Bedrock
Rendering by Groundswell Design Group
If you've ever wanted someplace in downtown Cleveland where you could quietly sit in nature while taking a break from work or meet a friend for coffee on a bench amid trees and flowers and thought Public Square suffers from too much fresh air and green ambiance and lacks the appeal of sad suburban mall vibes, boy does Tower City have something special for you.
Bedrock, Dan Gilbert's company which bought the desolate and dying mall in 2018, today anounced plans to open Skylight Park, an indoor park situated on the former fountain site centrally located with unobsructed views of three floors of nothing much.
“Experience is at the forefront of everything we do at Tower City Center and Skylight Park perfectly complements the mix of retail, events and food & beverage offerings at the downtown shopping venue,” said Ivy Greaner, Chief Operating Officer at Bedrock, in a press release. “We welcome everyone to the Park to stop and take a break in the day, convene with friends and colleagues, or come by to enjoy the series of entertainment and activities we have in store.”
Curated with help from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the CVNP Conservancy, the postage stamp-sized park located a two-minute walk from Public Square is "inspired by classic midwestern foliage, hand-selected and native to Ohio" and will feature "Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench) and the Black-eyed Susan." As if that's not enough, quotes and mantras will be installed around the area "allowing visitors to pause and reflect."
Tower City has struggled to find an identity for years, and little Bedrock has done — from free concerts to "pop-up experiences" to offering free space to local businesses — has moved the needle much.
You'll remember it's not even a mall anymore, according to the company.
It's now a marketplace, and one brewing with activation and excitement, though it in no way differs from a mall, though one could argue malls have patrons and more than seven stores.
Either way, Skylight Park will be grandly opened to confused Clevelanders on Saturday, July 16, and
should be greeted more warmly than Bedrock's unintentional indoor waterfall experiment.
If it all feels as weird and doomed for failure as City Block, rest assured a pivot to a sportsbook or mini putt-putt course is not far away.