I was very fortunate to see on Twitter an announcement about a very interesting panel discussion. On Tuesday, February 9, 2016, I attended the discussion about recent developments on, and potential future plans for Cleveland's lakefront and riverfront.
Be sure to look at the photos and read the main topic points in the initial event announcement that appeared in Steven Litt's (@Steven_Litt) February 6, 2016, article, Is waterfront development paying off for Cleveland, Cuyahoga County? Free panel discussion Tuesday. I recommend clicking on the links in this article if there are areas of Cleveland's waterfront development with which you are not familiar. I know that I learned some new facts about recent Cleveland waterfront developments by doing so.
Panel & Sponsors
By arriving early at Lakewood Public Library (@LakewoodLibrary), I was able to get a good seat for this function, which soon became a standing-room-only event! Take a look at the tweet section of this blog post, to read comments made online by some of the attendees.
Michael Baron (@baronadv1), who is on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland as program director, started off the panel presentation with general remarks, including thanking the sponsors and introducing participants.
The panel was moderated by Steven Litt (@Steven_Litt) of The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (@ClevelandDotCom) and included:
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Brian Zimmerman (@CEO_CleMetParks), CEO, Cleveland Metroparks (@CleveMetroparks)
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Joe Roman, President and CEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership (@GCPartnership)
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Bobbi Reichtell (@BobbiR), Executive Director, Campus District (@CDICleveland)
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Jenny Spencer (@JennySpencerCLE), Managing Director, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (@DetroitShoreway)
Thank you to the sponsors for making this interesting event possible:
- Case Western Reserve University Siegal Lifelong Learning Program (@Siegal_CWRU)
- League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland (@LWVGrCleveland)
- The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (@ClevelandDotCom)
- Lakewood Public Library (@LakewoodLibrary)
Cleveland Waterfront Development
Even though I had heard about most of the projects separately, it was exciting for me to hear about all of them at one gathering! It was great to hear directly from these panel members, who are intimately involved with these projects.
Rather than repeat what is presented by Steven Litt is his article that summarizes the evening's discussion, I will only mention two items that I did not know about before this evening.
- First, I learned from Bobbi Reichtell about the work of the Campus District. Despite often going to tech meetings at Cleveland State University in the Campus District, and events along the lakefront, I was not aware of their work to develop a plan to open a bike path near Burke Lakefront Airport (@BurkeLakefront). (See my blog posts about events that took place at at Burke Lakefront Airport: Economic Growth in Cleveland, GiveCamp, Arras Keathley & LeanDog.) Bobbi presented some very exciting ideas. I look forward to learning more from @CDICleveland.
Be sure to read the "Lakefront Greenway & Downtown Connector" section of the Campus District current projects web page.
Here are two photos that really excited me. The first was one that Bobbi referred to while on the panel, and the second is from the Campus District website.
Enlarge Image
Enlarge Image
While I was writing this blog post, I received a direct message from @CDICleveland letting me know about a PDF of the Lakefront Greenway and Downtown Connector Study, which I have uploaded to my website so that you can read it by clicking here. (You can also find the study on the lower right of the CampusDistrict.org home page under "Reports.")
- The second item that I learned about that evening was about the closing and future demolition of the FirstEnergy (@FirstEnergyCorp) Lake Shore Power Plant. This will free up space for development, but the question will be what type of development.
Read the details and see the great photos in Steven Litt's January 28, 2016, article: Lake Shore power plant is too degraded to preserve and reuse, FirstEnergy officials say (photos)
The article states that "FirstEnergy hopes to begin a $15 million demolition in late spring or early summer, and then to offer the 57-acre site for sale." It will be interesting to see the future plans for this property.
Immediately following this paragraph, is a screenshot from today of the Google Map of the century-old Lake Shore Power Plant at E. 70th Street and South Marginal Road adjacent to the East Shoreway, plus an embedded live Google Map of the area. It is my hope that in future years (decades?), when we compare this screenshot from today to the Google map of the future, we will see a more park-like environment.
Enlarge February 2016
Screenshot of the
Lake Shore Power Plant
Steven Litt's February 15, 2016, post-panel discussion article, Is waterfront development paying off? Nine takeaways from League of Women Voters panel, starts with:
Waterfront development is paying off so well for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County that the area should stop casting envious eyes at Chicago, Pittsburgh, Toronto and other waterfront cities, local leaders say.
The nine takeaways -- read the details and see the photos in the article -- include:
- Stop badmouthing Cleveland
- Payback from the West Shoreway
- Unequal benefits
- East Side solution
- Uneven design?
- Opposed to open lake dumping
- Split on Burke
- The next big idea
- The biggest waterfront problem
I am excited by the developments that have already been made in the city of Cleveland, and look forward to learning how plans for the future progress over time.
Cuyahoga County Waterfronts and Neighborhood Development Panel 2.9.16 Video
If you missed the Cleveland waterfront panel, I have included a full video of the event here:
Thank you to Michael Baron (@baronadv1), who I contacted about including this video in this blog post. The video is hosted on the Teaching Cleveland YouTube channel. (Learn more about Teaching Cleveland at: TeachingCleveland.org)
Tweets & Retweets
Here are my @sos_jr tweets and retweets relating to the panel discussion on Cleveland's waterfront development. I always find it interesting to see what others share during a meeting like this. Please share any tweets with content or photos that you find interesting by retweeting them. Clicking on Twitter photos will enlarge them!
Is waterfront development paying off in Greater #Cleveland? https://t.co/WcevtViQTV @baronadv1 @clevemetroparks pic.twitter.com/n632HlSLkF
— Steven Litt (@steven_litt) February 6, 2016
So far #LakeErie is beating the #CuyahogaRiver by a 2 to 1 margin on our waterfront development potential question https://t.co/Xt12kUF3VN
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 9, 2016
Lake Erie has to be one of Cleveland's key strategic advantages. What's our plan? https://t.co/eKi87Q47oc
— Michael Baron (@baronadv1) February 7, 2016
Plan to attend this free panel discussion Tues., Feb. 9th @LakewoodLibrary, 7pm. @CEO_CleMetParks @DetroitShoreway https://t.co/Yj8ZIu41BU
— david jurca (@davidjurca) February 8, 2016
If you have anything to say about Cleveland's waterfront, come here & say it. Ideas to build consensus around https://t.co/P60Moon46O
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 7, 2016
.@ClevelandChick Thx but can't attend @LLBeanLVOhio today. Going to @steven_litt/@CEO_CleMetParks https://t.co/wRbuGbXMj5
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 9, 2016
cc: @aliciamhansen
Cuy Cnty Waterfronts & Neighborhood Develop w/ Steven Litt @steven_litt at Lakewood Public Library Main Auditorium Tuesday Feb. 9 at 7:00 pm
— Lakewood Library (@LakewoodLibrary) February 6, 2016
Next forum: 2/9 @LakewoodLibrary:"Cuyahoga Cty Waterfronts & Neighborhood Dev"w/@steven_litt https://t.co/D28myWjOze pic.twitter.com/DJdyWVsMQe
— Michael Baron (@baronadv1) February 1, 2016
Managing Director @jennyspencercle to speak on waterfront development with a star studded panel (cc: @steven_litt) https://t.co/rYnHtbR7dk
— DetroitShoreway (@DetroitShoreway) February 6, 2016
Tonight's Public Policy Forum on Cuy. Co. Waterfronts @lakewoodlibrary will be Live-streamed: https://t.co/noICQz9NGM @cwru @LWVGrCleveland
— Lifelong Learning (@Siegal_CWRU) February 9, 2016
What's happened since 04 #CLE Lakefront Plan? Mtg 2 night @ 7 @LakewoodLibrary @steven_litt https://t.co/g0IJuR7XVY pic.twitter.com/vc6P0GA9Aq
— Chris Ronayne (@chrisronayne) February 9, 2016
How is #waterfront development paying off for Greater Cleveland? A brief primer: #LakeErie https://t.co/XcmuUdHySn pic.twitter.com/x38Sz7BrqB
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 9, 2016
.@ShareTheRiver Gr8 slideshow pics of beautiful progress with @LakewoodOhio, @clevemetroparks, @ClevelandRows & @FlatsForward. Thx 4 share!
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 9, 2016
.@Siegal_CWRU @LWVGrCleveland, will @SeeYourWords be documenting tonight's waterfront forum? She did great in 2014! pic.twitter.com/6TWKN8NDf7
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 9, 2016
Attending panel: Is #Cleveland #waterfront development paying off? https://t.co/eyMeqswg0A pic.twitter.com/cPYSM00OL2
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
It's a full house for tonight's waterfront development forum #CLEH2O pic.twitter.com/hPLb8ZKCEZ
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
On panel: @CEO_CleMetParks of @clevemetroparks talking about @ClevelandRows property improvement on Cuyahoga River. https://t.co/eyMeqswg0A
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
"Connect is the most important verb." Joe Roman. @steven_litt #clevelandlakefront @ShareTheRiver
— Jeff Kerr (@_jeffkerr) February 10, 2016
.@clevemetroparks As we turn 100 next year we're focused on making connections to Cleveland's waterfront pic.twitter.com/PMkR6VkeXX
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Why is important that the lakefront bridge be an iconic $33M design? @GCPartnership: It (& CLE) ought to look cool when the blimp is flying
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Learning about @CDICleveland neighborhood. Growing w/ young people! How connect to lake? https://t.co/eyMeqswg0A pic.twitter.com/SrOP4xJe1v
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
.@clevemetroparks: Planned Improvements to Canal Basin Park involves twice the acreage that Public Square redevelopment involves
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Waterfront development panel with @clevemetroparks @DetroitShoreway @CDICleveland @GCPartnership pic.twitter.com/iKrBBsVsD3
— Adam Rosen (@osuadamr) February 10, 2016
Round of applause from waterfront development audience when @CDICleveland describes process to get Burke Lakefront Airport fence moved
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
.@CDICleveland We are the arts, eds & meds area of @DowntownCLE and we're one of the fastest growing neighborhoods. pic.twitter.com/3dDofev4BB
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Hear @jennyspencercle of @DetroitShoreway talk about private investment happening as result of lakefront access pic.twitter.com/CxbcXQKFOd
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
.@DetroitShoreway we have a diverse neighborhood & we're committed to maintaining that. But we're also seeing lots of private investment.
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Projects takes 8 years to go from concept to construction - Bobbi Reichtell. @steven_litt #clevelandlakefront @ShareTheRiver
— Jeff Kerr (@_jeffkerr) February 10, 2016
Shoutout to @clevemetroparks from @jennyspencercle of @DetroitShoreway for BIG party on #Edgewater Park Thursdays in summer.
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
.@DetroitShoreway The state's promise to invest $50M in Shoreway gave developers the confidence to move forward w/projects like Battery Park
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Hear idea from #JoeRoman of @GCPartnership to move I-90 south to open access to #Cleveland #waterfront. https://t.co/eyMeqswg0A
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
Over 150 people are in attendance here tonight at @LakewoodLibrary. Great crowd to see the new look of #Cle pic.twitter.com/V8JbRS3GQ1
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
#LakeErie and the #CuyahogaRiver as economic catalysts? Yup! https://t.co/pr2l38MYb5
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 9, 2016
#JoeRoman of@GCPartnership says we should spend $33million dollars on the bridge because we need a cool walk to Lake pic.twitter.com/DEDyz4NFvJ
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
The Waterfront Development Meeting has just started. It is a standing room only crowd. Should be a good conversation pic.twitter.com/BcWgayg7js
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
#BobbiReichtell of #CampusDistrict informed us there is a plan to build 2 more bridges across the Shoreway at a cost of $10million dollars
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
Hear great story by @CEO_CleMetParks of @clevemetroparks of success story of @CleveFoundation's centennial trail. https://t.co/BJCBxdAGgz
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
"I'm tired of hearing about Chicago and Indianapolis, we are doing great thinks here" @CEO_CleMetParks @ShareTheRiver #clevelandlakefront
— Jeff Kerr (@_jeffkerr) February 10, 2016
.@GCPartnership: @neorsd is a critical partner when it comes to improving the health of #LakeErie and the #CuyahogaRiver
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
.@jennyspencercle of @DetroitShoreway: People are hungry for a connection to Cleveland's waterfront and Wendy Park is a big asset.
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
And here comes the Burke Lakefront Airport question! The waterfront development audience seems to have its mind made up.
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
.@GCPartnership: If we first make surrounding properties attractive, private business will invest in development of Burke Lakefront Airport
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
@steven_litt just asked the question should #BurkeLakefront stay #JoeRoman was the only panelists to say "yes" pic.twitter.com/LDHyVp6SqC
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
@CEO_CleMetParks says there is no levy for seven years for @clevemetroparks pic.twitter.com/TDx7qiGbIx
— Zack Reed (@zachreed12) February 10, 2016
Hear of @portofcleveland partnering w/ @clevemetroparks & @GCPartnership.
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
I've hiked in the @portofcleveland's nature preserves. Gr8 place.
The Mrs. and I absolutely LOVE bird watching at the lakefront! #thecouplethatbirdstogether #snowbirders #thesassys pic.twitter.com/zR9R8leimC
— The Sassys (@MrSassyCLE) January 12, 2016
Hear from @CEO_CleMetParks of @clevemetroparks that #Cleveland water taxi coming to river. https://t.co/QX0bJJMieB pic.twitter.com/81fL4TUCgz
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
Excellent panel! Thx for making it happen @Siegal_CWRU @DetroitShoreway @jennyspencercle @CDICleveland @BobbiR!!
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
Excellent panel! Thx for such a successful event @GCPartnership @clevemetroparks @CEO_CleMetParks @steven_litt @LakewoodLibrary!!
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
Excellent panel! Thx for sponsoring @ClevelandDotCom@LWVGrCleveland @Siegal_CWRUhttps://t.co/eyMeqswg0A
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 10, 2016
Thx for the follow @CDICleveland. Looks like you're catching up with a bunch of waterfront development notifications!
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 10, 2016
Woo hoo! Nice shoutout from Brian Z of @clevemetroparks for @ClevelandRows and @Foundry216 #cle pic.twitter.com/cgoYb7vodn
— The Foundry HPTC (@Foundry216) February 10, 2016
So yeah, everybody is at the Lakewood Library for the #lakefront panel discussion @clevemetroparks @steven_litt #cle pic.twitter.com/ctOW556nkf
— The Foundry HPTC (@Foundry216) February 10, 2016
Thanks @steven_litt for keeping the important issue of the lakefront in front of the public! @ClevelandMayor @joecimperman @clevemetroparks
— Campus District, Inc (@CDICleveland) February 10, 2016
Thank you to all the panelists on tonight’s Waterfront Development Panel at @LakewoodLibrary
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 10, 2016
Great panel
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 10, 2016
w/Bobbi Reichtell @CDICleveland
Brian Zimmerman @clevemetroparks
Jenny Spencer @DetroitShoreway
Joe Roman @GCPAdvocacy
and a big thanks to our moderator: @steven_litt
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 10, 2016
Thanks to all who came out to @LakewoodLibrary tonight to discuss waterfronts! @MJintheCLE @baronadv1 @CDICleveland @DetroitShoreway @BobbiR
— Steven Litt (@steven_litt) February 10, 2016
Summary of last week's forum
— Michael Baron (@baronadv1) February 15, 2016
Is waterfront development paying off? Nine takeaways from League of Women Voters panel https://t.co/PN7V9QBMRe
.@baronadv1 So glad saw your tweet linking to @steven_litt's #Cleveland #waterfront articlehttps://t.co/KyhZUkpjUZ pic.twitter.com/oa2FKUpnbm
— Stuart O. Smith, Jr. (@sos_jr) February 16, 2016
Is waterfront development paying off? Nine takeaways from League of Women Voters panel https://t.co/8zYFzY25AZ
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 15, 2016
Great panel
— LWVGreaterCleveland (@LWVGrCleveland) February 15, 2016
w/Bobbi Reichtell @CDICleveland
Brian Zimmerman @clevemetroparks
Jenny Spencer @DetroitShoreway
Joe Roman @GCPAdvocacy
Next: lakefront connectors for eastside neighborhoods. @ClevelandMayor @ClevelandWard5 @joecimperman @CLE_State https://t.co/XixpNkMcOB
— Campus District, Inc (@CDICleveland) February 15, 2016
9 takeaways from @LWVGrCleveland #waterfront forum w/@CEO_CleMetParks @GCPartnership @CDICleveland @DetroitShoreway https://t.co/bCY1VRbTEJ
— Share The River (@ShareTheRiver) February 17, 2016
In Lakewood on Clevelands lakefront development standing room only pic.twitter.com/Urhaz2GlC5
— Reggie Rucker Jr (@leerucker) February 10, 2016
Design review committee tables @firstenergycorp request to demolish Lake Shore power plant.https://t.co/67ZR6ShbBF pic.twitter.com/Slte5RLwga
— Scott Suttell (@ssuttell) December 3, 2015
Lake Shore power plant too degraded to save and reuse, says @firstenergycorp: https://t.co/Thzdlk0yrv @lilliankuri pic.twitter.com/Ow2hAEzDUp
— Steven Litt (@steven_litt) January 28, 2016
Related Blog Posts
I have included here my other blog posts that deal with Greater Cleveland waterfronts, events on Cleveland's Northcoast Harbor (@NCoastHarbor), or (in the case of the Eastside Greenway project) blog posts that would complement the Cleveland waterfront plans discussed by the panel.
I decided to list them all to show all the activities happening near our waterfronts and other greenways of Greater Cleveland. Of all the blog posts listed here, the one that I really want you to take time to read is the post about the Eastside Greenway project, that I wrote last September. It is an important project that could tie into our waterfront greenways.
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Blog Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2015
IngenuityFest 2015: Marriage of Cleveland Arts & Technology | Hingetown Hoedown -
Blog Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Weekend Fun: NEO Cycle & Cleveland Pops -
Blog Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Eastside Greenway - A Vision for a Future Eastside Cleveland Bikeway -
Blog Date: Monday, March 2, 2015
#IceFestCLE and Brite Winter - Cleveland Winter Outdoor Spectaculars -
Blog Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Great Lakes Science Center's Science After Dark: MythBusters -
Blog Date: Thursday, October, 30, 2014
Arras Keathley & LeanDog Boat Christening Celebration -
Blog Date: Monday, October, 20, 2014
Cleveland Technology + Art = Ingenuityfest Weekend 2014! -
Blog Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Visiting Wally Waterdrop - NEORSD Open House -
Blog Date: Thursday, September, 18, 2014
Cleveland Foundation Centennial Gift: Weekends on the Water -
Blog Date: Thursday, September 11, 2014
"Take a Hike" - Cleveland's Flats & Beyond! -
Blog Date: Monday, March 3, 2014
FREE! Great Lakes Science Center -
Blog Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Ingenuity Cleveland 2013 -
Blog Date: Thursday, September, 26, 2013
IngenuityFest 2013 Preview Party! -
Blog Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Economic Growth in Cleveland -
Blog Date: Sunday, September 23, 2012
IngenuityFest: Cleveland's Festival of Art & Technology
As you can see, I have a strong interest in activities that take place on or near our Cleveland waterfronts. Wouldn't it be great if Cleveland's waterfront venues were all connected by bike paths in greenways?
Comments
First Energy Lake Shore Power Plant Implosion!
Submitted by Stuart Smith on Sat, 02/25/2017 - 17:36
Stuart O. Smith, Jr., MNO
Blogging at: sosAssociates.com/Blog
Former Cleveland GiveCamp Steering Committee: ClevelandGiveCamp.org/about/#steering
Former Web SIG Cleveland Leader: WebSigCleveland.org
The FirstEnergy (@FirstEnergyCorp) Lake Shore Power Plant is coming down! Here are some videos and related tweets about the Friday, February 24, 2017, 1:00 AM implosion!
Please retweet any of these that you think your followers would enjoy seeing. Twitter is a great way to share! I HIGHLY recommend watching the videos in these tweets in full-screen mode to get the full effect!