A street-level view of the proposed pop-up park at North Coast Harbor, next to the Steamship William G. Mather Museum, north of the Great Lakes Science Center (NWDC). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Planning Commission gives green light to project
Like a company offering a free trial period to customers in the hopes of converting them into loyal subscribers, the city of Cleveland and North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation (NCWDC) officials hope to offer residents just that: a free trial period of lakefront activation and a tangible reason to support a permanent, fully-realized reimagining of an underutilized lakefront.
This trial run comes in the form of North Coast Yard — 25 acres of publicly-owned land surrounding Huntington Bank Field is currently occupied by a sea of parking lots. Primarily utilized only 10-12 days out of the entire year for Cleveland Browns home games, they languish in emptiness for the remainder. Beginning this year however, roughly 1 acre of those parking lots will be transformed into a public park and events space with programming all summer long.
The estimated cost of constructing North Coast Yard is $600,000 — fully-funded by NCWDC and $1 million in ARPA funds from the city of Cleveland. NCWDC will operate and maintain the park. Vendors will populate the park as a for-purchase food and drink option, but the space itself will offer 100 percent free programming to the public, acting as a public park from dawn till dusk.
The money allocated for this project will go towards resurfacing half an acre of the existing parking lot into a “community blacktop” with basketball and pickleball courts as well as canopied seating areas. The site will be surrounded by reused shipping containers as structural components.
Site plan for the proposed pop-up park at North Coast Harbor in Downtown Cleveland (NCWDC).
A wooden deck will be installed on the water’s edge to the north and decrepit concrete jersey barriers will be replaced with a new guardrail for safety. Tree planters, bike racks, pergolas, and waterfront seating will be included, along with wayfinding and local art.
Designers hope to allude to the character of the site’s industrial past through the use of steel and wood. To contrast, vibrant colors and amenities were chosen in coordination with Voinovich Park upgrades to form a cohesive and consistent language instantly recognizable to anyone visiting the lakefront.
The site selection was very intentional, according to Scott Skinner of NCWDC. Not only was it chosen because it is the “only spot of land visible from Mall C” on the lakefront, but its immediate proximity to the Steamship Mather and Great Lakes Science Center meant an opportunity to coordinate with local stakeholders for programming and outreach.
The temporary space will return on a yearly basis during the summer-fall season until the final build out of the master plan is realized. The goal is to get residents and visitors used to the space and start a routine of regularly visiting the lakefront. This will hopefully generate interest and set a precedent of familiarity by the time the final master plan is built.
Aerial view of the proposed North Coast Harbor pop-up park with Steamship William G. Mather Museum at the bottom right (NCWDC).
A working group of downtown stakeholders will be out at the yard throughout the summer to raise awareness and gather community feedback, including promoting the master plan and directing people to sources to engage with the planning process.
Skinner made it clear to the planning commission that while North Coast Yard is a more robust temporary installation, it will still allow them the flexibility to test fit various aspects of the final lakefront design to see what does and doesn’t work with the public’s input. The yard will start largely the same over time but can be modified according to trends and the various aspects of the master plan.
The city recently accumulated roughly $150 million in federal funding to advance the first stage of lakefront development — demolishing the Shoreway bridge dividing downtown from the lakefront and replacing it with a slower and landscaped boulevard. Demolition and construction of that phase is expected to begin in 2027. Future phases would construct the land bridge from the Mall down to the water’s edge along with public park space replacing the current surface lots.
The planning commission was impressed by the proposed activation, seeing it as a positive step towards future lakefront planning. They moved for final approval of North Coast Yard with the condition that any changes to signage and materials would be directed to city planning staff at a later date. The motion passed unanimously.
Design concepts which could be be tested with public input for replacement or inclusion later in the permanent features at North Coast Harbor (NCWDC).
Commission Chair Lillian Kuri suggested that since North Coast Yard itself only occupies 1 acre of land they should consider attracting larger events that utilize the rest of the empty parking lots on the lakefront with the main structure serving as a “home base” for attendees.
Skinner seconded that sentiment, saying it would certainly be a consideration moving forward as they work to build out a summer schedule in coordination with the neighboring museums and entities.
Commission Vice Chair August Fluker said that North Coast Yard was a “great opportunity for the city to learn how to program great spaces. Hopefully we can take that knowledge and begin to apply it throughout the city.”
Skinner told the planning commission he expects work on the yard will begin in the coming months and will be open to the public in the beginning of June.
END
