MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio — Restaurant owner Patrick Potopsky isn’t wasting any time.
A year ago – while the Cleveland Browns were still trying to land $600 million in state funding for a new stadium in Brook Park – he shut down the Brew Garden on Bagley Road. The renovated restaurant reopened a few months later as 1928 Public House, with a new look, a revamped menu and an expanded patio.
Potopsky was confident the team was coming, with the promise of tailgating fans and spillover crowds from concerts and other large events just a few miles up the road.
“I have an easement agreement to about 1,700 parking spots,” Potopsky said Friday. “So we’re already looking at buying shuttles. … We’re gonna have pre-parties. Bloody Mary breakfasts. Brunches. All that stuff, you know, at 9 a.m. So they can park here for free, and then they just jump on our shuttles. All they have to do is just show a receipt.”
He’s ready for the bustle. But he’s not so sure the nearby roads are.
“There’s no way this gets done without widening those,” he said, referring to streets including Engle Road, State Route 237 and Front Street. “They’re already busy now.”
On Friday, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency advanced the Browns’ plans for road upgrades and pedestrian paths in Brook Park, around the future stadium site. That vote, by the powerful agency’s planning and programming committee, sets up the transportation proposals for approval by NOACA’s full board in March.
But the agency’s staff – and committee members – tacked on one condition. They’re asking the Browns, their consultants and Brook Park officials to look more closely at possible traffic impacts on neighboring communities.
The Browns already are paying for a separate traffic study of Bagley, with an emphasis on the areas around the Interstate 71 interchange and the Engle Road intersection. Dennis Albrecht of Osborn Engineering, the lead consultant for the Browns, said that study should be done in mid-February.
“As of right now, there are no additional studies planned,” he said Friday.
'A collaborative process'
Grace Gallucci, NOACA’s chief executive officer, keeps talking about a second wave of potential infrastructure upgrades. She said the agency plans to bring together a group of staff members from surrounding communities to talk about roads that might be worth a deeper dive.
During an interview, Middleburg Heights Mayor Matthew Castelli said he’s talking frequently with Brook Park leaders and the Browns about congestion concerns and ways to tackle increased traffic.
“There is a lot of collaboration on this,” he said Friday afternoon before heading into a different NOACA committee meeting. “The Browns and Brook Park have reached out to make sure that we’re not just looking at this from a Brook Park standpoint and a Browns standpoint – but from a region standpoint. And I’m very appreciative of that.”
Castelli said he’s hearing a mix of enthusiasm and apprehension about the stadium project from business owners in Middleburg Heights.
Like Potopsky, they’re excited about a huge investment in the area – approximately $3.4 billion in public and private money, between the stadium and the mixed-use development around it. But they’re also trying to understand how NFL games, concerts and other events will impact traffic and their customers’ ability to get around.
Access to Southwest General Health Center, across Bagley from 1928 Public House, is a big topic of conversation. A NOACA analysis predicts drivers will only experience slight delays – under 3 minutes – getting to and from the hospital at the busiest times.
“We feel pretty good,” Castelli said, based on what he’s seen so far. “But we know that there’s more due diligence that needs to be done, more studies that need to be done.”
He said it’s too early to talk about who would pay for any roadwork, if it turns out that Middleburg Heights needs to widen certain streets, add turn lanes or change traffic signals.
“It’s going to be a collaborative process,” he stressed. “We’ll need to identify future funding. And, right now, I think it’s a little premature to have those discussions. But I can tell you, from my perspective, I don’t think that should fall on the taxpayers of Middleburg Heights.”
'A critical time'
Brook Park is seeking $70.3 million from the state to pay for its roadwork proposals, including upgrades to the I-71 interchange at Snow Road and streamlining a tangle of local streets around the stadium site. That bucket of projects also includes a pedestrian bridge that would stretch over Engle near Hummel Road, near one entrance to the property.
RELATED: Brook Park, Browns make their pitch for $70.3 million in state transportation money
The state’s Transportation Review Advisory Council is weighing Brook Park’s request for money against funding applications from more than two dozen other projects across the state. A final decision on the awards is expected in April.
In their application filed with the state, Brook Park and the Browns said they’re also looking at federal programs to help pay for road upgrades and public infrastructure.
The Browns aim to start excavation work for the enclosed stadium in March, with the goal of opening the new venue and other buildings by the summer of 2029. On Monday, Brook Park’s planning commission will take up a planned lot consolidation and split for the roughly 180-acre site, to divide it into six parcels
“We are at a critical time in this project,” Mayor Edward Orcutt said during Friday’s NOACA planning committee hearing. “Obviously the small city of Brook Park cannot afford $80 million worth of improvements to our highway systems.”
Committee member Scott Wangler, the assistant engineer for Parma, endorsed NOACA's recommendation for broader studies. He asked the project team to look at traffic farther east along Interstate 480, at the Tiedeman Road and Ridge Road interchanges.
Over at 1928 Public House, Potopsky is optimistic. He believes the new stadium district will be a boon – if traffic and infrastructure are handled well from the start.
“They gotta nail it on the first phase. … Try and hit a grand slam,” he said.
Or, perhaps, a touchdown.
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.
