EA Staff on tour bus with Mayor Hruby.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 – Determined to stay on top of all the info we need to share with those relocating to Cleveland or Akron, Executive Arrangements hosts an off-site meeting for its staff once a month (called EA University), and this month we spent the morning in the southern Cuyahoga County suburb of Brecksville. The Mayor (of more than 30 years) Jerry Hruby, led the tour and here are some of the highlights of Brecksville, which is home to 13,500 residents.
For those who want to be close to parks and green space, Brecksville has few rivals. The city is 19 square miles but fully one-third is parkland including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (which really is the backyard to many residents), the Cleveland MetroParks Brecksville Reservation (largest park in the system) and several city parks. There is quick access to trails for biking, hiking, walking and riding horses, including The Tow Path.
A true bedroom community with dozens of cul-de-sacs and at least half of the city streets having sidewalks, Brecksville appeals to families with kids and the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District is ranked 5th in the state and offers a preschool program as well.
Homes within the city limits range from $70k condos to multi-million dollar mansions and from historic to state-of-the-art brand, new construction. Some notable neighborhoods include:
- Grand Bay of Brecksville
- Echo Hills
- Rockledge Estates
- The Four Seasons
- The Timbers
- The Woodlands
Not wanting to lose residents after their kids have flown the coop, Brecksville began focusing on services and housing for the 55+ crowd many years ago, including Chippewa Place and Jennings at Brecksville (independent and assisted living).
Brecksville is a safe community; and out of almost 60 suburbs in Cuyahoga County, the real estate taxes are 9th lowest, with residents paying just a little over $2,200 for every $100K value of their home. There hasn’t been a school levy in 13 years (however, a downside is high pay to play sports fees), and the median income of the city is $124,000 – one of the highest in Cuyahoga County.
Brecksville Human Services Center
Brecksville works to take care of its own as well with a plethora of offerings from the Human Services Department, which allows the city to appeal to a diverse socioeconomic demographics. Their Rec Center is an enviable amenity and priced much less than the cost of a traditional healthclub membership. It offers athletics, aquatics, child care, fitness and wellness services as well as a “Snow Day Camp” as a quick solution for parents when schools are closed but your office is not. That’s pretty inventive. It is open to residents and employees of companies located in Brecksville.
Access to excellent healthcare is available with campuses of MetroHealth, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic all located in the city.
And the geographic location makes this city a bedroom community for those who work in Cuyahoga County (80% of residents) and other nearby counties (20%). For those concerned about the “one way in/out of downtown CLE,” when I-77 is snarled, many residents take Rt. 21 to bypass the traffic and rejoin I-77 further north.
Brecksville’s taxes are low in part due to the major corporate presence in their town including:
- AT&T
- BF Goodrich Performance Materials (the first concrete road in Cuyahoga County was built here so that they could test tires)
- Lubrizol
- PNC
- The House of LaRose (for those not from CLE, they are the local Anheuser-Busch beer distributor)
- UTC Aerospace Systems
And while many big box stores and chain restaurants would like to have a presence in Brecksville, the citizens have voiced their concern for keeping their suburb a quiet community with a true neighborhood feeling, so there are not a lot of destination spots here (no movie theaters, shopping malls, etc.), but nearby suburbs offer many of those amenities.
One development we are keeping an eye on is the acreage surrounding the Brecksville VA Hospital Campus. The buildings are set to be razed and will offer up over 100 acres to develop including independent restaurants, retail, apartments and possibly some condos and a conference center with a hotel (check out this article for more info!). The first phase will begin in 2017, and the entire project will take about five to six years to complete.
The city is also planning to repurpose its 185-acre Blossom Hill property. A new pool area will include areas for lap swimming and possibly a lazy river. A new field house will contain a multi-purpose floor for basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports. The city may add a second wing that would house an all-purpose, artificial-turf indoor field and might build walking trails that would connect Blossom Hill to the Cleveland Metroparks (click here to read more!).
Here’s a list of a few fun things to do in Brecksville…
Boston Mills
- Brecksville Center for the Arts: Offers a variety of classes and camps in ceramics, drawing, theatre, etc. for both kids and adults.
- Golf: Sleepy Hollow and Seneca
- Hale Farm & Village: A historical, working farm preserving and sharing the story of the Western Reserve.
- Horseback Riding at the Brecksville Reservation
- Maple Crest Farm: A full service riding, driving, training and boarding facility for equestrians.
- Brecksville Nature Museum
- Skiing at Boston Mills and Brandywine
- Squire Rich Museum: A look at the past through a historically maintained 1840s home.
Executive Arrangements knows the numerous neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio. We are true NEO lifestyle experts! Give us a call if you need help showing recruits or new hires why Cleveland, Akron or Canton is the right spot for them! 216.231.9311