CLEVELAND — The Port of Cleveland’s board of directors took a vital step forward this week in embarking on a $300 million, multi-decade and ‘transformational’ project that would dramatically redefine the eastern shoreline of Lake Erie. Officials awarded a $3.75 million contract to a global engineering firm on Thursday, officially kicking off the extensive design and permitting process needed to bring the so-called CHEERS project to life.
The board selected Arup Engineering to head up the design and permitting services that will serve as the all-important foundation for the project to move forward. The Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS) project will soften the hardened, sculpted edges of Cleveland’s eastern lakefront near East 55th St. Marina, Gordon Park and the Lakefront Nature Preserve. By utilizing dredge material from the Cuyahoga River, the project calls for a more naturalized eastern shoreline, providing outdoor amenities for park-goers and habitats for wildlife. Additionally, a sheltered embayment will allow visitors to have direct access to the water, which would buttress a manmade ‘isle’ north of the nature preserve.
“We’re excited to be moving forward into the design phase of this transformational and vital project that will benefit Northeast Ohio communities for generations to come,” said Will Friedman, the president and CEO of the Port of Cleveland.
In addition to the recreational benefits, the project aims to better connect east-side residents to the lake in a manner similar to Edgewater Park and the west side. Although the project will likely be completed in phases over the course of three decades, the broader goals of the initiative include reconnecting communities to the region’s greatest natural resource, improving public health, bolstering the regional economy and tourism efforts and benefitting the environment.
Tracy Johnson, an avid fisherman that spends much of his free time fishing near the East 55th Street marina, said the project is exactly what the east side needs.
“I think it’s a great idea. Not only will people be able to come out and they put the island out there and you can picnic or relax,” Johnson said. “And, of course, the fishing. The further out in the water you get, the more fish you can catch. You got Edgewater on the west side. We need something out here also.”
Six entities guide the CHEERS project: the Port of Cleveland, the Cleveland Metroparks, the City of Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the Black Environmental Leaders Association.
