CLEVELAND, Ohio – A real estate company owned by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert announced Wednesday he wants to add thousands of homes, offices and other developments in the coming decades to properties along the Cuyahoga River near downtown.
The more than 100-acre overview, which includes the Collision Bend River area near Tower City and parts of Canal Road, includes the transformation of wasted properties near Tremont and Ohio City’s booming neighborhoods, as well as the own city center, general manager of Bedrock. Kofi Bonner said at a virtual press conference. The hope is to create another neighborhood through development over the next 25-30 years.
“Our goal is to lead in turning Cleveland into a true 18-hour city, alive and vibrant beyond traditional working hours,” Bonner said at a heavily orchestrated event that featured big proclamations but few details. “This will create a new competitive advantage for Cleveland in its efforts to attract business.”
City officials also participated in Wednesday’s announcement. Speakers spoke of the need for upgrades and repairs to public infrastructure such as roads, as well as the need to invest in public spaces and ways for residents to access the riverbank. They also talked about coming up with plans to make Cleveland more attractive, as a $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill is pending in Congress.
“We all need to organize ourselves to position Cleveland as best we can to be able to access the infrastructure funds that will eventually come from the federal government,” Bonner said.
Bedrock’s hope is that these public improvements, along with those of roads and other infrastructure, will lead to people wanting to live, work and visit them, and generate the need for thousands of homes, millions of square feet. of offices, shops and restaurants. that Bedrock and possibly others can build.
Bonner noted, however, that “the market will ultimately determine that.” A Bedrock spokeswoman gave no answers on what infrastructure improvements the area needs to encourage development and how much affordable housing she could see, both of which were discussed during the press conference.
The plans coincide with “Vision for the Valley,” a two-year ongoing plan that serves as a roadmap for development and investment in the area surrounding an eight-mile stretch of the Cuyahoga River. The Cleveland City Planning Commission in July adopted the plan.
Bedrock’s proposal is the largest in several years for an area that has seen many proposals come in with little action. Gilbert proposed putting a casino on the ground, and before that Forest City Enterprises wanted to build a convention center and a medical center there. Previously, the area was a potential site for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which is now on the shores of Lake Erie.
Representation of a view of the banks of the Cuyahoga River.
The press conference also included Mayor Frank Jackson, Greater Cleveland Partnership CEO Baiju Shah, and Gilbert-affiliated Rocket Community Fund executive Laura Grannemann. It was hosted by former WOIO-19 presenter Romona Robinson.
Shah said the vision and other major projects in and near the city’s central business district “have the potential to transform the city center”.
Bonner noted that Bedrock, owner of Tower City Center and the newly renovated May Co. building. near the public square, he owns about 30% of the 130 acres needed for his plan, but said he would work with landowners and other businesses to adopt his vision.
But despite talks of public-private partnerships throughout the press conference, Jackson noted that the goal is to attract private development. The mayor, who is in the last months of being at the helm of a city he has led for 16 years, said he envisioned some general legislation on the plan to go to City Hall, but that they will have details like the costs and development agreements that the next administration will work on.
Still, Jackson noted his support and said he considered it a tool to combat inequality and racism in the city, even if this development is planned near one of Cleveland’s most-invested areas. . He also said it provided connections to other major projects in and near the city center, including the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters and plans to stabilize and place parks in Irishtown Bend.
“This isn’t just bricks and mortar,” Jackson said. “It’s a tool we can show (that) that’s how business is done when you get to Cleveland and that everyone has to participate in that prosperity.”
Read more:
Cleveland Planning Commission approves Vision for the Valley plan to guide development along Cuyahoga River
Scranton Peninsula: The head of the Greater Cleveland Partnership wants homeowners to plan for the future of the city’s major riverside real estate
Exclusive shops and restaurants are also available at Dan Gilbert’s Cleveland Casino
Forest City is cutting nearly $ 50 million from its proposed medical center and convention center
Representation of a view of Canal Road.