Cleveland’s waterfront authority has picked a master developer to lead the future vision of Downtown’s lakefront.
DiGeronimo Development, a family-owned builder based in Brecksville with a track record of mixed-use construction, was chosen to guide those 50 acres of land where a soon-to-be-demolished stadium and parking lots stand today.
The selection team of the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation, which includes Mayor Bibb, Council President Blaine Griffin and Destination Cleveland’s David Gilbert, picked DiGeronimo due to the company’s string of recent successes and the virtue of them being right down the road, they said.
“They bring deep local roots, a proven track record and a strong commitment to collaboration and community benefits,” Griffin said in a statement.
“Having a local partner means greater accountability, stronger connections to our workforce and neighborhoods and more project dollars staying in our regional economy.”
Spearheaded by CEO Victor “Vic” DiGeronimo, Jr., and his cousins, Rob and Kevin, the company has contributed to some recent landmarks in the past half century.
In the 1970s, DiGeronimo helped build the downtown Justice Center. In 2018, it cut tape on Pinecrest in Orange Village, the ritzy east side mixed-use complex. It also helped develop Tremont’s Electric Gardens, a behemoth of an apartment complex, and Brecksville’s Valor Acres, the new mixed-use location by Sherwin-William’s new R&D facility.
It’s also currently working on the WaterWood Resort, a private cluster of luxury townhomes with 40-boat marina to boot in Vermilion. Downtown’s lakefront would be the company’s first major public project situated on water.
Scene reached out to DiGeronimo for comment, but did not receive a call back by Thursday afternoon.
The city’s team still has to officially replace Field Operations, the master planning and design consultant they hired in 2023 to drum up what the lakefront build may look like when it’s finally done. A new consultant will be picked in early 2026, with yet another new plan made public by the summer, the city said.
DiGeronimo will work with a variety of other developers, about a dozen or so that submitted ideas to Bibb and NCWDC last month. “Mixed-income housing,” a hotel, a “food hall concept”, “waterfront promenades” and an “indoor/outdoor music venue with approximately 10,000 seats” are all on the table.
Cleveland has $150 million in federal and state money that’s set to go towards a landbridge linking Mall C with whatever’s to come after Huntington Bank Field goes away in 2029. It’s also raised the $284 million needed to convert the Shoreway into a slower, pedestrian-friendly boulevard and negotiated a $100 million payout from the Haslams for the Browns’ departure to Brook Park.
All reasons Bibb’s reassured that he will be the mayor to actually pull this thing off.
“We have the resources to make meaningful progress,” Bibb said, “connecting people to the water, creating economic opportunity for residents, and reshaping Cleveland as a true waterfront city that supports downtown businesses year-round, not just a few days a year.”
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