Black River Summit planned for March 21

Downtown connections and national programming are part of a second Black River Summit in Lorain.

Downtown connections and national programming will be part of the second annual Black River Summit planned for March 21 in Lorain. The annual meeting is devoted to the Black River and its Area of Concern, which is the local advisory committee that works with local, state and national programs to bolster the ecological health of the waterway. The free program, which is open to the public, is scheduled with presentations from 1-4 p.m. at the Antlers Grand Ballroom, 300 Washington Ave., Lorain. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information or reservations, visit blackriveraoc.com. Reservations are helpful, but not required. This year’s summit will deal with the water and activity happening along Lorain’s shoreline. Cleveland businesswoman Radhika Reddy, of Ariel Ventures LLC, will speak. Reddy’s company is leading the redevelopment of the Broadway Building, 300 Broadway, to become the new Ariel on Broadway hotel with space for events and retail business. Also on the speaker list is Phil Enderle, of the Collaborative, the firm that designed the Broadway streetscape. That project will bring new traffic lanes, lights, sidewalks and signage to Broadway from West Erie Avenue south to Ninth Street. The change in the environmental health of the Black River over the last few years has been a driving force behind Lorain’s economic health, said Stephanee Moore Koscho, co-founder of the Lorain County Kayak & Paddlesports Group. Known as LoCo ‘Yaks, the nonprofit group has become the facilitating organization of the Black River Area of Concern. Although steelmaking has a proud history in Lorain, residents cannot wait for an industrial revival to help the city, Moore Koscho said. “So, I think there’s a good connection between a healthy river and a healthy community,” she said. “If our river was still the way it was 10 years ago, I don’t think stuff would be going on downtown the way it is. “There has to be a healthy environment to have a healthy economy.” Additional speakers include Chris Korleski, director of the Great Lakes National Program Office; Lynn Garrity, Lake Erie program administrator of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission; Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer; Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy; and Kurt Hernon, co-owner of Speak of the Devil neighborhood cocktail bar, 201 W. Fifth St.

LORAIN AREAWIDE PLAN This shows the Black River to the left, the Lorain Port Authority’s Black River Landing festival site in the center and downtown Lorain on the right. The second annual Black River Summit planned for March 21 will include speakers discussing the connections between the ecological health of the Black River and the economic health of Lorain, said event organizer Stephanee Moore Koscho.