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The word that probably best describes University Heights in the 21st Century is - development.

Also underway is the redevelopment of the intersection of South Taylor and Cedar roads, now referred to as University Corners, which houses a Hollywood Video, Rite Aid, and several other specialty shops.

Even with thousands of John Carroll University students crisscrossing its streets every day, the small northeast suburb of University Heights has become a pleasant pause from bustling downtown Cleveland and the Flats.

When university activities heat up (Homecoming weekend, for example) the area can seem more like a college town than anything else. Quaint homes on tree-lined boulevards were built around the ever-expanding school, which was founded in 1886 as a younger sister school to Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown University.

The school's main clock tower is a landmark for area residents who direct visitors to dorms or to shopping in the small plaza, The Circle, just across the adjoining field. By day, the plaza's Arabica coffeehouse is the gathering place for students, professors and families who, together, have nourished the community. Walk next door and down the steps into the basement of Pizzazz and a crowd peppered with area disc jockeys (including WJCU 88.7 FM, the university's student-run radio station) and locals listen to live blues well into the night.

John Carroll University's newest addition, The Dolan Center for Science and Technology, will enable the university to advance its science and mathematics curriculum, upgrade instructional technology, and expand partnerships with area schools and employers.

The Circle -- referring to the streets Warrensville Center Road, Fairmount and North Park Boulevards, all of which meet at John Carroll -- also has a market, a bank and a Ben & Jerry's franchise. While we're on the topic of new developments, the Cedar-Green complex now houses a Zeppe's Pizza and Heights Frame Shop.

Warrensville splits University Heights in half and carries you into Shaker Heights. North Park is the way to turn-of-the-century homes, some of which were dismantled, transported, then reconstructed literally brick-by-brick-from Britain. Fairmount can be followed to the legendary beatnik and hippie haven Coventry Road.

A drive from University Heights to Jacobs Field (Home of the Cleveland Indians), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum or to the Flats will take you about twenty minutes. No car? No problem. Hop onto Cleveland's above-ground rail route-The Rapid-or a city bus. Conveniently, either one is only a short walk from any dorm or house.