Clean Express Auto Wash, part of Express Wash Concepts, has officially hit the brakes on plans to build an automated car wash on the southeast edge of Shaker Square, company and local reporting confirmed. The proposal would have knocked down a small retail strip and replaced it with a single-use facility featuring vacuum aisles and payment gates. After a steady wave of neighborhood and city pushback, the company now says it will hunt for a different spot.
Company says it listened
In a statement, Clean Express said it pulled its application "after hearing directly from Shaker Square residents" and that it wants to be respectful of the neighborhood’s long-term vision. The announcement via PR Newswire quoted CEO John Roush: "We have tremendous respect for the Shaker Square community," and added that "Cleveland deserves the right project in the right place."
Neighbors and city officials pushed back
The advisory committee reviewing the design reported roughly 149 letters and emails and 12 phone calls, nearly all opposing the car wash, with only a few supporters in the mix. Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration, City Council leadership, and the city's design reviewers argued the use was inappropriate for the historic district, which is built around pedestrians and transit rather than drive-through traffic. Mayor Bibb’s chief of integrated development told the committee the administration was "steadfastly opposed," according to reporting by NEOtrans.
How the plan clashed with the Vision Plan
Opponents repeatedly pointed to the Shaker Square Vision Plan, which calls for walkable, mixed-use retail and more public space instead of drive-through or single-use automotive businesses. The Vision Plan, prepared by Agency Landscape + Planning with local partners, emphasizes third spaces, strong transit connections, and ground-floor businesses that pull in foot traffic rather than car-focused uses. To critics, a car wash landed squarely in the "wrong project, wrong place" category. See the Shaker Square Vision Plan for more on the neighborhood’s goals.
Money and prior approvals raise the stakes
Local nonprofits that now own the square have poured public and private dollars into repairs and upgrades meant to draw pedestrians and retailers. Reporting shows Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Burten, Bell, Carr invested about $5 million in lighting, awnings, and facades between 2023 and 2025. The vacant parcel at 2750 Van Aken Blvd. was cleared after a demolition approval last year under the expectation of a multi-family project, and alternatives for the site have not yet been submitted, according to Cleveland Scene.
What happens next
With the car wash proposal off the table, neighbors and city planners say the lot will likely stay an interim landscaped space while the owners and potential developers search for a project that actually lines up with the Vision Plan. Express Wash Concepts has said it will keep looking for the "right project in the right place" elsewhere, per reporting by Cleveland Scene, leaving the door open for a different Cleveland proposal down the road.
