Type: Office/Mixed-Use
Developer: Cleveland Foundation
Owner: Cleveland Foundation
Architects: S9; Vocon; Arlene Watson; Nolan Beck Rivera; Communication Exhibits Inc.
Site Size: 1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Date Opened: July 15, 2023
Date Completed: April 1, 2023
Building: 55,000 square feet (5,110 sq m)
Parking Spaces: 150
Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is a community-oriented, philanthropic organization dedicated to investing in worthy individuals and nonprofit organizations in greater Cleveland, Ohio. With the lease running out on its existing headquarters in the city’s Playhouse Square district, the foundation decided to build its own headquarters, but in an intentional way that would spur economic development in one of the city’s neglected pockets. The organization chose a former factory site in Midtown Cleveland on East 66th Street at the southern edge of the Hough neighborhood, an area still scarred by redlining and race-related unrest in the 1960s.
Before beginning construction, the Foundation conducted environmental remediation that extended to 12 contiguous acres (4.9 ha) of land. Knowing that development in underserved neighborhoods can lead to rising real estate costs and displacement, the Foundation proactively granted $1 million to create the Hough Community Land Trust, a resident-led organization that buys land and then leases plots to developers after negotiating community benefit agreements.
To inform the design of the headquarters, the Foundation gathered feedback from local residents, who asked for “permeability” on all four sides. In response, the designers reinterpreted the grid of nearby industrial structures in a contemporary way, with a warm and inviting wood and glass façade.
Half of the three-story building is open to the public, with a café run by a local nonprofit organization and a conference center available to nonprofit organizations at no cost. In addition, it hosts art exhibition space and a multipurpose studio suitable for dance and other classes. Also sharing the building is the Foundation’s grants program, Neighborhood Connections, which helps local groups strengthen their social networks.
Sustainable strategies incorporated into the structure itself include mass timber construction and a 250-kilowatt solar canopy that shades the surface parking lot. The array supplies nearly a third of the building’s total annual electric demand, and solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations are available to the public at no cost. The site is also steps away from the HealthLine bus-rapid transit system, which links to downtown Cleveland and the University Circle cultural district.
The Foundation financed the project itself—without impacting its annual grantmaking—with a 20-year program-related investment, a cash mission-related investment, and donor naming gifts. This allows the organization to pay roughly the same rent as before but now it’s able to recycle the capital into future projects—potentially a model for other philanthropic organizations.
The Foundation has partnered with the Dunham Tavern Museum and Gardens to develop a large park in the shared space between the two organizations’ buildings. The Foundation also worked with the municipality to fully fund the rehabilitation of the roadway along East 66th Street, improving the walkways and cycling lanes, and adding new lighting, public art, trees, greenery, and safety infrastructure. The Foundation’s Midtown Collaboration Center opened across the street from the new headquarters in 2025.
