Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan

Updated January, 2022


“Euclid is close to realizing a brilliant lakefront project that could serve as a precedent for Cleveland, if not the entire Great Lakes region.” – Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer (November 2017)


Latest project news:

Euclid Lakefront Becomes Model for County Vision

Euclid Waterfront Capital Campaign

Lakefront Development Wins Best Project at OEDA Excellence Awards


The uniqueness of the project and its ability to set the model for the transformation of Great Lakes waterways is the public/private partnership developed when the City negotiated easements from nearly 100 lakefront stakeholders. These easements allowed for temporary construction as well as permanent maintenance and public access across historically privatized shoreline. The project was dissected into multiple phases including a fishing pier in Phase I and a three-quarter mile public access trail atop a seawall mitigation devastating erosion in Phase II. At the end of 2021, more than $18M of federal, state, local and private funds have supported this precedent setting public/private community project for project engineering, management and construction. Future phases include additional upland bicycle and pedestrian trails, a transit plaza, a nature-based playground, reconfiguration of the Disc Golf Course and a lakefront restaurant at the new lakefront park at E.246th Street and Lakeshore Boulevard. In addition, the project is viewed as a model for public/private partnerships and other public access waterfront development around the Great Lakes and beyond.

 

The Euclid, Ohio Waterfront Improvement Project is a transformational, precedent-setting erosion mitigation and public access infrastructure project that is essential for livability, economic growth and community resiliency.

 

  • Job Creation: An estimated 228 jobs created with the Overall Phase II Shoreline Stabilization and Lakefront Public Access Trail implementation*
  • Economic Growth : By transforming Euclid – the 13 th largest municipality in the State of Ohio and a majority-minority, low-income community – into a livable city, the Project will help attract businesses to the region and spark a new wave of outdoor tourism for residents and visitors alike. The project directly connects Lake Erie and public lakefront amenities to the City’s central business district. Additional retail, residential and restaurant development is anticipated as well as a future public marina.
  • Transportation Connectivity: When complete, the Lakefront Public Access Trail will connect two public lakefront parks including one in a low-moderate income census tract. It will directly connect to the Lake Erie Coastal Lakefront Bikeway (SR 283) and public transit lines connecting Lake County to the east and Downtown Cleveland to the west.
  • Health Benefits : Ohio’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan states that walking is the most popular outdoor activity. Off-road bicycle and pedestrian non-motorized trails provide a safe, low-stress network to commute and recreate. The Project has the potential to promote healthy, active lifestyles and decrease long-term health-care costs due to improved community health.
  • Community Resilience : The Project is located within ODNR-designated Coastal Erosion Areas, swathes of lakefront land that are subject to loose over 1’-0” of earth and infrastructure annually due to climate impacts including more frequent storm events, warmer temperatures preventing the Great Lakes from freezing and impervious development of the upland. Critical infrastructure in the project area included storm and sewer connections as well as residential single family and multi-family units.
  • Uniqueness: Euclid’s project is precedent setting for its innovate public/private solution to combat erosion, a model being sought for reproduction throughout the Great Lakes region. By negotiating permanent easements from nearly 100 stakeholders, a public access trail atop a concrete seawall buffered by limestone revetments mitigates the catastrophic erosion jeopardizing most immediately 1400 majority low-moderate income renters in four apartment towers in the Phase II – East construction area. By opening up ¾ of a mile to public access, the Project enhances equitable access to our region’s greatest natural asset and protects the community from natural disaster.

 


 

 * Estimated at 17 jobs per $1 million spent, according to a study commissioned by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) job creation; jobs in terms of full-time equivalents

 


 

Project Links:

 


 

Watch the Lincoln Land Institute’s " Euclid 2020: Lakefront City " 4+ minute documentary, featuring interviews with Mayor Holzheimer Gail and Council President Mancuso. The video is part of the "Making Sense of Place: The Lives of Cities" documentary project featuring Cleveland, Portland and Phoenix - focusing on Euclid’s revitalization with the Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan as the catalyst. 

 

View a video rendering of the projects  Phase II planned improvements  .

 

View an interactive virtual tour of Phase II .

 

 

Project Press:


 

Cleveland.com- First Tour of Euclid's Waterfront Trail in the Making

 

Nextcity.org - Did 100 Homeowners Just Change the Great Lakes Forever?

 

Cleveland.com- Euclid City Council Takes Historic Vote to Launch Innovative Lakefront Trail

 

Cleveland.com- Euclid Close to Building Lakefront Trail That Could Set a Precedent in Great Lakes

 

News 5 Cleveland- $7 Million Trail Project to Fix Erosion, Give Public Access to Region's Greatest Asset

 

Fox 8 Cleveland- Euclid Ready to Break Ground on Phase 2 of Lake Shore Improvement Plan

 

Freshwater Cleveland- Happy Trails: Euclid Finally Ready to Break Ground on Game-Changing Waterfront Trail

 


 

For additional information, please contact:
 Patrick Grogan-Myers, Director, Planning and Development Department
 (216) 289-8160
pgrogan-myers@cityofeuclid.com

 

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