Cavs Downtown Training Facility Design Approval Stirs Excitement For Resident Access to the Riverfront

In December 2022, when Bedrock announced its plans to build a $3.5 billion neighborhood south of Tower City on the riverfront — currently home to a sea of parking lots—  the local public collectively gasped: Finally Clevelanders could have close access to the Cuyahoga south of Downtown.

Friday morning, the lofty ideal of that Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan came a lot closer to actualization. The Cleveland Planning Commission gave thumbs up to the schematic design of the Cavs/Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, what's likely to be the first piece of construction on the northern edge of the river.

Besides fanfare around both having a new clinic outpost and a Cavs training facility not sequestered in a faraway suburb (see: Independence or Berea), a lot of the buzz generated among stakeholders and CPC members at Friday's meeting tilted repeatedly towards what that facility means for the land around it.
In other words, seeing people on the river's edge, instead of mostly unused car storage.

"The activation of this space is the most important part for me," CPC Chair Lilian Kuri said at the meeting. "And the way that people are going to feel alongside this is setting a high bar for the many things Bedrock is doing—and piece together a continuous public realm."

That phrase—public realm!—came off the tongues of everyone present, and was reflected in the more detailed schematics of how and why the Center would be built as designed.

For starters, as architects from the firm of Populous demonstrated in a 122-slide powerpoint, the 155,448-square-foot glassy barge of a building would be nestled up some twenty feet from the Cuyahoga in the Flats South area. An 11-foot cycle track, and road and sidewalk, would link visitors with nearby West 3rd St. and Eagle Avenue, the latter including a newly-built bridge connector to the front door of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Ontario. (And the future Downtown Memorial Loop bike lane.)

Along the north and east sides of the building, some 123 trees—hikories, red oaks, hemlocks—would be planted. Sun benches and parklets will dot the sidewalks. And, to be kind to actual river traffic, a kayak drop-in area will be dug close to the Center's main entrance.
As for the facility itself, inside its timber-toned and glassy exterior will be offices for admins and physical therapists, a weight room, laundry area, team storage and showers. On the second floor, practice courts for players. And on the third, a "cardio balcony" running track and an outdoor half court.

The whole design, Populous Global Director Jonathan Mallie said during the presentation, is meant to act as much as a public beacon as it is a private training home for the Cavs roster.

"It's not often the case we as architects can work on a site like this," Mallie said. "We needed to have a building with presence, one that will be on the waterfront, and will become an icon to the city."

But what about the actual team? In an interview before the meeting, Cavs CEO Nic Barlage told Scene that the spot for the Center, a ten-minute walk to the city center, was in part driven by the players' interest. The average age of today's team, Barlage used as reason, is 27. The average age of 2016 Finals-era Cavs? 33.

"I mean, around that age—early, mid-thirties—players are having families, and, like other families, choosing to find a house in the suburbs," Barlage, who lived downtown for a combined six-and-a-half years, told Scene.

Today, he added, "players want more of a destination."

Though the buzz about saying bye bye to that ugly industrial wasteland and sea of parking lots ran high, some CPC members, like Erika Anthony and August Fluker, had concerns there could be more congestion than foreseen.

"We're trying to put five pounds of stuff in a two-pound bag," Fluker said. "In congestion, these things happen. And we have to make an attempt to deal with it."

The CPC is likely to produce an update to its previous Cuyahoga Riverfront Master Plan sometime this summer or fall, Director Joyce Huang said. With design approval, the Center itself could see a build start later this year, or early 2025.
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed