CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland City Planning Commission has approved The Midline Master Plan, a proposal to transform about 350 acres of long-neglected industrial land on the city’s Near East Side into an employment district with light industry, new open spaces and a two-mile greenway, according to the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF), which developed the plan with the City of Cleveland and LAND studio.
The plan identifies 21 potential development sites that could accommodate more than 1.5 million square feet of light industrial space and support more than 2,500 new jobs, SRF said. At full build-out, SRF projects The Midline would generate $1.3 billion in annual economic impact and up to $100 million in annual city tax revenue, with a proposed two-mile greenway trail and 10 acres of open space anchoring the district.
“For decades, disinvestment and the legacy of Cleveland’s industrial past have left a lasting mark on the Near East Side. The Midline is our opportunity to change that trajectory with a clear plan and a commitment to action,” Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb said in SRF’s announcement. “This plan is about making sure the people who call these neighborhoods home are part of what comes next,” Bibb said in that announcement.
The district stretches along the elevated Norfolk Southern rail corridor between Euclid Avenue and the Opportunity Corridor, taking in portions of the Central, Fairfax and Midtown neighborhoods, SRF said. It sits about a mile from downtown and two miles from University Circle. SRF said it has assembled approximately 200 acres of property to support coordinated redevelopment, building on 150 acres of existing business activity.
SRF described the plan as community-shaped: it reflects input from residents, neighborhood organizations, businesses and young people who took part in workshops, site tours and design discussions throughout 2026, with a Community Steering Committee providing ongoing guidance and students from East Technical High School and MAGNET’s Summer Academy contributing ideas, according to SRF.
That process put specific priorities into the plan, SRF said: locating new jobs near major public transportation routes, putting open spaces closer to residential neighborhoods, improving pedestrian and bicycle connections, and expanding green infrastructure. Residents also emphasized local hiring, workforce training and making sure surrounding neighborhoods benefit from new investment, according to SRF.
“My support comes with a clear expectation: residents who have lived with the consequences of disinvestment must be among the primary beneficiaries of redevelopment,” Ward 5 Councilman Richard A. Starr said in SRF’s announcement. “Economic development should not require residents to choose between jobs and quality of life,” Starr said in that announcement.
The district is designed to attract employers in advanced manufacturing, food production, biomedical industries and other sectors offering jobs at every level, from entry-level roles to advanced specialist positions, SRF said. The Midline has already attracted its first tenant, MMY US, a manufacturer of modular homes projected to bring 150 jobs to Cleveland, according to SRF.
“For too long, these properties have been viewed individually as problems to solve,” Brad Whitehead, managing director of SRF, said in the fund’s announcement. “The Midline gives us an opportunity to see them collectively as an economic asset. We have a plan, we’ve assembled significant acreage, and we’re already attracting employers. Now we’re focused on turning that potential into jobs, investment and lasting benefits for surrounding neighborhoods,” Whitehead said in that announcement.
Unlike traditional industrial redevelopment focused on individual properties, the plan takes a district-wide approach, coordinating environmental remediation, infrastructure, transportation and public amenities, SRF said. Many properties in the district face environmental contamination, fragmented ownership and aging infrastructure, and SRF said it has been assembling properties and advancing environmental assessment and remediation to prepare sites for productive reuse.
A central feature is the proposed Midline Greenway, a two-mile multimodal trail connecting four planned new open spaces and existing public transportation, SRF said. Design guidelines adopted with the plan promote pedestrian-friendly building design, integration with the greenway, safe routes for people and vehicles, and landscaping that manages stormwater and buffers industrial uses from surrounding neighborhoods, according to SRF.
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What happens next, SRF said, is implementation: continued community engagement, fundraising for construction of the Midline Greenway, and preparing individual development sites through environmental remediation and infrastructure improvements, with projects advancing as sites become ready and development partners are identified. The effort is being advanced through a partnership involving the City of Cleveland, Cleveland City Council, SRF, LAND studio, Cuyahoga County, the Cleveland Foundation, the Cuyahoga Land Bank and neighborhood community development corporations, SRF said, and the completed master plan and design guidelines are posted at clevelandmidline.org.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0