With billions of dollars in new river, lakefront and downtown developments underway or on the drawing board, it’s easy to get carried away about the transformative effects of any one development. Cleveland’s civic and political leaders have plenty of lessons to remind them of this. One that is often cited is the Erieview urban renewal plan adopted by the City of Cleveland in the 1960s, which used federal funds to clear so-called blight and sell the property to developers for bigger and better things.
The centerpiece was Erieview Tower, which in recent years has seen lots of struggles.The Galleria, the mall attached to the building in 1987, didn’t add much to its fortune. For an embarrassing look at overhyping a project, check out “Cleveland: City on Schedule,” a 1962 promotional video about the project and others produced by the now-defunct Cleveland Development Foundation, a business group that promoted urban renewal projects and later became the Greater Cleveland Growth Association.
In the video, at minute 32, the narrator boasts: “The impact of Erieview on the future of Cleveland can hardly be overstated. By creating outstanding commercial facilities in the heart of the downtown area, it will attract new industries to the city and new headquarters locations for existing companies. … It will create new markets for existing stores and businesses. … By building Erieview, Cleveland will maintain its place of leadership among the great cities of the world.”
Enough said.
Reimagining Tri-C campuses
Cuyahoga Community College is thinking about how to give its five campuses a makeover, and it wants the public to weigh in on its 10-year facilities plan. The plan maps out “improvements to each of Tri-C’s campuses by renovating and replacing aging buildings, improving recreation facilities, libraries, gathering spaces and outdoor areas to better serve students and the community,” according to a news release. Think of it as a stretch goal, given the costs are not yet hammered out and will require lots of funding sources. The plan is posted online. Officials are hosting a Zoom event Tuesday, April 23, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to get that feedback. Find out how to access it by visiting this link.
