Construction is happening on Bedrock Real Estate developments in Downtown Cleveland, from the Rock Block seen here, to the Riverfront. But despite a masterplan approved less than a year ago, some of the developments envisioned for the 38 acres of downtown land Bedrock owns appear to be changing (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Towers and townhomes, plans change
According to sources and a recent presentation by Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage, Bedrock Real Estate’s Downtown Cleveland Riverfront plans are flowing like the Cuyahoga River, below the ice and out of sight. But the revisions reveal the desire of Rock Ventures owner Dan Gilbert to deliver tangible progress sooner than originally planned.
The evolving vision for the Riverfront below Tower City Center is outlined here from east to west, which is also how Bedrock anticipates the chronology of development here. It’s a chronology that Bedrock and Rock Entertainment executives anticipated completing in phases over two to three decades. They now believe they can deliver it within 5-10 years.
Bedrock’s downtown development includes its so-called Rock Block, bounded by Huron Road, East 4th Street and Prospect Avenue. Here, site preparation is underway for Cosm Cleveland, an immersive sports and entertainment venue.
Barlage said at a Jan. 9 presentation at the City Club of Cleveland that Cosm Cleveland is projected to draw 750,000 visitors per year. By comparison, the 67,431-seat Huntington Bank Field hosted 13 events in 2024 with a total attendance of 831,751 people.
A mix of residential, retail, parking and even a small office component are planned on the rest of the Rock Block according to Bedrock although the scale of each component hasn’t advanced far enough in their development to be publicly released.
Bedrock’s Riverfront masterplan that was approved by the City Planning Commision nearly a year ago shows these basic land uses (MKSK).
But the Rock Block’s proposed linkages to the Riverfront development are being refined and, one is even under construction in the form of the new Eagle Avenue ramp and a relocated Canal Road. Another potential linkage may exist at the northeast corner of Huron and Ontario Street.
NEOtrans reported four months ago that two downtown towers are planned by Bedrock, with one shown in renderings as located at Ontario and Huron Road. It’s a city-owned site often referred to as the “Meet Me Here” park as those words are spelled out on bench-like blocks in the 0.8-acre grassy plot. Now, it’s likely to remain a public space, Barlage confirmed.
“We’ve got some really unique plans for that,” he said. “We can’t debut those yet, but we’re working with Michael Deemer and his crew at Downtown Cleveland Inc. to really work on transforming that into more of an experience as well.”
“This also has to be something that, if you own a dog, you want to be able to walk your dog through the neighborhood,” Barlage explained. “These are all the things we’re starting to think about. When Dan (Gilbert) and I talk about this, the thing he cares most about is connectivity.”
The two towers are still planned — one a 17-story hotel, the other an office tower that will rise at a different location, two sources said. One office tower will likely be built across Huron from the old Sherwin-Williams headquarters, as previously proposed in the Riverfront masterplan. The plan was approved early last year by the Cleveland Planning Commission.
Appearing in the background of Bedrock’s renderings for the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center at right were these two future towers. The red arrow at left points to the proposed 17-story Rock and Roll Land hotel and theater complex. The arrow to the right of it points to a proposed office tower at Huron Road and Ontario Street. While the tower apparently is still in the works, it won’t be at that location (MKSK).
Bedrock’s planned Riverfront office spaces include a second building farther west and south of Huron. And repurposed office spaces may be offered in the old Sherwin-Williams’ HQ, called the Landmark Building — a 900,000-square-foot space that is likely to be a mix of uses, not just residential, given its scale.
What tenants would occupy these office spaces? Sources said it would be the regional offices for some of the 133 companies that are under Rock Ventures’ umbrella. Barlage referenced this at his City Club presentation.
“Dan and I sat down about a year and a half ago and he kept asking me, what’s the next big headquarters that’s going to move to Cleveland?” Barlage recalled. “We’re not going to wait until the next bank picks Cleveland or the next big business picks Cleveland. We’re going to pick Cleveland.”
One of those long-rumored potential tenants that could be on the move is Rocket Mortgage which leases about 200,000 square feet at the Higbee Building. At last report, its lease is due to expire at the end of this year.
Last year, Gilbert acquired two large companies with thousands of employees each. Seattle-based real estate brokerage Redfin has a staff of more than 3,700 although most are agents scattered nationwide and without offices. Redfin’s easternmost office is in Chicago which has 200 employees.
At the west end of Bedrock’s Riverfront development, the roughly 6-acre site of Sherwin-Williams’ soon-to-be-vacated and demolished Breen Technology Center could become home to hundreds of for-sale townhouses. It is one of the most significant potential changes to the Riverfront masterplan (Google).
Another acquisition in 2025 was mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper Group based in suburban Dallas. It has about 8,000 employees and offices in 17 states but none in Ohio. Mr. Cooper’s operations are integrating into Rocket Mortgage’s structure, expanding their footprint across various states with significant mortgage servicing roles.
NEOtrans reached out to Lora Brand, vice president of communications at Bedrock, for additional information and clarification of the Riverfront plans but she did not respond prior to publication of this article.
Barlage didn’t discuss specific end users, but it’s clear that Rock is trying to create a critical mass of activity from the Rock Block to the Riverfront, which Barlage envisioned as “a world-class, first-of-its-kind, sports-, entertainment- and experientially-driven neighborhood.”
“The Gateway District … will now have dimensions of diversification to it that will look entirely different,” he said. “People will be able to engage with it in different ways. People will be able to live there in different ways.”
In addition to Rocket Arena which will soon gain a WNBA franchise, Progressive Field, and Cosm, Barlage said he expects to attract another venue to the area. While a $500 million Rock And Roll Land hotel and theater are planned, an affiliated but outdoor venue could bring back a variant of the former Tower City Amphitheater, the sources said.
Mid-and high-rise residenital buildings at far left were envisioned for the third phase of Bedrock’s Riverfront development, where the Breen Technology Center is today. But now for-sale townhouse appear to be in the cards for that location (Adjaye Associates).
“We’re working on a couple of other venues that will soon to be announced here in this quarter hopefully that will push us over five million visitors in aggregate into our neighborhood,” Barlage said.
West of that along the riverfront, Bedrock also plans to construct mid-rise buildings that will contain branded residences. Companies like Marriott (St. Regis, W, Westin), Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton all offer branded residences. The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland is owned by Rock Ventures.
Locally, 68 percent of Rock employees are under 40 years old. Barlage said that when young people come to work for their companies and start their careers, they rent apartments in and near Downtown Cleveland.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we employed, part-time and full-time, roughly 1,300 people (in Cleveland),” Barlage said. “Now we employ 2,200 to 2,300 people.”
He said that will grow by about 200 workers when Cosm opens. Hundreds more will be employed at the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center after its construction is completed next year.
Construction is well underway on the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center at center-right, which will include a practice facility for the Cleveland Cavaliiers National Basketball Association team. It is the first phase of Bedrock’s Riverfront development (Harrison Whittaker).
“We’re going to employ more people at this third dimension of development we can’t talk about quite yet, but it’s close,” Barlage teased. “Experiential businesses are growing at more than 20 percent since the pandemic.”
Speaking of residences, one of the biggest potential changes to the Riverfront masterplan could be the development of townhomes where Sherwin-Williams’ Breen Technology Center now stands. It is being vacated for new facilities elsewhere downtown and in suburban Brecksville.
In one of the last phases of the Riverfront development, Bedrock proposed in its masterplan the construction of vertical residential and community programming over ground-level restaurant and retail spaces in a roughly 6-acre space.
“We want to create townhomes, similar to Battery Park that you all have seen — sold out, great values, great property value growth” he said. “For us, it’s really about how can we create a neighborhood that people dwell in. People that want to call it their home, that they can create wealth.”
Barlage said the average duration people stay or dwell in an apartment in Downtown Cleveland is two to three years. National average is four to five years. For homeowners, the national average dwell time is 11.8 years. In Cleveland, it’s 17.3 years, he said.
An overview of the third and final phase of the Bedrock Riverfront masterplan. Mid- and high-rise residential uses are proposed at left where the Breen Center now stands (MKSK).
In the Bronx borough of New York City, 20 percent of the residential inventory is owner-occupied, Barlage continued. In Manhattan, it’s 25 percent. San Francisco’s urban core has 38 percent of its housing stock owner-occupied. The national average is 50.4 percent. In Downtown Cleveland it’s just 6.1 percent.
“That (bulding downtown apartments) was the right thing, to get more people,” he said. “Now, we’re mature. We’re different. We’re bigger. We’re better. We’re bolder.”
“That (for-sale housing) is the next step for us,” Barlage continued. “Apartments are the gateway. Ownership really unlocks the neighborhood, the dwelling that we need for downtown to continue to be sustainable.”
“Yes, it’s about sports, entertainment, creating experiences,” he said. “But when you start to use that as the catalyst, or the front door, and then you start to bring residents in, you get a safer downtown, you get an always-on downtown, you get people walking around to the restaurants, to Playhouse Square, the Rock Hall, the waterfront, and so on. That is core to what we’re trying to create.”
END
