The factory at 2175 Ashland was once a production behemoth. By the end of the 19th century, no other building in the region made more brass castings or street lighting. It was filled with workers that lived within walking distance in nearby Fairfax and Central.
By 1994, that powerhouse on Ashland was nothing but a brick shell lathered in vines and graffiti.
An image and reality City Hall and a new nonprofit soon plan to reverse.
On Wednesday, in a grass lot across from where the famous Westinghouse plant used to thrum, Mayor Justin Bibb, officials from the Site Readiness Fund for Good Jobs, and assorted stakeholders throughout the region announced 2175 Ashland would be a part of, “the largest redevelopment plan in the modern history of Cleveland.”
The plan — christened as The Midline — is for a new commercial district where about a third of its 350 acres would be cleaned up and fashioned into ready-to-go space for businesses near the city center. Trails and and green space will link the district—from the RTA Green Line Station on East 79th up to Euclid Avenue.
The district, Bibb said at a press conference, will place “nearly a million workers within a 30-minute commute of good-paying jobs in this neighborhood.” The effort is on there to reverse the longstanding narrative of companies relocating elsewhere — to the suburbs, to the East Coast, to the South — and to bring jobs to Clevelanders.
“This is about people. This is about hope,” he said. “This is about opportunity.”
As the philosophy goes, companies of scale hunting for industrial space want shovel-ready, low-barrier-to-entry factory space. Being close to transit stops and highways, on clean land and having quick permits are major perks. As is having residents skilled in common trades close by.
A philosophy many framed on Wednesday as a return to the past, when Fairfax homeowners walked to Westinghouse, not taking three buses to get to work. (“I can’t believe Grandad used to walk to work,” a comic strip explainer accompanying Wednesday’s announcement read. “Now, I spend three hours commuting.”)
About $10 million from the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund has already been spent on acquiring land (some 200 acres already, quietly assembled by the nonprofit and partners) as well as demolition and environmental remediation. Officials say about $100 million more will need to be spent to get the land ready for use. The Site Readiness nonprofit was seeded with $50 million in ARPA dollars from the city and another $10 million from the Cleveland Foundation. State and federal grants are expected to also play into the financial picture.
No companies have signed on as of yet, but officials say discussions are underway already.
But the promise is there—to maybe one day provide Southeast Side residents with thousands of job options where there weren’t many before.
“Because development should not happen around our residents,” Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr said. “It should happen with them and for them.”
Though it took a back seat to economics on Wednesday, The Midline would act as a missing transportation link, connecting Cleveland’s Opportunity and Health-Tech corridors. The Midline would also link to a planned bike lane on East 55th and a cycletrack up the road, on Superior Avenue.
That is, of course, if companies buy in.
Those businesses the city ideated—biomedical, light manufacuturing, clean energy, etc.—could be lured by low-cost leases and easy handshake agreements with City Hall. But Central and Fairfax’s higher crime rates and uneven street quality, along with low home values, could be a deterrent.
At the very least, many contextualized on Wednesday, The Midline would be a solid boost for a neighborhood dispirited for far too long. The buildings now are gutted and eyesores.
“This neighborhood was once alive,” LaRhon Wheeler, 59, who’s lived in Central since 1973, said. “There were beautiful homes that lined the streets. Trees gave shade, character and a sense of pride. Families gathered on porches. Children playing freely.”
“Over time, that began to change,” she said.
After the press conference, Wheeler walked up Ashland while gazing up at the ruins that is the old Westinghouse factory. She shuddered thinking about the building at night, then thought of its potential if The Midline project panned out. She smiled.
“I just want a place my grandchildren will be proud of,” she said.
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
