Brian Essi posted "Re-Imagining Lakewood Park as Mixed-Use Development/Marina" and came up with his dream for the Lakewood Park area, and his effort to dream big. What Brian did not realize is that a longtime Lakewood residents, student, artists, and now architect and city planner took a crack at it in 2006. Well actually it was back in 2004 when young Savannah Farris sat down and started to work on her thesis and final project for Cleveland Institute of Art. Her dream, and the dream of many was so complete, so encompassing, and so well thought out, most of us could not believe that it was not given time by the City of Lakewood. Not only did it recreate some of Lakewood's most valuable and versatile space, it created high end housing, shopping, and finally a beach for residents to use.
I post the boards and the text here, you tell me, would Lakewood have been better? The same year Savannah presented this, and in the years after, we spent $10,000 to study chickens, pit bulls, boutique hotels in run down empty Lakewood offices, re centers, education and what to do and not do with Kauffman Park. BUT NOT ONE PENNY WAS SPENT BY CIVIC LEADERS ON A PLAN THAT WOULD PUSH LAKEWOOD INTO FINANCIAL SECURITY FOR DECADES.
The Army Corp of Engineers would have underwritten more than 1/2 the study, and 2/3rds of the building of it.
I present, Savannah's Peninsula.
Savannah Farris, a 2001 graduate of Lakewood High School and 5th year student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, has proposed in her thesis a redesign of Lakewood Park as well as a 26 acre peninsula designed to stimulate the economy and bring activity down to the water.
Savannah states “I grew up in Lakewood and because of that I wanted to do a project for the city, because I love the city and believe it has so much potential for growth.” Savannah indicates that when she began the thesis project, she did some informal surveys of Lakewood residents to see what they thought was Lakewood’s greatest assets and what it was lacking. Overwhelmingly the location was one of Lakewood’s greatest assets especially that it was a city on Lake Erie. Savannah reports that many people saw the lakefront as a great opportunity for the city of Lakewood to capitalize on its location. Many people also loved that Lakewood was a walking city and that was clean and safe. Others commented that it was a neo-urbanist environment with a generally progressive population. However, when discussing the problems facing Lakewood, the economy was clearly the issue, whether the discussion was high taxes, the need for more business, or flight to the outer ring suburbs.
So Savannah decided that it made sense to focus on the Lakefront and Lakewood Park a 33 acre park which is already serving as the de-facto town square, at least in the summer months. Savannah states “I spent most of my summers growing up at Lakewood Park, taking swim lessons, taking tennis lessons and then joining the swim team and swimming and watching the sun rise every morning while I swam in the summer. I also enjoyed the playground. As an adult though, I started to see that the park while good, could be so much more. But I was acutely aware that the city’s budget was tight and any plan to enhance Lakewood Park must be accompanied by revenue enhancing proposals. I saw Lakewood Park as a great place to grow, especially growth in community, learning about and being closer to nature and the environment, entertainment, and a way to boost the economy of Lakewood.”
Savannah lays out the plan for the new Lakewood Park and Peninsula. She changed many things, but thought that it was important to keep the large green expanse on the east side and the activities on the west side. She reorganized the way in which you enter the park and now it has a formal, but inviting entrance. As you can see from the existing plan, the entrance was a bit confusing before and the parking didn’t make much sense. Generally, the plan groups similar activities and create synergy. Another major change was moving the stage from the middle of the green way to a central location with views of the Lake allow music to waft over the entire park. The new amphitheatre will be designed to hold full theatrical productions and musical productions. There is also a learning lab that allows hands on activities dealing with nature, the environment and energy issues. The utilization of the center island as the marketplace enhances the location and accessibility of revenue producing activities like the Farmers Market, which should be moved to Saturday morning at this location so that more participation is possible. Additionally this market can be used by various groups for such things as antique fairs, holiday fairs, and craft shows.
To assist in the revenue enhancing side, a 26 acre peninsula that features approximately 140 buildings made up of restaurants, retail stores and homes was designed. A 124 dock marina is featured with both permanent docks as well as temporary docks for people who want to stop and visit the peninsula and Lakewood Park for the day. The creation of the peninsula also allows the creation of a real beach. A wind mill farm that could cleanly generate the power for Lakewood and produce enough energy to sell other cities was recommended as well as our own water intake to provide Lakewood with fresh water and allow us to compete with Cleveland for the sale of water to other municipalities.
The redesign of Lakewood Park will also make Lakewood a more attractive place to live, which will assist in attracting new residents and will aid in the revenue stream to keep existing citizens.
This is the text on the boards:
Opportunities for Gathering at Lakewood Park are improved by:
Redesign layout of the park to group similar activities and create more pockets for gathering.
Redesign of the Women’s Pavilion to add a deck and fire pits outside for more use in the winter.
Redesign of the Kiwanis Outdoor Pavilion to make it more attractive and rearrangement and addition of picnic tables throughout the park.
Redesign and enlargement of the swimming pool deck to accommodate more seating and lounge chairs for sunning as well as adding some shady areas for people who have had too much sun.
Rest pockets featuring vertical gardens with seating.
Sculpture areas where either permanent sculptures can be located or traveling outdoor displays of outdoor sculpture can be exhibited for a period of time which should provide opportunities for artist talks.
Along the multi-use path place LED lights which will charge during the day and provide lighting for evening strolls making the park friendlier at night.
Places to sit in the community market and rest and talk with friends.
Now there are several places for groups of all sizes which are more defined.
Opportunities for Learning at Lakewood Park are improved by:
Relocating the Historic Old Stone House to a central location for better inclusion in park activities.
Relocating the Veterans Memorial to a central location for better visibility and larger memorial services.
Construction of a Learning Lab for the public to learn more about the environment and for teachers to conduct science classes. The Lab would be designed to conduct experiments and have hands on activities and displays. The lab will be surfaced with photovoltaics (PV solar panels) to create a great leaning opportunity for both children and adults about renewable energy. The Learning Lab is pictured above with children playing with a solar bag which teaches them about solar energy.
Incorporation of a Wind Farm off the coast of Lakewood Park to generate electricity for Lakewood. This is an opportunity for Lakewood to not only make a giant step toward improving the environment but additionally increase revenues by reducing the cost of energy. Several of the displays in the learning lab can be dedicated to how wind mills generate energy
Informal satellite learning lab on the beach for other activities and experiments.
Labeled plants and trees throughout the park. to foster greater awareness of nature
Displays in lighthouses regarding various information.
Walks conducted by citizens on different subjects.
More classes offered at Lakewood Park by Recreational office especially including sport instruction. Currently the swimming lessons offered at Lakewoood Park are very popular.
Opportunities for Playing at Lakewood Park are improved by:
The addition of activities such as bocci ball, chess and checker tables, shuffleboard courts, badminton courts, croquet, and lawn bowling. This allows adults to play and interact with each other and their children or grandchildren.
Addition to the Concession Stand to accommodate renting out of equipment necessary for various activities.
Addition to the extremely successful and highly popular Skatepark. The addition allows for skateboarders, bikers and rollerbladers to play in different areas.
Addition of two full size basketball courts.
Relocation of stage and additional features to make the stage a full amphitheatre where events can vary from movie screening to concerts and theater. Events could be free of charge to all or the seating can be charged.
More Winter Activities including a Winter Carnival.
The New Peninsula into Lake Erie. This affords many things:
A beach and access to the water! Floating islands are in the water for people to swim out to and rest.
A marina with a boat launch and docks. The marina also offers rentals in kayaks, windsurfing boards, small sailboats and motor boats as well as water tours and parasailing.
A new water playground where children can safely play with shooting water. Near the water playground is stairs into the lake with a flowform( pictured below) for more timid water participants.
More green spaces and lookout points for various activities.
Opportunities for Prospering at Lakewood Park are improved by:
The addition of a 26 acre peninsula built on reclaimed land. Features:
A full service marina with rental space for docks as well as temporary docking for visitors to Lakewood Park.
Mixed use buildings with retail, restaurants and residences.. This brings not only increased income tax to the city, but property tax as well. Additionally the county benefits by the increase in sales tax revenues.
Two amazing lookout points one of the downtown Cleveland skyline and one for the setting sun.
Modern lighthouses powered by the wind farm provide Lakewood with a trademark symbol that will be capable of being viewed from downtown the water or from shore.
Lots of green space and surrounding boardwalk.
Protection of the land from erosion and allows for a beach.
Implementing a wind farm off the coast of Lakewood Park which would be capable of generating energy for Lakewood and potentially for sale to neighboring municipalities.
The incorporation of alternative sustainable energy sources used in the learning lab and windmill farms, should establish Lakewood as a forward thinking community ripe for innovative businesses.
Implementation of a fresh water intake to provide Lakewood our own fresh water and to allow us to compete with the City of Cleveland for sale of water to other municipalities.
The utilization of the center island as the marketplace enhances the location and accessibility of revenue producing activities like the Farmers Market, which should be moved to Saturday morning at this location so that more participation is possible. Additionally this market can be used by various groups for such things as antique fairs, holiday fairs, and craft shows.
The redesign of Lakewood Park will also make Lakewood a more attractive place to live, which will assist in attracting new residents and will aid in the revenue stream to keep existing citizens.
Key for Plan
Location Markers
1 Lake Rd.
2 Belle Ave.
3 Lake Erie
4 Parking
Gathering Areas
5 Women’s Pavilion
6 Rest Pockets
7 Foster Pool Bathhouse
8 Kiwanis‘ Open Air Pavilion
9 Market Seating
Learning Areas
10 Learning Lab
11 Old Stone House
12 Veterans’ Memorial
13 Satellite Beach Learning Lab
14 Lighthouse
Playing Areas
15 Skatepark
16 Bikepark
17 Rollerbadepark
18 Amphitheatre
19 Chess and Checkers Tables
20 Lakewood Public Beach
21 Waterpark
22 Croquet
23 Shuffleboard
24 Badminton
25 Lawn Bowling
26 Bocci Ball
27 Foster Pool
28 Four Square
29 Multipurpose Playing Fields
30 Kids Cove Playground
31 Baseball
32 Basket ball
33 Tennis
Prosperous Areas
34 Mixed Use Buildings (Restaurants, Retail & Residences)
35 Market
36 Concessions (New Plan is Expanded to include equipment Rental)
37 Boat Launch & Trailer Parking
38 Windfarm & Water Intake Crib
39 Docks and Marina
But instead of this project which was a bit to NIMBY for civic leaders, we cheered the arrival of 5 Guys, Detroiter, University of Akron, and other illusions.
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