The Lake Erie shoreline and the Cuyahoga Valley are “sunken assets and hidden treasures” that can be recovered for the benefit of the entire region, Chris Warren, Cleveland’s Chief of Regional Development, told a gathering at the Greater Cleveland Partnership offices listening to presentations for salvaging the U.S. Coast Guard Station.

Whether it’s the station as part of the Lakefront Plan, a Dike 14 Nature Preserve or connecting it to the Towpath Trail and the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, all of the plans for regional attraction depend on finding resources, Warren says.

His hopes are bouyed by the soon-to-be-released Northeast Ohio Mayors and Managers Association study that will recommend pathways for the region to boost its economic prospects and deal with the costs of fragmentation. The 23-member group studied the model of regionalism in the Twin Cities, and are expected to recommend a similar strategy of regional land-use and tax sharing in 16-county Northeast Ohio.

The costs of sprawl and redundant infrastructure are too high to ignore, Warren explains, as the region consumed 50% more land in the last decade while population and wealth flattened out.

“What we’re talking about is a pool where forty percent is redistributed in favor of communities based on age and density. Not just Cleveland, but the inner-ring suburbs and county seats,” Warren said. “The allies are looking at the fiscal sense of living within our means. We’ll reinvest in the transformation of places that are near and dear, like the coast guard station.”

Location(s)

Celebrate the city's tranquil green space by the lake (and the only park owned by Cuyahoga County) -- Whiskey Island and the U.S. Coast Guard Station will reopen to the public with the dedication (at 3 pm) of a new bridge on the only road leading in. Through the work of County Engineer Robert Klaiber, a bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians was also built alongside the auto bridge to connect with a proposed bike path from Edgewater Park.

Location(s)

The annual Burning River Fest at the Nautica Entertainment Complex on the Cuyahoga  River, the family-friendly festival for the environment and water quality.

Sceme three from the city of Cleveland for the proposed redevelopment of the Coast Guard Station is the simplest with a refurbishment of the station, and adding a bioretention pond and bike and boat rental.

Scheme two from the city of Cleveland for the proposed redevelopment of the Coast Guard Station at the mouth of the Cuyahoga includes a banquet space, restaurant, museum, and floating educational ferry.

Scheme one in the city's proposed future redevelopment of the Coast Guard Station includes a maritime museum, a cafe, bike and boat rental, an indoor/outdoor exhibit space, and an observation tower.

The Coast Guard station at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River may be a historic landmark but it has suffered from years of neglect and is very close to the point of no return.

On March 9, 2006 the city held a public meeting and unveiled three options for the 65-year old station, which practically has no roof left and is choked by weeds. Under an $8.5 million plan, the three-acre site would be restored in historic detail and feature a maritime museum, café and perimeter walkways.

A $9.2 million plan features a restaurant, outdoor dining, banquet facilities, a floating classroom and a museum. A third, $5 million plan would convert the site to an educational park.

No one spoke in favor of the third option. Several spoke in favor of the restaurant and museum, according to a report in the Plain Dealer. Others said the difficulty in finding Whiskey Island, the station's remote site and the exposed walk along the causeway make such uses questionable.

The Metroparks taking over is an option only if and when it connects to the Towpath Trail. That's at least five years in the future and the station won't last that long in its current state. 

Preserving old coast guard stations has become a focus around the country, with some successful cases being built on funding for cultural tourism.