The Cleveland Foundation has announced a $5 million grant to the Trust for Public Land in support of the Lake Link Trail project.

The project will connect the trail — to be renamed the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail in recognition of the gift — with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath at the southern end of Scranton Peninsula and traverse a 1.3-mile abandoned railroad right-of-way through the West Bank of the Flats, terminating at Wendy Park on Whiskey Island. As part of its Parks for People – Cleveland program, the Trust for Public Land is collaborating with Cleveland Metroparks, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, LAND Studio, Inc., and other community partners to increase parkland and trails that connect Cleveland neighborhoods with Lake Erie.

The grant is part of the foundation's centennial legacy grant series and follows a $200,000 grant awarded last year to support the transfer of the city's lakefront parks to Cleveland Metroparks.

"Lake Erie is our region's most prized natural asset, yet too many residents have never been to the shores of the largest freshwater system on Earth," said Cleveland Foundation president and CEO Ronn Richard. "By helping to connect Cleveland to our lakefront, we can promote healthy living, stimulate economic development, and, ultimately, create a green city on a blue lake. We can't imagine a more fitting tribute to the people and the place that not only created our foundation a hundred years ago, but continue to partner with us in our second century of place-based impact."