CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State University has rejected a plan to relocate the city’s Greyhound bus terminal to its property, citing “the safety of the CSU campus and the university’s strategic and financial priorities must take precedence,” a spokesman said.

Instead, the new transit center will be relocated to the suburb of Brook Park, about 20 kilometers from the city center, on land owned by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.

Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt said he was pleased to welcome Greyhound and Barons Bus to town.

“The Goebel family has been doing business in Brook Park for many decades,” Orcutt said, referring to the family that owns Barons Bus Line, which operates in partnership with Greyhound and is headquartered in Brook Park.

“They run a very good business,” he said. “We are proud to have them in our town.”

The decision to move to Brook Park, to a large parking lot east of the RTA’s Brookpark Rapid Station, comes two months after Cleveland State dropped out of talks to build the new intercity bus terminal at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center on E. 22nd Street, adjacent to the CSU campus. The transit center is on land owned by CSU and leased to the RTA.

In April, RTA spokesman Robert Fleig said the transit authority and Barons were in the process of completing “due diligence” on a deal that would allow bus companies to use part of the transit center for intercity bus passengers.

Reena Arora-Sánchez, Cleveland State’s communications director, said the university negotiated in good faith.

“CSU is in the early stages of developing its next strategic plan,” she said in an email. “This, combined with the cost, safety and logistical aspects of the proposed use, made it financially and operationally unfeasible. Accordingly, in June we notified all affected parties of our decision to withdraw from further discussions or negotiations.”

Cleveland City Councilman Kerry McCormack said he was disappointed with Cleveland State. McCormack, who represents downtown on the City Council, favored the location of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center and believes the bus station should be downtown.

“It’s very disappointing,” he said. “A lot of college students need access to transportation. There’s already a bus station. It seems like it has the capacity. It’s a great location.”

Paul Marnecheck, economic development officer for Brook Park, said he was not aware of any objections to moving the bus station to Brook Park.

“It’s already an RTA station,” he said. “This is not a new concept. RTA is expanding its capacity at this location. It’s expanding the range of services.”

He said he sees the expansion as an opportunity for the city’s economic development.

“It makes it easier to come to my town,” he said. “The more people you bring to town, the more they’ll spend in your town. We want people to spend money in our town. If that gets them to come to town to support the local restaurant, that’s great.”

The city’s Planning Commission approved plans for the new terminal earlier this month. Plans call for a modest 2,100-square-foot building with restrooms and areas to buy tickets and wait for the bus.

Marnecheck said he did not know when the building would be constructed.

John Goebel, vice president of Barons, declined to comment.

The displacement of long-distance bus travelers is a chronic problem nationwide as train stations across the United States have been bought up for alternative development.

“The situation (in Cleveland) is like in several other cities where neighbors are resisting and good alternatives are no longer being considered,” says Joseph Schwieterman, a public transportation expert and director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development in Chicago.

In Cleveland, the historic Greyhound station was sold in early 2023 to a real estate investment firm that sold it to Playhouse Square earlier this year.

Playhouse Square has not provided details on how it plans to redevelop the building, which has been open since 1948 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It is likely to be converted into some sort of mixed-use development, possibly with dining, entertainment and residential areas.

Schwieterman said he would have preferred the new station to remain downtown, but Cleveland’s solution is better than some cities, including Philadelphia, where Greyhound customers are picked up at the curb.

“The (Brook Park) site provides people with a safe, climate-controlled environment and buys the city time to find a better, long-term solution,” he said. “Given the ongoing national crisis, this at least provides Cleveland with a somewhat viable option.”

Marie Zickefoose, press secretary for Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, said the city is working to maintain some intercity bus service in the downtown area.

“The city is committed to establishing downtown stops,” she said. “We believe that access to intercity bus service downtown is critical, as the majority of our public transit network takes people to the heart of our city.”

Several travelers at the Greyhound station said on Monday that they were not happy about the upcoming move.

“It’s going to cost me a fortune,” said Sharon Black, who lives in Euclid and rides Greyhound about every two months. If she can’t find someone to take her downtown, she takes an Uber to the station.

“Getting onto Interstate 480 is a hair-raising event,” said D. Logan of Shaker Heights, who dropped off a friend at the downtown stop Monday morning. “This location is much more convenient.”

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