Hemisphere
Development LLC | Consulting
CASE
STUDY: Lakeview Bluffs
HEMISPHERE TEAMS WITH IMG TO CREATE THE WORLD’S FIRST
SPORTS RESORT AND COMMUNITY
Lakeview
Bluffs, nestled on over 1,000 acres along Lake Erie, offers
some of the most breathtaking views and outstanding recreational
opportunities in Ohio. In its most ambitious redevelopment to
date, Hemisphere is transforming this former industrial manufacturing
site into the nation’s first Sports-Oriented Resort Community
and launching a new real estate development business with IMG,
the world’s leader in sports and entertainment management.
Overcoming Obstacles to Redevelopment
Formerly the location of the sprawling Diamond Shamrock Painesville
Works, the land has been the site of various activities over
the years, including a 500-acre settling pond, a chromium production
facility and a landfill. The site is so large, it spans three
separate municipalities, which historically battled over development
issues in the region. In 1980, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency initiated action to remedy chromium contamination at the
site, resulting in the construction of a 120-acre clay cap over
the impacted area. The Ohio EPA began enforcement activities
for the rest of the site in 1989. Parties to the action have
been embroiled in litigation ever since. Hemisphere’s development
plan was the catalyst to settling both this costly and complex
multi-party CERCLA case, as well as a long-standing regulatory
enforcement action, in an extraordinarily expedited fashion.
In a public-private partnership with all relevant municipalities,
the Ohio EPA, Lake Metroparks and numerous other public stakeholders,
Hemisphere created a plan to re-invent this area. A key component
of Hemisphere's strategy is to transform negative public perception
focusing on the site's industrial past toward a more favorable
focus on the land's unparalleled natural attributes and a groundbreaking
real estate development concept.
A Revolutionary Vision
A mere 28 miles east of its headquarters in downtown Cleveland,
Ohio, a collaboration between Hemisphere and IMG will convert
this vast, beautiful, yet underutilized property, into the nation’s
first Sports-Oriented Resort Community. Lakeview Bluffs, featuring
the IMG Resort Academies, will appeal to consumers by delivering:
• A fun, active, family-oriented environment;
• Training for the recreational sports enthusiast, as well
as for the committed athlete; and
• An intriguing corporate meeting venue.
The project also will provide:
• World-class instruction in offered endeavors, including a culinary
academy, art institute and other non-athletic recreational
activities;
• Exceptional service;
• Outstanding sports, recreation and spa facilities;
• A sophisticated, yet casual setting; and
• A continued stream of “special” events planned and
staged by IMG (15 per year) drawing visitors to the Resort community.
Unparalleled Development Strategy
The project is one of the largest and most innovative redevelopments
in the United States. The development has been master planned
by Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) headquartered in
Newport Beach, California, the world’s leading design
consultant for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries.
WATG’s representative projects include The Venetian Hotel
(Las Vegas, NV), Atlantis Resort & Casino (Nassau, Bahamas)
and design work worldwide for the Ritz Carlton, the Four Seasons
Resort and other international hotel brands.
The Resort
will offer a broad range of active recreation and leisure activities,
taking advantage of the site’s phenomenal
natural attributes, including over a mile of lakefront and over
two miles of scenic river corridor. All waterfront master planning
was conducted by JJR, a nationally recognized waterfront design
firm. The development will serve not only as a regional visitor
destination, but also as an ideal location for a weekend retreat,
second home or permanent residence.
The Resort’s principal feature is the IMG Resort Academies,
which will deliver world-class training in all major sports,
including golf, tennis, soccer, baseball and basketball. This
facility also will integrate comprehensive health and wellness
programming designed by leading medical experts. Our complex
will emulate the IMG Academies located in Bradenton, Florida,
the world’s most successful multi-sport training institute
for elite athletes. Hemisphere will implement a comprehensive
lakefront redevelopment plan as part of the project.
To capitalize
on the site’s natural attributes and high-energy
atmosphere, other major development components will include:
• An IMG Signature Golf Course, featuring holes perched on bluffs
40 feet above Lake Erie and the Grand River’s scenic corridor.
• A World-Class Spa, offering health and wellness treatments and
instruction.
• A Boutique Resort Hotel, the Resort’s architectural centerpiece,
and retail village, cascading down the bluff to a lakefront park
and crescent-shaped beach.
• A Trout Club designed by nationally recognized fly fishing experts,
including stream features created for instructional scenarios,
located near a scenic stretch of the Grand River, long coveted
by local fishermen as one of the best locations to catch steelhead
trout in the United States.
• A Vineyard and Winery, designed in concert with The Ohio State
University’s School of Agriculture, and including Vineyard
Estates, allowing both visitors and residents to toil in the
fields and cultivate the fruits of their own labor.
All of these development features will be connected through
over 15 miles of interpretive trails and pathways, encouraging
walking, jogging and biking through the community.
A National Model for Brownfield Redevelopment
Lakeview Bluffs represents an unprecedented opportunity to resolve
years of contentious litigation and reclaim one of Ohio's most
promising brownfield sites. Ultimately, the project will be
one of the largest and most comprehensive brownfield redevelopments
in the United States, serving as a national model for creative
redevelopment planning and design.
For a comprehensive look at the development plan for the IMG
Resort Academies at Lakeview Bluffs, click on www.lakeviewbluffs.com.
