Make way for the waterfront

Land acquisitions, negotiations mark progress in lakefront development.

by J V Triton

Leaves on the trees in front of St. Robert’s Church on Lakeshore Boulevard in Euclid are already changing color and falling to the ground.

Vacant and dotted with hollow spaces where religious statues once stood, the closed church in autumn is actually a sign of new beginnings—the beginning of a plan set in motion three years ago.

Euclid’s master plan for redevelopment was passed by the city council in 2007. The plan focuses on ways to revitalize businesses within the community and draw new residents to the city.



One major component of the proposal is the TLCI Transportation and Redevelopment Plan, which was designed to restructure the downtown business district. Another is the development of an accessible waterfront along the city’s northern border: Lake Erie.

JJR, LLC, an award-winning design and engineering firm, was hired in 2008 to gather input from the city’s business and residential communities about how to improve access to and utilization of the city’s lakefront. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, JJR also runs offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The firm, known for its metropolitan waterfront redesigns in places like Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, also assessed the city of Cleveland’s shoreline in 2005.

Based on its findings, JJR proposed the Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan, which city council passed in 2009.

The waterfront plan will unfold in stages. Phase one: land acquisition.

Last year’s purchase of the St. Robert’s property on the south side of Lakeshore Boulevard and East 238th Street was part of this initial phase.

St. Robert’s Parish was closed as part of the regional restructuring of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland in 2008 and 2009. (Members of St. Robert’s Parish merged with nearby St. William to form what is now known as Sts. Robert and William on East 260th Street.) The church, school and convent sit on nearly eight acres of land across the street from the city’s lakefront.

“It’s rare for a business community like Euclid to have such a large parcel of land,” says Bob Gliha, assistant director of economic development in Euclid.

A multi-purpose loop trail, connecting neighborhoods south of Lakeshore to the Sims Park beach will occupy the former church plot, according to the city’s plans. Buildings on the property will likely be demolished, unless a private investor presents an idea for re-purposing the parish.

“We are certainly open to someone coming forward with an idea for creative uses of the buildings,” says Frank Pietrovoia, Euclid’s director of economic development.

The city already owns two parcels of land east of Sims Park. Negotiations for the land north of the Harbortown apartment complexes are set for this fall. The Harbortown area stretches from East 238th to East 248th Streets.

Negotiations for land west of Sims Park are expected to begin by the end of this year.

The city has received a series of four grants from the State of Ohio totaling $1.1 million for the first phase of the project. Meanwhile, the economic development department is looking into subsidies from the National Register of Historic Places and has surveyed over 90 buildings for possible registry status.

“The approval [of funding] is a strong sign that the state is behind the idea and that the plan has merit,” says Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik.

Acquisition of these funds, according to Cervenik, is an indication of growth and positive things for Euclid’s future.