Adam RollinsThe city of Cleveland is calling for developers to transform a 50-acre waterfront property that includes the Browns’ current football stadium.
Cleveland officials and the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation (NCWDC) have issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the area along Lake Erie. The RFQ is a centerpiece of Mayor Justin Bibb’s “Shore-to-Core-to-Shore” initiative, an ambitious multibillion-dollar plan to physically and socially reconnect the city’s downtown to its two waterfronts—the Lake Erie shoreline and the Cuyahoga River—through a vibrant, mixed-use waterfront neighborhood.
The framework for the initiative calls for major infrastructure improvements, including the construction of a pedestrian land bridge, a reconfigured Shoreway boulevard and a multimodal transit hub, along with 16 acres of green space, mixed-income housing and retail space.
The RFQ follows the city’s Lakefront Master Plan, which was created over a period of three years with significant community engagement. The Master Plan included renovations to the Cleveland Browns’ stadium, but the Browns have since made plans to move the team to a new stadium in Brooke Park in 2029.
Mayor Bibb said he hopes to partner with developers who share a vision of replacing the stadium with a centerpiece that will still draw crowds to the area. City officials expect the stadium to be demolished in early 2029, though the funding source is still undetermined.
The project’s funding comes from a mix of federal, state and local grants, as well as new mechanisms meant to reinvest tax revenue into infrastructure projects. A new, semi-governmental entity called A New Community Authority (NCA) can work with property owners in development areas to impose small fees on things like parking or food bills, which would then be used to support new development initiatives in the area.
Some construction projects on the lakefront acreage will begin in 2027. The Browns’ ongoing use of Huntington Bank Field complicates the development of the surrounding area. Mayor Bibb said he hopes to begin work as soon as possible, and the city plans to select a developer—or developers—by the end of this year.
Responses to the RFQ are due by September. The city is looking for developers who want to tackle either a portion or all the 50-acre development site.
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