Cain Park ADA Access Trail and Tiered Seating Improvements

Cleveland Heights to begin construction on Cain Park Tiered Seating and ADA ramp project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Marc Lefkowitz
Public Relations Specialist
City of Cleveland Heights
(216) 291-5516

press@clevelandheights.gov

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH -- The City of Cleveland Heights is proud to announce construction of a tiered, amphitheater-style seating area and an ADA accessible ramp inside Cain Park, flanking the park’s popular sledding hill, will begin in March. The project is paid for with a federal government grant that the 117th Congress approved for the City from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.

“We are extremely excited to see this project enhancing the public space of Cain Park come to fruition,” said Cleveland Heights Mayor Seren. “In supporting great local projects like improving parks and green spaces, our tax dollars are at work. The federal grant to support this project provides local construction jobs, is a key piece in Cleveland Heights’ economic development plans, and improves the livability of our city.

“I’m really excited for Cleveland Heights to have a new gathering spot and perch to enjoy Cain Park,” the mayor added, “and to gain an ADA ramp at the park’s entrance is a big win as well.”

In December, the City awarded the construction contract to Fabrizi Trucking & Paving of Middleburg Heights, after its bid of $1.292 million, the lowest among the firms that applied, was approved.

Starting at the end of February, the firm will build a grass-topped concrete seating area that will cascade down and tuck into the northeast corner of the park where the hill meets South Taylor Road. The company will also construct a separate, ADA-accessible ramp that will replace a paved path into the park from the South Taylor and Superior roads entrance.

At the time the project was introduced and eventually approved by City Council for ARPA funding it was known as a ‘stramp’ to capture the project’s mix of stairs and ramp. The final design reflects a more environmentally friendly and more space-efficient approach.

The design, developed by engineering firm Donald Bohning & Associates of Valley View, reflects the City’s focus on enhancing the park’s gathering spaces, preserving land and trees, and improving the ADA access to the park’s east entrance.

In addition to the tiered seating area and ADA ramp, Fabrizi will refurbish a set of two existing exterior staircases in the park located on Superior Road. The project also adds a paved, ten-foot-wide path at the base of the sledding hill connecting the ADA ramp with the tiered seating, and new exterior lighting for the ramp and seating area. Accessible seating will be available at the top and bottom of the tiered-seating area.

The tiered seating and ramp was introduced to the City by WXZ, a Fairviewbased real estate development firm that is currently restoring the nearby Taylor-Tudor buildings as part of a $25.6 million mixed-use development — three vacant buildings will become 44 apartments, including eight live/work units, and amenities will include fitness and office space and 11,000 square feet of street-level commercial suites.

The seating and ramp project is part of the Seren Administration’s Cain Park Village project, a neighborhood redevelopment plan that includes the Taylor-Tudor redevelopment and a set of planned improvements to the park and its surrounding area, including traffic calming on South Taylor Road funded by a transportation grant the city won from NOACA, and improved amenities at the park funded by a federal National Park Service grant the city won in 2024.