playhousesquare breaks ground on star plaza renovations, first phase of $16m transformation

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PlayhouseSquare already is a gem in the crown of downtown Cleveland, yet its sparking renaissance will become even more breathtaking with the addition of a 20-foot-tall LED "chandelier spectacular" at E. 14th and Euclid in the theatre district.

That chandelier, boasting over 4,600 crystals and hoisted 40 feet in the air, is the centerpiece of a $16 million transformation that will bring the beauty found inside PlayhouseSquare's historic theatres out onto the streets of the district.

The project will also feature new electronic signage and lighting, gateway entry points to define the neighborhood, and the addition of a full-service cafe and state-of-the-art outdoor stage to the Star Plaza outdoor space. The district will gain some of the drama found in Times Square in New York City and Millenium Park in Chicago while retaining the elegant, historic character that's uniquely Cleveland.

"We believe this will be transformational," says Art Falco, President and CEO of PlayhouseSquare. "It's not just a district anymore, it's a neighborhood. We see it as an economic development project as well as a physical enhancement project. It will draw more office tenants and spur more residential and retail development."

The project was designed by the experiential design firm The Barycz Group, which has completed similar projects in Chicago, Las Vegas and Dubai.

PlayhouseSquare has not yet raised all of the funds necessary to complete the project, but Falco expressed confidence in the project's success. Star Plaza is already under construction and work will be completed in time for a slew of summer events. The remainder of the project will be completed in 2014. Public-private partnership, naming rights and philanthropic contributions will fund it.

"We feel we're going to set a very high level of design standard," he says. "I think that others who follow us will be compared to us."


Source: Art Falco
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Lee Chilcote
Lee Chilcote

About the Author: Lee Chilcote

Lee Chilcote is founder and editor of The Land. He is the author of the poetry chapbooks The Shape of Home and How to Live in Ruins. His writing has been published by Vanity Fair, Next City, Belt and many literary journals as well as in The Cleveland Neighborhood Guidebook, The Cleveland Anthology and A Race Anthology: Dispatches and Artifacts from a Segregated City. He is a founder and former executive director of Literary Cleveland. He lives in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland with his family.