https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02/tower-city-from-a-shopping-center-that-stirs-fond-memories-to-what-tomorrow-holds.html
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – For many Clevelanders, memories of Tower City going back to the 1990s mean the sound of cascading water, the sight of holiday decorations, trips to the movies and shopping in unique stores serving as regional draws.
More recently, there are no theaters, most storefronts are vacant and food choices are limited. Crossing through the center often is little more than a means to reach the RTA train station below, visit the casino or access the walkway to Rocket Arena.
Yet even as the retail model that once defined downtown has faded – as has been the case in many suburban malls as well – Tower City’s owners are continuing to search for new ways to keep the landmark active, and relevant, at the center of downtown.
The latest change now underway is the removal of Skylight Park. The indoor green space in 2022 replaced the iconic fountain that had dated back to the opening of the Avenue at Tower City shopping center in 1990.
Bedrock, the Detroit-based real estate firm led by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, announced last month it is converting the roughly 20,000-square-foot atrium into a flexible venue designed for special events, corporate gatherings and large public programs. This means yanking out the infrastructure of what had been the centerpiece fountain. Raised above the floor, the structure limited the use of the larger floor space.
The project is just the latest in a series of reinventions – or visions – for Tower City, reflecting both the challenges of retail and the fact that the complex remains crucial to downtown Cleveland.
This current iteration doesn’t directly address the many vacant former retail spaces, nor has Bedrock announced concrete plans for that. Yet, it’s an effort to keep the space activated and bring more people in, as Bedrock pursues its decades-long vision of redeveloping the surrounding riverfront.
Terry Coyne, vice chairman of the commercial real estate firm Newmark and publisher of the weekly Coyne Report highlighting real estate developments regionally, said he doesn’t know how Bedrock’s continued investment makes financial sense, but he’s glad it is happening.
“If you look at what Dan Gilbert is doing, he is using his capital to help rebuild. I don’t know what we would do without him,” Coyne said.
Tower City shopping center opened on March 29, 1990, as a regional centerpiece. About 110 stores, an 11-screen movie theater and retailers such as Gucci, Bally of Switzerland and Disney drew people throughout the region.
The Warner Bros. sold a lot of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny paraphernalia. The Rand McNally store, one of only a handful across the country at the time, had all sorts of maps, big and small. The arrival of the Hard Rock Café in 1998 was another big deal.
“The fountain at a point in time was magnificent,” recalled Tom Yablonsky, who for decades was involved in downtown projects and is founder of Cleveland History Days.
“Tower City itself, the grand design certainly was special. But when it didn’t work, the re-thinking of what to do has been the issue.”
Retail began to decline downtown well before Bedrock purchased the complex in 2016. The nearby Higbee’s and nearby May Co. department stores closed. An announced Neiman Marcus was never built. And the once vibrant Galleria on the other side of downtown was in decline as well.
This trajectory wasn’t unique to Cleveland. A year ahead of Tower City, Columbus City Center, a 1.25-million-square-foot downtown mall, opened in 1989. It once had 140 tenants, but only a few were left by the time it closed in 2009. Since demolished, it’s now the site of a downtown park called Columbus Commons.
And that was before Amazon really took over.
A walk through Tower City shows both challenges and activity remain.
Just 22 stores, food outlets or personal service businesses were open near noon on a recent Friday.
Only the ground floor in the atrium area is mainly occupied. Many corridors are sparsely populated or empty. In the food court overlooking the Cuyahoga River, only four of 12 spaces are filled.
Yet the center still sees steady foot traffic.
The enclosed walkway to Rocket Arena fills with fans on nights of Cavs games and for other arena events. Beneath the complex, about 5,000 riders a day board RTA’s rail lines, making the site the region’s busiest transit hub. A large parking lot is attached.
And lots of people live nearby. Downtown’s population, including the Flats, has grown to 21,000 people, according to Downtown Cleveland Inc.
Bedrock, asked to describe its plan for Tower City beyond the new event space, did not offer specifics.
Instead, Bedrock provided a broad vision about the center being a “critical component” not only to Bedrock’s own waterfront development called The Riverfront, but also to the mayor’s effort to spur development from the river, through downtown and to the lakefront.
“Tower City is an integral part of Bedrock’s plan for The Riverfront, serving as a key point of accessibility and connection between the Cuyahoga River and Public Square,” the company said in a statement.
“With its central location, it will continue to be a mobility and public transit hub and a gathering place for experiences such as events and activations, dining and more.”
The shopping center that opened in 1990 was itself a reinvention of space.
The complex - including the world’s tallest building outside of New York City for its first 26 years - was originally designed to unite multiple Cleveland train stations in an era when trains were the way people traveled far distances.
The first train arrived at the depot in 1929. But times changed. Travelers turned to air. And out-of-town passenger rail service ended in 1977.
Forest City Enterprises spent $400 million developing the new Tower City Center, which included the shopping center flanked by new buildings - one for offices and one for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which in December celebrated its 35 anniversary - a mainstay through all the changes.
Retail, however, is another story.
“Even in the suburbs, retail is getting crushed. E-commerce is continuing to grow,” Coyne said.
Property ownership of the facility is complex. Bedrock controls the walkways from Public Square and shopping areas - cutting underneath both Prospect Avenue and Huron Road - plus other adjacent properties.
The K&D Group owns the Terminal Tower, where a few years ago the company converted several floors of offices into 297 apartments, now about 90% leased.
Yet K&D CEO Doug Price said Bedrock is doing what it can below.
“We all know in today’s world, an urban shopping space like it really doesn’t work anymore as a mall,” Price said. “I give them [Bedrock officials] credit. It’s not cheap what they are doing. They’re doing it on their dime. It really benefits the core of the city.”
Price said Bedrock’s broader efforts represent a logical strategy: “They are really trying to make it a local attraction … a public gathering place.”
Or, as Coyne said, “He [Gilbert] is developing a strategy of activity. He’s building stuff.”
Coyne cited as an example Cosm, a new type of entertainment venue under construction by Bedrock about two blocks east of Tower City, across the street from Rocket Arena. The bar/restaurant concept was first introduced in Los Angeles in 2024, using a giant video screen and immersive technology to offer a stadium-like experience. The Cleveland Cosm is to be the fifth in the world when it opens next year.
“I develop real estate. I don’t know how he makes it work,” Coyne said. “I think Dan Gilbert cares about Cleveland. I think he’s proving it by spending money on risky deals.”
Bedrock, asked about the difficulty of reimagining space designed for retail in a different era, deflected – instead responding about how what was once the Cleveland Union Terminal “continues to capture the nostalgia of Clevelanders.”
“We have the privilege of helping shape the future of Tower City, ensuring that it remains a community gathering place and part of the downtown Cleveland experience, and we take a great deal of pride in that.”
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