Aug. 7: Cleveland City Council meetings
Covered by Documenters Bilal Hakeem (notes) and Carolyn Cooper (notes)
Maximizing the push to bring Cleveland jobs
Beware, zombie properties. The City of Cleveland and its partners are coming for you.
That’s the word from Brad Whitehead, managing director of a fund that aims to revitalize disinvested land throughout Cleveland. The goal is to attract companies to available sites and bring jobs to Cleveland. In particular, the program tackles “zombie properties,” Whitehead’s term for land owned by distant companies uninterested in remediating or developing it.
Cleveland City Council set aside $50 million for the initiative last year. That led to the creation of the Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund, the nonprofit overseeing the work. It targets the restoration of 1,000 acres for use and the creation of 25,000 jobs by 2040.
Whitehead, along with Orlando Grant, a senior executive with the organization, and Tom McNair, Cleveland’s director of Economic Development, presented to council on Aug. 7 about a proposal they said would maximize the city’s initial investment.
Other funding for Cleveland jobs plan
The legislation, which council approved, lets Cleveland transfer the $50 million to the Cleveland Foundation, jumpstarting a new fund for other entities to invest in. The Cleveland Foundation, which will manage the fund and lead fundraising efforts, intends to match the city’s $50 million, according to McNair.
The project team pitched council on the potential of a bigger pot of money to rejuvenate former industrial sites and attract new businesses to Cleveland. Council Member Kerry McCormack asked where that additional funding may come from.
There are opportunities with the State of Ohio, as well as local and national philanthropic organizations, according to Whitehead. McNair added that the Cleveland Foundation-run fund would not be limited. Any entity can invest over time.
Council Member Mike Polensek asked if Cuyahoga County supports this. Whitehead said the county is “very spiritually on board, but there are so many claims on their economic resources that they’re doing everything they can, but they haven’t been able to write a check yet.”
Polensek said the city needs the county as a partner. “What’s good for Cleveland is good for the county,” he said.
Note: The Cleveland Foundation is a Signal Cleveland funder.
Downtown Cleveland, Inc. to take over Public Square
In February, Signal Cleveland reported that a new nonprofit was set to take over management of Cleveland Public Square. Now, Cleveland City Council has given its stamp of approval.
The city’s legislative body passed a proposal Aug. 7 that amends a Public Square operations and programming agreement established in 2016. The change supports assigning the agreement to Downtown Cleveland, Inc., shifting responsibility away from Public Square’s longtime nonprofit manager, the Group Plan Commission.
“Over the last several years, going back to 2021, our organization has been providing a half-a-million dollar match to the Group Plan Commission, matched by the city’s contribution,” said Michael Deemer, Downtown Cleveland Inc. CEO and president. “As part of our work with the Group Plan, they will be … on a path towards dissolving as an organization. The responsibilities of Public Square will transfer to our organization.”
Funding and accountability for maintaining Cleveland’s ‘front living room’
The legislation also allows the city to make a $500,000 contribution to Downtown Cleveland, Inc., to help with ongoing Public Square maintenance.
Council President Blaine Griffin asked about plans for future funding. Deemer said Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration has agreed to another $500,000 match next year. But the goal is to find a more sustainable, outside funding source.
In response to Griffin’s question of whom to ultimately hold accountable for the maintenance of Cleveland’s “front living room,” the city’s director of Public Works Frank Williams said, “That buck stops with me.”
Read the notes from Documenter Bilal Hakeem:
Read the notes from Documenter Carolyn Cooper:
