Supercongrats to First Interstate for Superwalmart!

It’s official. Superwalmart is going to be built on Oakwood and Walmart is leaving Severance Center in Cleveland Heights.

Cleveland Heights city officials are fully and completely culpable for this lost economic opportunity. Their inability to understand that a Metropark is an economic driver has cost our region a great deal.

Oakwood was for sale for a YEAR prior to First Interstate’s purchase of it. Cleveland Heights city government refused to work with Trust for Public Land or Metroparks during that year.

South Euclid city officials worked in “partnership” (their word) with First Interstate, advocating for and demanding nothing from the developer and that is what they got for our community. South Euclid city officials’ unquestioning and unanimous support of the developer is a form of corruption.

Oakwood is a failure of regionalism.

Oakwood is a failure of government to do its job in safeguarding the welfare of the community. Citizens had no one in government representing them or their interests.

Citizens for Oakwood was marginalized and ridiculed; this is usually what happens to grassroots groups. Our society does not accept grassroots groups and much of the media reinforces this behavior. In Oakwood’s case, this marginalization and ridicule came at a high price to our community.

Congrats to First Interstate for capturing the “value-oriented” retail market in Cleveland; Steelyard Commons on the west side and Oakwood Commons on the east side.

Congrats to First Interstate, too, for duping South Euclid city officials into thinking the development’s 7 acres detention pond is actually part of the 21 acre park. First Interstate gets superkudos for duping them into accepting this “donated” land and creating a tax-free forever detention basin it will use every day.

Congrats to First Interstate, its affiliated companies and the global investors they represent . The profits from Oakwood Commons will go to these global investors and out of our area and probably out of the country.

The question I am putting on the table is: Are we citizens getting the government we deserve?

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR LOCAL GROCERS!

Please remember to thank them, too. They helped us when we needed them!