Sorry not to have been posting and updating REALNEO very often the past few weeks. We took possession of our house on Roxbury, in East Cleveland, last Monday, and I've been there every day since, extracting the offenses of over a century, from 1,000s of square feet of drop ceilings to as many as three layers of linoleum... all that has protected the exceptional wood and plaster hidden beneath. The most critical extraction is the many layers of paint, the bottom few being hard-core lead... on miles of wood trim and scores of doors and windows, all of which we are desmantling and completely stripping to bare wood.

While this is a huge amount of work, it is the only way to address lead in such old homes, like most in Cleveland and the older suburbs. Obviously, we knew getting into this project that we would have lead everywhere and need to strip all the wood - until we are done with this phase and the clean-up the kids and Evelyn are rarely at the job site and we are taking great care to contain dust and debris and isolate anything that contains lead.

I would only bother to do this with a really solid building worth saving, of which there are 1,000s in East Cleveland, alone. The more I dive into my house the more I am awed by the quality of design, construction and materials, all the way down to the foundation. 101 years old and this house is as solid as a rock. And, I've had a chance to tour several other homes in my neighborhood and each are as excellent in their own unique ways.

I've also found in my neighborhood caring homeowners working hard to keep their old and at times difficult properties in order - many are in transition between generations - most need significant renovations but are well worth saving. And, I've found there are talented tradespeople in my neighborhood well qualified to work on these historic properties, and reasonably priced... I have two neighbors helping me on my house now.

I know there are funds available to help owners of historic and lead contaminated properties make renovations, especially in low income situations and with young children and senior citizens involved, and it seems there is local workforce available to make repairs. As we are renovating our home, we are exploring how all this fits together to drive neighborhood redevelopment and workforce and wealth creation.

In my neighborhood, at the micro-level, right now, we are employing two people and we'll create $100,000+ in real, new value on our street, with our home, nearly overnight. If we can leverage that to drive other historic renovations of other boarded up homes in our neighborhood, we'll multiply the micro-level beneift, and will have a macro-level impact... the marketplace will shift completely.

The tricky thing in making such a shift happen is attracting new home owners to the area who can restore or maintain historic properties - there is a workforce development opportunity for the current tradespeople who know how to work with these old buildings to train a next generation for them, including property owners.

Considering the costs, hazards and benefits, historic property is not for everyone, but it is highly desirable to many buyers and such buyers and historic properties are a great core for a community. East Cleveland has history in abundance. It is interesting to be part of this changing fabric, in a city whose history spans from the origins of Cleveland sprawl, being its first suburb, through the whirlwind of White-flight and Xurban sprawl, to a period when all here may be renewed.

July 4, 1906 inscription from "carpenter" at 1894 Roxbury, found on original plaster, under wallpaper in breakfast room - updated by "laborer" in 1976 and again in 1977.