As Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm gets ready to roll out the details of phase one of its riverfront development, a neighboring fixture on the banks of the Cuyahoga River since 1894 may not be around much longer. The long-closed Cleveland Thermal steam heating plant, 2274 Canal Rd., along with possibly other properties of Cleveland Thermal Generation LLC are in the process of being acquired, according to a real estate source.

It would take someone with deep pockets to acquire those properties for cash. And the prize property is the Canal Road plant that’s located next to a development hot zone. The plant is closed, rusting away and an eyesore — not something that’s befitting the $3.5 billion vision Gilbert and his Detroit-based Bedrock Real Estate have for the neighboring riverfront below Tower City Center. Demolishing the Canal Road plant would require significant clean-up costs, but it would allow Bedrock to start anew here.