Bobby George and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority have reached a formal deal on the 0.41-acre property at the corner of West 25th and Detroit that will deliver the Irishtown Bend park group the last plot of land for the planned 23-acre greenspace and end long-standing litigation over the parcel.
The signed agreement between the two sides includes a combination of a cash settlement, an arrangement to move the billboard atop the long-vacant former Royal Castle building to a new location and a deal that will have George operate a 15,000 to 18,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor restaurant and cafe on the hillside, George told Scene.
The Port, in a statement to be released later today, says only that a tentative agreement has been reached pending board approval that will allow stabilization work on the hillside to begin for the "beautiful" park.
George and the park coalition had for years been in negotiations over the property, which he bought in 2018 for $248,000. But as the coalition scooped up every other property, no deal was reached with George, who declined an offer of $360,000 for the land.
As a stalemate continued, the Port in 2021 initiated eminent domain proceedings against the owner, arguing that George had rejected a "good faith offer" and that some $50 million in urgent hillside stabilization work couldn't begin until the property was in the coalition's hands.
George, in turn, sued the group, arguing that the "good faith offer" didn't account for revenue produced...
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