A new community gathering space opened Friday in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood as part of ongoing revitalization efforts in the community.
The Ubuntu Gathering Place, created by East End Neighborhood House, features seating, murals and an image of Africa set into the sidewalk.
The design was intentional, said East End Neighborhood House CEO Atunyese Herron to highlight the predominantly-Black community the organization serves and capture the South African Philosophy of Ubuntu.
“It’s a South African philosophy about seeing each other in each other, and so we wanted to extend that because we live by Ubuntu at East End,” she said. “How better not to put in our in our greenspace the actual continent of Africa stamped in the ground so kids can play on it. … And then the murals just kind of encapsulate all of that – all the artistry that we have from the different artists to encapsulate Africa and our and history [and] our culture.”
The newest in a series of revitalized pocket parks in the neighborhood, Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said the Ubuntu Gathering Place is a good addition to the network of accessible green space in the neighborhood, including Ernest Turner Memorial Park and the Calvary Hill community garden.
“In order to organize a neighborhood, you really have to pull up your sleeves and deal with some of the blight and deal with some of the things that make the people of this community uncomfortable,” And what we did is we began to work together and put a partnership in place that has now seen almost 80 homes demolished in this area, approximately four or five pocket parks [and] a $400 million investment with the Woodhill Choice.”
Woodhill Choice refers to a series of apartment building redevelopment projects in the Buckeye-Woodhill Neighborhood.
The Ubuntu Gathering Place is built on the corner of Shaker Boulevard and East 103rd Street. The lot previously housed a Saab dealership, but when the business closed, the building was left abandoned before being torn down, leaving a vacant lot in its place.
About one-fifth of land in Cleveland is vacant lots, Mayor Justin Bibb said. But when he looks at the empty land, Bibb said he sees opportunity, ambition and promise.
“One of our biggest things we want to accomplish in the city of Cleveland is making sure, regardless [of] if you live right here in Ward Six or the West Side or any part of the East Side, that every child and every family has a park they can go to that's safe, that's beautiful, that's well-programmed and that reflects our values as a city,” Bibb said. “You have our commitment ... to make sure that every part of the city has access to world class amenities.”
Former East End Neighborhood House CEO Zulma Zabala saw opportunity in the lot, located behind the East End building. Zabala created the concept for the space and began planning in the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The team worked with the City of Cleveland, St. Luke’s Foundation, Environmental Design Group, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Land Studio, Ubiquitous Design, New Vista and Burton, Bell, Carr Development to bring the space together.
The vision of the gathering place was a source of hope during the isolation brought on by the pandemic, Zabala said.
“It gave me hope that we could do something regardless of the fact that we were like behind doors and talking through Zoom and all that,” she said. “I just couldn't wait until this day. I cannot tell you how filled I am with emotion.”
City Council President Blaine Griffin says the ability to persevere and see the project through during is a testament to the community’s strength.
“The fact that we stayed together as a partnership and collaboration through the pandemic to keep this project on track shows you the perseverance of this neighborhood and the stakeholders and the residents, because we stuck together through it all online,” he said.
The Ubuntu Gathering Place, along with the Woodhill Homes development continues to transform the neighborhood, Griffin said.
“To see a once thriving business that used to be [Saab] that then turned into a blighted building because they closed down, to then have a vacant lot, to now have an oasis that people can come to in this community, which adds to our natural footprint that this is really turning into one of the best neighborhoods in the city of Cleveland,” he said.
