CLEVELAND, Ohio - The parklet revolution is coming to Cleveland.

In its quest to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly and to provide a new perch for people-watching, the nonprofit Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corp. has designed a plug-in outdoor living room to be installed in a parking space in front of the popular Noodlecat restaurant at 234 Euclid Ave.

The city's Planning Commission approved the concept Friday, and Historic Gateway plans to install the parklet - Cleveland's first - within about three weeks, pending completion of permits.

"It's creating a stage for street theater," said Tom Starinsky, Historic Gateway's associate director.

Designed by David Jurca of Kent State University's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative and architect Jason Rohal of Vocon, the $7,000 structure will include a wooden deck, and a cozy seating area with benches and movable stools.

Stormwater will circulate normally below the parklet, which will look something like an outdoor deck.

Starinsky said that half of the needed money for the project has been raised from the Cleveland Collectivo, a giving circle to which members donate funds and decide on investments collectively. He's confident the rest of the money can be raised for the parklet.

"This experiment is about how we can be creative and provide more amenities to the growing residential population downtown as well as the office population," he said. "The idea of 'stealing' spaces throughout the public realm and being creative about it is one way we're looking at providing those amenities," he said.

San Francisco is widely credited as the city that originated the idea of turning parking spaces into outdoor living rooms.

Cleveland has had several "Parking Day" events, part of a national phenomenon in which city dwellers put money in a meter and create an impromptu temporary environment.

Parklets, however, receive official city approval as sidewalk extensions that can be used seasonally or year-round.

San Francisco's Pavement to Parks program, which oversees parklets in the city, is in its fifth year and has just published the second version of its how-to manual.

Starinsky said the Cleveland parklet is the first local experiment of its kind, and something Historic Gateway would repeat if it were successful.

"We hope that this project inspires many neighborhoods to do the same," he said. "Because this is the first and we've worked with the city to figure out how to do it in a creative and safe manner, we've made it possible for other neighborhoods to follow and create similar amenities."

Terry Schwarz, director of the KSU collaborative in Cleveland, said she loves the idea of parklets in the city.

"Cleveland has so much surplus roadway capacity in a lot of places, and if we can create some little public realm experiences, it's nice," she said.