CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — For the last two months, a significant portion of the Marquee at Cedar Lee development has stood frozen in time.
The January 24 fire burned for nearly a full day, dealing a devastating blow to this community and this project that was on the cusp of breathing new life into the Cedar-Lee district.
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For six weeks following the fire, the area remained off-limits as investigators combed through the charred remains in search of a cause that is still unknown.
“The site was, as we all know under open investigation so nobody was allowed to go inside except the specific people who were in charge of the investigation,” said Cleveland Heights Building Commissioner Eric Elmi.
That included the engineers determining what all had to go and what could possibly be saved all the way down to, including the foundations.
“If the foundations are good, in tact, not damaged by anything," Elmi said, they could be reused. "If not they have to be removed by State of Ohio's rules, once the demolition starts, they have to remove everything including the foundation from the ground and to prep it properly for the next project."
Cleveland Heights mayor announced last week that demolition would begin Monday. It will start on the Northeast corner of the project by the Wendy's on Cedar Road and make its way west.
The city says it will likely not know how long it will take until the work begins.
“Usually, with sites like this it takes about a month or more sometimes because to knock down everything is easy but to remove things properly is not easy,” Elmi said.
They don’t want damage that would slow the re-construction, which will begin when the site is cleared.
Because the burnt building poses a potential collapse risk within 15 feet of the surrounding area, Cedar Road from Lee Avenue to Goodnor Road remains closed. Once demolition is underway and cars can safely pass, the city intends to open reduced traffic lanes each way.
Until recently, the Cedar Lee Meadowbrook parking garage on the south side of the building was closed for safety purposes. The garage reopened on Friday, March 7, after the city boarded up openings on the side facing the damaged building.
It was a welcome site for area businesses who weren’t quite sure what to expect.
“We're steeling ourselves for a summer that's going to be pretty difficult,” said Destiny Burns, owner of CLE Urban Winery on Lee.
Her business and others were dealing with the negative impact of the ongoing construction of the $66 million mixed-use development last spring, but at least then, they knew they only had to get to this June to complete the project. Now?
"It's going to take another three or four months for this demolition to complete, its going to take another 18 months for this construction and we've already been through 18 months of construction and that was very impactful on us,” she said.
She's thankful to her customers who have supported her through it all, and though she said communication with the city was difficult in the beginning, it has improved, and she hopes it will continue.
“Maybe a weekly status meeting is what I'm asking for, just maybe a zoom call that they would hold with the stakeholders saying hey this is what's going on, this is where we're at, this is anything new,” Burns said.
