When Greg and Tana Peckham began graduate school at Case Western Reserve University neither of them anticipated moving across the river to Ohio City to raise a family together.  To begin with, when they both started graduate school they weren't a couple, and they didn’t exactly come from similar backgrounds.  Tana came to Cleveland after being born and raised in the heart of Philadelphia, choosing Case thinking that she would have the support of an aunt and uncle in Shaker Heights.  Turns out her arrival coincided with their departure from the Cleveland area.  So the Philly native found herself a stranger in a strange land without the comforts of family or the Liberty Bell.  That wasn’t a problem though--she didn’t plan on sticking around after getting her master’s degree.

Greg’s path to Ohio City  didn’t cover as many miles, but it wasn’t any more likely.  He grew up in Cleveland Heights, and prior to developing a relationship with Tana, his limited knowledge of Ohio City, like so many Eastsiders, ended at West 25th.  But when in 1999 he and Tana decided that it was time to move in together the two of them settled on renting on the West Side.  Once they started living here they were hooked.  For Tana, Ohio City offered something a bit closer to the city living she left behind back east.  For Greg, it was a whole new world as fresh as it was for his East Coast partner.  Ohio City offered the benefit of new locale without having to leave Cleveland.

But all was not instantly well for newly married Greg and Tana.  After a happy year and a half renting a roof collapse forced their hand.  They needed a new place and they needed it that moment.  Fresh out of grad school and not quite ready to settle down as homeowners, they started looking for another rental in the neighborhood.  While searching on Woodbine Avenue Greg and Tana saw a sign advertising an upcoming open house.  They weren’t looking to buy, but figured they would knock on the door and check things out.  The gentleman that answered the door was the seller, and he was prepping the place for an open house.  He told them what he was asking, and after a quick little conference with each other, Greg and Tana said they’d take it on the spot.  The apple, pear, and pawpaw trees in the yard made the decision a no-brainer.

And so it went for the couple for a few years, working on their house themselves, adding a wood burning stove and updating the kitchen, and generally making the house a home. But while they built their life together in Ohio City, their needs evolved.  First one daughter, and then another, and suddenly their spacious one bathroom cottage started feeling a little less spacious.  Add to that Tana’s family visiting from Philadelphia on a regular basis and it was time to move on from the house, but leaving the neighborhood, or even the street, wasn’t a pleasing option.  Greg, who had been the Executive Director of Cleveland Public Art, now LAND studio, a not-for-profit on West 25th with a mission of improving Cleveland’s neighborhoods though public art, sustainable building, and programming.  And Tana, who works in marketing for Nestle, was perfectly comfortable in their adopted community. Still, they needed more space, and with three women in the house another bathroom wouldn’t hurt, so it was time to start looking, and thankfully they didn’t have too look far.

After searching Ohio City for a place to raise a family, they found not one, but two currently vacant homes that fit the bill, and both a stone’s throw away from where they are currently living.  Purchasing a home is never easy, and starting with a vacant place stripped of its plumbing certainly doesn’t simplify things, but part of what’s great about Ohio City, and Cleveland in general, is that there’s lots of support for people who have a little patience and are committed to staying.  So with the help of Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), Ohio City Inc., Councilman Joe Cimperman, and First Merit Bank, Greg and Tana are in the process of realizing their dream of staying in a neighborhood that they had come to love.  Greg and Tana stressed that even thought they weren’t able to take advantage of a CASH loan, that classic lifeline for Clevelanders doing rehab work, without CASH’s help navigating the sometimes intimidating world of bank financing their project would have never broken ground.  With CASH’s guidance,  the Peckham’s have been able to renovate a vacant property and  enjoy the bones of a classic Ohio City home with an energy efficient interior that suits their needs and is as comfortable as any new construction.  As an added bonus, all that money invested in the home comes back in tax credit thanks to engaging Humanity’s Loom, a “green rater” company, to work closely with their contractor, Larry Brichacek of Homeland Building & Design.  Not mention a yard that would make any urban gardener swoon.  Everyone wins.

Now that their home project is underway, Greg and Tana are preparing to address another factor of urban family life--where to send their girls to school.  Luckily, there have never been so many options.  Greg and Tana are both product of public schools, and while many of their friends have been having good luck with the parochial options in the neighborhood, they didn’t think that was for them.  Fortunately, they are happy to have new options in the city, including the newly opened Near West Intergenerational School and Cleveland State’s Campus International School.  Tana, whose father is from Shanghai, is particularly enticed by  its Mandarin Chinese language immersion, but Greg and Tana were also part of the parent group that brought the Intergenerational School to Ohio City, so it will be a tough decision.  Of course, better too many choices than too few, and until then, the child care provided Merrick House in nearby Tremont suits the Peckham’s needs well.

Greg and Tana wanted to make it work in Ohio City, and by their own efforts and the help of others they’ve been able to do so.  A perfect home renovated to their specifications with a great yard, a dizzying choice of options for their daughters’ education, and a community filled with individuals just as committed to Ohio City as they are--it’s all here.  And with people like Greg and Tana putting down their roots here and raising a family in a neighborhood that they’re proud of, it’s hard to imagine Ohio City’s growing appeal slowing down anytime soon.