University Circle
University Circle is the cultural, educational, and medical center of Greater Cleveland, and is located on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. University Circle occupies approximately 550 acres (2.2 km²) around the campus of Case Western Reserve University and the adjacent Wade Park Oval. It borders Cleveland's Little Italy, home to many private art galleries and restaurants, as well as the neighborhoods of Hough, Glenville, Buckeye-Shaker, and Fairfax (also known as Midtown).
University Circle is a major source of employment in the Cleveland area, currently providing more than 30,000 jobs in a variety of fields. Over 13,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attend area institutions, and approximately 2.5 million people visit the Circle each year. University Circle Incorporated, a not-for-profit corporation established in 1957, fulfills many administrative and quasi-governmental functions for the area, including security and transportation administration. Overall nearly 50 cultural, medical, educational, religious, and social service institutions are based in the University Circle area, the largest of which is Case Western Reserve University.
Member institutions
University Circle houses a large number of allied and independent institutions, the following of which are members of University Circle Inc.:
Ambleside Towers, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Arabica Coffee House, Case Western Reserve University, Center For Dialysis Care, The Children's Museum Of Cleveland, The Church Of The Covenant, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Friends Meeting, Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, Cleveland Hillel Foundation Inc., The Cleveland Institute Of Art, The Cleveland Institute Of Music, The Cleveland International Piano Competition, The Cleveland Museum Of Art, The Cleveland Museum Of Natural History, The Cleveland Music School Settlement, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Martin Luther King Jr. branch of The Cleveland Public Library, The Cleveland Sight Center, Cleveland Student Housing Association, Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church, Fine Arts Garden Commission, The Free Clinic Of Greater Cleveland, Gestalt Institute Of Cleveland, Glidden House, The Hallinan Center, Judson Retirement Community, The Junior League Of Cleveland Inc., Magnolia Clubhouse Inc., Maximum Accessible Housing of Ohio, The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, Mt. Zion Congregational Church, Park Lane Villa, Pentecostal Church Of Christ, Ronald McDonald House Of Cleveland Inc., The Sculpture Center, The Temple-Tifereth Israel, University Circle Housing Inc. (Abington Arms), University Hospitals Of Cleveland, and The Western Reserve Historical Society.
Transportation
The Circle area is well served by public transportation, including a stop on the RTA's Red Line. The CircleLink shuttle service (colloquially known as the 'greenie') provides free public transportation within University Circle. In the fall of 2008, the $200 million Euclid Corridor Project will enter full operation, which will introduce bus rapid transit along Euclid Avenue from Public Square to East Cleveland. University Circle is a major destination on the line, and Euclid Avenue will be rebuilt during construction, with the installation of public art, new lighting, and sidewalks included in plans.
Uptown project
In the spring of 2006, Charter One Bank announced its $150,000,000 "UPtown Initiative". The UPtown Initiative will earmark $100 million in funding for economic development, including financing for the large amount of research, medicine, and technology industries in the area. This funding will be used to create jobs and spur further investment in the circle and areas around it. The other $50 million in funds will be used to upgrade, renovate, and build new housing in the Circle and surrounding neighborhoods. Portions of the funding are earmarked for local retail and other amenities of a successful urban district.
In addition to this investment, Case Western Reserve University, Zaremba Homes, and MRN Ltd have announced a partnernship to develop a new urban "uptown" district within University Circle, to be centered on the "triangle" at the corner of Euclid, Ford, and Mayfield. Anchored by the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), which will be moving to the area as part of the project, the university envisions a $120 million development that will include restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, fashion and specialty clothing stores, general retail, and over 400 units of housing and office space. The current apartment towers of the Triangle development will remain. It will also be the new home of the university's bookstore.
Future plans
There are a large number of future plans for producing growth in the University Circle area. Case Western Reserve University is involved with a large amount of planning in the area, including the creation of a large medical and technological research center, known as the "West Quad", which is to be built on the campus of the former Mt. Sinai Hospital. Future plans for the area include large apartment and condominium towers, and other housing for residents, with projections of 20,000 people living within the University Circle area.