Plans for a restaurant and large patio in the new Irishtown Bend park in Ohio City have been abandoned due to potential costs and development challenges. The decision has led to a change in the 2023 settlement agreement between the city and developer Tony George.
Revised Agreement
The revised agreement grants George two new billboards in Cleveland in lieu of the opportunity to operate a restaurant in the park. The city stated that building a restaurant at the location would be extremely challenging.
The original agreement required the partnering entities to build a 3,000-square-foot building and a 17,000-square-foot patio in the future park, which would be leased to George and his son for 10 years to run a restaurant. However, no estimates for construction or a cap on costs were ever established, and recent discussions suggested that erecting a building would exceed expectations, with some estimates at $8 million or more.
Costly Redevelopment Deal
The city acknowledged that negotiating over George’s property has been costly to taxpayers. The port’s insistence on taking the property through eminent domain led to a lengthy and expensive legal battle, with the port and other partners ultimately agreeing to pay George $1.25 million and allow him to erect three new billboards elsewhere in the city.
The Metroparks hopes to open the hillside park in 2029, with $27 million secured so far for the park and fundraising ongoing. The nearby Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail is under construction and slated to open in 2027.
Original reporting: Signal Cleveland — read the source article.
