2023 Downtown Cleveland
Economic Development Report
A Letter From Leadership
“Despite ongoing challenges, it was a year of resilience. Our residential population growth accelerated, office tenants overwhelmingly chose to remain Downtown, and visitor foot traffic neared pre-pandemic levels.”
2023 was a transformational year for Downtown Cleveland’s economic development corporation. It was a year in which we confronted major challenges, accelerated the core’s recovery, and positioned Downtown Cleveland for future success.
We worked with City of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and key partners to define the vision for the core, resulting in Reimagining Downtown. This comprehensive plan incorporates clear, attainable short and long-term goals to accelerate completing Downtown Cleveland’s transformation from a traditional 9-to-5 central business district to an 18-hour, 15-minute neighborhood.
We also restructured our organization to represent all center city stakeholders and serve as Downtown Cleveland’s development corporation. Downtown Cleveland, Inc. is the umbrella organization, focusing on economic development, strategy, advocacy for the Downtown area. It is a smaller, more nimble executive board comprised of the officers of Downtown Cleveland Improvement Corporation, our property owner engagement arm which governs the Downtown Cleveland Improvement District, and Downtown Cleveland Alliance, our community engagement arm which raises funds for critical place enhancement initiatives. With this restructuring came a fresh look. We operate under a clear and simple brand: We are Downtown Cleveland. Our brand reflects the vibrancy of North Coast sunsets, the colors of our beloved sports teams, and the diversity of Downtown Cleveland, the place and the organization.
Despite public safety and office market challenges, Downtown Cleveland exhibited tremendous resilience. Our residential population is 112 percent of what it was in 2019. Office tenants overwhelmingly chose to remain Downtown. Visitor foot traffic neared pre-pandemic levels.
The following Downtown Cleveland Economic Development Report outlines the progress we have made and our plans for the future of Downtown Cleveland. Thank you for being part of the momentum.
Best,
Michael Deemer - President & CEO, Downtown Cleveland
Key Projects From 2023
Downtown Cleveland
The People, The Place, The Organization
This past year, the organization rebranded as Downtown Cleveland, Inc. Our name, brand, and structure now better represent our unified approach to managing and developing a vibrant Downtown.
Downtown Cleveland is served by unified management, staff, and committees. Our name, brand, and structure reflect this unity and the comprehensive nature of our work.
The new Downtown Cleveland logo evokes the shape of a map pin for placemaking and a stylized "D" for Downtown itself. Its colors are inspired by the city’s vibrancy and diversity, iconic sunsets and lakefront, and beloved sports teams.
New Organizational Structure
This past year, we rebranded as Downtown Cleveland, the economic development corporation for the city’s core. We are a development and advocacy organization modeled on best practices from around the United States. We focus on implementing projects and getting sh*t done. Downtown Cleveland is comprised of three boards:
The NEW Downtown Cleveland Organizational Structure
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Downtown Cleveland, Inc., the executive board and umbrella organization that leads Downtown economic development strategy and advocacy. Downtown Cleveland, Inc. Is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership organization that raises funds through contributions from member businesses.
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Downtown Cleveland Improvement Corporation is our property owner engagement arm that oversees the Downtown Cleveland Special Improvement District. DCIC raises funds through property assessments from owners, which fund 100 percent of the Clean & Safe Ambassador program and provide important support to DTCLE initiatives.
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Downtown Cleveland Alliance is a 501(c)(3) that serves as our community trust and engagement arm. DCA raises funds from business, government, and philanthropic partners to support economic development, safety, and programming.
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Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation and Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation serve as our historic preservation and conservation arm. HWDDC and HGNC administer a historic conservation easement program.
Mission
Downtown Cleveland’s mission is to attract talent, jobs, residents, and investment through market influence, community impact, and irresistible experiences.
Vision
As the only organization focused solely on strengthening and building the heart of Cleveland itself, we envision Downtown Cleveland as a vibrant and welcoming city center that weaves Downtown districts and surrounding neighborhoods into a seamless urban fabric that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Downtown Cleveland is Leading the State in Recovery
The University of Toronto’s School of Cities found that Cleveland’s Downtown recovery outpaces our peer cities in Ohio and is in the top 3 for the Great Lakes region. Philadelphia’s Center City District ranked Downtown Cleveland ninth among the country’s top 26 metro areas. Our own data shows that visitor foot traffic activity Downtown surpassed 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and is on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
Laying the Foundation For a Clean, Safe, and Welcoming Downtown
Neighborhood Safety Specialist, Oliver, at Walnut Wednesday Food Truck Event at Perk Park
In the face of public safety challenges, Downtown Cleveland adapted to meet the needs of the community.
Downtown Cleveland Ambassadors can be seen seven days a week, year-round helping create the clean, safe, and welcoming environment that is necessary for successful economic development.
When confronted with public safety challenges, Downtown Cleveland adapted to meet the needs of the community. We piloted and then ramped up our Neighborhood Safety Specialist program to provide a visible, engaged, unarmed, uniformed presence to de-escalate and discourage inappropriate sidewalk behavior. The Safety Specialists worked extended weekend hours to deliver additional security around nightlife establishments in response to the acute need. Our deployment strategy was data-driven and planned in communication with stakeholders and the police to ensure we addressed issues in real-time.
Downtown Cleveland Outreach Specialists made over 850 contacts with our unsheltered neighbors to build trusting relationships and connect them with resources they need. We launched our Downtown Court Watch program to ensure that individuals with mental health challenges are appropriately placed on the mental health docket. This helps create the conditions for rehabilitation and lowers the chances of repeat offenses.
Creating a Compelling Downtown Through Irresistible Experiences
Downtown’s 3rd Annual Juneteenth Festival at Mall C
A Vibrant, Fun, Four-Season Downtown
We program downtown’s public spaces to create a vibrant environment that attracts economic activity. In 2023, Downtown Cleveland used 28 programs over 155 days to keep Downtown vibrant and fun in all four seasons. These programs animated 13 public spaces throughout the district. Our organization also supports major annual events like Pride in the CLE, Cleveland National Air Show, Rock Hall Live and Local, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. Downtown’s impactful events draw in our large visitor base and support our local economy.
Our team uses programming to enliven parks, plazas, and public spaces; build community; and drive support to local businesses. These programs include Restaurant Week, Think Outside the Lunchbox passport program, and Double Nickel resident socials. Take a Hike, one of Downtown Cleveland’s longest running programs through the Historic Gateway District, providing walking tours to highlight Downtown Cleveland’s unique history for 15 years.
In addition to our regular programming, we produced two signature, large-scale events in 2023 that drew crowds from across Northeast Ohio and beyond:
WinterLand Season Kickoff
Over 181K people visited Downtown and 34K visited Public Square during the tree lighting ceremony.
MetroHealth Juneteenth Freedom Festival
Juneteenth Freedom Fest brought a crowd of 229.8K Downtown and over 7K to the day of festivities on Mall C.
Downtown Cleveland staffers, Ian and Lia working from one of Downtown’s newest coffee shops, Lion Heart Coffee
Downtown Cleveland Outlines Strategy to Attract Retail
Downtown Retail Strategy
A thriving storefront economy is central to Downtown economic development. At the beginning of 2023, our team engaged Streetsense to produce our Downtown Retail Strategy based on market conditions and needs. The study found that 70% of all Downtown spending is driven by our visitor base, and the neighborhood needs more retail options that appeal to our rapidly growing residential base. These needs include clothing, hobby stores, home goods, hardware, and general services. The diagnostic component of the strategy projects strong growth in retail demand, although it estimates that Downtown retail space is approximately 20-25% vacant. The Retail Strategy provides practical, targeted recommendations for enhancing the retail environment. These recommendations include focusing investment on residential and employment clusters, improving the public realm, and providing greater incentives for retail buildouts.
Significant Investments Made in Downtown
The NEW City Club Apartments project saw significant progress in 2023.
“America’s Best Example of Turning Around a Dying Downtown”
Our members and key partners completed or had underway over $1.4 billion of investment at the close of 2023. $434 million of this investment centers around Public Square. The K&D Group completed The Residences at 55, adding 202 rental units to our housing stock to help satisfy the steady demand for Downtown living. Sherwin-Williams’ new global headquarters on Public Square held a topping-off ceremony at the end of 2023, and over 3,500 employees will move into the new headquarters by the end of 2024. Renovations progressed at the former Renaissance Hotel, now known as Hotel Cleveland, and the Fidelity Hotel, and will be completed in 2024.
CBRE recognized Downtown Cleveland as the #1 city in the nation for the share of our office space slated for residential conversions. Our leadership in residential conversions has positioned us strongly among peers emerging from the pandemic, with the Washington Post naming us “America’s Best Example of Turning Around a Dying Downtown.”
Resilience and Recommitment in the Office Market
Oswald to move headquarters to former Ernst & Young building at 950 Main Ave. in the Flats
The future of Downtown Cleveland office buildings is one of the biggest challenges our community will face in the coming years. Virtually all of our economic development and advocacy work is geared toward addressing these challenges. The way people work continues to evolve, and remote and hybrid work models persist, leading to downsizing among office businesses. Nevertheless, professionals understand the benefits of quality place-based work: greater collaboration, team building and mentoring, and talent retention.
Return-to-office rates peaked in August at 64% in 2023. For the third year in a row, employers leaned into the “flight-to-quality" trend, showing a preference for Class A space that offers amenities though often in a smaller office footprint. This was evident in both Q3 and Q4 of 2023, where Downtown saw positive net absorption in the office market for the first time in five quarters prior, with the overall office occupancy rate hovering around 82.7%.
Several office buildings are in receivership or distress. While our city leads the country in office conversions, we know conversions alone will not stabilize the office market. We need a combination of business attraction, building modernization, and public realm improvements. The Reimagining Downtown strategy and planned Downtown Tax Increment Financing District are rooted in making the public realm improvements needed to position the city’s core for the future. The City of Cleveland’s Job Creation Tax Credit is a strong business attraction and expansion tool. Together, they are the foundation of a cohesive strategy to attract businesses and quality real estate investors.
Continued Demand for Downtown Housing
One of Downtown’s newest office to residential conversions, Residences at 55 Public Square
In 2023, Downtown Cleveland completed a Greater Downtown Housing Study in collaboration with Greater Cleveland Partnership through Urban Partners, a leading research and consulting firm. Based on conservative growth projections, the study found strong, sustained demand for Downtown living, projecting 26,000 residents by 2032. At the end of 2023, 91% of Downtown apartments were occupied. This occupancy rate sounds strong, but in reality, it means buildings are, at best, breaking even. The acute public safety challenges we faced in 2023 certainly had a negative impact on demand. By the end of the year, the City of Cleveland’s Rise Initiative, including the presence of Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s patrolling downtown, had a positive impact. These safety initiatives and public realm improvements guided by the Reimagining Downtown.
Several commercial-to-residential conversion projects opened in 2023 with more set to enter the market in the year ahead, including The Bell and Ten60 Bolivar. The City Club Apartments represent the latest infill development on a surface parking lot. Together, these projects will add approximately 850 units to the market. While rental properties dominate Downtown’s housing mix, the Residences at the Guardian for-sale condominiums, which converted office space to condos, sold the majority of their inventory in 2023, with move-in dates planned for early 2024.
Approaching a Complete Visitor Recovery
Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit at Cleveland Public Auditorium brought visitors from across the US to Cleveland in October 2023
Downtown attracted 35.4 million visitors in 2023. We project that Downtown will reach pre-pandemic visitation levels in 2024 as we welcome several major events such as NCAA Women’s Final Four, a total solar eclipse, MAC Basketball Tournament, and the Pan American Games. The $49 million renovation of the Huntington Convention Center will increase Downtown’s capacity to host large-scale events that spotlight us as a destination city. Two historic hotel redevelopments, Hotel Cleveland and Fidelity Hotel, will add to Downtown’s hospitality capacity when completed in 2024.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport's passenger volume reached 9.9 million passengers and is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels this year. This progress is boosted by expanded service such as Aer Lingus nonstop flights to Dublin, Alaska Airlines nonstop flights to Seattle, and Frontier Airlines’s several new nonstop routes. On the ground, Greater Cleveland Transit Authority climbed to a 68% ridership recovery rate, totaling nearly 30 million riders throughout the year.
Championing Downtown’s Development
Downtown Cleveland President & CEO, Michael Deemer Speaking at a special press conference to announce the Reimagining Downtown Cleveland Plan
Image source: Mark Oprea, Cleveland Scene 2023
Sharing Downtown’s economic development story and connecting with the community is at the heart of Downtown Cleveland’s work. We grew our reach in 2023, with increases in follower counts across all social media platforms and over 1.37 billion media impressions.
Our team uses a multimedia marketing strategy to share information about the Downtown market, promote events, and spotlight local businesses, development, and public projects. We launched the Reimagining Downtown Cleveland blog series to track progress in implementing the Mayor’s plan. We also launched the Advocacy in Action blog to communicate how our policy work benefits the Downtown economy and quality of life.
In 2023, we re-evaluated the organization’s communications over multiple platforms and adjusted the tone and content for each, leading to follower increases of:
28% on LinkedIn | 8.1% on Facebook | 19% on Instagram.
Growing a Following
Downtown Cleveland in the News
Looking Ahead
Work with the Group Plan Commission and City of Cleveland to remove jersey barriers and install public realm improvements.
Complete and implement the Public Square Operations Plan with the City of Cleveland and OHM Advisors.
Collaborate with Projects for Public Spaces and the City of Cleveland to implement a place-making project at Public Square.
Secure state capital funds to install play features and an electronic community messaging board.
Support the implementation of Destination Cleveland’s Illuminate CLE lighting project.
Initiate a new summer concert series.
Public Square Enhancements
Looking Ahead
Collaborate with the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and key partners to fully implement the city’s “Home for Every Neighbor” initiative.
Continue Downtown Cleveland’s successful and effective Court Watch Program.
Seek funds to sustain and expand the Neighborhood Safety Specialist Program.
Improve Public Safety for ALL
Looking Ahead
Create and begin implementation of public realm improvement plans for key commercial corridors
Work with residents, property owners, businesses, and establish priorities for tenant mix
Advocate for a tenant improvement program for storefront businesses
Collaborate with owners, brokers, and public officials to establish a highly targeted retail attraction program
Implement Downtown Retail Strategy
Looking Ahead
Advocate for enactment of TIF District legislation.
Lead collaboration with the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and key partners to create public realm and capital improvement plans for the downtown core and connections to surrounding neighborhoods.
Downtown Tax Increment Financing District and Core Strategy
Looking Ahead
Downtown will host large-scale events including the NCAA Women’s Final Four, MAC basketball tournament, the total solar eclipse, MetroHealth Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom Festival, Light Up the Lake 4th of July fireworks, the Pan-American Masters Games, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the WinterLand kickoff Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Convention Center will host a variety of significant events as well, including the American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting.
Major Events Fuel Visitor Traffic
Looking Ahead
Completion of New Development
Downtown will welcome new residents and workers with the openings of The Bell, City Club Apartments, Ten60 Bolivar residential buildings and Sherwin-Williams Global Headquarters. Additionally, Downtown Cleveland will advance several capital projects to enhance the vibrancy of our public realm.