CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council has agreed to sell some empty land on Brookpark and Old Grayton Roads, right across from the NASA Glenn Research Center, to two area developers.
Ceres Enterprises and LaPine Legacy LLC asked the city to buy nearly three acres of land by Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to build at least two new hotels and two new restaurants. Legislators on Monday voted to sell the land for $140,000.
"There's some land in and around the airport that the city of Cleveland owns for airport uses, but not all of it's needed for airport uses," Councilman Charles Slife, whose ward includes Hopkins, tells 3News.
To that end, the city has agreed to sell what it's not using to the developers. The companies already own eight acres adjacent to the city's land, but needed more for their proposed plans to build the hotels and restaurants on a total of 10 acres.
City council's approval gives the developers the green light to move forward. The project could include a WaterWalk-brand hotel by Wyndham, a Marriott hotel, and possibly a retro McDonalds.
"This is a great way to make some land profitable, bring some tax revenue into Cleveland, and provide some services and amenities to people where they're not available right now," Slife said, also expressing his belief that the development will be a big deal for people coming in and out of the airport.
Council’s approval comes one month after construction crews began work to demolish the nearby Sheraton Hotel for more parking lots at the airport. The former hotel was the closest to the terminal, and travelers have limited options without it.
"You got that 6 a.m. flight, so you've got to get there at 4:30, and the last thing you probably want to do is wake up at 11 p.m. (the night before) to drive in from Ashtabula," Slife explained. "So I think it will be a great amenity for people."
According to proposal documents, developers are expected to invest $60 million in the project, which would build two hotels with 130 rooms or less. However, plans aren't final just yet.