A 2021 rendering of Bridgeworks. Credit: M. Panzica + GRAMMAR
Bridgeworks, the long-in-the-works mixed-use project that will bring 140 apartments, 130 hotel rooms, and a restaurant to the foot of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, inched closer to build stage this weekend when Cuyahoga County proposed a $2 million that would finalize funding for construction.

The Place-Based, Mixed-Use Loan, as the money is officially called, will top off the $103-million financing goal of M. Panzica  and GRAMMAR, the developer team leading the Bridgeworks development.

The loan, which could be finalized in two weeks, follows a string of financial incentives, including a $223,000 Ohio Brownfield grant and a 30-year tax-increment financing agreement, that closes the money gap after years of cobbling together a capital stack to make it a reality.

“The county is excited to assist with a project that can help accelerate the growth of the Hingetown district in the Ohio City neighborhood,” Ronayne said in a statement.

“It will make a critical connection between the Ohio City neighborhood and the West Bank of the Flats,” he added, “and will turn an underutilized property into a valuable community asset.”

Paul Herdeg, the county’s director of economic development, expanded on Ronayne’s thoughts in a phone call, adding that Bridgeworks, when open for leasing in the spring/summer of 2025, will further the city’s goal to boost the walkability of West 25th.

Irishtown Bend Park, a planned 23-acre green space project along the riverfront, will essentially connect Bridgeworks with Ohio City’s entertainment district further south. The Loop, a bike lane still in its concept phase, could—if fully funded—link Bridgeworks cycle traffic with the heart of Ohio City.

The loan, Herdeg said, is most likely to be approved by county council in mid-March after a series of readings beginning March 14th. M. Panzica and GRAMMAR will not have to start repayments of said loan until Bridgeworks is officially open to renters.

“There is no remaining problem,” Herdeg said. “So by making this loan, we’re able to enable the project to go full speed ahead without any remaining gap in its funding.”

So, is Bridgeworks’ Ohio City property? Or a Hingetown additive? Or, is it a sort of bridge (ahem) to the Flats West Bank.

The county, in its press release, located the project in Hingetown.

“Yeah, I don’t know the official delineation, or if it really matters,” Michael Panzica told Scene. “We view it as really a major, and maybe the last connected point, from the north side of Ohio City to basically the Flats.”

Panzica said that Bridgeworks’ construction phase, aiming to begin this spring, will take 21 months.

Coming soon: Cleveland Scene Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Cleveland stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Related Stories

This article appears in Feb 22 – Mar 7, 2023.

Mark Oprea is a staff writer at Scene. He's covered Cleveland for the past decade, and has contributed to TIME, NPR, Narratively, the Pacific Standard and the Cleveland Magazine. He's the winner of two Press Club awards.