Current Development Projects in Lakewood

There are some very exciting projects underway, or on the drawing boards, or even under construction, in Lakewood. Scroll down the page to view information, and check back often for updates information about new projects.

The Cliffs on Rocky River

The Cliffs on Rocky River represent the first new waterfront development in Lakewood in over 40 years. The local development team of The Foran Group LLC and M. Montlack Development recently unveiled plans for the Cliffs on Rocky River, a 46-unit multi-level condominium and boat marina development.

Total value of the project is estimated to be over $20,000,000 when completed in 3 years. Construction is due to begin in July 2006 and be completed within a three year period. First occupants are expected to move in late spring 2007.

The Cliffs on Rocky River site is across from the Clifton Yacht Club and the Westlake Marina and is just 1000 yards from the mouth of the river and the historic homes of Clifton Park and the Lagoons.

The 10-level structure will house 27 single-floor flats, 13 dockside townhouses with attached garages, and six multi-level penthouses. The units will range in size from 1,430 to 4,100 square feet and will have oversized private terraces, 11-foot ceilings and spectacular views. Units will be priced from $275,000 to $1 million.

Residents will benefit from two-car indoor parking spaces per unit. There will also be approximately 50 boat slips available for sale at an average of $30,000 each.

For more information visit www.thecliffsonrockyriver.com or call 440.331.2700

Rosewood Place: Lakewood's Newest Development Project!

Click Here to visit the official website.

The Rockport Square Project

Ground was broken in July 2004 for phase one of Rockport Square – a residential and retail development located on the eastern corridor of Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. The project marks the city’s largest housing development since construction was completed on Lakewood’s Gold Coast in 1969.

A new four-acre neighborhood along Detroit Avenue between Newman and Ridgewood avenues, Rockport Square will combine modern housing and retail opportunities with public green space where residents and visitors alike can come together and enjoy a sense of community.

Rockport Square will offer 124 modern living units, including townhomes and live-work lofts, with options tailored to meet the owner’s personal taste and pocketbook. All units are open and airy featuring high ceilings, expansive windows and outdoor space such as porches and patios.

Rockport Square will also house local, regional and national tenants in nearly 19,000square feet of ground-level retail space. The neighborhood will be connected by new streets, sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, pedestrian plazas and public art displays.

Read more about Rockport Square at www.rockportsquare.com.

Improvements to Lakewood Park

The City of Lakewood has received over $1 million (including match) in grants to begin the revitalization of the lakefront at Lakewood Park, Lakewood's only public access to Lake Erie. Grants have been received from the Clean Ohio Fund, the Ohio Coastal Management Program and the Ohio NatureWorks Grant Program. In addition, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have generously granted a permanent easement of their lakefront property (nearly one-acre), to the City for the sum of $10.

The capturing of these public dollars provides the City of Lakewood with the historic opportunity to bring public access in Lakewood directly to the waters of Lake Erie where none has ever existed. This first phase will consist of the following components:

• Acquistion of a permanent easement of approximately one-acre of lakefront land from the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine that is contiguous to Lakewood Park and that includes a beach area where the public will be able to access the water

• Creation of access for the public to the lakefront via the addition of stairs at both east and west ends of Lakewood Park.

• The creation of a pedestrian lake walk along the shoreline which will create a quarter mile lakefront promenade and will make available for easy access one of the best views of the Cleveland skyline, outstanding sunsets and incredible views of the expansive and dramatic shale cliffs that line the shore

• The addition of an ADA accessible winding ramp which will be incorporated into the hillside, include lake-view observation stops and benches along its path and will make the lakefront accessible to all.

• The introduction of appropriate native planting and other landscaping to restore the natural elements of the open space and lakefront, create habitat, prevent hillside erosion and complete an aesthetically pleasing plan to restore components that have largely disappeared throughout Cuyahoga County.

Click here to see more pictures of the Lakewood Park project.

The Lakewood Library Expansion

About the Illustration Above:

Art is for the worth the wait. Renowned architectural illustrator Thomas W. Schaller presents a breath-taking artist's rendering of Lakewood Public Library. With uncommon artistic power, Mr. Schaller captures the block-to-block civic dreamscape that has informed our work with the Robert A.M. Stern Architects team on this exciting public library project.

Lakewood has always loved its public library. Mr. Schaller's singular image magnificently advances the analogy of love at first sight. As view the artist's rendering of Robert A.M. Stern Architects' design for our new block-to-block public library, the highly affective powers of Mr. Schaller's image work in watercolors will bring all of us more fully into the civic dreamscape we long to inhabit in Lakewood .

Throughout 2004 the Lakewood Public Library administration and Board of Trustees have been working with Robert A.M. Stern Architects, an internationally recognized leader in public library design on the expansion and renovation of Lakewood's Main Library.

The size of the facility will increase from approximately 55,000 square feet to 99,000 square feet. There will be substantial increases in space for children's services, technology, audio-visual services, public seating and shelving capacity. A grand reading, quiet room, auditorium and multipurpose room will support the library's program. Parking spaces will roughly double from its current capacity of 35.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects is known for beautiful, cost-effective, long-lasting, memorable, successful and welcoming buildings. Projects include the Nashville Public Library, Bangor Public Library, Clearwater Public Library, Miami Beach Library, the Main Library in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Main Library in Columbus, Georgia.

Under Mr. Stern's leadership, Robert A.M. Stern Architects will provide Lakewood Public Library and the citizens of Lakewood with a well-designed library that meets the functional needs of program, while complimenting our downtown neighborhood context and reinforcing the character and vitality of our city.

By summer's end several phases in the design process were successfully completed, including program verification, schematic design and design development. A cost estimation and value engineering exercise will commence in September. Upon completion of this exercise an artist's rendering of the exterior will be prepared. The artist's rendering should be ready for public viewing in October. The phase known as construction documentation will begin then, too. These are all necessary project phases that precede actual construction.

Ground is expected to be broken in Spring. The project will be phased in a way that should allow Main Library to remain open for access to materials, programs and services. The project is on schedule and expected to be completed by the Fall 2006.

With Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Lakewood will set the standard for excellence in public library design and realize extraordinary value of its capital investment, For many decades to come, a signature presence on Detroit Avenue will distinguish Lakewood Public Library and our community's commitment to beauty, knowledge and faith in an intelligent future.

For more information visit the Lakewood Public Library website @ www.lkwdpl.org

The Lakewood Schools Reconstruction Plan

The historic Garfield Elementary School facade. It will be retained when the building is reconstructed as a middle school.

The Lakewood City School District and the Lakewood community are actively engaged in a school facilities reconstruction plan. The reconstruction plan is intended to contribute directly to improving student learning and performance. Phase I represents the initial phase of three building phases, expected to span the years 2005-2012. Phase I is completed and the district is beginning Phase II.

The Lakewood City School District Facility Plan was born out of community input and the Designing Our Next 50 Years Citizens Committee planning efforts between 2000 and 2003. Lakewood voters approved a $93 million bond issue in March 2004 for Phase I. Voters also approved a $30 million bond issue in May 2007 to fund Phase II.

The plan calls for consolidating school facilities from 14 to 10 buildings (1 High School, 2 Middle Schools and 7 Elementary Schools) and replacing five of the schools while renovating the remaining five.

Phase I of the building plan included the construction of new Hayes and Harrison elementary schools and the construction of two new middle schools, Harding and Garfield. Ground was broken on all four building sites in June of 2005 and the doors opened for school in August 2007. Phase I was completed on time and on budget.

Work has begun on Phase II which will include the complete renovation of Emerson and Horace Mann Middle Schools into state-of-the-art elementary schools, and the renovation of the western portion of Lakewood High School.

For more general updates and school related information visit www.lakewoodcityschools.org or call 216.529.4727

The Lakewood YMCA Renovation

YMCA - Lakewood Ohio

The YMCA of Greater Cleveland has served Cleveland residents for nearly 150 years. The most frequently used Y, the Lakewood family YMCA branch, was constructed in 1957 with 30,000 square feet for 1800 people. Notably, 90 percent of current members are from Lakewood. The current usage of this Y is now over 10,000 people a year. Due to the high usage, this branch has been realizing a profit from operations for the last five years. The only recreation center in Lakewood, the Lakewood YMCA provides programs for children, teens, adults, families, and both active and rehabilitating older adults. A full 19 percent of the families who are members of the Y are single parent units. In 2003, 53 percent of children participating in the Y’s day camp and 35 percent of the children in the child care program received financial aid, totaling $47,000. The Y consistently provides services to individuals regardless of their ability to pay through scholarship funds raised by the Community Board.

The Lakewood Family YMCA, in cooperation with Lakewood Hospital and the City of Lakewood, may act as a community anchor for the people of Lakewood by being a focal point for community action, education, healthcare delivery. The new Y will be able to directly impact the lives of 15,000 individuals and families in Lakewood and the surrounding communities. The beauty and integrity of the physical structure will add much needed improvement to the Detroit Avenue landscape which currently claims several empty store fronts.

Initiated in September 2002, the goal of the Lakewood Family YMCA Capital Campaign is to raise $10.5 million. With the help of 200 volunteers, 2,715 individuals, foundation, corporations and community organizations will be approached. The present status of the project consists of 175 confirmed pledges totaling $7,357,513 or 70 percent of the total goal. In addition, Lakewood Hospital has committed to leasing 2,500 square feet of space for a rehabilitation facility.

Please visit the Lakewood YMCA website