BROOK PARK, Ohio — At Ampex Metal Products on West 164th Street, workers stamp out parts using well-oiled machines and processes calibrated over more than half a century.
The family-owned business makes components for cars and everyday appliances, from vacuum cleaners to blenders. With its cluster of buildings at the end of an industrial parkway, the company is part of a manufacturing legacy in this blue-collar suburb.
Now Ampex and its neighbors are facing big changes. West 164th is one of the target areas for off-site parking for the future Cleveland Browns stadium, which is set to rise to the west, on the other side of Interstate 71.
“It’s kind of surprising that there’s gonna be a stadium where the Ford plant used to be,” said Andy Pastor, Ampex’s president. “It’s not exactly the most picturesque place for a stadium, compared to on Lake Erie.”
Pastor and his sons are weighing whether to participate in the game-day experience. Consultants working with team owner Haslam Sports Group and district developer Lincoln Property Company believe there’s a need for roughly 10,000 off-site parking spaces for NFL games, concerts and other major events.
On Thursday evening, Brook Park’s planning commission agreed to slash the on-site parking requirements for the new stadium district, shifting more of the demand to nearby streets. The 178-acre site is now set to include 10,250 to 10,500 spaces at kickoff in 2029 — down from 13,000 spaces in earlier plans.
And on-site parking could drop as low as 8,000 spaces as developers fill out the site with apartments, retail, hotels and office buildings.
WATCH: More details on revised parking plans for the new stadium district and how nearby businesses are reacting
That ancillary development is essential to ensuring steady activity in the district — and supporting a complicated, emerging web of public and private financing for the $2.6 billion stadium and $1 billion mixed-use project.
Citing an analysis conducted by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, a regional planning organization, members of the project team say spreading out event-day parking will make it easier to manage traffic, reducing the odds of congestion on Brookpark Road and State Route 237 near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Mayor Edward Orcutt said he’s confident the city will be able to find enough property owners willing to participate in an off-site parking program. During the planning meeting, he mentioned preliminary commitments for more than 5,000 parking spaces.
“The response has been very positive,” Orcutt said during an interview Friday at City Hall. “People are excited about the opportunities to have ancillary revenue.”
But there are no formal agreements in place. The city still needs to tweak its zoning code to allow entertainment parking — a change that’s taking a backseat to trickier work on financing for the stadium district and Brook Park’s overall business deal with the Browns.
“We’re working seven days a week right now,” Orcutt said. “We’re working as hard as we can to be able to make this a reality.”
WATCH: A closer look at nearby properties in the spotlight for off-site stadium parking
Meanwhile, business owners like Pastor are trying to figure out where they stand.
The city has approached Ampex about an easement agreement to build a sidewalk between two of the company’s buildings. The walkway would allow fans and concertgoers to safely travel from off-site parking off Brookpark Road and several industrial streets down to Hummel Road, where a pedestrian bridge over Engle Road would lead to the stadium.
“We’re used to a nice, quiet cul-de-sac,” Pastor said. “And now it’s gonna be turned into, basically, a main drag for people to access the stadium.”
Ampex also has surplus parking, including an old lot behind its main manufacturing building. But Pastor and his sons aren’t sure extra cash from Browns fans and concertgoers will be worth the hassle. They’re worried about liability issues, security, and trash.
“We’re not 100% convinced yet that it’s the right thing for us to do,” Pastor said. “And you know, we’re trying to be a cooperative business in the city.”
The company, with roughly 35 employees, got its start in Brook Park in 1960.
Pastor bought the main building off West 164th in 1999 and gradually acquired other properties at the end of the street for packaging, distribution and logistics. His sons Andrew and Nolan, both engineers, grew up at the business and now work there.
“We’re manufacturers, and we’re good at that,” he said of his family. “Being parking-lot attendants isn’t really what we signed up for.”
City officials are planning more meetings with businesses about off-site parking in the area. Orcutt, who mentioned Ampex and the sidewalk discussions during the planning commission meeting, wouldn’t go into detail about talks with individual property owners.
He understands that some people are apprehensive about change.
But the mayor said, “We’re batting a thousand when it comes to people wanting to participate in this. … Whether it’s 30 parking spots or 100 parking spots, they’re trickling in.”
Pastor said he’s willing to keep talking. But he’s not on board yet.
“I think it’s good for the public to know that there’s concerns about all these people coming into what used to be a manufacturing town,” he said.
Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com.
