With each new donation and grant, sponsors of the planned $45 million Irishtown Bend Park in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood move closer to their fundraising goal. And today, they moved a lot closer with $10.8 million awarded by the National Park Service’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.
Cleveland Metroparks, together with LAND studio, announced the grant for the development of the future Irishtown Bend Park. They and other park sponsors have raised about $20 million so far, which will help develop basic landscaping features of the park and new trails. But more is planned above the Cuyahoga River and below West 25th Street.
A $65 million stabilization project is currently underway by the Port of Cleveland. Once complete in 2025, the stabilized hillside will provide an opportunity to create a 25-acre public waterfront park connecting Cleveland residents and visitors to more than 125 miles of regional trails and green spaces, including connections to the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie.
The $10.8 million in ORLP funds will support the construction of park features of park features, including an amphitheater, overlook plazas, picnic areas, open space, play areas and a boardwalk, as well as necessary irrigation and landscaping components. Complementing the design of the park, Cleveland Metroparks will construct the final segment of the Lake Link Trail that will traverse Irishtown Bend. The Park District has secured $3.35 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds for trail construction.
“We maintain a commitment of progress for the community and this substantial federal investment brings a shared vision held by many project partners to reality,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman in a written statement. “The advocacy of Senator Sherrod Brown and Congresswoman Shontel Brown to secure support for this project will have a lasting impact on the community for generations to come and for the millions of visitors who will benefit from access to this dynamic world-class park.”
Photo: Irishtown Bend Park will be constructed above the Cuyahoga River, north of Columbus road and south of the Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood (LAND studio).
“Irishtown Bend Park is the last missing piece in connecting Clevelanders to parklands and trails extending from Lake Erie to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and beyond,” said LAND studio Executive Director Gregory Peckham. “This grant is an incredible endorsement of the positive benefits that Irishtown Bend Park will have for residents of Cleveland and the entire region.”
The ORLP funds are matched by $10.8 million from LAND studio, which includes generous support from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the State of Ohio, the George Gund Foundation and other project donors.
“The Port of Cleveland congratulates Cleveland Metroparks and the many partners on this milestone win for Cleveland and the region, which quite literally builds on the foundational work by our Port and the partners to stabilize Irishtown Bend,” said Port of Cleveland President & CEO Will Friedman, “Momentum is clearly building for park development in synchrony with the stabilization project which is well underway.”
The project is made possible with strong collaboration from LAND studio, Port of Cleveland, West Creek Conservancy, Ohio City Incorporated, Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, City of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Partnership, U.S. Department of Transportation, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, State of Ohio’s Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Canalway Partners, and Cleveland Metroparks.
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