1 minute ago, KJP said:

With each new bit of funding they raise, they're able to add more features to the park. The basic grading and seeding plus trails, amphitheater, overlook plazas, picnic areas, boardwalk, etc are now funded.

Sounds like Kickstarter stretch goals.

19 minutes ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

Sounds like Kickstarter stretch goals.

I say we run an UO Kickstarter with a goal of $15 mil, and for our generous donation we get a single park bench dedicated with all our names on it 😆

5 minutes ago, Geowizical said:

I say we run an UO Kickstarter with a goal of $15 mil, and for our generous donation we get a single park bench dedicated with all our names on it 😆

Our UO names too so people will be very perplexed

I hate when my article is the last post on a page! 

 

35 minutes ago, KJP said:

Still trying to figure that out. It appears they're at about $30 million -- more than halfway to their goal. With each new bit of funding they raise, they're able to add more features to the park. The basic grading and seeding plus trails, amphitheater, overlook plazas, picnic areas, boardwalk, etc are now funded.

 

 

Irishtown Bend Park gets $10.8M federal grant
By Ken Prendergast / September 26, 2024

 

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 (ORLP) Program.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2024/09/26/irishtown-bend-park-gets-10-8m-federal-grant/

 

I get the impression, although I might be wrong, that they have still not hit up the various Cleveland foundations or local corporations.  These entities  should end up being a major source of funding.

I'm not sure I had ever really seen this level of detail for what the park programming would be. I knew it was going to be a great asset, but this looks even better than I was expecting. Very excited to spend time here when it's finished and I'm in town visiting family.

1 hour ago, GREGinPARMA said:

Our UO names too so people will be very perplexed

Maybe place my name next to an available phone charging station within the park. 

Edited September 26, 2024Sep 26 by MyPhoneDead

That video is amazing. I can't believe the park will look like that. It's too perfect. Now IF the park ends up like the video it automatically becomes the number one attraction in town. And IF the park looks like the video the land on 25th across from it should be prime for residential mid-rises. Who wouldn't want to live there? Absolutely stellar!

16 minutes ago, cadmen said:

That video is amazing. I can't believe the park will look like that. It's too perfect. Now IF the park ends up like the video it automatically becomes the number one attraction in town. And IF the park looks like the video the land on 25th across from it should be prime for residential mid-rises. Who wouldn't want to live there? Absolutely stellar!

It's funny you mention that, because I just posted about my dream for that space haha. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Htsguy said:

I get the impression, although I might be wrong, that they have still not hit up the various Cleveland foundations or local corporations.  These entities  should end up being a major source of funding.

 

I'm pretty sure a lot of foundation funding was leveraged by West Creek during the initial land acquisitions. It was a pretty massive effort just to pull all of those parcels together. 

4 hours ago, KJP said:

I hate when my article is the last post on a page! 

 

 

Either way very impressive to raise $65 million for the stabilization phase and now we have almost $30 of $45 million for the park phase -or $95 million of requested $110 million total locked down and no mention of scaling back the vision via value-engineering yet! Well done Cleveland!

Geis could bridge the funding gap....

4 hours ago, gruver said:

Geis could bridge the funding gap....

Sshhh - don't give them any ideas - we still haven't heard where the 3rd and final Tony Goerge billborard will go.

I had no idea how extensive the plans for the park were. Like others said, if this truly comes to fruition the way in which it is presented, it will be more than just a draw in NEO. This will be our “high line” here in cleveland. Normally I would have trouble trusting the commitment to this plan, but it’s the Metroparks…Anything they touch is gold

I wish the Cleveland Metroparks ran the City of Cleveland.  Speechless.  Cleveland is not playing in their league with this one, and I like it!  😉❤️

13 hours ago, KJP said:

Still trying to figure that out. It appears they're at about $30 million -- more than halfway to their goal. With each new bit of funding they raise, they're able to add more features to the park. The basic grading and seeding plus trails, amphitheater, overlook plazas, picnic areas, boardwalk, etc are now funded.

 

 

Irishtown Bend Park gets $10.8M federal grant
By Ken Prendergast / September 26, 2024

 

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 (ORLP) Program.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blog/2024/09/26/irishtown-bend-park-gets-10-8m-federal-grant/

Someone donate another 30MM to get lots of trees!!!

10 hours ago, Jenny said:

I wish the Cleveland Metroparks ran the City of Cleveland.  Speechless.  Cleveland is not playing in their league with this one, and I like it!  😉❤️

I appreciate that Cleveland understands that the Metroparks is better suited to building/rebuilding our public spaces though. I have to give them all the credit for giving control of park areas like Gordon Park and Edgewater to them. 

I think the newest Crain's article may answer some of our funding questions?

https://www.crainscleveland.com/politics-policy/cleveland-metroparks-gets-14-million-federal-grants

 

• "The larger, nearly $11 million grant will be added to about $32 million in matching funds for the construction of plazas, boardwalk, an amphitheater, and both picnic and play areas as part of the Irishtown Bend park."
• "The entire project, a collaboration with the Port of Cleveland Metroparks, LAND Studio, the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, is expected to cost between $40 million and $45 million"
• "We are just starting the bulkhead installation, which we think is about a 12- to 18-month phase,” said Will Friedman, the port's president and CEO. “We are looking forward to finishing the stabilization and allowing the Metroparks to begin work on the park."

 

My read on this is that the $10.8 ($11) mil grant just received is on top of $32 mil in funding for the park. Given that, they're at $43 million in funding which means they're basically fully funded. Maybe someone has a better educated guess?

 

Also, a 12-18 month timeline on bulkhead installation means they would start park construction sometime between September and December 2025 at earliest - for comparison the stated target for park groundbreaking was August 2025.

 

Edited September 27, 2024Sep 27 by Geowizical

This place is gonna be so cool

Edited September 27, 2024Sep 27 by sonisharri

Anyone else skeptical of the number of and size of the trees in that video? Liking what I’m seeing tho

50 minutes ago, ogibbigo said:

Anyone else skeptical of the number of and size of the trees in that video? Liking what I’m seeing tho

Not really. A lot of them reminded me of birch trees that can grow pretty quickly. 

On 9/25/2024 at 2:00 PM, Ethan said:

^ Fantastic. The linked video is worth a watch! Plan looks basically the same as I remember, only change I notice is subbing out a half basketball court with a climbing (bouldering) wall. I approve. Mostly you should just watch it because it's gorgeous! I'm excited for this park! 

 

 

Anyone know what happened to this?

1 hour ago, ASPhotoman said:

Anyone know what happened to this?

I don’t know why they took the video off YouTube, but it’s available here:

https://www.irishtownbendpark.org/video-tour
 

Forgot to post these from last week? or so:

 

 

 

 

 

Are those the new bulkheads they're putting in with that crane? Like is that the permanent ones? Good to see they already are making good progress on them I thought it would be longer. I feel I noticed that crane out there not too long ago (like a month maybe?). So good to see how fast they are going in.

This is still 100% parkland, correct?   Seems like a big wasted opportunity to add high end housing with those views.  

 

2 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

This is still 100% parkland, correct?   Seems like a big wasted opportunity to add high end housing with those views.  

 

West 25th, the East and West Bank along with Scranton Peninsula have plenty of lots/space to develop that type of housing. This world class park will only strengthen the case for it.

4 minutes ago, downtownjoe said:

West 25th, the East and West Bank along with Scranton Peninsula have plenty of lots/space to develop that type of housing. This world class park will only strengthen the case for it.

Yeah I get it but it seems like even the upper "terrace" could be sold off.  

Just now, Cleburger said:

Yeah I get it but it seems like even the upper "terrace" could be sold off.  

 

I agree but have given up trying to make this point.  Steve Litt told me that the ground on the east side of W25th is too unstable to support construction.  I'm not sure I believe that in the case of fairly light-weight housing.

3 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

Yeah I get it but it seems like even the upper "terrace" could be sold off.  

That's going to be the best and most accessible part of the park though. We shouldn't ruin a major aspect of a park and one of the best views in Ohio that will be used by millions over the next 100 years just so 7 people can build million dollar homes. Someone can build those on the 4-5 acres of parking lots across the street. Let parks be parks. 

6 minutes ago, Dougal said:

 

I agree but have given up trying to make this point.  Steve Litt told me that the ground on the east side of W25th is too unstable to support construction.  I'm not sure I believe that in the case of fairly light-weight housing.

 

The potential consequences of a landslide into the river don't bear thinking about.

3 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

The potential consequences of a landslide into the river don't bear thinking about.

Not talking about a Grenfell Tower scale event - just some 2-3 story townhouses with random park-access gaps.  I hate seeing more property come off the tax rolls than is strictly necessary.

42 minutes ago, Dougal said:

Not talking about a Grenfell Tower scale event - just some 2-3 story townhouses with random park-access gaps.  I hate seeing more property come off the tax rolls than is strictly necessary.

 

The vast majority of this land has been owned by CMHA for decades. For the most part, especially since the railroad stopped cutting through here, there's been no taxable land since probably the 60s.

 

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=ddb0ee6134d64de4adaaa3660308abfd

1 hour ago, Dougal said:

 

I agree but have given up trying to make this point.  Steve Litt told me that the ground on the east side of W25th is too unstable to support construction.  I'm not sure I believe that in the case of fairly light-weight housing.

Prior to the project start, the city tore down a bunch of public housing that had been condemned because it was falling down the hill. Maybe they could have graded things differently and fixed that, but I think with its history of public housing it’s an easier political win to make it a park for all rather than expensive downtown adjacent living. 

29 minutes ago, GISguy said:

 

The vast majority of this land has been owned by CMHA for decades. For the most part, especially since the railroad stopped cutting through here, there's been no taxable land since probably the 60s.

 

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=ddb0ee6134d64de4adaaa3660308abfd

Thanks GIS guy had no idea there used to be rails through there! 

2 hours ago, Dougal said:

Not talking about a Grenfell Tower scale event - just some 2-3 story townhouses with random park-access gaps.  I hate seeing more property come off the tax rolls than is strictly necessary.

 

I speak more of river blockage.

4 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

I speak more of river blockage.

 

Happens a lot with old rivers. So I'm told...

On 9/27/2024 at 8:53 AM, MyPhoneDead said:

I appreciate that Cleveland understands that the Metroparks is better suited to building/rebuilding our public spaces though. I have to give them all the credit for giving control of park areas like Gordon Park and Edgewater to them. 

If only they could be in charge of Public Square. Would feel a lot safer and cleaner

 

 

 

Bulkhead progress update:

They got 2 cranes now working!

 

2 hours ago, dwolfi01 said:

They got 2 cranes now working!

 

Gotta spend that Federal money before it gets clawed back next year.

A few photos of the view from today.

 

 

 

 

Cleveland Metroparks officially states intention to take a "more active role in the development and future management of Irishtown Bend Park." Not surprising, but certainly welcome. 

 

Also, park construction planned to start after stabilization finishes in Q2 2026. 

 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Ethan said:

Cleveland Metroparks officially states intention to take a "more active role in the development and future management of Irishtown Bend Park." Not surprising, but certainly welcome. 

 

Also, park construction planned to start after stabilization finishes in Q2 2026. 

 

 

 

I have a question. Do you think that we will reach a point where the Metroparks will spread themselves too thin?

21 minutes ago, Ethan said:

Cleveland Metroparks officially states intention to take a "more active role in the development and future management of Irishtown Bend Park." Not surprising, but certainly welcome. 

 

Also, park construction planned to start after stabilization finishes in Q2 2026.

 

 

Doesn't it say stabilization will finish in early 2025 though, not 2026?

45 minutes ago, Geowizical said:

 

Doesn't it say stabilization will finish in early 2025 though, not 2026?

Hard to find some good up to date info but that would be welcomed news. Best I could find is a @KJP article from March stating stabilization would wrap in the fall of 2025: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/03/20/irishtown-bend-park-design-features-unveiled/

 

I checked the Irishtown website and couldn't find any timeline updates or anything so not sure where @Ethan got that screenshot from but seeing as how it's dated December 19th it would seem that is the best estimate? Which would be great. Maybe because we've had zero inclement weather really all year they got more work days than expeceted so far so the dates got pushed up? I can tell you they are making good progress on whatever bulkheads or supports they're piling into the river every day

1 hour ago, Geowizical said:

 

Doesn't it say stabilization will finish in early 2025 though, not 2026?

 Correct. Not sure, @dwolfi01 guess is as good as any I have. If they are finishing early than expected that seems good. 

30 minutes ago, dwolfi01 said:

Hard to find some good up to date info but that would be welcomed news. Best I could find is a @KJP article from March stating stabilization would wrap in the fall of 2025: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/03/20/irishtown-bend-park-design-features-unveiled/

 

I checked the Irishtown website and couldn't find any timeline updates or anything so not sure where @Ethan got that screenshot from but seeing as how it's dated December 19th it would seem that is the best estimate? Which would be great. Maybe because we've had zero inclement weather really all year they got more work days than expeceted so far so the dates got pushed up? I can tell you they are making good progress on whatever bulkheads or supports they're piling into the river every day

I'm pretty sure the issue is there isn't going to be much park construction happening in winter. So the plan is/was probably to finish stabilizing in fall 2025 (perhaps leaving room for or expecting delays, not sure), and start park construction in spring 2026. 

 

The screenshot is from the Metroparks board meeting agenda for this month. 

 

1 hour ago, MyPhoneDead said:

I have a question. Do you think that we will reach a point where the Metroparks will spread themselves too thin?

Maybe, but I'm not really expecting it. These near downtown parcels are tiny compared to their other reservations anyway. Money and time are theoretically limited, but they've been doing really well with grants and contributions lately. If they need more money to complete all the projects in the coming years, I can't imagine a governmental organization that would have less trouble passing a levy, especially since they have so much to show for their efforts in recent years. 

On 5/7/2024 at 8:12 PM, Henke said:

Not quite that long - this is the project timeline which has us ready for park construction in August of 2025. 

Here is the official timeline