Downtown Cleveland and surrounding neighborhoods’ commercial real estate is about to get even more valuable as greenspaces improve and residents become even more connected with the urban locale. The brightest example is the current Irishtown Bend project. What was once a street wall of abandoned buildings and vacant land sliding into the Cuyahoga River will soon become Irishtown Bend Park, a model of active green space that welcomes growth, visitors and community benefit in the heart of the city.
The teams at Ohio City Inc and Land Studio are spearheading the project, which will forever change the relationship between Ohio City and the riverfront. Irishtown Bend Park is coming into view as a 23-acre greenspace as the Cleveland Port Authority stabilizes the existing hillside. With so many vacant buildings razed and cleared, the new vista of Downtown Cleveland is already an improvement.
In addition to an amazing view to be shared from the top of the hill on West 25th Street, the new park will activate the greenspace toward the river, featuring an amphitheater, gardens and playground. Trails will cross through the park, converging along the riverfront below. Along the river, the park’s construction will fill the missing piece of the Centennial Lake Link Trail, which stretches from Lake Erie all the way south to New Philadelphia.
Joined by many partners including the Cleveland Metroparks, the Port Authority, NOACA, NEORSD, CMHA and others, the project is a bright spot for activating our region’s environmental attributes and highlighting its historic and cultural significance. The river is an active place with ships that expertly navigate the bends, crew teams racing one another, and fishermen and kayakers filling in the gaps. Along the riverbanks, shared with industry and nightlife, are paths and trails that activate the river’s perimeter with more on the way.
There’s still a lot of planning and public input needed to shape the final product; the public can weigh in here.
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