Three buildings are now gone from the corner of Pearl Road and Memphis Avenue in Old Brooklyn, marking the most visible progress yet on a mixed-use project that has been years in the making. The site's owner has also brought on a new developer for the effort, giving fresh momentum to a redevelopment that neighbors have watched evolve through multiple versions of its scope and price tag.
Demolition Clears the Way
According to Crain's Cleveland Business, the Memphis & Pearl development has had demolition completed on three structures, and the project is getting a boost from its owner alongside a newly involved developer. The outlet also reported that federal funding changed the scope of the redevelopment, though specifics on how that shift altered the project were not detailed in the report.
The demolition work lines up with a timeline laid out earlier this year by the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation. Its project FAQ said visible demolition and environmental remediation activity was scheduled to begin April 1, 2026, describing it as the redevelopment's first phase. The same FAQ said a second phase, including new construction, was expected to begin in late summer or early fall of this year.
A Project That Has Shifted in Scope and Cost
The Memphis & Pearl site has carried different descriptions of its size and price over the past year and a half, and those figures have not lined up cleanly across sources. As reported by Ideastream Public Media in August 2025, an earlier plan called for developing 129,000 square feet at the corner for roughly $40 million. NEOtrans, meanwhile, described the project as a $42.3 million development, while Cleveland Scene put the cost at $31 million for a version of the plan featuring 80 market-rate apartment units and 19,400 square feet of retail space.
Apartment counts have varied in the same way. NEOtrans reported a revised plan that would increase the unit count from 74 to 84 without adding height to the building's six stories, while Cleveland Scene's reporting described 80 market-rate units. None of those figures have been confirmed as the project's current, final numbers.
Preserving a Neighborhood Landmark
Throughout the plan's various iterations, preservation of the 120-year-old St. Luke's Church has remained part of the vision. Ideastream's August 2025 report described plans to preserve the historic church while building a mixed-use apartment building around it, a detail that drew pushback from some preservationists even as the broader project moved forward.
Old Brooklyn has not seen this scale of investment in decades. “This neighborhood has not seen investment like this in 75 years,” project manager Jim Ambrose told Ideastream Public Media in August 2025, describing the stakes of the redevelopment for the surrounding community.
Public Dollars Behind the Project
Public financing has played a role in moving the project toward construction. According to the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation, the project received a $2 million grant from the State of Ohio in 2023 to fund site work, with the FAQ noting those funds must be used by 2026 or risk being reallocated elsewhere. Separately, Cleveland City Council material posted by the Cleveland City Council says the city approved $2.5 million in construction-gap financing for Memphis & Pearl.
Part of a Broader Wave in Old Brooklyn
Memphis & Pearl is not the only redevelopment reshaping this stretch of Old Brooklyn. Across the street, NEOtrans reported on a separate $5.5 million renovation converting two adjacent commercial buildings into 30 apartments. Nearby, the same outlet reported that interior demolition and construction work began in December at the $8.9 million conversion of two bank buildings into what's being called Pearl Road Residences, signaling that investors see momentum building in the neighborhood beyond this single site.
