tRUST-lab

Gordon Park South is an historic neighborhood park on the east lakefront of Cleveland. Previously an extensive strolling park at the foot of Lake Erie in the 1920s – as well as the terminus of the Doan Brook watershed – the park has evolved over time to become a regional attraction catering to little league baseball and parking. At one time, the park was home to the Cleveland Aquarium, but this abandoned 1930s relic was recently torn down in 2023. More problematically, the park is highly constrained between the I-90 Shoreway on one side and active freight rail tracks on the other, separating this valuable resource from the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood and residents coming by foot or by bike. The park is primarily a drive-up destination. 

Efforts are underway to redesign the park to be more accessible with a wider range of recreation programs and ecologies. This redesign of this critical site on Cleveland’s lakefront is occurring within a larger plan for Cleveland’s east lakefront neighborhoods that need to be considered, as described in this recent press release: 

"Over the next two decades, Cleveland’s lakefront between Downtown and University Circle will undergo infrastructure improvements, including a redevelopment of Cleveland Metroparks’ Gordon Park, positioning the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood for growth. However, even with these enhancements, eastside neighborhoods need additional strategic investments to spur economic development. 

St. Clair-Superior, located just south of Cleveland’s Interstate 90, is proximate to the highway, lakefront, Northeast Ohio’s two major job centers, and several universities. It boasts major industrial properties which take advantage of this access. Despite these advantages, St. Clair Superior lags behind other Cleveland neighborhoods with regards to private investment. "

- LAND studio, 2023 

The tRUSt-lab studio developed scenarios for Gordon Park South and its relationship to Lake Erie and the St. ClairSuperior neighborhood. As Metroparks also controls Gordon Park North (across the Shoreway) the work explored ways of bringing these two parks into a coherent and comprehensive whole, connecting to existing trail networks and considering future trail connections that are in the works. Additionally, student projects incorporated nearby planning/design projects such as CHEERS (Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Study), FirstEnergy redevelopment, and the Re-Discover St. Clair-Superior neighborhood planning work. Designs for Gordon Park ran the spectrum from basic upgrades to more aspirational and innovative ideas, reflected in levels of design detail, phasing, diagramming, and representation. 

The idea of “corridors” and “connectivity” were central to the effort. Two corridors – E. 72nd Street and E. 55th Street – connect the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood to the lakefront. Both corridors are critical and historic circulation routes that serve as means of access connecting people to the water. However, these connections are difficult and fragmented at best, crossing a significant industrial rail line and coming up against the barrier of I-90. Students assessed these existing conditions, reviewed recent studies, and re-imagined development and landscape infrastructure possibilities along the corridors that will make them functional, beautiful, active linkages between the lakefront and St. Clair-Superior. 

Connectivity addressed how Gordon Park, the corridors, and lakefront are brought together through bold, and innovative design interventions that bridge the existing rail corridor and highway barriers. This is the most aspirational part of the work; ideas were meant to recognize the intense challenges that will emerge over time. These will inevitably include costs and technical ability to undertake these kinds of proposals (land bridges, pedestrian bridges, tunnels, infrastructure relocations, etc). However, relevant precedent research, clarity of recommendations, and compelling nature of the proposals are meant to become part of the ongoing conversations around east lakefront planning in Cleveland. Lastly, all analysis and design work undertaken in the studio leveraged the findings of numerous recent studies. The most important studies are listed here, although this is not an exhaustive list. 

• Re-Discover St. Clair-Superior: St. Clair-Superior Neighborhood Plan (July 2023) 

• Safe Routes to Park Action Plan (2022) 

• CHEERS: Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Study (May 2021) 

• First Energy Lakeshore Reuse Plan (2017) 

• Cleveland Metroparks Lakefront Master Plan (2015) 

• Cleveland Waterfront District Plan (2004)