Lakefront Phase 3 workshop seeks public input on Euclid’s next waterfront investments

At Lakeshore Boulevard and East 247th Street, Senator Kenny Yuko Park opened in August 2024 with a trail and a paddle craft launch on Lake Erie. What gets built next along that shoreline is the question the city put to residents September 10 at the Lakefront Community Center — and the door is still open for anyone who missed it.

The workshop, "Building Resilient Shorelines: Join Us for a Nature-Based Strategies Workshop," ran from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at 1 Bliss Lane. It focused on nature-based shoreline protection — sand beaches, woody debris, and native plantings used to stabilize the coast, control erosion, protect against storm damage, improve water quality, and create habitat.

Lakefront property owners were invited to bring photographs or drawings of their own shoreline and take part in an interactive design session to discuss tailored solutions for their specific property. The city's shoreline resilience work uses cobble beaches, native shoreline plantings, and hybrid green-gray breakwater concepts to reduce erosion, improve habitat, and preserve public access.

The park at East 247th

Lakefront Phase 3 of Euclid's Waterfront Improvement Plan is Senator Kenny Yuko Park, the roughly 5.5-acre lakefront park at Lakeshore Boulevard and East 247th Street. Construction began in November 2023, and the park opened to the public in August 2024 with a multi-purpose trail and trailhead, vehicle parking, greenspace, natural landscaping, public lake access, and a paddle craft launch.

Across the phases of the plan, the city has invested more than $20 million in waterfront improvements, including a $1.7 million state capital budget allocation for Phase III. The project involved negotiating easements from nearly 100 lakefront property owners in exchange for erosion control, a public access trail, and habitat restoration along the Lake Erie shoreline.

What comes next

The city's plan for Senator Kenny Yuko Park also calls for a future "Beach House" with a bar/lounge, restaurant, public restrooms, an outdoor terrace, and kayak and paddle craft rental and storage. The city is still developing funding for its design and construction.

A separate public-space concept, "Top of the Tank," would turn the Wastewater Treatment Plant equalization tank site into an active park or public space to support downtown vibrancy.

The September 10 workshop was supported by a $243,168.19 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation's National Coastal Resilience Fund, with a roughly $49,000 city match from the Harbour Town TIF fund. Partners include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Ohio State University, the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative at Kent State University, SmithGroup, the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, LimnoTech, and County Planning.

A bar and lounge, a restaurant, kayak rentals — those are the amenities now on the drawing board for a shoreline that already has a public trail, a paddle craft launch, and lake access at East 247th Street. Whether the next round of investment widens public access for the people who live here or turns the shoreline into something built for someone else is the question now on the table.

How to weigh in

Residents who want to weigh in on shoreline protection, Lakefront Phase 3, the Top of the Tank, and the next waterfront investments can reach Christine McIntosh, the city's planning manager, at [email protected] or 216-289-8154.