Economic trends – Page 9

City staffing shortage threatens some Cleveland projects

Ken Prendergast / February 17, 2023

At the start of 2024, the city of Cleveland’s new tax abatement policy will go into effect. While the policy will remain basically unchanged for much of the city, it will become less supportive of developments in neighborhoods where construction has been most active — University Circle, Ohio City, Tremont and parts of downtown. So, in those areas, developers are trying to expedite the delivery of projects before the 15-year property tax abatement on new developments declines from 100 percent to 85 percent. But there’s something standing in the way of that acceleration: a lack of city staff to get projects approved in time.

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What we may see in 2023

Ken Prendergast / January 2, 2023

When it comes to business, real estate and community investment, there’s a lot to look forward to in Greater Cleveland in 2023. Look no further than the new Canon Healthcare headquarters, Bedrock real estate’s riverfront plans, Midtown Cleveland developments, booming University Circle and its spillover into long-neglected neighborhoods, the next artist district in Cleveland, ballpark villages around our city’s sport venues, lakefront plans and projects, transit-oriented developments, plus the skyscrapers under construction downtown.

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Amtrak Ohio expansion may bypass state government

Ken Prendergast / December 16, 2022

Several initiatives that are in their early stages may instigate passenger rail expansion to Cleveland before the state of Ohio decides to get on board. That could be welcome timing considering the Federal Railroad Administration will solicit applications next week for funding to begin the process for developing new and expanded passenger rail services.

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Cleveland to get MLS NEXT Pro team

Ken Prendergast / November 18, 2022

The reserve league of top-tier Major League Soccer is expected to announce on Monday that it will expand to Cleveland as the next city to gain a professional soccer team, according to sources who spoke off the record. The announcement will be made at 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Pins Mechanical on West 25th Street in Ohio City by Michael Murphy. He is leading the effort locally to land the MLS NEXT Pro (MLSNP) team.

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Reactivating downtown Cleveland

Ken Prendergast / November 10, 2022

In the late 20th century, downtown Cleveland rolled up its sidewalks after 5 p.m. Now, on some weekdays, it seems like downtown doesn’t roll out its sidewalks until after 5 p.m. That shows how much downtown has changed in the post-pandemic world from a commercial district to a residential, entertainment and tourism center.

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Cleveland’s first railroad is history

Ken Prendergast / October 26, 2022

On an early fall day, Sept. 30, 1847, one of the most prominent men in the fast-growing state of Ohio rolled up his sleeves and joined others in starting the construction of Cleveland’s first-ever railroad. It was a ceremonial groundbreaking not unlike those of today where dignitaries flip dirt with golden shovels to commemorate the start of some new construction project. But, in this case, Cleveland’s first village president, its first attorney and the father of the Ohio & Erie Canal had to get his hands dirty pronto or his new railroad company would lose its charter from the state — again.

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Cleveland benefits from national migration shift

Ken Prendergast / October 17, 2022

One of North America’s next big migrations may already be underway. And according to early data, it appears that Cleveland and other Great Lakes cities are among those benefitting from it. What’s driving this new migration? The basics — low cost, proximity to family, abundant fresh water and peace of mind from not worrying about your neighborhood catching on fire or washing out to sea.

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Downtown Cleveland’s ‘office market needs help’

1 Comment / Ken Prendergast / October 7, 2022

This week, global real estate brokerage Newmark released its third quarter office market report for Greater Cleveland and the news wasn’t good, especially for downtown Cleveland. While three of five submarkets in the metropolitan area saw declining occupancies of office spaces in July-September, none suffered a greater loss than the central business district. That district includes everything from Ohio City east through Downtown to Midtown.

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Is UC becoming Greater Cleveland’s top jobs hub?

Ken Prendergast / September 20, 2022

For the first time in 200 years, Downtown Cleveland is at risk of losing its position as the region’s top employment hub. And in so doing, it would also no longer be Ohio’s top job hub, too. Downtown Cleveland has held the region’s top ranking since the days before the Ohio Canal opened for business in 1832, making downtown Cleveland the state’s reigning economic powerhouse.

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Ukrainian refugees seek, offer hope

Ken Prendergast / August 22, 2022

While NEOtrans normally covers real estate developments and other business activities in Greater Cleveland, we also occasionally cover economic trends. Those trends, such as the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County adding more working-age population and creating more jobs than many Sunbelt economic powerhouses, also drive business growth and real estate development.

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