CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the last six months, co-developers Betsy Figgie and Daniel Budish have acquired almost 100,000 square feet of real estate on the Lakewood-Cleveland border with the goal of establishing an inclusive, welcoming and safe space for all members of LGBTQ community of greater Cleveland.
“This is the project for this moment in time,” Budish said.
The project, Studio West 117, comprises of buildings along the corner of Hird and Detroit Avenues. They will house entertainment, sports and dining venues as well as LGBTQ businesses and social services that build off nearby LGBTQ assets.
“We’re going to have retail opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs—things with low barriers to entry for people to get jobs and build equity in themselves,” Budish said. “We’re going to have opportunities for art galleries and nonprofits, medical services (and) a new pharmacy for the LGBTQ community.”
“By end of 2020 we’re hoping to have a mental health service provider, also potentially a tailor that specializes working with the LGBTQ community. And then also a coffee shop, but not your run-of-the-mill coffee shop; it will be a coffee shop that will embrace the LGBTQ community to provide employment opportunities,” Figgie said.
Studio West 117 is currently comprised of three properties—one which will focus on recreation and fitness, an entertainment complex which will provide LGBTQ nightlife to the community and elevate the art of drag in town. It’ll also have a mixed-use residential property.
Figgie and Budish said their background in real estate finance and multi-tenant projects along with strong involvement from community partners will allow them to transform this under-utilized area in to something that will have a lasting impact on the Lakewood and LGBTQ community.
“This is something that I could get behind for the next 30 years to make sure that we can manage the safety and the brand and the vision and the tenants and the affordability and the inclusiveness. That’s what really got me interested in the project and so this felt like the perfect fit,” Figgie said.
Studio West 117 is also a perfect fit for Dr. Lady J, a drag queen and drag-history professor who said she looks forward to educating the younger generations on LGBTQ history and being a support system for those in need.
“We can get you linked up with all these different organizations. We can give you a real sense of community. And that is what I’m really, really excited about—is just the multiplicity of ways that we’re going to be able to assist people especially when we get some of these tenants bases, working and hopefully with the people we’re hoping to work with,” Lady J said.
Lauren Tatum is president of the West 117th foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit designed to manage major investment taking place at Studio West.
“There’s so much people want to give. This allows us to work with Studio West as a foundation as a nonprofit and bridge that gap, where the commercial side of things and the philanthropy, kind of, usually they don’t usually have a bridge between them,” Tatum said.
“Having spaces where you see yourself reflected I think is one of the most valuable things because there’s a few things that let you know you’re safe more than just seeing someone who looks like you,” Lady J said.
