Instead of a long-term vision for the Avenue at Tower City, Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Detroit has let the property languish. The company is currently attempting to market the site as a venue for “pop-up experiences” during the Rock Hall induction ceremony later this year and the NBA All-Star Game in 2022.
If they ignore the current expanding puddle at the entrance on Public Square and the water raining from on high — the result of burst pipes, perhaps? — Bedrock might consider an indoor water park concept.
It seems about as realistic as other ambitious proposals lately considered. Why not make lemonade out of these unsightly lemons? Why not dream big, take the proverbial moonshot and start hyping up the Nation’s Largest and Most Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Hub Slash Splash Lagoon? Imagine the water slides! The multi-level tubing course slash co-working space! The combination Apple Store Swim-up Bar? Who Says No?
The venture would dovetail elegantly with the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s strategic vision to invest in technology and talent in the areas of “smart manufacturing, health innovation and water technology.”
Water + Technology + Tower City. Waterologity. Watogy. Cleveland: Let’s Make a splash.
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This article appears in Jun 2-15, 2021.
