photography: Mathew Gilson

Paula Slimak, a retired marketing director for United Way, moved into her 1863 worker cottage 28 years ago. Because of its age, Paula's house has its inconveniences, but she wouldn't change a thing. "It's just unfathomable to me," she says, "that a structure can retain its soundness and warmth through more than a century."

Despite the resurgence in community responsibility spearheaded by a handful of new and old residents, Paula never expected an exclusive neighborhood. "I knew the area was in transition. It had always been a diverse group of people, and I like the combination. It represents the whole of Cleveland," she says.

Here's the mix: low-income housing (30% public housing), single- and multi-family turn-of-the-century homes, renovated cottages, new townhouses, more than 30 social-service organizations (some housed in historic mansions of former industrialists and beer barons), and a thriving strip of energetic retail and ethnically diverse restaurants on West 25th Street.

photography: Mathew Gilson

As the area deteriorated into an economic and crime-ridden depression in the sixties and early seventies, the market continued to draw people to the otherwise desolate West 25th Street. Helen Smith, who worked in public relations/fund-raising with nonprofits and served five terms as councilwoman for Ohio City, moved into the neighborhood with the first wave of community advocates in the seventies.

"Jay Avenue was a slum back then," she says. "You couldn't walk down alleys because of the trash, but you could find any drug you wanted down there."

So how did it become a continuous stretch of nicely restored and remodeled homes?

"We formed a little group and began asking questions," Helen says. "We wondered why burned-out houses sat untouched for years and what could be done to balance the effect of all the social-service organizations that had contributed in part to the unsafe environment simply by the volume of people drawn here to use the services."

Through political efforts, increased police involvement, merchants, and dedicated residents, the neighborhood quickly began attracting more folks willing to invest in the crumbling yet beautiful architecture.

Joe Mazzola, the executive director of the Ohio City Near West Development Corporation (OCNW), believes in urban renewal. After working on two successful renewal projects in other areas of Cleveland, he accepted the Ohio City job because he recognized the local passion for inclusion and community. He also knew that this was one of the few Cleveland-area neighborhoods into which people are moving, as opposed to fleeing to the suburbs.

Joe believes the key is investment, citing the expansion of the Urban Community School as a prime example. Founded by Ursuline nuns, the PreK-8 school enrolls a student body reflecting the 15 or more ethnicities and numerous religions represented in the neighborhood. Such a strong local school attracts that important demographic that Ohio City previously lacked: the family.

Sister Maureen Doyle, the school's director, is proud of the opportunity to give all local families a choice for quality education. The tuition reflects a sliding scale based on income, with the lowest bracket paying just $150 a year.

"We created the school to exist within the community of the Near West Side," she says. "The children live in this neighborhood, and they feel as though the school belongs to them. It's a wonderful sense of ownership."

Instilling such a youthful connection to place and diversity indicates a community willing to invest in itself. Add in the sound architecture, the historic West Side Market, an energetic core of residents, and a tendency to lend a helping hand rather than put up a fence and Ohio City's resurgence seems alive and well.