All About Fairfax and
Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp.
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All About Fairfax and
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FRDC has steadily grown since 1992, and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2002. The organization moved into its new office building in June 2002, which allowed all of FRDC’s programs and activities to be at one central location. FRDC is involved in new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing, economic development activities, and community organizing and safety programs. The FRDC Board of Directors governs the agency and sets its policies and procedures. The Board is comprised of both neighborhood residents and representatives of organizations and institutions operating in Fairfax. |
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 FRDC's second home (1997-2002) at 8520 Carnegie Avenue |
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“FRDC has been an anchor for the community. They’re
like a landmark - the investment of the new facility lets you know
they’re here to stay. Fairfax has prime real estate, is centrally
located and there are a lot of wonderful business ventures on the
horizon. Because of FRDC’s vision, my property has increased
in value three times. One thing I love about FRDC under Vickie
Eaton Johnson’s leadership is they help all of us connect … the
buyer with the seller; and they make all information readily available.” Fairfax Neighborhood HistoryAfter its annexation to Cleveland in 1872, the neighborhood now known as Fairfax underwent a period of rapid residential development which continued until 1920, when the area’s population reached 34,000 - approximately 85% of its peak. During the neighborhood’s prime, such streets as Cedar Avenue and Quincy Avenue were lined with thriving retail businesses, attractive single-family houses and a number of ornate apartment buildings. Euclid Avenue, near the neighborhood’s northern border, became
the site of many of Cleveland’s largest and most architecturally
distinguished churches. Among the earliest remaining examples is
the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church at East 96 Street, a Gothic/Romanesque
building constructed in 1872. |
| Fairfax is also home to three nationally recognized institutions. The foremost of these is The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, established in 1921, which now ranks as Cuyahoga County’s largest private employer, with a staff of approximately 19,218. Just to the west, at East 86 Street and Euclid Avenue, is the Cleveland Playhouse, an architectural and cultural landmark founded in 1917 and expanded in 1983 to incorporate three state-of-the-art theaters under a single roof. |
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| Finally, Karamu House is an inter-racial theater and arts center which dates from 1917 (and has been located at its present site since 1949). |
| Although
the first of Fairfax residents were new Englanders and European immigrants, middle-income African Americans had become the dominant group as
early as 1930. By 1970, 96% of the neighborhood’s residents
were African American. Between 1950 and 2000, an exodus of many middle-income
households reduced the population of Fairfax from its peak of over
39,000 to less than 7,500. Household incomes and housing values in
1990 had fallen to less than half of the citywide average.
Continuing expansion of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the completion of the Church Square shopping center (along the neighborhood’s northern border) are factors which are now strengthening the market for private development in Fairfax. The Fairfax neighborhood is also part of the City of Cleveland’s Empowerment Zone, a federal program, funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to assist in the economic revitalization of urban areas. The City of Cleveland applied to HUD with hundreds of other cities and was awarded $177 million in federal funds in the form of business loan products to be loaned to local businesses in four targeted neighborhoods (Fairfax, Glenville, Hough, and Midtown Cleveland). For additional information about the City of Cleveland's Empowerment Zone, click HERE. |
