Project Summary:
The Opportunity Corridor is a significant investment that can connect residents to the larger city and region through multiple modes of travel; however we must ensure that the result of this investment creates community and economic development opportunities for residents in some of Cleveland's most challenged communities. Residents in the neighborhoods around the corridor have strongly advocated for near and long term job creation as the benchmark for determining the viability of Opportunity Corridor.
Creating connections will be an important part of the success of the $331 million investment in Opportunity Corridor. The City of Cleveland has been the critical link to ensuring that these "connections" occur on a number of fronts. The City of Cleveland has been instrumental in ensuring that bicycle amenities be included as part of creating those "connections". In addition, we have been instrumental in ensuring that the corridor is digitally "connected" and that the appropriate utility connectivity is in place to ensure that the conditions for investment are created along the corridor. The administration is working to guarantee that neighborhood residents remain "connected" to the city and larger region by ensuring that rapid transit access is maintained. Lastly, we have ensured that neighborhood streets are not cut off from the corridor due to the utilization of cul-de-sacs as an urban design solution; rather we ensured that neighborhood streets remained "connected" to this significant investment providing direct access to neighborhood streets. These fundamental "connections" are priorities for the Mayor.
Core Development Area
Over the past decade the City of Cleveland, Community Development Corporations, and Partners have invested significant time, energy and resources in planning and other activities in arguably one of the most challenged areas in the City of Cleveland.
The vicinity of the proposed Opportunity Corridor contains the largest concentration of vacant land in the City of Cleveland. Although the area is flanked by tremendous assets and various investments in infrastructure, housing, and retail, the area remains in need of continued investment in physical development, human capital development, and economic opportunities. The City of Cleveland has focused its efforts on addressing adverse conditions with Development Corporations and others in the neighborhoods flanking Opportunity Corridor area.
The vision for these areas have been expressed in several planning initiatives targeted within each neighborhood. These efforts include the various possibilities of development scenarios by many stakeholders with the emphasis on existing resident interest. The areas below (interactive map) have been identified as key strategic target zones that will provide High Tech, Low Tech, and No Tech opportunities for existing and future residents within the Opportunity Corridor Area. This will create a pipeline of economic opportunity that will create a pipeline for residents to grow in employment status and housing options.
These zones will introduce employment, retail, housing, transportation, and entrepreneur opportunity to the area. In addition new tools and strategies will need to be employed in these zones to ensure their success.