Chico’s and Jos. A. Bank are among the stores at the remodeled Beachcliff Market Square shopping center. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Beachcliff leads River renaissance
By Jennifer Mitchell
Rocky River
Published Nov. 22, 2006

Amid the twinkle of holiday lights, reindeer topiaries clipped in mid-prance and a horse-drawn wagon, area residents unwrapped a gift this weekend at least a year in the making — the grand reopening of a remodeled, open air Beachcliff Market Square shopping center.

Nearby, a collection of the city’s unique Old River shops, including Mitchell Sotka, Embellish, Jan Dell, Teacups in Time, Solari, Girl Next Door and many others held myriad events to kick off the holiday season.

After a summer-long streetscape creating congested traffic, a shuffle of some of Beachcliff’s former tenants who elected to stay in the area, such as McDhurries, and Beachcliff construction limiting business of the stores that decided to stay put — Tomorrows Salon, Beachcliff Family Dentistry, National City Bank, and attorney M.C. Barrett — the patience of area business owners and residents is being rewarded with what may be a renaissance in the city’s downtown.

Kory Koran, economic development director for Rocky River, said earlier this year that the project is “breathing new life” into the city’s eastern end.

In early 2005, Beachcliff was an aging 50,000 square-foot community center. “There were some vacancies,” Koran said of the old shopping center. “It was kind of passé.”

Now, it’s a 100,000 square-foot retail district with upscale stores including White House/Black Market, Ann Taylor Loft, Aveda, Chico’s, First Watch and Jos. A. Bank.

“Our value creation strategy was clear — double the size of the property, create a more inviting atmosphere, and bring in top-tier tenants to serve the growing and increasingly affluent Rocky River community,” said Jay Lask, managing director of investments of Madison Marquette, in a recent release.

In addition to visiting old favorites, such as the remodeled Pearl of the Orient, which features an expanded menu, shoppers had the opportunity to check out the long-awaited Liberty Books and News during the grand re-opening.

The reader-focused book store offers more than one and one half miles of books and 8,000 magazine titles from all over the world. The Brown Aveda Institute and Francesca’s Collections opened just a week earlier.

Brown Aveda Institute, a teaching center, offers student classrooms, client services, and an Aveda hair and body care retail center. Francesca’s Collections is a privately owned retail chain boutique that sells the latest in women’s fashions, accessories, and gifts.

Visit Beachcliff Market Square in the 19300 block of Detroit Road. To learn more about Liberty Books and News, call (216) 458-5860. You can learn about the Brown Aveda Institute at www.BrownAveda.com and Francesca’s Collections at www.francescascollections.com.