FOCUS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Taking the first step: Measuring diversity is the start to an inclusive workplace. PAGE 10
CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I MARCH 15, 2021
REAL ESTATE
Searching for a square deal
Chanelle Harris, owner of Chanelle’s Treatz, stands behind the counter of her bakery at Shaker Square. Harris opened her shop in December, just as a lender filed to foreclose on the property.
Shaker Square’s distress rallies the community, poses challenges for potential buyers
GUS CHAN FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
BY MICHELLE JARBOE | In December, Chanelle Harris opened a bakery in a modest
storefront at Shaker Square, joining a community of merchants at what she viewed as a marquee address. That very month, a lender launched foreclosure proceedings on the Square, an outdoor shopping center that’s an anchor and community gathering place on Cleveland’s East Side. Now the property is in the hands of a court-appointed receiver, an expert tasked with managing the Square while finding a path forward — an outright sale, a note sale or a handoff to the lender.
The uncertainty surrounding the Square has new and longtime tenants reeling. At least two potential buyers with deep roots in the neighborhood are working furiously to evaluate the worth of the 10.3-acre property and the costs of improving and maintaining it. And community groups are sounding the alarm about the painful fallout — to Cleveland but also to neighboring Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights — that will ensue if the near-
ly century-old landmark rots in receivership or ends up in inexperienced, or opportunistic, hands. “It’s terrifying,” said Harris, who started Chanelle’s Treatz a few years ago in her home and, even in the midst of a global pandemic, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to set up shop in the southeast quadrant of the two-story, four-building center. See SQUARE on Page 20
HEALTH CARE
Working toward equitable vaccine distribution
Providers of underserved communities work to eliminate barriers to access BY LYDIA COUTRÉ
In a mid-February vaccination event held at a community church, Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP) got doses into the arms of as many Hispanic patients as it had in the first
four weeks it had been offering the COVID-19 vaccine. NFP and other federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) — community-based providers that receive federal funds through the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration — have
NEWSPAPER
VOL. 42, NO. 10 l COPYRIGHT 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
found pop-up vaccine clinics to be incredibly effective and efficient in their efforts to reach minority populations. Though COVID-19 vaccine availability is accelerating, the demand continues to outpace the supply, necessitating a lot of creativity among providers as they work toward equitable distribution. “Folks in communities of color were disproportionately impacted in terms of their hospitalizations and deaths,” said Jean Polster, NFP president and CEO. “If we were equitable in the country, we would be focusing on communities of color first. And that’s where I think FQHCs realized that and why we become so critical.” See VACCINE on Page 21
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Neighborhood Family Practice held a pop-up vaccine clinic on Feb. 17 at La Sagrada Familia Church. | NEIGHBORHOOD FAMILY PRACTICE
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