The Cleveland Browns and their development partner are warning Brook Park officials that a city parking mandate could gut more than half the land set aside for a $1 billion mixed-use district next to the team’s new domed stadium. Haslam Sports Group and Lincoln Property are asking the city’s planning commission to approve a minimum of just over 10,000 on-site parking spaces when the complex opens, down from the 13,000 spaces the commission required in an earlier vote.
According to Cleveland.com, the developers will present a revised site plan to the Brook Park Planning Commission on Thursday, proposing 10,250 to 10,500 on-site spaces initially, with that number eventually dropping to at least 8,000 once later construction phases fill in more of the mixed-use footprint. A presentation tied to the plan states that holding firm at 13,000 spaces would eliminate 60% of the land earmarked for mixed-use development, while city commissioners reviewing an earlier version in March had looked at plans for roughly 8,700 on-site spaces before pushing the requirement higher.
Why the Commission Pushed Back in the First Place
Planning commission members cited worries in March that off-site event-day parking would spill into surrounding neighborhoods and create pedestrian safety problems, per the same Cleveland.com report. Those concerns shaped the commission’s original 13,000-space requirement, setting up the tension now playing out between suburban zoning goals and the developers’ push for a denser, more walkable commercial core.
An independent traffic analysis from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency found that fewer on-site parking spaces would actually reduce traffic at some nearby intersections, while increasing the need for pedestrian accommodations, the outlet reports. Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt has agreed with that finding, and he has said experts put the total parking need, including on-site spaces, at about 22,000. He has argued that ample off-site parking already exists to meet that need and says he has been in contact with businesses and property owners interested in offering event-day parking.
Thousands of Off-Site Spaces Within a Mile
Haslam Sports Group and Lincoln Property have identified 22,839 off-site parking spaces within one mile of the stadium site, with 10,377 of those expected to actually be available on event days, according to the same Cleveland.com account. A spokesperson for Haslam Sports Group said the team’s estimates assume no use of parking spaces at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport or the I-X Center, the sprawling exhibition hall the ownership group leased for three years to keep events like the Cleveland Auto Show running in Brook Park until the dome opens, as Hoodline previously reported…