CLEVELAND, Ohio - All that remains of the first lock of the 1832 Ohio & Erie Canal on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River is a weed-filled ditch next to a city-owned parking lot.

By 2020, however, development advocate Tom Yablonsky wants to see work begin on the first segment of Canal Basin Park, a site along Merwin Avenue at West Street devoted to history, geography and recreation.

The deadline coincides with the planned completion of the northern end of the 101-mile Towpath Trail, which will reach the Canal Basin area in late 2020.

"The public interest in the history of that site is tremendous," Yablonsky said in one of several recent interviews about the park. "We need people know that when the trail hits that point, we're already implementing parts of Canal Basin Park."

Yablonsky is an executive vice president of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, executive director of the Historic Warehouse Development Corp., and Historic Gateway Neighborhood, and a founding member of the board of directors of the nonprofit Canalway Partners.

He's seeking $4 million from the City of Cleveland, foundations and other philanthropic sources to create "Phase 1A" of what will ultimately become the 20-acre, $20 million Canal Basin Park.

"The City is in discussions with all entities to find the best and most equitable way to accomplish our common goal to fund and complete the Canal Basin Park," Dan Williams, media relations director for the administration of Mayor Frank Jackson, said Thursday in an email.

Plans for the park are part of an accelerating shift toward redevelopment and recreational use of former industrial waterfronts in the low-lying Flats along the Cuyahoga River between the downtown skyline and Ohio City on the west bank of the Cuyahoga.

The administration unveiled a "framework" plan for Canal Basin Park 21/2 years ago in collaboration with Canalway Partners, and asked the nonprofit to push ahead with the project, Yablonsky said.

Yablonsky's recent statements about the project constitute the first new public information about the project since 2015.

Since then, Yablonsky said he helped establish and promote two National Register historic districts in the area, which would make qualifying properties eligible for federal and state tax credits and conservation easements for redevelopment that could be spurred by the park.

Planners have also completed a detailed survey of the complex underground infrastructure at the site, which is laced with utilities, Yabonsky said.

The preliminary plan for Canal Basin Park, designed by Cleveland- and Akron-based Environmental Design Group, calls for plazas and green areas around partially reconstructed portions of the original canal and turning basin.

The full basin can't be recreated because a gigantic pier of the 1918 Detroit-Superior Bridge stands in a portion of it. The latest iteration of plans show potential for a combination splash pad and skating rink on part of the basin footprint.

The park will not include archaeological excavations of the basin and warehouses that once stood around it because the cost would be prohibitive, Yablonsky said.

Other elements in Canal Basin Park could include a "Heritage Playground," stormwater gardens, a partial reconstruction of a Hulett ore unloader, and an interpretive center.

Canalway Partners also has a memorandum of understanding with Sherwin-Williams Corp. to explore revitalizing the vacant 1897 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Terminal at the northwest corner of Carter and Canal roads. A hotel is one possible use under consideration.

The initial portion of Canal Basin Park would include a temporary asphalt path extending roughly 600 feet northwest along the canal remnant from Columbus Road near West Street to a new waterfront plaza at Merwin Avenue on the northwest side of Columbus Road Peninsula.

The plaza would include a monument highlighting the history of the Ohio & Erie Canal, along with historical markers. A rendering of the site created by Environmental Design Group is only a rough draft at this point, said Jeff Kerr, a principal at the firm.

Yablonsky said it's unclear whether the park will be managed by the city, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance or another entity. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park and/or the Western Reserve Historical Society may conduct future programs at the park, he said.

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance is also exploring whether to include the Canal Basin area in a future expansion of its Special Improvement District, under which property owners contribute assessments for extra security and maintenance.

Canal Basin Park isn't the only big project of its kind underway in the area.

The southern tip of the Columbus Road Peninsula is now dominated by Rivergate Park and adult and scholastic rowing facilities operated by the Cleveland Rowing Foundation and the Foundry.

Across the river at Irishtown Bend, the nonprofit Ohio City Inc. is planning a 17-acre, $98 million park in partnership with the Port of Cleveland and other entities.

That park, under development in tandem with Canal Basin, will include a leg of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail, a spur of the Towpath that will extend to Lake Erie at Whiskey Island.

Tom McNair, executive director of Ohio City, said Irishtown Bend has received commitments for $13 million in improvements.

The park failed to qualify for an $11.5 million federal grant this spring, but advocates remain undaunted and will continue to pursue funding, he said.

As with Canal Basin Park, McNair said Irishtown Bend would proceed as a series of piece-by-piece initiatives as funds become available.

"We're really looking at this as a series of projects that over time will add up to a spectacular public park," McNair said.