Page 38 - October2019_BarJournal

FEATUREREAL ESTATE LAW

owned property at the very southern edge of accessibility for any citizen without a car. accessibility of the facilities. Spending
the City of Chardon. The Geauga County Jail The new locations reduce the ability of money on new infrastructure to move out of
has been located far outside the county seat citizens to participate in their government Downtown could add millions of dollars to
for a long time. and receive services. the price tag of the buildings. Accordingly,
While the new locations are indeed The anti-urban mistakes made by Geauga plans should focus on whether the current
more central to the county, they are not in County should be avoided in Cuyahoga Justice Center parcel can be renovated or
any sense contained within a community. County. So long as Cleveland’s public rebuilt in stages in the same place.
Without adjacent housing or infrastructure transit and budding bike infrastructure are Franklin County, home to the City of
for pedestrians and bicyclists, Geauga organized in a hub-and-spoke arrangement Columbus, faced a similar problem 15 years
County’s office, detention and planned centering on Downtown, practically any ago. The Franklin County Court was located
justice facilities foreclose practical other location will downgrade public in a 27-story office tower that was ill-suited
and outdated as soon as it was occupied in the
A FIRM FIT office complex was built on the less-dense
early 1990s. However, the Franklin County
southern edge of Columbus’s downtown,
for me
as opposed to the Cuyahoga County Justice
Complex’s centralized location. The lower
density allowed Franklin County to build
a new 10-story courthouse in 2010 on a
surface parking lot directly adjacent to the
existing building, with no practical impact
on accessibility. The old building was then
renovated and repurposed for other county
uses.
If a new parcel is required, Cuyahoga
County could thus look to the many surface
parking lots in the adjacent Warehouse
District, which are for all practical purposes
I’m grateful to work at a firm that
encourages innovation. Buckingham has just as accessible as its current location.
supported my idea to create a community Demolishing portions of the Shoreway or
space to share insights relating to Innerbelt could also produce significant
construction law. ‘YouDig?’ is an online usable land Downtown, but at a political
advice column for those who work in and monetary cost that would probably be
the construction industry to connect and
learn. We tackle real issues and provide prohibitive at this time.
straightforward, no-nonsense, and often Finally, the climate crisis will demand
entertaining responses. It’s been a hit with significant changes in our society within the
clients and business partners alike. lifetimes of many of our bar members. A new

John Swansinger, or renovated Justice Center Complex needs
Buckingham Cleveland to be accessible for pedestrians and transit
Partner in Charge riders in order to reduce our region’s reliance
and youdig.biz creator
on automobiles, make our region more
sustainable, and prepare our community for
To learn more about what it’s what’s to come.
like to work at Buckingham, visit
www.bdblaw.com/careers
Matt Rolf is a real estate lawyer
with interests in equitable urban
planning and transit oriented
development. Recently he has
advocated for public transit funding
and new pedestrian and bike infrastructure in
Northeast Ohio. He passed the bar in 2002, and
bdblaw.com has offices on Shaker Square and Chardon
Square. He has been a CMBA member since
2013. He can be reached at (440) 286-9549 or
Proud to be part of Cleveland’s thriving legal community m-rolf@mattrolfattorneyllc.com. Follow him on
Twitter @m_rolf_.
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