Cleveland’s $450M multimodal hub project receives design funding

The city of Cleveland, Ohio, is in the planning phase to redevelop a parcel of its downtown lakefront into a cutting-edge multimodal transportation center. Following a grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the project will enter the design phase.

The project, titled the North Coast Connector Multimodal Hub, will provide critical mobility improvements to and from the city’s lakefront, providing ample transit options as part of the city’s transportation network. The project will be built on up to 50 acres of land north of Route 2, which currently houses Huntington Bank Field, the home of the Cleveland Browns. After the team migrates to a new home, the existing stadium will be demolished.

The existing site features parking lots, pedestrian and vehicle throughways and a temporary activation project known as the North Coast Yard. The lakefront development plot provides a unique opportunity to invest in its transportation infrastructure, creating a centralized hub to better facilitate travel.

The hub won’t support pedestrian public transit options alone. The facility, located right on the shore of Lake Erie, will also support intermodal freight movement, non-motorized pathways, bus routes and rail lines. Ideally, the completed center will unite three facilities into one, consolidating right rail stations and a passenger rail station.

Plans include funding the second phase extension of an adjacent port access roadway. In addition, the project will connect with an upcoming $150 million land bridge slated to begin construction in 2027.

The multimodal hub is only one part of the downtown lakefront’s reinvention. Cleveland is pursuing numerous venues to transform the area, preparing it to be a keystone destination for the city’s economic engine. Plans for the project are still being developed, with the expectation that it will be used for housing, hospitality, hotels, corporate offices, retail, recreation, entertainment and more. The holistic project cost for the lakefront plan is estimated at $450 million.

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