The Midline Masterplan is approved! Read the plan →
This corridor once employed generations of near east side families. Redlining, urban renewal, and the loss of manufacturing left much of the land vacant, contaminated, and cut off by an elevated rail line. Still, its location between Downtown and University Circle, with direct access to transit and highways, gives Cleveland an unique opportunity to bring jobs back. Since 2023, the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund has assembled about 200 acres here, backed by the City of Cleveland's $50 million federal ARPA allocation that established the Samuel T. Wellman Site Readiness Fund endowment with the Cleveland Foundation.
The Masterplan started with the people who live and work here.
Over the past year, the Midline team heard from hundreds of neighbors, students, community partners, and workers. That happened through Steering Committee meetings, community workshops, site and bike tours, and design sessions with students from East Tech High School and the MAGNET Summer Academy. Three ideas came up again and again:
Put new businesses where they fit best: close to truck routes and rail
Make the area greener and easier to get around: more trees, better stormwater management, and safer ways to walk and bike
Respect the neighborhoods that are already here: buffer existing homes, and honor the area's history and culture
2027 is about bringing more people into the process.
The Masterplan is the starting line. In the year ahead, the Midline team will focus on continued community engagement and new programming that invites neighbors to experience the district firsthand. Detailed design of the greenway and parks moves forward alongside that work, with community review built in. Development sites will advance individually, each through cleanup, design, permitting, and construction.
