A partnership between the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, Meijer, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation and Fairmount Properties will create 300 jobs for affiliated members of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council.

A Dec. 14 groundbreaking ceremonially started the project to build a small grocery store and apartment complex in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood. Located on the corner of East 105th Street and Cedar Avenue, Fairfax Market is part of the overall $500 million Cleveland Innovation District project.

The $52.8 million mixed-use project to build a 40,000-square-foot Meijer grocery store and create 196 apartment units will help address a lack of accessible food supply in this area.

This will not be a typical Meijer store, as it will be considerably smaller than the retailer’s three 155,000-square-foot supercenters located in Ohio, and will not offer the vast array of retail items.

The project was the brainchild of Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., who along with Cleveland City Council President-Elect and Ward 6 Councilman Blaine A. Griffin, hosted a community conversation with residents and leaders in 2018 to better understand their needs and how the Cleveland Clinic could better help them.

After the meeting, Mihaljevic toured the neighborhood, and it became clear food insecurity was one of the biggest issues facing area residents. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fairfax has been identified as an “urban food desert” for its lack of accessible supermarkets.

“This project is critical for this area, which has been deemed a food desert,” said Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary Dave Wondolowski. “This is significant because that designation is given to areas where residents don’t have reasonably close access to fresh food and vegetables. The completion of this project will remove that designation.”

As the project began to take shape, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer Meijer was identified to become the grocery partner for the project due to their new small-format market design, which was launched in several cities throughout Michigan.

The Fairfax Market will be the first small-format Meijer market outside of Michigan and will offer customers a unique shopping experience. It will feature an assortment of fresh food, artisan groceries and Meijer and national brand products at low prices.

The store will create about 50 jobs that pay competitive wages and offer access to health benefits, as well as a company-matching 401(k) program.

Wondolowski noted the project will create 300 jobs for his affiliated building trades members.

While many of the construction workers may not understand the significance of the project, their work will make a direct impact on the lives of those who live in the Fairfax neighborhood.

“It’s hard to believe in this day and age that somewhere in Cleveland could carry that [food desert] designation,” he said. “It may be a sign that still today there are those of us that take certain conveniences for granted.”

In addition to the market, there are other facets to the project.

The residential component of the project will feature a parking structure, a direct connection to the Fairfax Market, walkable access to the Cleveland Clinic campus and a convenient one block walk to the Cleveland Innovation District.

“The store will occupy a gateway corner to the Fairfax neighborhood and help to spur additional development,” said Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation Executive Director Denise VanLeer. “The development repositions underutilized and underperforming land through strategic partnerships and is proximate to growing economic hubs, which is a goal of the Innovation Square Neighborhood Plan.”

Designed by Bialosky, the general contractor is John G. Johnson Construction Company. Both the grocery store and apartment complex could open as early as 2023.

While not the largest project in the Cleveland Building Trades jurisdiction, the project shows the building trades and Cleveland Clinic have a strong relationship.

“We are currently working on three Project Labor Agreements for upcoming work at the Clinic,” Wondolowski said. “We continue to deliver for them, and they realize the value of our relationship.