OBERLIN —“Its one of those things where one thing led to another which led to another,” said Josh Rosen, one of the three founders of Sustainable Community Associates, in trying to explain their downtown Oberlin development project.

What was once a dream of three Oberlin College students is becoming a reality.

Ben Ezinga, Josh Rosen and Naomi Sabel are the three former Oberlin students who founded SCA in 2001. SCA believes that “with determination, flexibility and the willingness to challenge conventional wisdom, real estate development can have a transformative effect on neighborhoods and change the economics of communities,” according to its Web page.

SCA’s project involves a renovation of a brownfield in Oberlin’s downtown area. The East College Street project is focused on development that is “environmentally, socially and economically sustainable,” the Web page states.

“We’re creating a project that is unique enough that many will want to take part,” Rosen said.

Construction of the buildings started in January 2009. The buildings will be of mixed use, including space for residences, offices, retail and 7,000 square feet of college-owned space. The city of Oberlin’s first underground parking structure is also part of the development. A coffeehouse, performing space and vegetable garden are only some of the offerings at the site.

They also hope the development will serve as a home to a SouperMarket. SouperMarket, with locations in Cleveland and Lakewood, “specializes in creating hand-crafted soups and stocks, made from scratch,” according to the company’s Web site.

Opening a SouperMarket would be a “good opportunity for someone who wants to open a small business,” Rosen said.

Sabel said the project is filling a need in Oberlin. “It’s a space for businesses that always wanted to come to Oberlin but never could,” Sabel said, noting that one of the goals for the project is to help in “increasing the vibrancy of downtown.”

There will be several different types of condos available to appeal to a wide variety of people. Condos vary in size and are available with one or two floors. About two-thirds of the condos have already been reserved.

“The condos feature lots of natural light which cuts down on electricity use,” Ezinga said.

Purchase a print.

The East College Street Project’s design, construction and operations will place it in a select group of buildings to achieve a LEED Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“One of the cool things about this whole thing has been seeing how different government programs come together to fund projects and create jobs,” Rosen said.

Rosen said he hoped tenants would be able to occupy their residences and open their businesses in May of this year.

Contact Alicia Smith at 329-7155 or ctnews@chroniclet.com.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.