CLEVELAND -- Cleveland is undergoing a major facelift, and a new district with hundreds of homes and restaurants will grace the city next year.

It's not much to look at now, but next year the city and a local developer plan to transform the corner of East 12th and St. Clair into a life force of 400 homes, restaurants and a pedestrian friendly avenue district, NewsChannel5 reported.

From the beginning, developers had one thing in mind, and that is location.

"We are just north of the Theater District, just east of the Galleria. We are only a few blocks from the lake from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," said Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell.

The goal for the city is to create 1,500 homes a year in downtown, and to revive not only the economy but the excitement of living in the heart of the city.

Mayor Richard Daly came to town to say that what worked in Chicago can certainly work in Cleveland.

"Everybody has to come together. This dividing people by incomes or dividing people by race or political philosophy is wrong and this development really brings that in," said Daly.

With the average price of an Avenue District town home in the $300,000 range, the question is, can downtown compete with the suburbs for buyers?

Joseph Marinucci of Downtown Cleveland Partnership said absolutely.

"Here, you have an area where the infrastructure is here the amenities are here and, to be frank, what we're doing is providing the product to overlay those types of urban experiences," said Marinucci.