Cleveland State University begins to build at 'Campus Village'

CLEVELAND - Cleveland State University took another step Wednesday to becoming a campus with more residential options.

Long-known by students as a commuter school, the college and a real estate firm are building what leaders call a "Campus Village." They held a groundbreaking Wednesday morning at East 23rd Street and Chester Avenue.

The village is designed to attract residents to a mixed-use neighborhood in the CSU campus community.

The development will feature nine buildings with restaurants, shops, green space for outdoor activities, a movie theater, media rooms and a cyber cafe. There also will be more than 300 new apartments, designed to attract alumni, students and young professionals who may be interested in living downtown near the campus.

CSU President Ronald Berkman believes the development with Polaris Real Estate Equities is the next step in the organization's mission of creating a campus neighborhood downtown.

"There will be a new energy on campus that will spark additional development throughout the surrounding area," Berkman said, in a news release.

Construction is expected to be completed in about two years.