A new grocery store is planned for the intersection of West 117th Street and Clifton Boulevard on the Lakewood border.
A city block of old buildings were demolished by crews for the project, which also called for new townhouses.
But two years later, a fence sits around a vacant lot.
Debate over the future of a city-owned 90-year-old church building held up the project, until developers agreed to save parts of the landmark and use them in the facade of the new buildings.
Now, Cleveland City Council member Matt Zone said the project will get back on track soon.
“The church will get demolished in June, the whole site will be cleared by mid-summer and then you’ll see on Clifton Boulevard a new commercial development rise up,” Zone said.
Zone said a Lucky’s grocery store, bank, townhouses and several more shops will breathe new life into the neighborhood.
The Cleveland Restoration Society said they hate to lose a landmark.
The church was built in 1926, but has been vacant since the 1980’s and was “too far gone,” said the Restoration Society’s Michael Fleenor.
The project still needs approval from Cleveland’s Landmark Commission.
