CLEVELAND — Even with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, downtown Cleveland leaders detailed how COVID-19 left behind a seismic shift in the way businesses operate.
Michael Deemer, President and CEO of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance shared his "State of Downtown" at the City Club of Cleveland on Thursday, which includes pointing out problems he says the city hasn't faced since the 90s.
“We can’t have a strong region without a strong city. We can’t have a strong city without a strong core.” - @MDeemer at @TheCityClub’s State of Downtown: Optimism for the Future.
— DowntownCLE (@DowntownCLE) November 10, 2022
Tune in now: https://t.co/fjfdLqn9Wk pic.twitter.com/nyjyBINHqQ
Those with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance reported only about 60% of the downtown workforce has returned to the office, with nearly 80% of the pre-pandemic foot traffic returning as well.
"The challenges are really gargantuan," Deemer explained. "We're facing inflation, a recession, concentrated poverty, racial inequity, a perception that downtowns are dead. We've struggled to return office workers to support small businesses in the daytime economy."
The “State of Downtown” conversation comes at a crucial time. Earlier this week, Medical Mutual announced their hundreds of employees will leave the Rose Building along East 9th Street in favor of their Brooklyn offices.
"Like many other companies, we now have the majority of our staff on a hybrid schedule or from home," Sue Walton, Manager of Corporate Communications with Medical Mutual, said. "We have very few full-time employees currently working in the Rose Building. As a mutual company, we have to weigh the economic feasibility of maintaining multiple underutilized sites."
"I think the decision for Medical Mutual is really emblematic of the challenges that downtowns nationally are facing and that we're facing here in Cleveland," Deemer added.
Going forward, Deemer points to a five year strategic plan that includes improving safety and keeping downtown clean, as well as improving those ground floor storefronts and finding other ways to draw people back in.
You can read more about the plan here.
"We've got to create the experience," Deemer said. "We've got to create an environment that's got green space, that's got great streetscape and good lighting and that feels safe and welcoming. But more than anything, it's a place that people want to be in and they want to work here and they want to live here."
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