LAKEWOOD, Ohio — It’s a more than $100 million project that, in essence, is building a new neighborhood for Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community.
Studio West 117, located on the east side of Lakewood, will celebrate its grand opening weekend for its Phase 1 fieldhouse beginning Friday.
"This is the alternative entertainment mecca for Cleveland," cofounder Daniel Budish explained. "It’s been three years in the making."
This entertainment venue features a rooftop patio, restaurants and bars, as well as an experimental kitchen and gymnasium.
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"We’re going to have pickleball in the gym as well as dodgeball, yoga classes, all these demonstrations of what we’re going to be able to do in that gym," Budish added.
A space created for and by the LGBTQ+ community that required hiring more than 100 new employees in a matter of weeks.
"It was surprisingly easy," cofounder Betsy Figgie said. "Sometimes we would post a job opening and get 35-40 applicants for just one position."
"Easy" is not a word you’d normally hear at a time when job postings often stayed open for months, however Budish told News 5 their secret is simple.
"I think it comes down to the mission itself," he said. "We are here to support the LGBT community and I think people really resonated with that."
The project doesn’t just entail this first phase with the fieldhouse; Studio West 117 extends down the block of Hird Avenue and across Detroit Avenue as well as other properties scattered throughout this area, totaling more than 300,000 square feet.
Phase 2 and 3, consisting of updating the old Phantasy entertainment space, plus building LGBTQ+ housing and a health center, is slated to be completed by 2025.
"This proves to Cleveland and to the country that we deserve more and we can have more," Budish said.
While some events are ticketed and already sold out, grand opening celebrations for the fieldhouse are free and open to the public throughout this weekend.
"I think the building is ready for her closeup," Figgie added.
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