CLEVELAND — A major concert promoter is forging ahead with plans for a new venue on the West Bank of the Flats, in a neighborhood where industry and entertainment mix.
AEG Presents announced Monday that it expects to open the venue, called Globe Iron, on March 1. The name is a nod to the history of the block, where workers once made steam engines for freighters – and, later, built huge ships that traveled the Great Lakes.
The concert hall will fill an old building at Elm Street and Spruce Avenue, in a pocket of the Flats that’s mostly parking lots. The gable-roofed structure is a rare surviving piece of the Globe Iron Works foundry. In the 1990s, it housed the popular Metropolis nightclub.
Now it will become an event space for 1,200 people, with a large courtyard outside.
The project is a joint investment by AEG Presents and Jacobs Entertainment Inc., the owner of the block and many other properties on the West Bank.
AEG Presents already runs nearby Jacobs Pavilion, an outdoor venue that can hold 4,900 people. The company also operates the Agora, with a capacity of roughly 2,000.
Globe Iron’s smaller footprint will allow the company to bring more up-and-coming acts to Cleveland. AEG has comparable venues in other cities, including Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
The company declined an interview request Monday.
In a news release, a regional AEG executive said the property will be a “must-play venue,” with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, clear sight lines and “a unique setting that ensures a truly great experience and supports our goal of bringing more tours to Cleveland.”
The building will also host corporate events, weddings and fundraisers. Renderings drawn up by LDA Architects show that the courtyard will be an extension of the venue, with room for cocktail gatherings at high-top tables or formal seating in rows of chairs.
Cleveland’s City Planning Commission approved the designs in June – after one big change to the overall project.
Originally, Jacobs hoped to demolish a neighboring building to create more room for parking and a covered entrance to the venue.
But the commission and members of a city design-review committee pushed back. The four-story brick building at 2320 Center St. also was part of the Globe Iron Works. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Globe Iron Works Building, and it’s been vacant for years.
Jacobs backed off the demolition request. And AEG adjusted its plans.
At the June planning commission hearing, chairwoman Lillian Kuri applauded the project team for being willing to adapt.
“It’s gonna be a very cool project,” she said. “It’s very Cleveland. … It’s not all the way cleaned up and Disneyland.”
Jacobs, which focuses on gaming and entertainment, hasn’t said much about its plans for the Center Street building or other underused properties in the district.
In an emailed statement Monday, a Jacobs executive said the Globe Iron project sprang from a successful three-year relationship with AEG at Jacobs Pavilion.
“We welcomed their interest in reimagining the foundry building to further expand live entertainment options in the area,” wrote Patrick McKinley, an executive vice president at Jacobs. “This development will add to the array of memory-making experiences already available on the Flats West Bank.”
Dominick Hubbard can see the old foundry from the parking lot at Shooters on the Water, a riverfront restaurant that’s been around for almost 37 years.
He was thrilled to hear that a revival is in the works.
“I think it’s amazing,” said Hubbard, the front-of-house manager at Shooters. “One thing about the West Bank is that we do feed off of each other … business to business.”
Katarina Martinez, who lives in a nearby condo building, was initially skeptical about the idea of another venue in the neighborhood. After all, there’s already Jacobs Pavilion and Music Box Supper Club, a more intimate concert hall and restaurant on the water.
“But,” she said, “somebody brought up to me the other day … this is the city of rock and roll. So more venues means more music.”
Martinez hopes the project leads to other development, too. She moved here from New York in 2019 and works remotely from the condo she shares with her boyfriend and their two puggles, Maizey and Pablo.
“We’re very excited about everything that’s changing and growing here,” she said.
Over at Shooters, Hubbard hopes things don’t change too much. He’s excited about the prospect of preserving history – the buildings and businesses that make that part of Cleveland's waterfront unique – while bringing new destinations to the area.
“One thing I do think that’s still missing is kind of that constant need and want to come over to the West Bank,” said Hubbard, who started working at Shooters as a short-term job but quickly discovered a place where he wants to stay.
“Knowing that someone else is coming to join the family on the West Bank is huge,” he said. “It’s huge news.”
