WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2021 53
“They’re all lovely,” she says of her
neighbors, who go out of their way to
reach out to one another. “That’s the
way Shaker is.”
Mary Ann, who works as a
financial consultant, first lived in
Shaker Heights in the 1990s, when
she lived in an apartment in the
Shaker Square area. She and her
late husband, Eric, raised their
two children farther east, closer to
extended family. But when their
second child finished high school and
headed off to Chicago for college last
year, Mary Ann knew the time was
right to both find some fresh emptynester
digs and to return to Shaker
Heights.
When it came to location, Mary
Ann was drawn to the walkability
of Moreland and the proximity of
Heinen’s and the rest of the Chagrin-
Lee retail district. She often prefers to
stroll up to CVS rather than have to
always hop in the car.
And, she says, there was a
particular attraction to buying a
new home. “It’s the perfect way to
experience Shaker life,” she says. “It’s
a wonderful way to live here. And, a
small house on a small lot is totally
perfect for me, rather than a condo or
a townhouse.”
As luck would have it, Mary Ann
happened to know the owner of Knez
Homes, the company that built her
new home. Knez has been working
with the City of Shaker Heights to
identify buyers interested building
“infill” housing, or new construction
on empty lots in established
neighborhoods. A key benefit to
building a home on an infill lot in
Shaker Heights is tax abatement. For
10 years, owners pay property tax
only on the value of the lot and not
on their new home. If they sell their
home before the 10 years are up, the
abatement is fully transferable.
The design for the Knez
homes are taken through the City’s
rigorous Architectural Review Board
standards to ensure they blend with
the surrounding homes. Mary Ann’s
handsome house sits between two
other tidy lots, each with a Knez sign
announcing their availability for new
construction.
When homes are built on
those lots, the street will again be
knit together in a continuous line
of gracious front porches – one
of the hallmarks of the Moreland
neighborhood, and not just
architecturally.
“The porch scene is great.
Everyone sits on a porch here. It’s very
social,” says Mary Ann. One reason
she was ready to move from a larger
property to her smaller Ludgate lot is
that she no longer had the need for a
big backyard for children to play.
Mary Ann’s roomy front porch
echoes the others on Ludgate, but
the home’s resemblance to its older
neighbors ends at the threshold.
Stepping inside is architectural time
travel straight to the 21st century.
Mary Ann’s first floor, at 1,016 square
feet, is a continuous, light-filled, highceilinged
space, all visible from the
front door.
The living room area, to the right,
is roomy and cozy with a sectional sofa
and armchair gathered in an invitation
to sit and visit. Behind the living space
is an open dining and kitchen area
that effortlessly fits a table for six
and a generously sized island with a
breakfast bar while still allowing for
plenty of floor space.
In a nod to the layout of so
many of Shaker’s traditional homes,
a staircase rises to the second floor
directly inside the front door. Upstairs,
Mary Ann has three bedrooms. The
main bedroom is especially large and,
much like the first floor, feels airy and
bright with its large windows. Two
walk-in closets – and of course a bath
– complete the primary suite, with
one windowed closet large enough to
comfortably serve as Mary Ann’s home
office.
In the basement, a TV area and
ping pong table await the return of
Mary Ann’s son and daughter from
college – and the return to more
freedom to invite friends over in a
post-COVID world.
Although Mary Ann didn’t find
her home until it was “probably 85
percent complete,” she’s still making it
her own, tweaking colors and accents
and design. Knez uses model homes
and a showroom to allow buyers to
make choices about what features and
finishes they would like. As with typical
new construction, some options are
standard; upgrades, such as a finished
basement or taller kitchen cabinets,
can be added at additional cost.
Just in time for summer, she’ll be
adding Adirondack chairs and some
new landscaping to the backyard to
create another hangout zone. But
when it comes to customizing the
building process, she was just as
happy to find an almost-done house
with smart choices already made by
Knez within the architectural standards
of the City.
“I fell in love with it. They did a
really nice job on a house that could
work for a family, and it works for me,
too.” SL
If you are interested in acquiring
a City-owned infill lot and building
a new home, start by reviewing the
City’s vacant lot program and list
at shakeronline.com/275/Vacant-
Lot-Program and then contact
Neighborhood Revitalization Director
Kamla Lewis at 216-491-1374 or
kamla.lewis@shakeronline.com
connecting t the lee road corridor: o neighborhoods
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/Vacant-
link