16 Apr 2019
Rock Hall amping up plans for US$30m expansion and Great Lakes Science Museum link
BY Luke Cloherty
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, could soon be connected to the neighbouring Great Lakes Science Museum (GLSM) if its expansion plans are approved.
The US$30m (€26.5m, £23m) plans, which will provide a weatherproof connection to GLSM via a glass enclosure along its waterfront promenade – the two buildings sit on the shore of Lake Erie – would also connect parking for the two sites.
The museum, which celebrates the history of popular music, would have an extra 50,000sq ft (4,645sq m) of space available, incorporating new areas for exhibits, special events, education, conservation and research under the plans.
The project faces a stumbling block, however, by way of land that sits between the two museums, whose rights were assigned by the City of Cleveland in 2015 to a joint venture of developers Cumberland Real Estate Development and Trammell Crow Co for a lakefront commercial development plan.
Although those rights now look likely to be rescinded by the council, with legislation pending, the Hall of Fame would need to win them back in order to press ahead with the project, having allowed its lease to lapse previously, thus allowing the JV to win it in the first place.
"We're very excited about this," Greg Harris, CEO of the Rock Hall, told Crain’s Cleveland Business.
"We would like some flexible space for events. Currently, we have to close the hall for events but the expansion would let us keep it open and add smaller events.
"We also need more classroom space, as we have 20,000 students coming to the hall every year."
Edward Rybka, Cleveland chief of regional development, added: "The expansion will further enhance the Rock Hall Museum as a quality Cleveland cultural institution.
"The design will expose the interior of the museum from the pedestrian walkway around the Inner Harbor and allow for the museum experience to embrace Lake Erie."
If the attraction does win back its lease on the land in question, it would be required to start construction by 2021 or at least begin fundraising to get a two-year extension.
The lease would also require the museum to cover US$2m (€1.8m, £1.5m) of infrastructure costs linked to the expansion.
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