About Old Brooklyn/Brooklyn Centre
Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation

Old Brooklyn, at one time a thriving location for greenhouses, is now characterized as one of Cleveland's most stable residential communities. Brooklyn Centre, with its quaint historic architecture undergoes continuing commercial and residential investment. The neighborhoods offer a variety of housing options and styles. Old Brooklyn has a large senior citizen population, as well as young families. Current retail in the area includes specialty shops, restaurants, and stores offering daily necessities. The new shopping center, Steelyard Commons, borders the area to the north east. This Center offers several larger retail outlets as well as smaller retail stores. Both Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn are situated within the National Heritage Corridor surrounding the historic Ohio & Erie Canal.

Demographics

Wards 15 and 16 averages. For details on each ward go to Neighborhood Fact Sheets.

Population: 43,400
Households: 18,730
% owned = 55%
% rented = 45%
Average Household Income: $31,100.

Assets

• Location: accessible from Interstate 71 at West 25th Street/Pearl Road and Fulton Road, from Ohio176 (Jennings Freeway) from the Denison Avenue and Spring Road exits, and from I-480 at State Road and Ridge Road.
• Nationally dedicated American Byway includes Pearl Road, Broadview Road, and Schaaf Road.
• Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority runs along all major and commercial streets including Pearl (West 25th Street), State, Fulton and Broadview Roads, Denison and Memphis Avenues.
• Current retail stores: coffee shops, small eateries, video stores, auto supply stores, small scale grocery, drug stores, bakeries, hardware stores, health and beauty outlets, print shops and specialty stores.

Other Features

• Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn (South Brooklyn Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Brooklyn Centre has been designated a Local Landmark District. This District is comprised of historically significant structures, both commercial and residential. There has been a recent increase in improvements and investment to promote and preserve the Brooklyn Centre Historic District.
• Major stakeholders in the neighborhood include: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and The MetroHealth System.
• Active social service organizations include: Brookside Center, Brooklyn Kiwanis, Senior Citizen Resources, and United Hearts Life Mission. There are approximately 163 active block clubs as well as three residential-based citizen groups: Brooklyn Centre Community Association, Southwest Citizens Area Council and South Hills Community Association.
• A Ward 15 Commercial Revitalization Plan has been developed and implementation includes the Main Street philosophy and practices.

Sources for Further Information and Resources

Old Brooklyn Blog - celebrating "all great things happening here, including local businesses, upcoming events, and fascinating people... news, interviews, opinions and reviews, and more."

Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition: Old Brooklyn District

Cleveland Planning Commission Data:

Ward maps:
Ward 15 [pdf];
Ward 16 [pdf];
Old Brooklyn Business Revitalization District [pdf] (Files has been compressed with the Zip compression format. You will need a Zip data compression utility (like PKZip or WinZip) to uncompress the files. Windows XP users can unzip the files in Windows Explorer.)
New Cleveland Wards and Precincts

2020 Citywide Plan-
District 2:
Brooklyn Centre;
Old Brooklyn

Neighborhood Fact Sheets:
Brooklyn-Centre Statistical Planning Area (Census Tracts: 105602, 105500, 105400, 105601);
Old Brooklyn Statistical Planning Area (Census Tract: 106100, 105700, 106300, 105900, 106200, 106400, 106600, 106800, 106900, 107000, 106500).

LocalHealth Network (ClevelandHealth.info) Demographic Report [pdf]:
Ward 15;
Ward 16

Northern Ohio Data and Information Service (NODIS):

Brooklyn Centre - Parcel Map - Orthophoto with streets [pdf]
Old Brooklyn - Parcel Map - OrthoPhoto with streets [pdf]
2000 Census SF3 Profile Report [pdf]:
Ward 15;
Ward 16

Team NEO ClevelandPlus Demographic Data Center

Living in Cleveland Center
Living in Cleveland Center brochures [pdf]:
Brooklyn Centre;
Old Brooklyn

Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition

Neighborhood Progress

City of Cleveland, Community Development Department

City of Cleveland, Building & Housing Department

CSU NeighborhoodLink:
Brooklyn Centre;
Old Brooklyn

Pearl Road Corridor Study, Old Brooklyn, June 2005 [pdf]

Lower Big Creek Community Revitalization, Phase Two, February 2006 [pdf]
Lower Big Creek Planning Initiatives, Summer 2005 [pdf]
Lower Big Creek Study, Phase One, December 2002 [pdf]

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Brooklyn;
South Brooklyn

Wikipedia: Old Brooklyn
Wikipedia: Community Development Corporation

Brooklyn Centre Historic District: Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

Brooklyn Centre National Wildlife Community - A National Wildlife Federation Registered Community Wildlife Habitat

Treadway Creek Greenway Restoration Project
$1.1 million project for restoration and preservation of a riparian corridor in Treadway Creek ravine. Trail brings access for the Old Brooklyn Harmody Park neighborhood to the Lower Big Creek Valley and the Canalway's Towpath Trail.