Cleveland’s downtown is experiencing a major surge in investment and development. The Medical Mart and Convention Center is rapidly rising, the Casino on Public Square is thriving, and historic buildings are being transformed into apartments for people seeking an urban lifestyle.
LAND studio is supporting this development by facilitating, managing, and connecting the public spaces around major building and construction projects in exciting, inviting, smart, and sustainable ways. We are teaming with public and private partners to redesign public spaces and unite downtown development, including Public Square, the Malls, and Ralph J. Perk Plaza. We are also helping to develop an overall downtown public space vision through the Group Plan and have been able to elevate the level of design by working with renowned local and national landscape architecture firms.  Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN) and architects LMN have been engaged to design the public space surrounding the Medical Mart and Convention Center, James Corner Field Operations for the redesign of Public Square, and Thomas Balsley Associates and McKnight Associates for Perk Plaza. 

Earlier this year, we celebrated the grand opening of Perk Park, a $3.2 million complete redesign and rebuilding of the park at the intersection of Chester, Walnut, and East 12th in the heart of Cleveland’s business and downtown residential districts. Because of public-private partnerships with the City of Cleveland, Councilman Cimperman, and countless private businesses and foundations, the design by has completely revitalized the way people feel about the neighborhood.
 
Residents, workers, businesses, visitors, and event planners have all embraced Perk Plaza as a favorite destination. This summer, Walnut Wednesdays, a summer-long feast featuring a diverse array of food trucks occupied Walnut Avenue next to Perk Plaza. Office workers and visitors chose their favorite cuisine and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the park. Adjacent office towers have also experienced a bump in occupancy since the plaza opened. Owners have cited the transformation of Perk Plaza as a selling point to prospective tenants. And nearby residential projects have also benefited from the investment in the park.
 
Perk Plaza is one example of what LAND studio hopes to accomplish throughout downtown through its partnership in The Group Plan Commission. The $120 million effort to create a unified vision for downtown through signature public spaces and connecting development projects is focused primarily on Public Square, the Mall, and Downtown waterfronts. Work on the redesign and traffic study of Public Square continued this summer. And the rebuilding of Mall B adjacent to the Medical Mart and Convention Center is rapidly nearing completion. When complete, The Group Plan will bring more people and investment to Cleveland to the hearts and minds of residents and visitors alike.
 
In the coming months and years, LAND studio will continue to help lead efforts to connect and support downtown development. By making excellence in design the standard for public space, and linking new and existing development in inventive and inviting ways, we hope to do our part to keep pushing the momentum of downtown Cleveland’s urban renaissance.