Osborn is providing civil engineering and utility coordination services to the Hargreaves Associates design team for the Shaker Square Public Realm Enhancement project. 

Historic Shaker Square was developed in the 1920’s by the Van Sweringen brothers in the American Colonial-Georgian style. The Square is the oldest shopping district held outdoors in Ohio and was designed to accommodate rail and vehicular traffic. The current state of the Square has stakeholders and owners feeling that it is not reaching its full potential as an “equitable and thriving neighborhood hub and regional destination.”

The goal of this study is to improve Shaker Square and create connectivity with the surrounding neighborhoods. This includes providing a framework to improve connectivity to local and regional assets, development analysis for surrounding areas, design of green space and spaces for public engagement, infrastructure for new and existing programming/events, multi-modal transportation planning, parking analysis and wayfinding ideas, framework for governance and stewardship model to allow for sustainable programming, and financing structure/capital campaign strategy.

The physical layout of the current Square has created safety concerns, frustration with wayfinding, and acts as a barrier to the Buckeye neighborhood, so a community-supported vision is paramount for the future of the Square.