Your Metroparks just bought a floating restaurant for how much?
Okay real quick— so this is the thing that truly made me do a double-take this morning, and no yeah, it’s peak Cleveland. Our beloved Metroparks, the literal emerald necklace of this city that we all brag about, apparently dropped $1.3 million on a *barge* last year. Not just any barge, mind you. The former Hornblower’s floating restaurant. And now, the costs have doubled, and they're still not done sinking money into this thing. I mean, the Metroparks are usually our secret weapon, right? They keep us sane, especially when that December wind off Lake Erie makes you question all your life choices. This just feels… different.
### The Barge Breakdown
So, what exactly is going on here?
* **Initial Purchase:** The Metroparks bought the Hornblower’s floating restaurant for $1.3 million in 2023. * **Doubled Costs:** Since then, the expenses have swelled, doubling the initial price tag. * **Future Plans:** A portion of this barge is eventually supposed to open to the public, though the specifics are still hazy and more spending is expected.
I'm trying to picture this thing docked somewhere along the Cuyahoga, maybe near the Flats where everything's been making a comeback. Or perhaps over by Edgewater Park, which on a summer evening, is just perfect. But a floating restaurant that costs this much and keeps costing more? It's giving me that familiar Cleveland feeling of, "we've been here before." We love our quirks, we really do. But spending millions on a boat that's already costing double its price tag just feels like a lot of dough that could go towards, I don’t know, fixing some of the “worst of the worst” West Side streets that haven’t seen a resurfacer in decades. Or maybe even expanding access to the Rapid for folks who need it.
Cleveland on the wire — we've been here the whole time. You know, my mom and dad would have a lot to say about this on their morning commute. Catch the crew breaking it down live at mornings.live.