Local high school students reimagine Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Local students have big plans for the Burke Lakefront Airport.

Shaker Heights High School students envision it being a training ground for the next generation of pilots.

Garrett Morgan students think it could be a great place to provide residents access through both housing and entertainment venues. And students from John Marshall, who had a like plan, say if that happened, it would be great use of property.

Students from the three schools were finalists in the ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland, which exposes high school students to potential careers in architecture, construction and engineering. Garrett Morgan was announced Thursday as the winner.

Garrett Morgan students came up with a plan that would remove Burke completely and make room for a community on the lake. A presentation showed five sites, which they estimated would bring a $5 billion investment over 12 years.

Across these sites would be things like a biodome, boardwalks, a beach, docks, a music venue, green space, a canal, sustainable housing they dubbed “The Quad,” gondolas, a tech campus, pavilion, a market, sports complex, hotel, festival grounds and more.

Burke Lakefront redesign — Garrett Morgan students envision all sorts of attractions to replace Burke Lakefront Airport, according to this plan shared by students.ACE Program

Each year, students work with mentors from over 70 local firms and teachers on a project that they present before judges. The 2024 project challenged students to reimagine Burke Lakefront Airport.

From digital renderings, 2D/3D models, site plans, cost estimates and more, students are encouraged to consider how their designs will better connect local landmarks to the community while considering urban planning and sustainability. And from September through May, students met after school bi-weekly for two hours to work on their designs.

In addition to the project, the ACE program, students are also awarded scholarships, which have totaled over $1.5 million since the inception of the program in 2008.

“It really is the built environment community’s effort towards engaging young people toward to both become aware of and connected to the build environment through project-based learning, mentoring, scholarships and ultimately career placements,” Glen Shumate, ACE executive director and board chair told cleveland.com.

According to Shaker Heights senior, Rowan Dunn, who will attend Kent State in the fall to study construction management, a program like ACE is invaluable.

“I like the sense of community it gives you,” Dunn said. “Especially with the mentors and your classmates, there’s the feeling that everyone’s in there to learn about these fields and that there are a lot of people interested in this, not just you.”

Dunn, who has participated in the ACE program over the last couple years, said he would be attending Kent State University in the fall to study construction management, something he attributed to ACE.

The Shaker team decided that Cleveland’s community needed a better pipeline to aviation, which they believed would help address a predicted pilot shortage over the next 15 years. So, they came up with Strategic Pipeline for Aviation, Conservation and Education, or S.P.A.C.E Training Center.

S.P.A.C.E could potentially be a partnership between the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s David Maritime and Aerospace High School, Cleveland State University and Burke.

According to renderings submitted to ACE, S.P.A.C.E would be a 5,000-square-foot-addition to the airport and would be adjacent to the current control tower. The building would include three classrooms and be constructed using “environmentally conscious” materials, including having solar panels on the roof.

Students estimated the project to cost $7.8 million could be completed by fall 2026 if started in summer 2025.

“When it came to the design, the tricky part was working around the existing area. The thing we’re focusing on is making sure that it’s a place that not only looks nice and helps the city, but is something that’s actually feasible for Cleveland to pull off,” Dunn explained.

John Marshall submitted plans to create recreational facilities, low-rise residential housing, public spaces, a beach, and a park among other things. Students also focused on making the site more environmentally forward with a greenhouse, wind turbines, a solar field and a rainwater harvest system.

Renderings also showed a repositioning of Dead Man’s Curve and RTA’s South Harbor Station. And the inclusion of a pedestrian bridge on East 18th Street.

Nevin Jenkins, one of the teacher liaisons with the Shaker Heights project, has worked with the program for several years and said students have gotten to grow with these projects, and picked up on skills that they did not know they had.

“It’s just a really great way to get the kids thinking in about innovation in their communities,” he said. “And the mentoring piece is just really strong.

Some $120,000 in scholarships were awarded. ACE also provides support for students through field trips, a paid summer career experience that allows them to get college credit and support for them while in college through things like internship placement, and more.

This was Shaker Heights sophomore Korei Washington’s first time in the program, but was encouraged by her engineering and robotics teacher to join.

“My favorite part of the project was making some of the plans for our idea and learning different things about construction, and architecture,” she said. “I never really thought about what to add or do with the land in Cleveland, but this really helped me think about what the community needs.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated from an earlier version after the winner was announced.