Lake Shore Power Station site redo a long play

Northeast of Downtown Cleveland, a lake-fed discharge pond is left over from the former First Energy Lake Shore Power Station that was demolished in 2017. Several cooling ponds and associated structures are proposed to be demolished in the next few years by a new property owner to make way for future development (IDA). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.

Property owner proposes potential future uses

The owner of one of Cleveland’s largest privately owned lakefront properties announced its intentions to redevelop the site. But some of its proposed uses were not welcomed by a lakefront advocacy group.

NEOtrans broke the story in late 2023 that a subsidiary of Utah-based Industrial Development Advantage, LLC (IDA) bought the 62-acre Lake Shore Power Station, 6800 S. Marginal Rd. The prior owner was Energy Harbor Generation LLC of Akron.

IDA’s Staten Island, NY-based subsidiary IDA Power acquires, cleans up and assumes the liability of former industrial and coal-fired power plants so these properties can be returned to productive use. IDA Power’s affiliate Lake Shore Acquisition Company LLC acquired the power plant built in 1911 Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and closed in 2015 by FirstEnergy.

“IDA is evaluating potential redevelopment options for the property which may include commercial/industrial uses such as ground-mounted solar facilities; battery energy storage facilities; telecom or data centers; and retail, entertainment, residential and/or a mixed-use consisting of residential and commercial development,” the company said on its newly created Web page about the former Lake Shore Power Station.

NEOtrans sent a request for comment and for more information to IDA through a contact form on Web site but hasn’t yet received a response.

The 62-acre former Lake Shore Power Station site, outlined in red, is next to Lake Erie and Interstate 90’s interchange with East 72nd Street, just east of Downtown Cleveland (Google).

The power plant was demolished in 2017. Remaining structures include a water-intake screen house, two sheet-pile walled ponds, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System treatment building next to an inlet from Lake Erie are scheduled for demolition by 2028, IDA says. The parcel is connected to Lake Erie through the water intake and discharge structures below Interstate 90.

Dick Clough, executive board chair of the lakefront advocacy group Green Ribbon Coalition, Inc., said the presence of nearby parks and more of it coming with the lakefront recreational enhancements said more must be done to capitalize on those public investments.

One of the largest public investments is the Port of Cleveland’s and Cleveland Metroparks’ $300 million Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy, or CHEERS project. The most ambitious part of the CHEERS project is to use dredged sediment from the bottom of the lakefront’s harbor and Cuyahoga River to expand a lakefront recreation area over 20 years, including a new island in Lake Erie, just offshore from the former Lake Shore Power Station.

“Commercial and industrial uses should be banned, period,” Clough said in a email to NEOtrans. “The ‘intake lakes’ offer an ideal location of residential and a unique setting for restaurants and clubs. Kayaks should be able to access the ‘big pond’ under I-90. Development on the site should complement the recreational facilities at Gordon Park being made-over by Metroparks, and the eventual CHEERS development on the lakeshore.”

One of the highest points on the site of the former Lake Shore Power Station offers views of Lake Erie, a potential selling point for a residential development (IDA).

While the two landlocked cooling ponds at the former coal-fired power plant may be significantly polluted, the inlet from Lake Erie may not be — making it a potential development opportunity.

The landlocked cooling ponds received decades of discharged wastewater from coal ash that likely contained various contaminants such as heavy metals including selenium, mercury, arsenic plus nutrients and other dissolved solids that can harm surrounding ecosystems if not properly treated and managed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency noted.

IDA, through its wholly owned subsidiary, acquired the Lake Shore Power Station pursuant to a liability assumption agreement with Energy Harbor. The acquisition transaction requires IDA to take over the ownership and responsibility for the property while assuming all environmental liabilities associated with the facility.

The former Lake Shore Power Station is bound on the north by Interstate 90, on the east by East 72nd Street and on the south by the CSX Transportation, Inc. railroad right of way. To the west is the Horizon Science Academy Cleveland. The parcel has a narrow strip extending west to reach access East 55th Street.

Another view of the inlet from Lake Erie, called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which might be accessed from the lake by small watercraft like kayaks. It is relatively clean water, and could permit development around it (IDA).

Although the property was acquired without fanfare in late 2023, NEOtrans contacted Mayor Justin Bibb’s spokesperson Marie Zickefoose about the acquisition at that time. She said the Bibb administration was aware of the acquisition and was keeping tabs on it.

But Clough said more needs to be done. He said the city needs to be directly involved over the land uses near the CHEERS project just as it is regarding the planning and development near North Coast Harbor in Downtown Cleveland.

“Green Ribbon Coalition supports an expanded (North Coast) Waterfront Development Authority spanning Edgewater to Gordon Park,” Clough said. “Development along this real estate should be coordinated through a unified masterplan.”

Scott Skinner, executive director of the North Coast Waterfront Development Corp., did not respond to a message left for him on LinkedIn, prior to publication of this article. This article will updated if he responds.

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