Cleveland Flats: An Archeological Site

Cleveland is incredibly rich in historic buildings that really tell the story of a neighborhood. Where lots sit empty was once bustling industrial hubs. This should not inspire the classic "return the manufacturing" mindset often espoused when discussing a rust-belt cities former glory. This is a question wondering why we haven't utilized these lands moving forward.

There is only one brownfield on the peninsula and it is at the Gibson and Price Works. This is an area that already has rail right-of-ways(RoW) dedicated and is an opportunity to evolve them to meet the current needs of the city.

The above right of ways are fed from the Flats Industrial Bridge. Across the bridge is the BrewDog and new construction apartments. These apartments could be serviced by an RTA route utilizing the old Carter Bridge RoW, as that formerly connected to the current Waterfront Line. This would allow access to Tower city and the additional routes for the area and provides destinations around new RTA stops.

We have the ability to make Cleveland more accessible for the current citizens and encourages developers to seek rehabbing these industrial sites. The silo that is shown in the above image is already owned by a city entity: the COMMISSIONERS OF THE CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT. If the city is already familiar with collecting these properties from their former owners, why aren't they working to develop them to benefit the city and areas at large? I am recommending we sacrifice space that was already abandoned to provide accessibility to the area and potential commercial/residential areas as they develop on the peninsula.

Gentrification is coming for the old industry; we must find ways to utilize the bones before they are ripped up and replaced by roads, rail-to-trail line, or worse simply removed to further encourage our car/bus/rubber dependency. This way we look like a forward thinking city rather than one bogged down by the loss of manufacturing in the 80's.

As of August 2025 these lots have been approved to be developed and here is a quote indicating they will be using a strip to extend the public trail "Metroparks officials say they will retain a 30-foot strip of land along the Cuyahoga River to extend a public trail from Settlers Landing to Rivergate Park. The project complements broader efforts to expand public access to the Flats and strengthen connections along the river." Notice how they do not make mention of how they will make the access better, just that by nature of the development it will be. The city is not going to service this area with rail transit unless we tell the city to.

These areas do not have demand because they are dilapidated, they are dilapidated because they were abandoned when we abandoned manufacturing. This while the city did nothing to more efficiently utilize the precious land that would bridge the downtown with the near west side neighborhoods.