Bay Village has landed a $1,761,770 Clean Ohio Fund grant for its long-planned Cahoon Memorial Park Lakefront Project, pushing the city's 2026 haul of outside funding for the shoreline overhaul past $2.6 million. City officials announced the award on Oct. 2, 2026, framing it as another step toward shoring up a stretch of Lake Erie coastline that has been eroding for years while also opening up new public access points along the bluff.
According to Cleveland.com, the city announced the award, with the grant funding coming through the Ohio Public Works Commission Clean Ohio Fund and the Natural Resources Assistance Council. The project as currently described includes new east and west viewpoints and a pier along the lakefront. City officials say the city secured a separate $750,000 Lake Erie Community grant plus a $100,000 state capital budget appropriation this year as well, on top of the new Clean Ohio award.
Mayor Koomar said the funding invests in infrastructure, environmental stewardship, public access, and Bay Village quality of life, according to the same report, and expressed gratitude to funding partners for helping realize what city leaders describe as a long-envisioned, community-supported project. The project traces back to at least an August 2020 public meeting in Bay Village, where participants discussed park goals, study findings, and the potential scope and process for the work.
A Project That Shrank to Fit the Budget
The full scope of what's now called the Lakefront Master Plan was originally far larger. According to a report, the west-side Cahoon Memorial Park design was scaled down from an initial $19 million concept created by architecture firm SmithGroup to a revised $10.1 million to $11.1 million plan, with municipal leaders adjusting project phases to match grant opportunities rather than chasing a single funding block.
That leaner plan, developed by Chagrin Valley Engineering and SmithGroup, still packs in a lot: offshore breakwaters, an elevated pier with views of the Cleveland skyline, rock-beach terraces, restored wetlands, and an ADA-accessible pathway running from the bluff down to the water, the same report notes. With this month's Clean Ohio award, the city has now secured $2,611,770 in external funding for the lakefront project in 2026 alone, combining state capital funds and regional grants.
Not a Swimming Beach — It's Erosion Control
One detail city project managers have taken pains to clarify: the new beach isn't meant for wading or swimming. During an April 2026 Bay Village City Council presentation, officials explained that the planned beach — 1.6 acres of sand and 2.25 acres of cobble — is engineered as an erosion control barrier against wave energy rather than a public swimming beach, according to the report. The design is meant to absorb the force of Lake Erie's waves and protect the bluff from further erosion, not to serve as a recreational swimming destination.
Beyond the beach itself, a separate $750,000 grant awarded by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission in June 2026 is funding the ecological restoration of 400 linear feet of Cahoon Creek, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The work integrates green stormwater systems and nearshore aquatic habitat structures, with water quality and habitat among its goals.
Deeper Pockets, and a Deed That Demands It Stay Public
The city isn't relying on a single funding source to get the work done. The Ohio House of Representatives announced that Bay Village was selected to receive federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative sub-grant funding through the Ohio Lake Erie Commission for municipal stormwater management and habitat protection, per a release from the Ohio House of Representatives. Bay Village has also pursued state Clean Ohio Greenspace Conservation grant funding.
The land at the center of all this carries its own history and legal weight. Cahoon Memorial Park was established through a 1917 bequest by Ida Maria Cahoon, granddaughter of Bay Village's first permanent settler Joseph Cahoon, who deeded the 115-acre family homestead to the village under the condition that city officials serve as trustees to preserve it as a public park forever, according to Remarkable Ohio. The 1917 bequest is part of the park's history.
Timeline and the Wider Shoreline Picture
Project schedules presented to City Council in April 2026 targeted contractor bidding for autumn 2026, with winter site mobilization to follow and major construction beginning in spring 2027 across an estimated 16-month timeline, according to the report. Those dates were dependent on grant results.
Bay Village isn't alone in tackling this stretch of Lake Erie's eroding edge. In September 2026, Cleveland Metroparks released a draft plan for its nearby Huntington Reservation, located two miles down Lake Road from Cahoon Memorial Park, which similarly prioritizes bluff stabilization and improved shoreline access — a sign that coastal communities across Cuyahoga County are confronting the same erosion pressures on parallel tracks.
