Cleveland Skyscraper Design—with a Bridge at the 18th Floor—Raises Zoning Issues

City officials will confront an unusual and fascinating question over land use and zoning Thursday and Friday as they consider 'schematic' design approval for developer Robert Stark's architecturally innovative nuCLEus development downtown," reports Steven Litt.

"The question is whether to allow Stark to build a five-level hotel in a bridge structure that would span East 6^th Street between Prospect Avenue and Huron Road at a height of 18 stories, or 234 feet over the pavement below." Two more bridges for cars are also under consideration, according to Litt. The approval of the building will hinge on whether the city's planning regulators will allow the bridge. Cleveland, reports Litt, "doesn't give a developer the automatic ability to span or "encroach" into the air space over a city street, sidewalk or right-of-way."

Litt provides more details about the designers of the project and similar attention-grabbing designs around the world.