Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock buys 3-acre site near Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse once earmarked for 54-story tower

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Three acres of downtown Cleveland that mostly consists of parking, but once had plans for a 54-story tower, may get new life after being sold from one real estate developer to another.

Bedrock, the real-estate arm of Dan Gilbert’s Rock companies, announced Friday that it bought the site of the former nuCLEus project from Stark Enterprises. The 3.17 acres are situated at the intersection of East 4th street, Prospect Avenue and Huron Road. It’s adjacent to the Rocket Mortgage FIeldHouse and Progressive Field and near the Tower City Center.

In a joint news release, Bedrock and Stark Enterprises did not announce the price of the purchase. Public records for the sale were not immediately available.

The purchase includes a two-story retail building, a seven-story parking deck and a surface lot. Its central location made it a prime spot for development, but the mixed-use project that was slated for it never came to fruition.

When first announced in 2014, the nuCLEus project included a 54-story tower, new retail space at street level and a parking garage. A new plan was introduced in 2019 that scaled back the design. The latest plan was for two, 24-story towers that sat atop a six-floor parking garage and retail space.

Bedrock said the purchase complements its recently announced plan for the Cuyahoga Riverfront.

“Stark Enterprises quite rightly identified the former nuCLEus site as an ideal location for a high-impact development and a true catalyst opportunity in downtown Cleveland,” Kofi Bonner, CEO at Bedrock said in a prepared statement

“The site has significant potential to better tie the downtown area together and provide essential features and world-class amenities to enhance the community, bringing us one step closer to realizing a 15-minute neighborhood and an 18-hour city.”

Bedrock said it would consider a mix of uses for the property, but did not detail any plans for the site.

Stark Enterprises CEO Ezra Stark said his company passing the baton to Bedrock.

“It was a tough decision to sell, but as a Cleveland born and bred company with a passion for the city and its people, we truly believe it’s what is best for downtown,” Stark said in a prepared statement.

Sean McDonnell covers business and consumer topics for cleveland.com. You can reach him at smcdonnell@cleveland.com Read previous stories at this link. Also:

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