Cleveland mayor proposes one development team for lakefront
CLEVELAND, Ohio --
Mayor Frank Jackson proposed Tuesday to fast-track his vision for a bustling downtown lakefront, where Clevelanders could board a charter boat, grab a bite, report to work and even make a home.
Rather than allow disparate developers to build the project piecemeal over numerous years, Jackson wants one firm -- or perhaps a partnership -- to dream up a blend of businesses, apartments, paths and parks, then quickly transform the concept into reality.
"We're not looking at a hodgepodge of project upon project," Jackson said in a phone interview. "We're looking at a comprehensive approach. It's our way of guaranteeing the lakefront plan."
To help him choose the right developer, Jackson said he is seeking advice from a seven-member panel of community and business leaders. Representatives from Cuyahoga County government, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Presidents Council, Cleveland Browns, Great Lakes Science Center and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will help draft a formal request for proposals and review the ideas as they stream in.
The mayor in November unveiled an ambitious plan (see PDF below) for transforming a 90-acre swath from the former port docks east to Burke Lakefront Airport. He imagined a hotel, restaurants, shops and offices, as well as public boat access, a parking garage and a bridge connecting the development to the rest of downtown.
That outline shows the basics, said Chris Warren, Cleveland's chief of regional development. But it doesn't preordain exactly what can be built. Apartments weren't part of the original pitch, but Warren now exalts the possibility of a waterfront residences, citing downtown occupancy rates that hover around 96 percent.
"We want to see as much creativity ... as we can find," he said. "It's a balancing of pragmatic concerns with the best possible design."
The city is considering a separate deal for the 20 acres south and west of Burke Lakefront Airport.
The Geis Cos. of Streetsboro wants to transform the area into an office park, and already has three likely tenants, Warren said. If approved by City Council, the company would have a one-year option on the property and would perform soil testing, engineering research, design work and marketing, worth about $600,000.
The activity provides momentum for the makeover of East Ninth Street pier next door and the docks beyond, and proves private developers are interested, Jackson said. "It demonstrated this is not an idle conversation."
Because the city hasn't yet written the request for proposals for the remaining 70 acres, no one can say what will be included. But firms will have to show their vision is achievable, that they have the expertise and financing capabilities to get it done. How to pay for the public improvements and how to connect the new development with the downtown mall and convention center also must be answered.
The developer can use tax incentives to build public amenities, such as a parking garage, Jackson said, though breaks on taxes for the Cleveland school district are off the table. And though the city may contribute some money, the project must be substantially privately funded.
Any contract with a developer or tax incentives would need City Council approval.
The advisory panel will have six to eight weeks to collaborate on the request for proposals, which Jackson hopes to receive before the end of the year.
Developers can suggest their own timeline for building the project pieces. But Jackson said the process will be much faster than waiting for developers to pitch different pieces of the lakefront puzzle.
Fred Nance, general counsel for the Browns and a member of the advisory panel, said the competitive process proposed by the mayor "should bring the best ideas forward."
Port chief executive Will Friedman said the process could move quickly.
Both the Browns and the port have already pledged support to developing the lakefront.
Cleveland Browns leaders announced last year that they envision a mixed-use project, including athletic fields and a potential sports-medicine or wellness facility on land north of the stadium.
County Executive Ed FitzGerald has pledged millions of dollars from casino taxes to development of downtown, including the lakefront. And the port is seeking a replacement property tax in November to raise about $90 million over five years in part to pedestrian bridge from the lake to Mall C, along with other lakefront improvements.
Voters will decide the property tax issue before the city issues its request for proposals.
Jackson said his lakefront plan can succeed where past schemes have failed. In 2000, then Mayor Michael R. White proposed a Ferris wheel, children's museum, band shell and theater complex. White's successor, Jane Campbell, called for five marinas, five beaches and 3.9 million square feet of office and commercial space.
Cleveland already has grants for a marina and a pedestrian bridge from Voinovich Park, at the end of the East Ninth Street pier, to the science center. The marina and bridge are scheduled to open in 2014.
And the city has decided the answer to lingering questions of whether the port will move or the airport close. The answer to both is no.
"We've set the stage," Jackson said. "We've eliminated the hypothetical development. .. Now we have to move into the implementation of the plan."
