How DCA is Supporting the Office Market
Downtown Cleveland Alliance President and CEO Michael Deemer joined over 950 innovative leaders at the 68th Annual International Downtown Association (IDA) Conference in Vancouver to present how DCA is reinventing and elevating Downtown Cleveland. Micheal was elected to the IDA Board, giving Cleveland recognition at the national level, and providing DCA with the platform to share how we are tackling challenges from the pandemic and complement our local efforts. Deemer joins 52 other Downtown organization leaders to develop the urban place management profession further, identify top issues affecting city centers, and participate in public policy work to proactively develop legislation amongst peers.
DCA completed its first strategic plan to maximize its influence and productivity. This plan establishes priorities and guides annual work programs of the Special Improvement District, with primary focuses including business development, adaptive reuse, historical preservation, office tenant attraction, and building modernization.
New Leadership, New Opportunities
Downtown Leadership - Left to right: Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Blaine A. Griffin, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Downtown Cleveland Alliance President & CEO Michael Deemer
Cleveland is in a unique transition as the previous generation of Boomers retire, and Millennials and Generation X take on leadership positions. Cleveland’s generational leadership change and once-in-a-generation infusion of $500 million of ARPA funds give our city an unprecedented opportunity to confront and combat challenges such as concentrated poverty and racial inequity. We can use this time to build on our strengths of architecture, culture, and mobility assets and alter the city’s future. We can see this leadership change in many places throughout Cleveland, including Mayor Bibb, Council President Griffin, and City Council or County Executive. DCA is honored to be a part of this exciting period of change for our city.
A Focus on Business Development
At DCA, we are champions of “Place-Based work.” We believe work is about more than productivity. It is about collaboration, innovation, and togetherness. Our Economic Development & Policy team leads the city’s office market and buildings with a multi-prong approach. DCA created a Return to Office Toolkit outlining what to expect when returning to the office and why it benefits you. Also located on our website is our recently launched Business Development Hub, which provides information about downtown projects, incentives, and resources. Working with Mayor Bibb and large Downtown employers, we launched our Connection Is Stronger Campaign, aimed at marketing the importance of place-based office work and the effect of the office market’s health on small businesses, funding quality city services, and regional talent attraction. DCA also manages site selection, economic development programs, city planning processes, and approvals. Our Market Research team puts together reports with reliable numbers telling the story of Downtown Cleveland to businesses and investors. In a snapshot, the residential market remained strong through the pandemic; visitor traffic reached 4.7 million, there have been approximately 79 new businesses opened since March of 2020, and return to office rates are at 61% compared to pracademic levels.
Adaptive Reuse
DCA has partnered with The State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service to designate our urban renewal area as the Erieview Historic District. Erieview is the 10th historic district Downtown, with over 270 contributing buildings. Buildings in this district qualify more readily for historic financing tools. An early success in this area has been 45 Erieview. The 550,000-square-foot building constructed in the 1980s was a regional telecommunications company headquarters but has sat vacant for many years. Although this building could not qualify for historic tax credits, we could include it in the historic district as it was closely related to I.M Pei’s original urban renewal vision for the area. The building, purchased by a Texas-based developer, will be transformed into over 300 apartments.
Adaptive reuse of offices has been part of Downtown Cleveland’s real estate strategy for many years. DCA is taking proactive steps to support job creation and office moderation by advocating for public policies that make that point of focus a realistic goal. We combine creating historic districts with state and federal historic tax credits and conservation easements to repurpose excess and obsolete office inventory. We have helped repurpose nearly 10,000,000 square feet of legacy office space into over 5,000 apartments and hotel rooms. Approximately 80% of this progress has occurred in the last five years. DCA is going on the offensive to attract office jobs and businesses. The Downtown Cleveland 3D Development Model on our Real Estate Development page demonstrates our strategic pivot of developmental work to combine data, design, and narrative to attract people, jobs, and investment to Downtown Cleveland. The Downtown Cleveland Digital Model was designed and built by Cleveland-based City Architecture and is managed by Greater Cleveland Partnership in collaboration with the City of Cleveland, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Ohio City Incorporated, Campus District and Flats Forward.
The Downtown Cleveland 3D Development Model allows the user to freely navigate around this virtual downtown and identify recently completed projects, those currently under construction, and those in various stages of planning and analysis.
Office Tenant Attraction and Building Modernization
DCA continues to advocate for public policies that support job creation and office modernization. Policies include the Job Creation Grant, Job Growth Loan Fund, Commercial Tax Abatement, and Storefront Economy. While adaptive reuse remains a crucial asset to revitalization, we know we can’t simply turn all vacant office space into housing. Through our policies, we can attract large businesses and bring a surge of jobs into the downtown area.
We continue to advocate for the cleanliness and safety of the city through ARPA funds that can be put toward responder services and increased uniformed, unarmed safety presence, especially as we see higher levels of activity with returning workers. Place Enhancements remain another focus of DCA as we work to improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure, lighting, crosswalks, streetscape, beautification, public art, and transit environments. Working with the city and owners, we repair and better existing infrastructure and design and build new infrastructure to enhance the downtown experience.
Great Cities Start Downtown
Downtown Cleveland Alliance is more focused and in tune with the city of Cleveland than ever before. Great cities start Downtown, and our goals are coming to fruition as we take concrete steps to assist in the development of our urban core. The Strategic Plan will guide DCA’s evolution through Covid-19 recovery and over the next five years. Our policies will attract businesses, increase jobs, improve safety, and beautify the city. Downtown Cleveland is gaining recognition at a national level. People are watching, and we won’t disappoint.