Outlined in red, the 50-year-old Warehouse A at the Port of Cleveland is about to get $25 million worth of improvements and updates thanks to recent awards of federal and state funds. Warehouse A is the port largest warehouse — as large as two ships (Port of Cleveland). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
50-year-old warehouse to get much-needed updates
In the coming weeks, major improvements will be made to the Port of Cleveland’s largest warehouse, a terminal warehouse that’s so large it equals the size of two ships. Plans for those improvements were submitted yesterday to the city in an application for a building permit to get started on the work as soon as possible.
Planned is a comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization of Warehouse A, including structural steel repairs, a new overhead crane, window and door replacements, new concrete slab floor throughout the building, updated electrical utilities and lighting plus a new roof. The warehouse measures more than 160,000 square feet.
Port officials said Warehouse A is more than 50 years old and can’t accommodate evolving technology the port needs for successful operations. Cost of the rehabilitation is estimated by the port’s engineering design consultant, the Jacobs Engineering Group of Cleveland, to be about $25 million.
Warehouse A is located at 775 Erieside Ave. and is part of the Port of Cleveland’s 90-acre General Cargo Terminal in Downtown Cleveland. The General Cargo Terminal is located east of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.
Warehouse A and its surroundings are getting much needed investment to help boost the port’s efficiency and growth (Baker).
The port’s other major facility is the 45-acre Cleveland Bulk Terminal located west of the river, on Whiskey Island. The bulk terminal also is getting much needed improvements estimated at $5 million, thanks to state funding.
J. Stefan Holmes, the Port of Cleveland’s board vice-chair, expressed his appreciation to both the U.S. and Ohio Departments of Transportation for grants awarded last year for these and other port improvements. He said the funding was of the vital significance of the ongoing projects at the port.
“It is through collaborative partnerships such as these that we can fortify our position for sustained success in the years ahead,” he said in a written statement.
Awarded last year were $32.1 million in federal and state grants to help rehabilitate and modernize the warehouse and upgrade electrical infrastructure at its General Cargo Terminal.
The Port of Cleveland is the only container port on the Great Lakes, with bi-weekly service between Cleveland and Antwerp, Belgium on a service called the Cleveland-Europe Express. Container service could grow as a result of a deal reached this week with the port of Shannon Foynes in Ireland (Port of Cleveland).
The largest grant to fund these projects is $27.2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program to improve safety, efficiency and reliability of movement in and around the port.
Also, $4.9 million is from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Maritime Assistance Program for projects enhancing efficiency and capacity of cargo terminal operations.
Just this past week, the Port of Cleveland inked a deal with the Shannon Foynes Port Company, The intention is move shipping containers between the two ports, according to Shannon Foynes Port officials. However, the intent of the cooperation is wide-ranging and increasing trade is the primary objective.
“This MOU reflects the ambition of Shannon Foynes Port,” said Patrick Keating, CEO of Shannon Foynes Port. “While we provide critical access for trade to and from Ireland, we are also a key gateway into and out of Europe for transatlantic trade. That is what essentially underpins this agreement with the Port of Cleveland as we will together seek to advance the enormous, each-way trade opportunity from this global trade crossroad.”
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