A new slant in recent writings on urban development is that America has lost the ability to do big things.
Smothered by red tape and NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) opponents, the country has a housing crisis and crumbling infrastructure. It does a better job of delaying or killing big projects than building them. So say the authors of books including 鈥淎bundance,鈥欌�� by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and 鈥淲hy Nothing Works,鈥欌�� by Marc Dunkelman.
Amid the gloom, however, Cleveland鈥檚 lakefront revival may prove to be a happy exception.
After decades of failed attempts and nearly five years of planning under two mayors since 2021, the city is closer than ever to launching a once-in-a-century makeover of its drab, largely inaccessible Lake Erie waterfront.
The money, political will, long-term project management and financing structures are all lined up. Shovel ready plans for the downtown lakefront will come soon.
But something is still missing. In a word, it is magic.
There鈥檚 nothing in the work completed so far that鈥檚 on par with big ideas such as Millennium Park鈥檚 gleaming Bean sculpture or . There鈥檚 no Eiffel Tower, St. Louis Arch or Guggenheim Bilbao. There鈥檚 no focal point, nothing iconic or distinctive, and no evidence that top notch design is a top priority.
That鈥檚 true of existing plans for remaking 50 acres of land on the Downtown Cleveland lakefront, a project that will soon enter a new phase of detailed design.
It could also be said that the city鈥檚 latest thinking about how it could better use the 450 acres of land now occupied by Burke Lakefront Airport, which the city is thinking of closing, is underwhelming.
Simply aping the waterfront parks, developments and focal points of other cities won鈥檛 do. There鈥檚 no glory in erecting another Space Needle or CN Tower. Cleveland needs to find its own way, but how?
Pouncing on the Burke study
The need for inspiration can be sensed in the negative responses that greeted a new study released last week by the city and the nonprofit North Coast Waterfront Development Corp. on what could be done with the land occupied by Burke.
In fairness, the study wasn鈥檛 meant to provide a big vision. It鈥檚 an economic analysis that was prepared ahead of April 1 on the regulatory logistics of closing the airport. Another meeting on the economics and market for potential future uses of the land is scheduled for April 15.
The meetings are following a by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne to Ohio鈥檚 federal representatives, seeking help in closing the airport.
Congressional support is needed for a waiver to avert repaying $10 million in federal grants if the city closes Burke before the claw-back requirement expires in 2039.
The new Burke analysis is not a master plan or even a design. Scott Skinner, the executive director of the waterfront development corporation, called it a 鈥渇it study.鈥欌��
It analyzes how some fairly generic land uses and generic acreages might fit together like Lego blocks on the airport property, and how those uses would create public access and positive economic and fiscal impact.
The numbers estimate that instead of losing $1 million a year on average, as the airport now does, the land it occupies could generate $600 million in spending on construction and $2.5 million a year in tax revenue to the city if it were redeveloped. The difference 鈥斺�痳oughly $35 million over 10 years 鈥� could represent the opportunity cost of keeping Burke as it is.
Mix and match options
As for land uses, the study centers on predictable ideas. They include nearly 10 miles of trails, 200 acres of park space, a marina, an RV campsite, low density housing and hotels, among others.
One version includes an 18-hole golf course, an idea that鈥檚 problematic on its face. Golf is a seasonal sport with a limited audience that doesn鈥檛 seem logical on a lakefront aiming for broad public access year-round. The study also included a 鈥渧ertiport鈥� for medical helicopter flights, without making a strong case for that use given that area hospitals already have landing pads.
One idea with great potential that hasn鈥檛 received much comment is that of a youth sports center. Such a facility could generate exciting architecture, plus year-round activities for families and general public use. Youth sports can be a huge driver for tourism, as Indianapolis, which calls itself the , has clearly demonstrated.
Skinner said the ideas in the study grew out of discussions among the Black Environmental Leaders Association, the city of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cuyahoga County, Destination Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and the Port of Cleveland.鈥�
The discussion over the airport land will continue through an online survey that had gathered more than 4,200 responses as of March 31. Skinner is also planning public meetings throughout the spring. If elected officials finally conclude that the airport should close, far more detailed planning could begin late this year, or early in 2027, he said.
Downtown lakefront still needs fast work
In comparison to Burke, where transformation is a more distant prospect, the downtown portion of the lakefront has a much more urgent need for immediate improvement in planning and design.
That鈥檚 because the city needs to start construction on two key pieces of infrastructure by late 2027 or it could risk forfeiting $130 million in federal money awarded during the Biden administration and still supported by the Trump administration, Skinner said.
One of the two big elements is an 1,800-foot-long 鈥渓akefront connector,鈥欌�� a pedestrian bridge extending north to North Coast Harbor from the Downtown Mall, the 15-acre open space flanked by City Hall, Public Auditorium and Key Tower.
The bridge would provide an attractive and direct pedestrian route to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Great Lakes Science Center, now virtually isolated north of the Shoreway and rail lines.
The other big item is that of turning the Downtown section of the Shoreway 鈥攅ffectively a lakefront highway 鈥斺�痠nto a narrower, 35 mph boulevard.
The issue here is that with the 2027 deadline approaching, plans for the Shoreway and the connector bridge aren鈥檛 shovel ready. The process of finishing them is expected to begin later this year after the city chooses an owner鈥檚 representative and a design-build firm, Skinner said.
Skinner argues that the lakefront connector could become a destination in its own right, like New York鈥檚 High Line, the popular elevated park atop a disused rail line in Lower Manhattan. But that will be true only if the design is superb. A lot needs to happen quickly this year and next to ensure a high-quality result.
Building on earlier planning
The Shoreway revamp and the connector bridge are the core structures identified in a preliminary plan completed in 2024 for upgrading 28 acres west of North Coast Harbor and north of the city-owned Huntington Bank Field, home for now of the NFL Browns.
This bleak property, formerly a dock area for Cleveland鈥檚 port, is used now for parking, although Skinner鈥檚 organization animated it last summer with special events, yard games and refreshments.
Based on extensive public participation, the 2024 plan included a wading beach, waterside shade canopies, a sunset-viewing area, and spots for retail, hotels and apartments. Renderings made it look attractive, but it was also a grab bag that lacked a clear focus and anything approaching an iconic statement.
It also clustered tall buildings north of the football stadium, which no longer makes sense because Haslam Sports Group, the owner of the Browns, decided last year it will move the team to the new covered stadium it plans to build in suburban Brook Park by 2029.
The team鈥檚 departure means the city can rethink the Downtown lakefront, with 50 acres available now, not just 28. Skinner said his agency will soon announce a new planning team to undertake that key task, informed by earlier public input and the evolving designs for the Shoreway redo and the connector bridge.
A huge opportunity
The opportunities are bigger than ever. With the stadium set to come down and Burke airport possibly closing, the city could have 500 acres of lakefront to plan, not just the 50 acres directly north of Downtown. And with the stadium gone, the lakefront will need a new anchor to generate activity. There are ample opportunities to create new views and new waterfront attractions.
Throw in the 100 acres or so of land at the municipal parking lots south of the Shoreway, and the total available for a new lakefront would be 600 acres. That鈥檚 nearly three quarters of the size of New York鈥檚 Central Park. And that鈥檚 not counting the Cleveland Metroparks at East 72nd Street, which will add more than 70 acres of new parkland on the shoreline.
Closing Burke would mean that height restrictions could be lifted all across the central lakefront. Towers of any kind, including hotels, apartments or observation structures, could be possible as long as there鈥檚 enough money to drive caisson pilings to bedrock, Skinner said. It all depends on whether the economics make sense.
Big ideas need big patrons
Cleveland hasn鈥檛 had this much to think about on the lakefront in decades. The question is how the city can find, elevate and pay for city-defining ideas in architecture, public space, public art and landmarks that provide focal points.
Big ideas can come from anywhere. Maya Lin was an when she won a national competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Ideas like hers, however, require support from civic and corporate leaders, elected officials and cultural patrons who have the ability to recognize them and galvanize support.
The last time a civic or corporate leader attempted anything visionary on the lakefront was in the late 1980s, when (1933-2013) proposed building a headquarters skyscraper north of City Hall designed by Frank Gehry, then a relatively little-known Los Angeles architect on the rise.
After failing to win political support, Lewis expanded the existing headquarters in Mayfield. But he continued to collaborate with Gehry on designs for a mansion in Lyndhurst that never got built. Gehry used the $5 million in design fees from the mansion project to master the computer technology that enabled him to design the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, an architectural wonder sculpted in curvy sheets of titanium
Gehry, meanwhile, designed the Peter B. Lewis Building for the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. It鈥檚 a solid achievement, but not his best work.
Sometimes, when you swing big, you don鈥檛 connect. That possibility always exists. Reaching for greatness involves risk, one of Lewis鈥檚 favorite words. Is Cleveland ready for that, too?
Skinner said it鈥檚 not his job as the director of the waterfront development corporation to function as a patron of public art and architecture on Lewis鈥檚 scale. But he believes that the planning processes underway could set up a framework for big, magical ideas that are still missing.
鈥淵ou can seek out and work with arts groups and work with our friends in the private sector to put together really terrific, financeable opportunities to do something that is singular and unique,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淵ou can also move forward with the rest of the project. Those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive.鈥欌��
He's right, of course. The city鈥檚 groundwork on the lakefront is proving it鈥檚 capable of doing big things. The issue is whether it also has the capacity to do great things, with great design.
If Burke closes, the land it occupies could evolve over many years, if not decades. The Downtown lakefront is where the need for great design is greatest, right now.
