The City of Cleveland, in partnership with the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund, today announced The Midline, a 350-plus acre redevelopment initiative that will convert long-vacant industrial land on the city’s near east side into a connected employment district, public greenway and community asset linking major job centers.
The development project, years in the making, brings together fragmented, underutilized parcels along the Norfolk Southern rail corridor to form a unified district designed for advanced manufacturing, research and development and related industries. The site sits within reach of bus rapid transit routes, two RTA rail stations and interstate highways, placing it within a 30-minute commute of nearly 900,000 workers.
“For generations, neighborhoods like Central and Fairfax were places where Clevelanders could live, work, and build a future within a few blocks of home. When industry left, and jobs disappeared, contaminated land was left behind — creating barriers to opportunity that held these neighborhoods back for decades. Today, we are changing that. This is one of the most ambitious neighborhood revitalization efforts Cleveland has undertaken,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb in a statement. “The Midline is exactly what the Cleveland ERA is about: reconnecting neighborhoods, creating opportunity, and ensuring every resident can share in Cleveland’s growth.”
The Midline is being developed as a district-wide strategy rather than a single-user project, with the goal of attracting larger-scale employers across manufacturing, R&D, office and supporting service sectors. Plans call for at least 1.5 million square feet of new industrial and commercial space, supporting more than 2,500 direct jobs within reach of public transit. At full build-out, the project is projected to generate up to $100 million in annual tax revenue for the city.
The Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF), the entity driving the development forward for the City, was launched in 2023 with the mission of returning 1,000+ acres of vacant industrial land across Cleveland to productive use. This development has been central to their efforts since that time, focused on providing Cleveland residents with economic opportunities through the transformation of long-neglected urban parcels into job centers and multi-use community assets.
The redevelopment plans also include a continuous greenway, parks and open space network designed to improve walkability, expand tree canopy and restore ecological function along the corridor. Community benefits are expected to include expanded access to public space, improved air quality and activation of long-vacant industrial corridors. A complete master planning project is now underway for the site, led by the design teams of Merritt Chase and Utile. The detailed Master Plan is expected to be published in full by the end of summer 2026.
Much of The Midline area currently consists of complex, long-vacant industrial land. Environmental contamination, fragmented ownership, aging infrastructure, and high remediation costs have kept private investment away. Early phases of redevelopment will prioritize environmental cleanup and brownfield remediation, including reusing on-site materials where it is feasible to reduce landfill use, truck traffic, and emissions. The Midline will also blend adaptive reuse of select historic structures with new construction, preserving elements of Cleveland’s industrial legacy while repositioning the district for modern uses.
The Midline is designed for industries that maximize jobs, wages, innovation, and accessibility to economic mobility — including biomedical, food and beverage production, advanced light manufacturing, and emerging production-oriented sectors. Leaders emphasized the district is not intended for low-job-density uses like data or distribution centers or for industries that pollute the environment. The goal is to create a modern urban employment district that provides good jobs while fostering vibrant public spaces for Clevelanders.
Of The Midline’s 350-plus acres, approximately 150 acres are currently occupied by active businesses that will remain in place. The redevelopment will focus on roughly 200 acres of underutilized and vacant land, building on the presence of established local employers such as Pierre’s Ice Cream, SNAP Gourmet Foods, Orlando Baking, Nor-Am Cold Storage and Miceli Dairy Products.
Source: mbtmag.com
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