivy Greaner, COO at Bedrock, developer of Tower City Center and The May. Proximity to experiences is paramount. “Whether it’s in your residential building, walking out on the street, grabbing a cup of coffee or running down the block to get dinner, keeping everything tight eliminates commute times,” Greaner says, adding that the convenience of walking a few doors down from your home to an office is a real draw for downtown neighborhoods. Many people are ready to return to a better social-work balance where there’s a water cooler and conference room, in-person gatherings and lunch out. Sure, the flexibility many gained with hybrid or work-from-home arrangements has benefits. “Great, you’re home working — but you’re on Zoom 24/7 and you never get to leave your work space, so there are definitely people who are coming back into the office. They are ready to socialize again,” Greaner quips. Overall, employers are in a position where they must re-evaluate how their teams work — and this plays into how downtowns, including Cleveland, will develop, evolve and deliver.
