The Brook Park Planning Commission voted unanimously July 8 to recommend rezoning roughly 176 acres along Snow Road to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) that would allow a domed stadium and a mixed-use neighborhood anchored by hotels, housing and retail.

The proposal, presented by developer representatives as a plan for a $2.4 billion enclosed (“dome”) stadium plus roughly $800 million to $1 billion in private mixed-use development, passed the commission and will be forwarded to the City Council for final action, including a required three-reading process and a public hearing before a final vote.

The PUD would reclassify parcels now zoned U5 Industrial to allow a broader mix of uses (U1 through U6 under Brook Park’s zoning categories), including residential, apartments, retail, research and development and continued industrial uses. The developer said the site plan is intended to open as a year-round “live-work-play” destination tied to the modernized Hopkins Airport and to host sports, concerts and other events beyond football.

David Jenkins, the project agent, told the commission, “what we're talking about today is a $2,400,000,000 stadium and a $800,000,000 to $1 billion of mixed-use private development,” and described the plan as a regional “front door” adjacent to Hopkins Airport. Ted Tai Wong, identified in the presentation as general counsel and chief administrative officer for the developer, narrated renderings and described a development program focused on experiential retail, public spaces and hotels.

The project team said phase 1 would open with the stadium in 2029 and would include both hotels and roughly half of the planned residential — about 600 units initially — with the remainder phased later. The planners said the full residential buildout discussed in the presentation is about 1,181 multifamily units across phases; the developer said units are expected to be rented, with typical one- and two-bedroom layouts and annual leases rather than short-term occupancy.

On-day parking for the opening phase is planned at about 12,000 to 14,000 spaces, largely surface lots at first, with the potential to shift to more structured parking as market demand permits. The team said it will let market demand guide adjustments to office, hotel or other uses in later phases.

The PUD document discussed during the meeting contains design and utility guidelines. A cited paragraph (PUD planning guidelines, 11-28.05) calls for placing permanent utility service underground — “provided that the high voltage electric transmission lines owned and maintained by the utility provider and providing electricity to the PUD District are excluded from the requirement,” the packet text states. The developer said it is coordinating with FirstEnergy on relocation or temporary relocation of high-voltage transmission lines and aims to begin earthwork in the coming months if approvals proceed.

Commissioners and the developer also discussed infrastructure: the city said it has submitted applications and held preliminary meetings with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) about highway and interchange work; the developer reported preliminary conversations with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) about potential transit extensions into the site but said such moves will depend on cost and feasibility studies. The developer said a more detailed infrastructure study is underway and results are expected in the next few months.

Councilman Brian Poindexter and several commissioners asked whether office uses in later phases could convert to additional hotels or other uses if market demand requires it; the developer responded the plan will be market-driven and aims to remain flexible. Poindexter also noted the procedural steps: if the Planning Commission approves the PUD, the item is forwarded to City Council, which will hold three readings with a 45-day window before the third reading and must hold a public hearing.

A representative of local building trades and a member of the public, David Wandelowski of Cleveland, spoke in favor of the project and urged the commission to forward it so construction could begin. After public comment, a commissioner moved to approve; a second was recorded and the clerk called the roll. The commission recorded unanimous votes in favor (Klingler, Buckholtz, Wendling, Shornack, Muschler, Toyn Dexter and Councilman Brian Poindexter). The chair declared the PUD recommendation passed and the item will proceed to City Council.

Next steps identified during the meeting include submission of the preliminary and final development plans required under the PUD process, continued coordination with utilities and transportation partners, and the City Council’s three-reading legislative process and public hearing. The developer and city staff emphasized that many details — final lot layouts, building heights, parking structure timing and ownership models for residential buildings — will be set in subsequent submissions and subject to regulatory review and market conditions.

Votes at a glance: The Planning Commission approved a recommendation to forward the PUD rezoning of parcel numbers 34302003, 34207002 and 34218005 (approximately 176 acres along Snow Road) to City Council; the motion passed on a recorded unanimous roll call.

Brook Park staff and the developer said they will provide more detailed infrastructure and traffic analyses to the council and the public as part of the preliminary development plan stage.