{"id":751,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-03-04 21:32:03","latitude":41.48041500000000070258465711958706378936767578125,"longitude":-81.6962250000000267391442321240901947021484375,"title":"Fairmont Creamery","subtitle":null,"fullsize":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/596e8347012cdf776c9e159500b94900.jpg","address":"2306 W 17th St, Cleveland, OH","zoom":12,"creator":["Chris Roy"],"description":"Fairmont Creamery Company was founded in Fairmont, Nebraska, near Omaha, in 1884—an early “national dairy” with operations stretching from the Dakotas to Buffalo, New York. Fairmont was a pioneer in milk can pickup and one of the first creameries to provide farmers with their own hand-operated cream separators. In 1948 the company was re-branded as Fairmont Foods. It also became a Fortune 500 company and was granted a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1959.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nFairmont Creamery’s Cleveland operation opened in 1930 in a five-story building at 2306 West 17th Street, directly across Willey Avenue from what is now the Animal Protective League. Designed with two floors of manufacturing space and room for 75 delivery trucks, the facility also could accommodate railcar delivery input and output through its lower floor receiving room. For decades, a variety of dairy products were processed and distributed at the Cleveland facility. Local residents bought ice cream cones at a retail window. Employees from Tremont and Ohio City enjoyed short walks to work. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn the early 1980s all of Fairmont Foods’ properties and subsidiaries were either sold or closed, including the Cleveland operation. The West 17th Street building stayed largely empty for roughly 30 years, save for a small nickel-chrome-plating business that worked out of the basement. Dust, debris and an occasional squatter were all that occupied the remaining spaces.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn 2013, a trio of aggressive young developers—recent graduates of Oberlin College—stepped in and brought new life to the old building. Ben Ezinga, Josh Rosen and Naomi Sabe, founders of Sustainable Community Architects, purchased the building for $450,000. Comprising federal New Markets Tax Credits; state and federal historic preservation tax credits; a JobsOhio grant; city vacant property initiative funds; private equity investment; and a Goldman Sachs construction loan, $15 million was poured into a residential/commercial renovation, which was completed in 2015. The repurposed creamery includes 30 apartments and several ground-floor businesses. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nSustainable Community Architects worked to retain and celebrate the building’s history. Walk-in coolers were transformed into bedrooms and gym locker rooms. Huge concrete columns and beams, along with brick interior walls (originally glazed for food safety) became interior highlights. Windows, doors and signs were rebuilt in the 1930s style. According to Josh Rosen “the building is a reminder that people make stuff in this city; we wanted to expose the building’s original features rather than hide them.” <br />\r\n<br />\r\nAt the same time, the property also incorporates the best of the new. Natural light permeates living spaces. Each apartment has a unique design and layout. A 3,500-square-foot rooftop deck offers a place to lounge, garden, picnic and enjoy panoramic views of downtown Cleveland. However, the best juxtaposition of old and new may be that Fairmont Creamery is concurrently a Cleveland Landmark and a site on the National Register of Historic Places, and conforms to modern eco-friendly standards such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Enterprise Green Communities. ","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":null,"website":"<a title=\"Fairmont Creamery website\" href=\"https://thefairmontcreamery.com\">thefairmontcreamery.com</a>","related_resources":["Carr, Kathy Ames. \"<a href=\"https://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20141025/SUB1/310269997/areas-latest-industrial-rehab-project-at-former-fairmont-creamery\">Area's Latest Industrial Rehab Project at Former Fairmont Creamery Will Open with Full Occupancy.</a>\" <em>Crain's Cleveland Business</em>. October 25, 2014.","McFee, Michelle Jarboe. \"<a href=\"https://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/01/fairmont_creamery_deal_in_trem.html\">Fairmont Creamery Deal in Tremont Closes; Construction on Apartments, Offices, Retail to Start.</a>\" <em>Cleveland.com</em>. January 6, 2014. ","<em>Inside Tremont.</em> December 2013 and January 2014.","<a href=\"https://www.trainresource.com/articles/article/8425155/166092.htm\"><em>TrainResource.com</em></a>. "],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/596e8347012cdf776c9e159500b94900.jpg":{"id":7782,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Fairmont Creamery Delivery Drivers, 1941","description":"Like other dairy producers, the Fairmont Creamery employed drivers to truck its products to customers. | Sustainable Community Architects | 1941","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/596e8347012cdf776c9e159500b94900.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/52cbe6f686899471594e0dd9c303c273.jpg":{"id":7784,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Fairmont Creamery Egg Breakers, 1944","description":"&quot;Fairmont Creamery - breakers - even they make little dent in supply&quot; - photo verso | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University Library Special Collections | 1944","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/52cbe6f686899471594e0dd9c303c273.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/cf6437c224b6610d245cc95c59779b9c.jpg":{"id":7785,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Fairmont Creamery Contest Winner, 1961","description":"&quot;10 Artists Win New Bicycles Douglas Brown, 7, of 2775 Scranton Rd., received his new bicycle from Walter Roebuck, Fairmont Foods sales manager. Doug is one of 10 youngsters who won bikes in its &quot;Draw the Eskimo Pie Boy&quot; contest. Other winners are Joseph Noga, Joe Samuel, Cynthia Kusak, Melissa Hurley, Martha Cook, Margaret Jones, Larry Thayer, Kenneth Zakrajsek and Jane Basch&quot; - photo verso. | Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland State University Library Special Collections","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/cf6437c224b6610d245cc95c59779b9c.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/a7d2636eec034c76d87955a2642ff78e.jpg":{"id":7783,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Fairmont Creamery Prior to Renovation","description":"The creamery is among a number of industrial structures in older manufacturing centers like Cleveland that have undergone adaptive reuse in recent years in response to a growing public interest in urban living. | Sustainable Community Architects","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/a7d2636eec034c76d87955a2642ff78e.jpg"},"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/fullsize/872048f941451bcdd07440c5b94f7b80.jpg":{"id":7781,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Fairmont Creamery, 2015","description":"Fairmont Creamery as it appeared after its renovation. | 2015 | Chris Roy","thumbnail":"https://clevelandhistorical.org/files/square_thumbnails/872048f941451bcdd07440c5b94f7b80.jpg"}}}