What's New with CHEERS?
The Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy, or CHEERS, continues to progress. The six project partners are excited to report the following updates:
- Design funding is in place – CHEERS will be shovel-ready by 2026!
- CHEERS is complemented by a parallel planning project south of I-90 led by LAND studio and the SmithGroup team. Construction of improvements at Gordon Park are slated for 2025. See plangordonpark.com for more information.
- Partners have been working with the consultant team to refine engineering & design of the park & habitat. Work is currently 30% complete
- Additional design work and community engagement kicks off in Fall 2024 - keep an eye out here for more info!
- Partners are pursing construction funding to build the initial stage shown above, The View, located north of E55 Marina
- Coordination is underway for permits from state & federal agencies including US Army Corps of Engineers & Ohio Dept of Natural Resources
- Partners will develop CHEERS in phases & complete work over @ 25 years
The View Site Plan
The View Illustration
CHEERS Overall Site Plan
CHEERS in the News
How the Port of Cleveland turned infrastructure needs into two transformational waterfront projects - Crain's Cleveland (December 18, 2023)
Something to CHEER About - The LAND (December 14, 2023)
Cleveland Resilience Projects Could Boost Communities' Access to Water and Green Spaces - Inside Climate News (November 28, 2023)
CHEERS Seeks Construction Grants with Improved Design - Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com (August 12, 2023)
CHEERS Project Advances to Design Phase - Cleveland Metroparks (October 13, 2022)
Show Your Support for CHEERS!
Please sign this petition to show your support for CHEERS! As we look to advance the project, the six partners hope to demonstrate its broad community support to funders and regulators. Become an important part of the effort to make accessing, interacting with, and appreciating the Cleveland lakefront a better experience!
About CHEERS
The Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS) project is a concept that emerged from a yearlong study to determine how to transform Cleveland’s lakeshore through reconnecting communities to the lake, improving public health, bolstering the economy, and benefiting the environment and natural habitat. It is now in a design phase with the help of a consultant team to move the original study towards implementation. Stakeholders and the support received from the community are crucial to the success of CHEERS. Community engagement kicked off in early 2023 – check back here for updates!
CHEERS will utilize beneficial use of dredge material to improve shoreline resilience, build habitat, expand parks, and work to heal damage done by past unjust developmental practices and industrial use. Click here for a summary of background on CHEERS, and here for the full version of the initial plan.
CHEERS is a partnership between Black Environmental Leaders, the City of Cleveland and Cleveland City Council, Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Transportation, and the Port of Cleveland.
This project is supported by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Ohio Department of Transportation's Maritime Assistance Program, and local match and in-kind support from each of the CHEERS Partners.
The Partners
This stage of CHEERS focuses on detailed investigations of existing conditions on the project site and will develop engineering documents for the in-water structures.
- The project partners will also continue community engagement and park planning with an eye towards phasing and implementation timeframes.
- Site investigations and engineering are underway to move the project towards permitting from state and federal agencies
- Nearly $6M in funding has been received from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund and the State of Ohio’s Maritime Assistance Program, along with local match commitments from the six project partners.
For a preliminary glimpse into what the phases of building this project might look like over the next 20+ years, take a look at the phasing graphic below!
Past Meeting Information
Check back here periodically for presentations, videos, and other information from the many community and stakeholder engagement opportunities we will be holding as CHEERS progresses.
September 12, 2024 Stakeholder Meeting #5
2024-09-12 Stakeholder Meeting #5 Presentation
2024-09-12 Stakeholder Meeting #5 Recording
March 14, 2024 Stakeholder Meeting #4
2024-03-14 Stakeholder Meeting #4 Presentation
2024-03-14 Stakeholder Meeting #4 Recording
August 10, 2023 Summer Community Update
2023-08-10 Summer Community Update Presentation
2023-08-10 Summer Community Update Recording
Click here for Older Meeting Info
Main Consultant Team
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