Adjaye Associates has designed a major master plan along the Cleveland riverfront in collaboration with real estate firm Bedrock. The Cuyahoga Riverfront development spans 35 acres and is described by its designers as a “15-to-20-year vision” that “prioritizes accessibility, equity, sustainability, and resilience with the development of an 18-hour, 15-minute downtown.”

Under Adjaye’s plans, the waterfront development will host over 3.5 million square feet of space, including 2,000 residential units, 850,000 square feet of office space, 12 acres of public space, and supporting hospitality, retail, and entertainment venues.

“Our redevelopment strategy for the downtown Cleveland Riverfront taps into the lost heritage of the city, establishing a new relationship between the urban core and the shore,” David Adjaye explained. “As I became more deeply immersed, the need to build a more tempered flow of movement through the city became immensely clear.”

The development is anchored by the creation of a new Tower City Center marketplace, which will link the existing Public Square at the heart of Cleveland to the riverfront. The link will manifest as a “central spine” which will draw inspiration from boulevards and covered markets. “We’ll stratify the inclining site through layers of use and activation, advancing from commercial and transactional function, toward the more public, recreational uses at the water’s edge,” Adjaye shared.

The west side of the development will include a large accessible green space linking to a wider National Park system. Among the “textured, cultured, and curated paths” of the park will be a new neighborhood of office and retail spaces. Meanwhile, the eastern side of the master plan will include cultural facilities such as an amphitheater and a neighborhood park.

From a sustainability angle, the designers have pledged to introduce estuaries and irrigation options to feed the site’s greenery, as well as green roofs, permeable pavement, and stormwater management to enhance water efficiency. Buildings will also seek to incorporate mass timber “where possible” and integrate EV charging stations and a district energy system.

News of the scheme comes weeks after Adjaye Associates unveiled a new rammed earth commission for the Griot Museum of Black History in St. Louis. Other recent design proposals by the firm include a competition entry for the Portland Museum of Art and both the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum in Liverpool, UK.