3700 LEE

Gibbon Architecture, along with their non-profit client, Shaker Heights Development Corporation, renovated these 3 storefronts on a long-overlooked business strip as part of a strategic plan to attract new tenants to the area.

Originally a grocery store built at the end of the Depression, Gibbon Architecture looked for economical ways to reface the challenging substrate of terra cotta speed tile & give the buildings a fresh street presence on this busy corridor. After the dated stone veneer & mansard had been removed, Gibbon Architecture used an offset rainscreen to preserve the fragile masonry structure behind. The cedar & metal screen helps break up the otherwise benign façade into more pedestrian scaled elements, while drawing the eye of fast moving traffic on Lee Road. Horizontal aluminum trellis awnings & cedar screen/planters interplay with vertical storefront, metal wide flange elements, & signage flag to provide visual richness & tactility.

Storefront I Retail