Crain's Cleveland Business

MANUFACTURING: Employment to decline but GDP to grow, report says. PAGE 7

SMALL BUSINESS Co-working’s transition to mainstream poised to continue. PAGE 10

CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I OCTOBER 11, 2021

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

MICHELLE JARBOE/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Intro, a 297-unit apartment project in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, brought a new type of construction to the region and changed the way developer Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors does business. Now the building, set for completion in the spring, is garnering national attention. And it could serve as a model for other projects — in Northeast Ohio and across the nation. PAGE 16

Employers sharpen recruiting strategies Attracting talent proves difficult as vacancies persist amid COVID pandemic

BY JAY MILLER

Hiring in 2021 isn’t business as usual. As employers work through the COVID-19 pandemic, many find themselves facing a severe labor shortage, so they and the people who help them find candidates are working hard to find the best ways — some new, some old — to attract top talent.

A couple of mismatched numbers tell the story. The Department of Labor reported Sept. 3 that there were some 8.4 million potential workers in August who were looking for jobs, while job placement site Indeed estimated there were about 9.8 million job vacancies as of July 16.

So employers are finding they need to sharpen their recruitment strategies. Beyond higher pay, can-

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didates are looking for an organizational culture they want to be a part of, a career trajectory they find attractive, a manageable path from job advertisement to application — and a connection to bigger goals.

“From a recruiting standpoint, we hear anecdotally that the presence that we have on Twitter especially, See RECRUITING on Page 22

THE

Ancora, Big Lots and Ohio’s first ‘greenmailing’ lawsuit

BY JEREMY NOBILE

An Ohio lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court that relies on a decades-old anti-greenmailing regulation is being brought by a Texas pension fund against Cleveland’s Ancora Holdings and a fellow investment firm, New York’s Macellum Capital Management, in a

LAND SCAPE

case that could have a broad impact on the behavior of activist investors, depending on its outcome.

The Corpus Christi Firefighters’ Retirement System is suing Ancora and Macellum over its active management of Columbus-based retailer Big Lots in 2020.

See LAWSUIT on Page 20

A CRAIN’S CLEVELAND PODCAST

10/8/2021 10:38:37 AM

REAL ESTATE

Brick-and-mortar retail is far from dead, panelists say

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

There’s no doubt that the pandemic deepened the woes of ailing malls, sharpened the divide between retail winners and losers, and forced changes to the way companies operate.

But reports of brick-and-mortar’s demise are overblown, experts said during a Crain’s virtual program that aired Wednesday, Oct. 6.

“I think that shopping is more robust than ever,” said Ivy Greaner, chief operating officer of Bedrock, the Detroit-based real estate company that has amassed a vast portfolio in its home city and owns key properties in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

Pandemic lockdowns did send more consumers online, she said, “but pretty quickly after that acceleration, people were pretty anxious to get back to bricks and mortar.”

Greaner, a longtime real estate executive, shared the online floor with local developer Scott Wolstein, CEO of the Wolstein Group, and Ezra Stark, chief operating officer of Cleveland-based Stark Enterprises.

They touched on everything from consumer habits to financing hurdles to the barriers to filling storefronts downtown.

“There’s an overall consensus that demand is even greater than, really, pre-pandemic times, in terms of purchasing power and people’s desire to go out and shop,” said Stark, whose portfolio includes Crocker Park in Westlake and Eton Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere.

“I think it really, though, does depend on what segments we’re talking about.”

traction.

So how many residents does downtown need to get retailers’ attention?

“Generally speaking, you need somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people to have a really viable concept,” said Greaner, adding that workers at downtown businesses also factor into the math.

Stark suggested 200,000 — or perhaps 100,000 to 150,000 residents and twice that many workers. Roughly 100,000 people work downtown, though many of them still have not returned to their offices.

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance has set a goal of reaching 30,000 residents by 2030.

“I think 50,000 people would be enough to get people interested,” Wolstein said. “I think that 200,000 would be amazing. … I don’t think I’ll see that in my lifetime. But I do think I’ll see (50,000). And I’ll see it sooner than you think.”

Patrons walk past one of the few stores open at Tower City on an early October afternoon. | MICHELLE JARBOE/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Haves, and have-nots Home-furnishing retailers, healthand-wellness tenants and national discount stores — brands that offer shoppers a “treasure hunt” experience — are faring well, Stark said.

Drive-through sites are hot commodities. Sit-down dining is shakier, at least in locations that rely on lunch crowds and office workers.

But at Wolstein’s Flats East Bank project, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, food and beverage tenants are besting their 2019 levels.

“We’re seeing things bounce back pretty hard,” he said, attributing the growth to cabin fever and higher savings rates during the pandemic.

Malls and some lifestyle centers will continue to struggle, the panelists said. So will full-priced apparel brands, Wolstein predicted, as young shoppers flock to fast fashion, offprice stores and secondhand shops.

“I attribute a lot of that to the huge overhang of student debt,” said Wolstein, the former CEO of Starwood Retail Partners and DDR Corp., a Beachwood-based company now called SITE Centers Corp.

“Many of the younger shoppers can’t qualify for a mortgage because of that,” he said. “They’re paying more for housing than earlier generations. They have less disposable income.”

Greaner cautioned against painting any property class with a broad brush. Though 80% of U.S malls are struggling, she noted, the other 20% continue to draw crowds.

“I’ve certainly been to some of the

A rendering shows Canal Road reimagined behind Tower City, as part of Bedrock’s long-term vision for remaking underused land along the east bank of the Cuyahoga River. | BEDROCK

more robust malls, and they’re packed,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily in just tourism markets.”

So what about that mall?

In July, Bedrock announced its plans to reposition the long-suffering mall at Tower City as a “marketplace,” getting away from a tainted word.

The company is seeking pop-up tenants for more than 32,000 square feet through AF Spaces, a platform that connects landlords and retailers for short-term leases. And Bedrock recently inked deals with a women’s apparel store, a boys’ clothing store and a waxing and threading business.

“We believe we have the opportunity to change the face of Tower City today while we are planning for the future,” Greaner said of that leasing push, driven in part by the upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions and the NBA All-Star Game.

Tackling Tower City, where many storefronts were empty long before the pandemic, will be a long — and costly — journey.

“It’s kind of like a phase one, phase two kind of process,” Greaner said, “and we’re very much at the infancy

of the phase one part of the process.”

In downtown Detroit, Bedrock’s retail portfolio features many small, local businesses. But the landlord, part Greaner of billionaire Dan Gilbert’s Rock family of companies, also boasts national tenants including Bonobos, H&M, Lululemon, Madewell, Nike and Warby Parker.

Can Cleveland rebuild urban retail?

Without substantial population growth and more concentrated investment, it will be tough for downtown Cleveland to attract major retail anytime soon, the developers said.

Stark and Wolstein pointed to Steelyard Commons, the nearby bigbox shopping center in the city’s industrial valley, as a barrier to luring stores to the central business district.

“I had extensive discussions with Meijer about opening a downtown store,” Wolstein said, referring to the supercenter chain that is rolling out

Stark

Wolstein

neighborhood markets in urban areas.

But the Michigan-based retailer did not see a business case downtown, he said. An urban-format Meijer is slated to be part of a mixed-use project on the East Side, near the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.

“Twenty thousand people downtown, with retail existing in the inner-ring suburbs not far away, makes it very, very difficult to make it exciting for a retailer,” Wolstein said.

Downtown Cleveland is home to dozens of restaurants, bars, banks and service retailers, plus two grocery stores. The Fifth Street Arcades, slung between Euclid and Prospect avenues, house an eclectic mix of local tenants.

But big retail plans, including proposals to establish a design district or create an outlet mall, have not gained

Seeking incentives for growth For now, if the public sector wants to lure retail to the city, then it needs to put more incentives on the table, the developers said.

Wolstein cited hefty tax burdens and construction costs as impediments to ground-up deals.

“We just priced out a project with a very prolific developer in Chicago, and they were shocked,” he said. “It was more expensive to build in Cleveland than it was in Chicago, largely because we don’t have as many people competing for the business.”

Bedrock is working with the city, civic leaders and other property owners on a decades-long plan to remake 130 acres along the Cuyahoga River, including land just behind Tower City. The partners unveiled their vision in September and hope to position the project to compete for money from the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill.

“We do need to encourage public infrastructure dollars — federal, state and city levels — in order to be able to do the things that we’re all talking about doing,” Greaner said. “It won’t work unless there are public-private partnerships.”

Stark Enterprises rolled out plans in early 2015 for a high-rise project in the Gateway District, just north of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. That ambitious development, called NuCLEus, once was set to include offices, retail, garage parking and 140,000 square feet of retail, with shops and dining lining intimate alleys.

The project, since downsized and reconfigured, has not moved forward.

“It’s not dead,” Stark said of the project. “It’s in a holding pattern.”

NuCLEus was the inspiration for the state’s new tax-credit program for transformational mixed-use development projects. But it won’t be an applicant for the first round of awards.

“If we want to make any significant makeover of the city,” Stark said, “it’s going to require heavy participation, more than what is available now, from the public sector.”

Michelle Jarboe: michelle.jarboe@ crain.com, (216) 771-5437, @mjarboe

2 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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Diverse group of entrepreneurs sets up shop at Shaker’s tony Van Aken District

BY STAN BULLARD

District, summed up the results as far as diversity goes by saying, “It’s Chantell Hargrave spotted The good. It could be better. I’m proud Corner during a 2020 visit to the of it.”

Russell said that when RMS Van Aken District, the mixed-use center in Shaker Heights. She real- hired him to manage Van Aken’s ofized the shelf-lined section of the fice and retail operations (apartdistrict’s Market Hall shopping ments are managed by NRP Group area devoted to wares of local art- of Cleveland), he was told he would ists and makers might provide an have to find a way to increase the outlet for her new business. She diversity of tenancy for the center.

As RMS and Russell, who is Black had just started sewing pouches out of cotton and stuffing them and has a background in commerwith flax or rice that are heated or cial real estate and city planning, leased retail space in the center cooled for self-care.

A year later, Hargrave has sold prior to its 2019 opening, they found too few people with hundreds of the aromatic diverse backgrounds cloth packets and added among prospective tenanother source of income ants. In the end, they took during the pandemic. a ground-up approach to And Hargrave is not help people cultivate alone. The shopping trip their own businesses to by the Warrensville diversify the tenant roster.

Heights resident landed The result was the entreher company, S.C. Care, a preneurship program. spot in an entrepreneurThe Corner brings to ship program launched Hargrave mind a 1960s-era comby RMS Investment mune where local busiGroup, the Shaker Heights-based developer of the nesses and artisans can sell their project, designed to provide repre- wares. That means local jewelry sentation similar to the makeup of makers, cookie bakers, candle crethe suburb among its merchants, ators, T-shirt designers and photographers have an outlet beside restaurateurs and clientele.

So far, Van Aken’s umbrella en- the district’s other local and natrepreneurship program has pro- tional tenants.

“This is our farm team,” Russell vided opportunities for 85 participants to sell products in the district. said. To help pursue the initiative, enlisted two Lakewood Of those, 29 are Black-owned, 12 he are minority-owned (non-Black) small-business owners he knew and 76 are women-owned. In addi- from a stint as a Lakewood city tion to rotating shelf space in The planner, Dave Willett and Steve SeCorner, entrepreneurs may operate meka, who operate STEM Handtwo kiosks, and one food space has made Soap in a shop in Lakewood’s been devoted this year to El- Birdtown neighborhood. Both soap lie-May’s Gourmet Cookies. Oper- artisans and merchants have exated by Ivy Lee, the cookie shop tensive retail backgrounds. After occupies a space for a food incuba- studying various alternatives and artisan collectives around Northtor.

Jason Russell, the neighborhood east Ohio and other areas with Rusgeneral manager of the Van Aken sell, the duo agreed to undertake

operating a sales space under The Corner moniker.

Entrepreneurs who sign up for the program get a shelf for a minimum of a month at The Corner in exchange for taking turns operating the shop.

It’s not free. Participants pay 30% of their earnings for the access. On the other hand, they get the benefit of working with the Urban League’s Small Business Development Center to help them refine their business plan. Participants also benefit from the Van Aken District’s marketing programs, from its website to its social networking on Facebook and Instagram.

When Van Aken put out the call for applicants, it received more than 140. Russell said RMS decided to process the first 40 in order to achieve the real goal, getting the shop up and running.

Today about 20 entrepreneurs are participating in The Corner at any given time. The are drawn from about 80 participants called “the community” by Willett in an interview.

“The timing (in summer 2020) was right,” Willett said, because the main venue for many small businesses, local weekend markets such as arts and crafts shows, were shut down during the first part of the pandemic.

Vendors at The Corner reflect makers and entrepreneurs at varied stages of their enterprises.

In Willett’s view, the diversity angle took care of itself, thanks to the nationally known diversity that is associated with Shaker Heights, as well as word-of-mouth among the exhibitors.

Having participants turn shifts at The Corner was designed to make it differ from consignment shops.

See VAN AKEN on Page 6

Correction ` An Oct. 4, page 3 article about a deal to buy the Vitrolite Building, 2915 Detroit Ave., incorrectly identified the Cleveland Tea Revival shop in Cleveland’s Hingetown area and misspelled the name of Andria Loczi, CEO of Harness Cycle.

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EDUCATION

Ohio awards $1.7 million to boost FAFSA completions

BY AMY MORONA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, is a big deal. Students who complete the form have a chance to earn state or federal financial aid for their education after high school. Plus, looking at completion rates can serve as an indicator of who is — and isn’t — planning on enrolling in college.

Those rates fell during the pandemic. About 62% of Ohio’s high school class of 2021 completed a FAFSA as of last month, per data compiled by the National College Attainment Network. That’s nearly a 5% drop from the previous academic year. Completions fell roughly 4% nationwide during that same time.

Completing the form has long had some barriers, including perceived difficulty and length. The shift to a largely virtual environment amplified those challenges for some students and families. Millions of aid dollars go unclaimed in Ohio each year.

State lawmakers recently rejected a plan that would have made completing a FAFSA an Ohio high school graduation requirement. Louisiana saw a reported 25% completion bump in one year after installing a similar rule a few years ago.

But Ohio’s leaders are taking notice in other ways. Portions of federal pandemic relief funding — $2.85 million in total over a year and a half — are being dedicated in an attempt to boost completion numbers.

“FAFSA completion is critical, whether you’re seeking a workforce credential, a bachelor’s degree, or something in between,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement.

Nonprofits focused on college attainment and educational service centers were eligible to apply for the funds. Several organizations could partner together on an application, too. The first round of funding came this past spring and was targeted at encouraging completions by those graduating high school at that time.

The 25 recipients of this next $1.7 million award, dubbed FAFSA 22, were announced earlier this month.

An adviser connects with students at a pre-pandemc advising event held by College Now. The organization recently earned funding for its FAFSA completion efforts from the state. | KEVIN KOPANSKI/COLLEGE NOW GREATER CLEVELAND

ter high school or decide to wait, it gives you options,” McGrath said.

College Now launched a mobile clinic earlier this year with that first round of state funding. Advisers in buses were posted in parking lots at convenient locations for parents — think grocery stores and libraries — and helped families complete the form in the bus. Parents or guardians need to include their financial information to submit the form.

This latest round of cash will go toward a few different things in addition to that clinic and existing in-person advising options. Plans include being more visible at community events, increasing targeted direct marketing and a daylong completion event held in conjunction with Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland State University, There’s a new push called “Reconnect College,” too. Using a database app similar to what’s used in political campaigns, the hope is to find people who have indi“COMPLETING THE FAFSA, cated they’d be open to going back to school and WHETHER STUDENTS reach out to them.

MATRICULATE IMMEDIATELY AFTER Summit Education Iniin Akron is bumping HIGH SCHOOL OR DECIDE TO WAIT, tiative up its technology efforts as well. Using FAFSA 21 fundIT GIVES YOU OPTIONS.” ing, they decided to launch — Maggie McGrath, director of the Higher a text campaign for stuEducation Compact of Greater Cleveland dents and families who hadn’t completed a form The list includes College Now of this past spring. It was the best way Greater Cleveland. The organization they could think of to directly reach is set to get $185,000, the sec- out, said Dan Whitaker, the group’s ond-highest amount in the state in network facilitator.

The ultimate goal, he said, was to this round.

Funding that can be secured by get interested students connected to submitting a FAFSA is one of the first do a virtual coaching session. But the steps in the college journey, said platform had limitations. One person Maggie McGrath, director of the at Akron Public Schools responded Higher Education Compact of Great- to each individual text the campaign er Cleveland. About 90% of Cleve- received.

They’re using it again, and this land students are eligible for Pell Grant funding, she said. That money time, they want to reach more peois dedicated for undergraduate stu- ple. This new money — about $70,000 dents with demonstrated financial — will help them figure out what messages resonate better, along with need.

“Completing the FAFSA, whether letting them have more people workstudents matriculate immediately af- ing on the effort. Scaling the opera-

tion is extra important, as SEI is now also partnered with high schools in nearby Barberton and Springfield.

“The worst thing that can happen is we send a text message asking somebody to respond, and then we don’t respond back to them,” he said.

The target list used for this effort was built from rolls schools received with names of those who completed FAFSAs. It wasn’t always accurate, he said. Cleveland Metropolitan School

District officials echoed a similar sentiment in an interview with Crain’s last year.

“It was a fairly significant number of responses to the text message campaign (from families that said) their kids completed it, so there was some error in the reporting,” said SEI’s Whitaker.

So the funding will also go toward developing an integrated data system that will provide school person-

nel with real-time FAFSA completion data. This way, Whitaker said, educators won’t have to wait on a report to see who may need additional support throughout the year.

That support is key, as are relationships, according to Trista Warren, executive director of the Lake/ Geauga Educational Assistance Foundation (LEAF).

“If you’re talking to a family about FAFSA filings and taxes, there needs to be some sort of trust,” she said.

It can be hard to do that, though.

The organization is contracted with 20 school districts, and hour restrictions in those contracts limit the majority of interactions LEAF advisers have to one meeting with each graduating senior. The timing of those meetings may not necessarily allow parents to be there, too.

The roughly $74,000 they received in this funding round will allow advisers to expand their time to meet.

Lakeland Community College, a partner in LEAF’s application for this funding, is offering use of the college’s financial aid representatives and an auditorium to host events.

The organization received the first round of state FAFSA money earlier this year, as well. The team set a goal of seeing 643 additional forms submitted.

They fell short. Just about 500 FAFSAs were filed. But armed with more time and more funding, they’re looking ahead, eager to help students get to their next educational opportunity.

Amy Morona: amy.morona@crain. com, (216) 771-5229, @AmyMorona

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THE WEEK OFFICE THE MARKET: Great Northern Plazas, an open-air shopping center in North Olmsted, now belongs to Seattle-based real estate company Bridge33 Capital, as part of a $264 million portfolio sale of five similar properties by Retail Value Inc. of Beachwood. Bridge33 Capital, which seeks opportunistic, value-add investments, was founded in 2013 and has a portfolio after this deal of 9 million square feet of retail and office properties in 23 states. Retail Value is a spinout of SITE Centers Inc. of Beachwood to dispose of properties that SITE Centers did not want to keep in its portfolio.

provider of information technology services, plans to add 150 jobs over the next three years. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved an eightyear, 1.631% tax credit for the company on Monday, Oct. 4. That credit is worth an estimated $875,000, though the ultimate value of the incentive will depend on hiring and payroll growth at the 30-year-old business. Park Place employs 467 people in the region, with a total annual payroll approaching $30.1 million. The new positions could add $7.5 million in payroll, the Ohio Department of Development said.

IPO TIME: Boston Heights-based Arhaus Inc. has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to a proposed initial public offering. The number of shares for the proposed offering of the retailer’s Class A common stock and the price range for it have not yet been determined. The company has applied to use the symbol “ARHS” to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The release noted that the offering “is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.”

MAIN EVENTS: Spectra, a national management company that runs more than 330 venues, will help to rouse Cleveland’s I-X Center from its pandemic-induced slumber. Industrial Realty Group LLC, the real estate developer that took over the I-X Center in late August, has picked the Philadelphia-based business to oversee events at the colossal complex. Silent since mid-March 2020, the I-X Center is being repositioned as a hybrid property. Industrial Realty Group, which purchased the stock of longtime operator I-X Center Corp., plans to preserve a home for popular consumer shows while redeveloping portions of the building and the surrounding land for industrial tenants.

MORE GROWTH: Park Place Technologies, a Mayfield Heights-based

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED: Garfield Heights-based OverDrive an-

VAN AKEN

From Page 4

“It’s different than putting things on a shelf, crossing your fingers and hoping they sell,” Willett said.

“When the business owner is there, they display their products separately and can engage with shoppers. It runs more like a little shop where the owner can share their passion for their product with potential customers.”

Participants benefit in varied ways. Matthew Gorse, who operates Nutz 4 Coffee, which takes space at The Corner, said, “Van Aken is a high-standard place. When people see your product there, it builds stronger brand equity for my product.”

Gorse said he benefits from meeting with potential customers so that he can explain how his product, which has a provisional patent, works. Essentially, Nutz 4 Coffee is tea bags filled with something like hazelnut, to take one example, that you dunk in black coffee to give it a natural flavor. It has no artificial ingredients or sweeteners.

Gorse produces at the Central Kitchen, a food hub in Cleveland’s MidTown neighborhood, because the product has to comply with state and local regulations controlling products that contain allergens such as nuts.

“When I’m there,” Gorse said, “handling The Corner, I can sell several hundred dollars of product in a day.”

A couple of unintended conse-

nounced the recent expansion of its headquarters to accommodate a projected 75 new employees. The company, which provides digital reading and virtual lending platforms for libraries and schools, built out 7,000 square feet of new, unoccupied space at its Blue Sky Campus on 18 acres in Garfield, according to a statement from Team NEO. AIMING HIGH: Spire Institute and Academy announced it will add an 89-room Marriott TownePlace Suites hotel next to its massive sports complex in Geneva, with the hotel slated to open around this time next year. The hotel will have 55,000 square feet of space and four floors. It will feature a “state-of-theart” fitness center, according to developers, with an indoor pool and a patio overlooking nearby Spire lake.

The hotel will be managed in the future by Monroe, Louisiana-based InterMountain Management, which specializes in the select-service and extended-stay hotel segments.

A STRONG FOUNDATION: Deborah D. Hoover will step down as president and CEO of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation next summer, having led the foundation since 2007. During that time, the foundation has awarded more than $70 million in grants.

Upon her departure at the end of June 2022, she will be a consultant at her own firm, Feldspar Consulting Group. quences surfaced along the way.

“The community formed by the entrepreneurs was something that I had not expected,” Russell said.

“These entrepreneurs were working in silos. It’s become a social network. It has become a community.”

Hargrave said the district exposes her products to a crowd she normally could not reach, such as three non-Van Aken store owners who decided to stock her wares.

“It’s wonderful,” Hargrave said of The Corner. “The more places that are prominent where people of color are seen, the better the chances are for that person to benefit. When one person takes a chance on you, others will as well.”

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

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MANUFACTURING

Report: Manufacturing employment to decline, but GDP growth continues Industry remains the second-largest private sector category in terms of employment in the region, Team NEO and MAGNET review says U.S.

Change from 2018 average

Employment in manufacturing is expected to decline in Northeast Ohio by 2025, but GDP is still expected to grow in that time, according to a new report from Team NEO and MAGNET in Cleveland.

The groups’ manufacturing-focused quarterly economic review looks at the industry today and makes projections through 2025.

Manufacturing remains the second-largest private sector category in terms of employment in the region, following health care, said Jacob Duritsky, vice president of strategy and research at Team NEO. And it’s the largest sector when it comes to contributing to gross domestic product, making up 20% of GDP for the region.

Duritsky said there haven’t been “significant shifts” in terms of which sectors employ the most people. Fabricated metal is at the top of the list with more than 47,000 jobs, followed by machinery, transportation equipment, which includes sectors such as automotive and aerospace, and plastic and rubber.

According to the report, manufacturing employment is expected to grow in 2022 before a small decline in the coming years. Employment in the beverage sector — mainly pre-packaged soft drinks or alcohol, Duritsky said — was an outlier that is expected to grow.

Overall, by 2025, manufacturing employment in Northeast Ohio is projected to be about 243,000, about 10% lower than in 2018, the report stated.

“It’s not necessarily that there’s a lack of demand for the workers there,” Duritsky said.

“What it really seems like is an inability to fill the positions.”

Employment dropped some in 2020, though it was significantly less than in the great recession, Duritsky said. And, in Northeast Ohio, employment remained flat Duritsky in 2021.

That lack of change from 2020 to 2021 surprised Ethan Karp, CEO and president of MAGNET. Manufacturing is doing well, and demand is high. Companies are relying on overtime for their existing employees, he said, and they’re start- Karp ing to explore more automation solutions.

“Everything we have been hearing about burnout and those sorts of things, you can see it originating from that flat line, from 2020 until 2021, where we know there’s as much work if not more than right before the pandemic for manufacturers,” Karp said.

Both Northeast Ohio and the U.S. saw a small dip in GDP in 2020, but growth is expected from now through 2025. The question is

change your life.

Change in manufacturing employment Northeast Ohio

+1% -5%

Here for you.

Here for life.

-10% 2025 2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Change in manufacturing GDP

www.ncafinancial.com +16%

Change from 2018 average

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

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+8%

2025 2018

2019

2020

2021

SOURCE: TEAM NEO

how much.

By 2025, Northeast Ohio’s GDP is expected to grow by 8%, compared to 2018. The U.S. GDP is expected to grow 16% in that time.

Duritsky thought some of the discrepancy could be attributed to the kinds of manufacturing in the region. For example, the computers and software sector is seeing rapid growth, but that doesn’t make up a big part of what’s being made in Northeast Ohio. The region’s largest sub-sectors in terms of output this year are chemicals, primary metals and fabricated metals.

Another key factor is the aforementioned labor shortage. While that’s a widespread issue for manufacturing, Northeast Ohio was seeing its population and labor force decline overall even before the pandemic, Duritsky said.

“I think that’s compounding the issue a little bit, too,” he said.

While the report found that Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing employment was expected to drop by 10% from 2018 to 2025, total U.S. manufacturing employment was only expected to drop by about 5% in that time.

Karp thought the region’s work in areas like its workforce sector partnerships or Magnet’s manufacturing “blueprint,” a collaborative

2022

2023

2024

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

“EVERYTHING WE HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT BURNOUT AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, YOU CAN SEE IT ORIGINATING FROM THAT FLAT LINE, FROM 2020 UNTIL 2021, WHERE WE KNOW THERE’S AS MUCH WORK IF NOT MORE THAN RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC FOR MANUFACTURERS.” — Ethan Karp, CEO and president of MAGNET

initiative the organization launched this summer, could put Northeast Ohio ahead of the curve on closing the talent gap. Jay Foran, senior vice president for industry and innovation at Team NEO, said the blueprint in particular is a “regional strategy.” It’s important to provide a comprehensive message to the region’s many manufacturers and pull stakeholders together to support the industry, he said.

Ultimately, addressing the talent gap or encouraging greater adoption of technology could change the projections in the report. Duritsky said he thought the GDP expectations were “the area we have the most opportunity to influence.”

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PERSONAL VIEW

Crisis communications skills useful for non-crisis events

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BY NORA JACOBS

EDITORIAL

Spread the word Take the money — please.

That, more or less, is the message state of Ohio officials have for owners and managers of hotels, entertainment venues and restaurants, as only about one-third of a $310 million pot of pandemic-relief grants has been awarded. That means, as Crain’s reporter Michelle Jarboe wrote last week, that Ohio “is sitting on $207 million in business aid — and struggling to find takers” three months after it began accepting applications for grants of up to $30,000 for businesses that lost revenue due to the pandemic and public health orders. (A separate grant program offers $10,000 to any business launched in 2020.)

Not much interest in the funds? Not likely, according to Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, who during a recent visit to Cleveland told us, “I feel like I’m getting a little desperate, because I know that there are people out there who need these resources.”

There are logical reasons, in some cases, that uptake might be slow. They range from busy owners not having time to manage the paperwork, or struggling to manage the business in a still-challenging time, to dethe money might not IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME ciding make a significant differFOR BUSINESS GROUPS TO ence to the bottom line.

But free money is free MAKE OPTIMAL USE OF money, and it’s incumbent SOCIAL MEDIA, EMAIL AND on local chambers of comOTHER COMMUNICATIONS merce, trade groups and economic development orTOOLS, THIS IS IT. ganizations to talk up the availability of the grant funding. The Department of Development also needs to deploy all its creative juices to reach small businesses. If ever there was a time for business groups to make optimal use of social media, email and other communications tools, this is it.

Mihalik told us that while her department would consider changes to the grant programs to improve the response from businesses, the strategy for now is to raise awareness and award the remaining money by the end of the year.

Underscoring the urgency of continuing to provide assistance to business were reports last week from the U.S. Depart-

Identify groups that need to know

ment of Labor and the National Federation of Independent Business that reflect the continued struggles of the economy to get back to full operating efficiency.

The Labor Department report last Friday, Oct. 8, showed that nonfarm payrolls increased 194,000 in September, well below the 500,000 that economists were projecting and a drop from the upwardly revised 366,000 gain in August.

NFIB, meanwhile, reported that lots of small-business owners said they had open positions they could not fill in September. In data issued Thursday, Oct. 7, NFIB said 51% of small companies had job openings last month, up 1 percentage point from August and the largest share in monthly data dating back to 1986. About 42% of owners said they raised compensation — another record in the NFIB data.

Taken together, they reinforce the uneasy, and ongoing, story of an economy with slow (or at least slower-than-expected) job creation and simultaneously tightening labor markets. The state’s website at businesshelp.ohio.gov lays out the various resources that are available “to support small businesses, help Ohio communities and ease the burdens of Ohio families.”

The money is there. The need is there. Spread the word.

Well played This has been a busy few months for the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. The foundation at the end of July committed $15 million to Cleveland-based DigitalC, a nonprofit wireless internet provider, and in combination with the David and Inez Myers Foundation pledged an additional $5 million to help expand capacity, speed up the adoption of broadband infrastructure and close the digital divide.

At the end of September, the Mandel Foundation made a $50 million gift to the Cleveland Orchestra. It’s the largest gift in the orchestra’s 103-year history, and one that, as the orchestra put it, “will greatly strengthen the finances of the institution while increasing its impact in its local and global community.”

These big, bold gifts will help transform the region by moving us toward a brighter digital future and strengthening a cultural and community icon. That’s music to our ears.

Executive Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com) Managing Editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

Many of our clients have recognized there are numerous organizational events that do not constitute a crisis, but require the same careful communications management. Most often, these are the types of developments that mark a significant change for the organization.

Changes in leadership fall into this category, whether they are the result of a reorganization, retirement, departure or ex- Jacobs is senior pansion. Acquiring new operations or vice president at partnering with another entity do as well. Hennes In each case, the change may be good Communications, news for the organization, but can be a Clevelandperceived far differently by others — in- based crisis cluding, but not limited to, employees, management customers, investors, patients, residents, and crisis neighbors, students or staff members. communications Just like a crisis, these are high-stakes firm. situations that require a thoughtful, comprehensive communication strategy in order to maintain confidence among stakeholders. Even more important, they are situations where one of the critical tasks for communications is to build support for a change some may find confusing or threatening. Here are some of the crisis communications principles we employ to help clients successfully announce these types of changes.

Take the time to carefully consider everyone that will be affected. Don’t forget to add important influencers such as retirees, alumni, family members or local officials.

How stakeholders will hear the news You have a hierarchy among the groups that are important to you. Board members need to know before vendors.

Major donors should hear before casual contributors. Direct reports should be told before employees in other divisions.

Know news does not keep In a world where social media serves as a primary news source for many, you need to realize that announcements shared with one group will quickly reach others thanks to personal Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. You want to make sure that each group important to you hears the news directly from you, not from others who may distort or omit important details. That means orchestrating your announcement with precision and having as small a gap as possible between the time you inform your first stakeholder group and your last.

Make sure everyone hears same story A critical first step in creating a communications plan for an announcement involving change is deciding what to say.

The second is communicating that information consistently. Yes, your board will know more details than your employees, but the basic facts should not differ from one group to another. Creating a core group of messages and sticking to them will help reduce the amount of misinformation and confusion your announcement generates.

Use a method that works for each audience Every organization has a different culture. In some, employees hear important news from their managers, who

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

See SKILLS, on Page 20

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com. Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

8 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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OPINION

AKRON | 330.535.2661 CLEVELAND | 216.831.3310 MEDINA | 330.239.0176

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PERSONAL VIEW

Tips for blended meetings that will help you lead across analog and digital worlds

BY SCOTT J. ALLEN, MARIA SORIANO YOUNG AND ELLEN BURTS-COOPER

A notable quote that resonates with us lately comes from Dr. Paul Batalden, who said, “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”

We have taken notice of a new challenge on the horizon: leading meetings with people in the room and people online simultaneously. Essentially, this means working with two very different audiences.

In our experience, leaders must design hybrid meetings differently than live or fully remote meetings. Just when we thought we had everything figured out for online meetings, now we face a new puzzle: colleagues at home and others in person. How do we reach everyone equally when presenting in two formats?

Success in this area will require some experimentation. In effect, you likely do not yet have the system in place to yield the results you seek. However, we hope our recommendations below will provide some considerations as you work through the natural shifts and adjustments.

1. Secure your technology Even though we are 18-plus months into the pandemic, we still witness leaders and team members engaging with poor sound, lighting, connectivity and video.

This demonstrates that some HYBRID SESSIONS and orgaREQUIRE A SINCERE AND leaders nizations have not VIGILANT APPROACH TO taken steps to ensure that all particCONSTRUCTING THE ipants have the requisite technoloAGENDA. MESSAGING gy to participate. A NEEDS TO BE CRISP AND monetary investment by your firm CLEAN, AND CALLS TO will likely be needACTION MUST BE ed to ensure that all team members FOCUSED AND CLEAR. have access to the essential technologies required to participate (e.g., microphones, Wi-Fi hotspots). Something simple like buying ethernet cables to connect directly from a participant’s modem to their laptop will virtually eliminate connectivity challenges.

2. Identify a co-pilot We suggest you designate a co-pilot, a person focused on the “remote” team members. This person can place the online group members into breakout rooms in small group conversations or monitor the chat for contributions and insights. The co-pilot will help to engage online participants and ensure the leader pays attention to and includes all involved.

3. Establish meeting norms Perhaps the most crucial element of leading remote and in-person meetings is establishing and communicating clear-cut norms for how participants should engage. For those online, should people expect to be on camera? Was there work assigned to be completed before your session? Will participants be expected to contribute? Will you be using the chat to facilitate brainstorming or securing feedback? How do you want online and in-person participants to engage with each other?

These are all critical considerations that leaders must clarify for participants; you should explicitly discuss your expectations at the beginning of your session.

4. Set expected outcomes An agenda or list of topics is not sufficient to produce optimal outcomes for any meeting whether remote, in-person or hybrid. For each agenda item or

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Allen is an associate professor of management at John Carroll University. Soriano Young is the writing center director and coordinator of teaching for graduate assistants at John Carroll. And Burts-Cooper is chief improvement officer and senior managing partner at Improve Consulting and Training Group. topic there also needs to be at least one expected outcome. For example, the agenda item or topic might be “the new benefits package.” Each participant may have a different objective related to that topic but no specific outcome. Some may want to discuss the benefits. Others may wish to make a decision about them.

Some may want to create a timeline around communication of the benefits and so forth. Before the meeting, the facilitator must identify what they plan to accomplish. Identification of outcomes creates efficiency and effective use of meeting time. Some expected meeting outcomes are to provide clarity, get input, brainstorm, make a decision, create a timeline, and determine root cause. Determining your agenda topic and expected outcome(s) in advance means that your attendees will come in and leave your session knowing the end result and whether they met the goal.

5. Protect their time Similar to online meetings, hybrid meetings require a different approach to time. Hybrid sessions require a sincere and vigilant approach to constructing the agenda. Messaging needs to be crisp and clean, and calls to action must be focused and clear. We continue to witness leaders approaching hybrid and online meetings the same as “in person,” which is limiting and not ideal.

Remember that online attendees might need more time typing responses into the chat box or taking a moment to answer or share verbally if there is a slight lag in time.

You also do not want the online participants to default into silence and only allow those in-person to speak; this is where your co-pilot could help by asking, “How would those of you in the online audience respond to this question?”

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5. Request feedback Because it’s a new medium, you will need to secure honest and authentic feedback to improve and ensure that you reach everyone. Providing all involved with an opportunity to share their thoughts and observations quickly will be essential as you tweak and adjust your approach. Ensure that you provide an environment that’s open to different perspectives and ideas for moving forward. Welcome that feedback, and show your audience members that you value their contributions. Although you may not agree with all of the feedback, having a clear understanding of the various perspectives will allow you to make adjustments (while also knowing that you will not please everyone).

In reality, no authority figure can tell you exactly how to make these hybrid meetings work well. However, we know that you can do it, but you must be patient with the process and spend more time designing and practicing different strategies. Making hybrid meetings work requires rapid experimentation until “the system” you have in place yields the results you hope to achieve.

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 9

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DOUBLE DUTY Semi-retired entrepreneur opens a combination office complex and car collector’s club in Akron. PAGE 12

SMALL BUSINESS

SPACE RACE

Co-working's transition to the mainstream poised to continue

A well-stocked shared kitchen at the AO co-working space for members and their guests provides snacks and drinks. | COURTESY OF AO

`BY DOUGLAS J. GUTH Companies considering life amid

COVID-19 are still determining whether to call staff back to the office full time, adopt a hybrid model or provide more fully remote opportunities. With co-working enjoying rapid growth even before the pandemic, industry observers are casting ahead to a future where unique communal business settings continue to flourish.

Supporters regard co-working as an ideal option for a variety of flex-forward staff and businesses. A February 2019 study from the Cleveland office of Jones Lang Lasalle Inc. (JLL) — titled “Cleveland Flex Space Sector on the Rise” — stated the city had 252,107 square feet of flexible office space. Since the report’s release, Cleveland has added 35,000 square feet of co-working real estate.

“Executive office space has been around since the '70s,” said Andrew Batson, senior vice president of research and strategy at JLL. “But with the expansion of the WeWork footprint, the industry has focused on an open floor plan, amenities and the communal aspects of the space.”

While the virus crisis stalled the market’s growth trajectory, onlookers expect co-work to rebound apace with the country’s transition to a fresh form of corporate normalcy. Batson pointed to new regional co-working concepts — such as AO in the Van Aken District and COhatch in Ohio City — as potential landing spots for businesses drawn to short-term leases with reasonable capital expenses.

“Companies are going to increase their use of flex space because of cost savings, along with an agility and speed where you can ramp up or ramp down short- to medium-term office space,” Batson said.

Pittsburgh-headquartered Beauty Shoppe opened its upscale work-

Launch Workplaces’ Crocker Park location features a mixture of private offices and flex space. | DAN VELOSKI/LAUNCH WORKPLACES

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spac Van 8,00 mee nish with T rent desk Traffi eno tent COV ed d In neu erat nies Cicc “W vate of m said sion thei inte man ing U mem per $300 In p fess fina ists AO phy deri pers es b assi “F vidi duc mee “Thi like mor

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FOCUS | SMALL BUSINESS space concept in Shaker Heights' Van Aken District in January. AO’s 8,000-square-foot space includes meeting areas, 21 private and furnished offices, and a boardroom with modern AV technology.

Twenty of the 21 offices are currently filled, while a rotating hot desk option has 30 memberships.

Traffic through the space is strong enough that flex memberships — intentionally pared down due to COVID concerns — will be expanded during the fall and into 2022.

Instead of catering to entrepreneurs or startups, AO centers its operations around established companies, noted partner Matthew Ciccone.

“We wanted something more elevated and geared toward the needs of mature professionals,” Ciccone said. “Not necessarily older professionals, but people further along in their professional lives. This was an intentional thing for us, because many co-working spaces are targeting a younger crowd.”

Use of the space is by monthly membership, with prices varying per accommodation. Flex users pay $300; an office runs $1,000 a month.

In place of startups, AO hosts professional services such as law firms, finance concerns, venture capitalists and creative agencies. Although AO doesn’t have room for much physical growth, its leaders are pondering ways to expand a range of personal and business conveniences beyond traditional administrative assistance.

“For example, advising and providing recommendations or introductions for professional services to meet member needs,” said Ciccone.

“This is one of several services we’d like to roll out, along with hosting more events and programs as cir-

AO in Shaker Heights’ Van Aken District has a lounge area with a sofa for breaks from work. | COURTESY OF AO

cumstances with the pandemic allow.”

‘A need for connection’ Four co-working locations have launched in Greater Cleveland since JLL’s 2-year-old report, progress belied by a handful of operations shutting down in a virus-strapped economy. Two forthcoming operations — COhatch in Beachwood and Spaces in the Western Reserve building in downtown Cleveland — will balloon the city’s cowork space by 60,000 Kriel square feet by early next year.

Even with the social nature of co-working on hiatus, newer entrants including the Ohio City COhatch are opening in walkable neighborhoods packed with nearby restaurants and

other amenities. The slow return of interactive programming can serve as another draw for individuals who view co-working spaces as collaboration labs.

“Looking at the entrepreneurial space, there’s a need for connection, understanding and problem-solving,” said Batson.

“If you’re a one-person business, the ability to engage with like-minded entrepreneurs is of critical importance in the early stages.”

Launch Workplaces is the newest addition to Crocker Park, offering 48 private offices and a dozen co-working desks in 12,000 square feet of space. Following a July 14 ribbon-cutting featuring CEO Mike Kriel and a rep from Crocker Park parent company Stark Enterprises, the workspace opened in August at 25%

capacity.

A lifestyle center location should help draw more clientele, boosting a model the Maryland-based co-working company is banking on as it prepares a second site at Eton Chagrin.

“Outside of the space is an amenity-rich environment where everything is in walking distance,” Kriel said. “Our goal is having a location where you don’t need your car again until you want to go home.”

A busy co-working future Launch chose Cleveland from a list of 21 metros the firm eventually pared down to four or five. Generally, the company focuses on secondary markets, a process that led to its partnership with Stark on the Crocker Park opening.

Rates fluctuate from $200 a month for a desk to $2,000 for a larger office.

However, the company provides a va-

riety of prices to fit most any entrepreneurial budget, emphasizing what Kriel deems an “agnostic” environment.

“The key for us is a dispersed range of industries with a wide range of experience, which makes the space more communal and a better place to be,” said Kriel. “We’ve got young companies, developed ones, startups and folks with 20 years of experience. It creates a nice dynamic where you’re not competing with anyone or trying to protect IP from your neighbor.”

Kriel could write a book on COVIDwrought changes to co-work, but suffices to say that the virus has cast a spotlight on a rising industry. Companies that never before considered remote work are now thinking about moving back-office operations to short-term leases at co-working spaces.

“A lot of businesses found out they could survive, if not do better, with a distributed workforce,” Kriel said.

“From the nuts and bolts of getting work done and being productive, companies were surprised they might have something there.”

Anecdotally, Kriel said the pandemic eliminated 20% to 25% of flex-office operators nationwide, forecasting a near-term space crunch as employees leave their home offices.

Looking ahead, JLL predicts 30% of all office space will be flexed by 2030, a salve for execs concerned about virtual work-from-home hindering company culture and collaboration.

“We did a survey of corporate clients, and something like 41% said they would increase their co-working allocation,” said Batson of JLL. “These are significant Fortune 500 companies across the U.S.” Contact Douglas J. Guth: clbfreelancer@crain.com

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FOCUS | SMALL BUSINESS

Business and a love of automobiles crash at The Garage

BY DAN SHINGLER

If you need a small office space with a big emphasis on indoor parking, Rick Briggs might have you, and your car or truck, covered.

Assuming you have a vehicle nice enough to warrant a spot, that is.

The semi-retired serial entrepreneur has opened a facility on the south side of Akron called The Garage, and it’s both an office/co-working space and a place for car collectors to gather and store their beloved vehicles.

“I just wanted an office to work out of,” Briggs said. “I had a couple of collector cars … and I thought, there’s got to be other people like me, maybe a little later in life and retired or semi-retired. They need a place to work out of, so why not have fun?”

Briggs bought an 11,000-squarefoot building at 2623 S. Arlington Road that was formerly used by Walsh University but had fallen into disrepair. He opened it June 1 in sparkling condition, with a whole new interior featuring a high-end automotive-themed decor, a new roof and all-new mechanical systems.

To say there’s an emphasis on fun might be an understatement. Aside from the expensive toys — the cars and trucks — Briggs has filled the place up with enough memorabilia to make denizens of "American Pick-

Cars and memorabilia make up a large part of The Garage’s interior decor. | DAN SHINGLER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS PHOTOS

ers" sulk away in embarrassment.

There’s the antique Coca-Cola machine, for example — still working, full and selling glass bottles of Coke for a dime. There’s a mannequin in a

full racing suit, greeting guests as they come in, and a 1939 bumper car restored to pristine condition.

And that’s just the car stuff. Briggs has also put plenty in to reflect his

well-known whimsical streak, with a nod to the old TV show "Get Smart."

There’s a phone booth with a shoe for a receiver and a working “cone of silence” that Briggs had made, which

lowers from the ceiling over the users’ heads just like in real life. Sorry, just like on the old television show.

The Garage also has a state-of-theart security system, which Briggs said was an essential item if he and his clients were going to store valuable collectible cars inside.

Currently, the building has six cars inside, including Brigg’s treasured ’67 Mustang convertible. They fill up all of the building’s five garage spaces — each climate-controlled, accessible through the building’s interior as well as outside, and 24 feet deep. But Briggs said at least two of the garage spaces will be freed up for new tenants and now have cars principally for staging.

The building already has had some success attracting corporate events.

The Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Green Area Chamber of Commerce all have used the building’s bar and reception area for events, as have a few companies, Briggs said.

The building has 13 office spaces inside for lease, ranging in size from 100 square feet to over 1,000 square feet, including one suite of three offices with a common reception area.

Briggs rents the individual offices for between $595 and $1,695 per month, he said, and is asking $1,995 a month for the three-office suite.

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12 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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FOCUS | SMALL BUSINESS

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The Garage, a hybrid shared-office space and car collector’s club, opened on Arlington Road in Akron June 1.

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BE WHERE

BUSINESS Entreprenur-turned-developer Rick Briggs in one of his favorite toys at The Garage in Akron.

Garage space goes for $295 a month for tenants that have an office, he said, though Briggs said he might be open to taking in a car from a non-tenant, if it was a coolenough vehicle.

So far, Briggs has attracted three full-time tenants — including a CPA, a for-hire CEO/consultant and a software programmer, along with a few people who use The Garage for co-working space, he said.

Unfortunately, he lost a very high-profile tenant and friend when well-known Akron businessman Phil Maynard passed away early this year. A cardboard cutout of Maynard — his head attached to the body of a race-car driver for an event while he was still alive — now occupies the office Maynard was going to use.

“Phil was a real close friend,” said Briggs. “He had furniture ordered and he was ready to move in … that was a sad day.”

The tenants who have set up shop in The Garage so far say they’re very happy with the place and its vibe.

Accountant Chris George, who is semi-retired but still works for a few clients, has been in the building since it opened — along with his shiny red 1955 Ford pickup.

“This works out really well for me,” George said. “It’s near my house — I live just outside of North Canton. Access has been really easy. And for the people I’m still working with, it’s nice to have good office space … and everyone just enjoys looking at everything that’s

in here.”

Portage Lakes resident Phil Daetwyler, a contract CEO who works on corporate turnarounds, startups and helps prepare businesses for sale, is another tenant.

“It gives me a place to work, internet and printers, and you get to be in the company of some people who were extremely successful in their careers,” Daetwyler said. “Or you can go to the bar and hang out and talk about the cars.”

So far, Daetwyler isn’t using a garage space, but the car culture of the place seems to be affecting his mind.

“I don’t have a car suitable to go there,” he said. “But I want one. …

I’d like an Aston Martin, that’s what I’d like to have in there. You know, a James Bond-type car.”

Briggs said rentals are going well, but that he didn’t open the place to make money so much as to have an office for himself and a fun place to get together with other like-minded businesspeople and their cars.

“The whole idea is that someone might have a slew of collector cars, and it’s an asset of the building that other people can enjoy looking at” them, Briggs said. “Even for people who aren’t car people, it’s universal. They come in and they love the big old truck or they say, ‘I was in the backseat of a Mustang like that.’ ” Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler

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OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 13

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FOCUS | SMALL BUSINESS

Software source code firm provides 'safety net' for critical data

BY DOUGLAS J. GUTH

A scene from a spy movie

The way David Baka views it, his Brecksville-based software source code provider is selling a similar promise as traditional insurers. Essentially, it’s better to have the protection his company offers and not need it, than need it and not have it.

“I’m doing the same thing as those insurers,” said Baka, who founded his one-man shop, called National Software Escrow, in 1994. “For vendors, I’ll keep your software and source code protected, so the lifeblood of your organization won’t be disclosed. For the end user, you’ll be protected if something happens to the vendor.”

A software escrow arrangement provides organizational access to a software vendor’s source code, which NSE guards both online and physically at a secure location. If a predetermined catastrophic event occurs — such as vendor bankruptcy or discontinued support of licensed software — Baka’s company releases the source code to the licensee.

Most modern businesses rely on software vendors to advance various mission-critical objectives, therefore exposing themselves to certain risks.

Meanwhile, vendors are in danger of losing significant revenue if companies manage software on their own.

As a neutral third party, NSE is built to allay potential aggravations from both parties, Baka said.

“Again, it’s like an insurance policy — vendors are protecting their interests, and companies know they can still maintain an investment in their software,” said Baka. “My service keeps the sales cycle going for both the company and vendor.”

NSE offers single-licensee services as well as arrangements where one vendor will enroll multiple organizations in a licensee agreement. Baka’s end users are typically larger organizations — in finance, health care and other industries — concerned about partnering with smaller software sellers that may be new to the market.

“MY SERVICE KEEPS THE SALES CYCLE GOING FOR BOTH THE COMPANY AND VENDOR.” — David Baka, founder of National Software Escrow

“Organizations understand that software provides value,” Baka said, “but the size of the vendor causes concern that conditions will come up where the vendor won’t be able to continue operations.”

NSE has 2,000 vendor and organizational clients, Dunham a portfolio that includes domestic customers as well as vendors and end users in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Alongside its source code offerings, Baka’s business provides archive services in documenting vital intellectual property, encryption keys and works of authorship.

“We do hardware design, too, but 90% of our business is source code,” said Baka.

Independence certificate management concern KeyFactor hired NSE to harness its mainline escrow services. Joshua Dunham, manager of data-center support at the company, lauds this unique safeguard in a fast-moving tech environment where companies want bedrock guarantees about the products and services they paid for.

For KeyFactor, which delivers certificate management and cryptography to over 100 domestic and international customers, NSE represents a “safety net” that secures a clientele’s most sensitive and critical electronic systems. Dunham describes physical material hand-offs like a scene from a spy movie, but he’s happy to have a local company that provides a high level of security.

“What’s special is the personal touch — David is friendly and diligent and knows the role his service plays to our customers,” said Dunham. “During the pandemic, we’ve had to figure out ways to make those transfers, and David has always been able to do that.”

A critical education

amount has taught Baka well. Working for Broadview Heights-based National Dataguard Technologies in the early '90s educated him about web-hosted software licensing, a lesson he took into the business realm upon purchasing the firm’s escrow division in 1994.

At the time, vendors harboring piracy fears were reluctant to share proprietary source codes with companies — a concern that still exists today.

“Vendors are afraid some independent contractor at their customer’s location could modify that program and pirate the software,” said Baka.

Though Baka declined to share NSE’s year-to-year revenue, the company has benefited from repeat clientele appreciative of his customizable escrow offerings. To further shield customer technology, NSE partners with law firms well-versed in technology-related transactions and investments.

However, drawing customers for a service they don’t immediately require is an ever-present challenge, notes Baka. A questionnaire on his website does some of the legwork, as does a series of blog posts with titles like “Reasons for Wanting a Software Escrow Agreement — A Licensee’s Perspective.”

Presenting as a thought leader can act as an industry separator, Baka believes. Ultimately, organizations and software vendors alike should be ready and willing to shield themselves from all manner of unforeseen disasters.

“I do email campaigns and blogs — for people who may not have heard of us, this is important,” said Baka. “You may never need us, but you’ll be glad in the event something happens. It’s just like with auto insurance, where you’re glad you’ve got it if you have an accident.”

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FOCUS | SMALL BUSINESS TAX TIPS

Income tax implications of cryptocurrency 'staking'

BY CARL GRASSI

After years on the fringes of the financial world and wild swings in value, cryptocurrency has become increasingly accepted as a financial asset and as a means of payment.

While the technology behind cryptocurrency has continued to evolve rapidly, guidance on the tax treatment of cryptocurrency has moved much more slowly.

The only published guidance from Treasury and the IRS regarding cyptocurrency transactions is Notice 2014-21, 2014-16 IRB 938 (“Notice”).

The Notice addresses the tax implications of “mining” virtual currencies, the predominant method of creating cryptocurrency at the time the Notice was issued.

Virtual currencies are based on digital ledgers (“blockchains”). Because blockchain transactions lack a traditional third party to verify transactions, parties to these transactions must rely on an algorithm to achieve consensus among participants as to the validity of sets of transactions (each set is referred to as a “block”).

This validation process ensures that each block of transactions added to the blockchain represents the most current transaction to avoid the

possibility of a user spending the same unit of digital currency more than once.

The “mining” process is based on a decentralized consensus mechanism that Grassi is senior requires memcounsel at bers of a network McDonald to expend effort Hopkins LLC. solving an arbitrary mathematical puzzle to prevent participants from misusing the system. As a result, cryptocurrency mining is sometimes referred to as “proof-of-work” or “PoW,” because personal services need to be provided to validate transactions, and the work is rewarded with new tokens.

The Notice states that rewards from mining activities are includable by a miner in gross income at the fair market value of the virtual currency, as of the date of receipt of the mining rewards. The Notice does not specify whether mining rewards would be subject to tax at ordinary or capital gains rates, but it is generally believed that they would be taxable at ordinary rates, given that they are re-

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ceived in exchange for providing a service.

Another method of validating virtual currency transactions involves third parties pledging their coins to confirm transactions in a process referred to as “staking” or proof-ofstake (“PoS”). From those that pledge their coins, a computer protocol chooses stakers to validate and confirm blocks of transactions. Participants chosen as stakers receive coins taken from other participants as transaction fees (“staking rewards”).

The more coins participants pledge, the more likely they are to be chosen to receive staking rewards.

The Notice does not directly address the consequences of PoS transactions, so stakers have no direct guidance on the income tax consequences of their staking activities.

This makes it difficult for taxpayers to judge the appropriate position to take when reporting income from these activities.

Because the Notice does not address staking, stakers take a variety of positions with respect to the taxation of staking rewards. Some treat staking rewards the same way as mining rewards under the Notice, meaning the staker includes the rewards in gross income at the fair market value

for reasons that may not apply to virtual currencies. Congressional policy in the past has been to encourage the development and production of oil and gas properties. Accordingly, the Treasury Department may have interpreted various sections of the Internal Revenue Code in a way that was favorable to oil and gas developers. This favorable interpretation may not apply to cryptocurrency.

These theories are currently being tested in a lawsuit in which a taxpayer WHILE THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND coins, paid CRYPTOCURRENCY HAS CONTINUED TO staked tax on the staking EVOLVE RAPIDLY, GUIDANCE ON THE TAX rewards and then sued for a refund, TREATMENT OF CRYPTOCURRENCY HAS claiming that staking activity did not MOVED MUCH MORE SLOWLY. create income for rially from mining because, unlike the reasons noted above and others. cryptocurrency mining, staking does The IRS has, not surprisingly, rejectnot require the pledger to provide a ed those positions in its initial filing personal service — i.e., to work. with the court. While the IRS reply is These taxpayers take the position not authority, it at least provides a that income should not be recog- sense of the IRS’ current position.

Due to the substantial uncertainty nized until the rewarded coins are sold, just as certain extracted miner- regarding the tax implications of als and crops do not create income staking activities, taxpayers should confer with a tax attorney before reuntil they are sold.

Taxpayers should be cautious when porting income from these activities taking this position. Oil and gas trans- on their federal and state income tax actions often receive special treatment returns. on the date of receipt of the staking rewards. Others analogize the staker’s income to interest income because the staking rewards are received for making the staker’s virtual currency available for use by others for a period of time.

Other taxpayers argue that staking rewards are comparable to the extraction of certain minerals such as oil and gas or the growing of crops.

They argue that staking differs mate-

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REAL ESTATE

Attention-getting mass-timber project might open new doors

BY MICHELLE JARBOE

As Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors prepares to start leasing apartments at Intro, a 297-unit building on Cleveland’s near West Side, the developer is garnering national applause for its work on the unusual project.

Last Tuesday, Oct. 5, the International Economic Development Council recognized Harbor Bay and the Greater Cleveland Partnership for teamwork on the nation’s tallest structure built with mass timber.

Representatives of the Chicago-area real estate company and the regional chamber of commerce accepted the gold award for excellence in public-private partnerships in large communities at the council’s annual conference in Nashville.

Construction on Intro, a $144 million project, began in March 2020, despite a pandemic that sidelined developments across the country.

The apartments are set to open in March, and Harbor Bay already has booked more than 30 events for Truss, a top-floor event space.

Located at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in Ohio City, Intro brought a new construction method to Cleveland.

Mass timber is giant slabs of solid or engineered wood that can replace steel and concrete load-bearing structures, such as joists and beams.

A second mass-timber building — the Cleveland Foundation’s future headquarters in Midtown — already is rising in the city.

Now Harbor Bay plans to focus almost exclusively on mass-timber construction, which devotees laud for its sustainability, resilience and aesthetics.

And local economic development officials see a chance to position Cleveland as an innovator in the technique — and to develop a trained labor force and, perhaps, a broader industry around such buildings.

“Cleveland’s our flagship location for our mass timber projects. So everything we do from here started in Cleveland and grows from Cleveland,” said Steve Willobee, Harbor Bay’s vice president of government

The almost V-shaped Intro complex includes an open, central space that will be landscaped and open to the public. | MICHELLE JARBOE/ CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS PHOTOS

In addition to 297 apartments, Intro includes underground parking, 35,000 square feet of retail, the rooftop venue and roughly an acre of public green space. Harbor Bay plans to put an office in the building, which will serve as a showplace for mass-timber construction.

“I can’t stress how much it’s changed the ethos of our company,” said Willobee, who added that Harbor Bay is considering mass-timber projects in southern and western states.

The Intro site is located in an Opportunity Zone, a federally designated area that offers short-term tax deferral and long-term tax savings to investors looking to redeploy capital gains. Harbor Bay took advantage of that program, along with aid from the city and the state.

Cleveland signed off on 30 years of tax-increment financing, which plows a portion of new property-tax revenues from the development “THIS WAS A SIGNATURE PROJECT THAT back into the REDEFINED THE APPROACH TO ROLL UP project.

The apartOUR SLEEVES AND WORK TOGETHER.” ments carry 15 — Deb Janik, senior vice president of business growth years of tax abateand development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership ment, which the city grants to residential construction that meets cerand public relations.

At nine stories and 115 feet tall, tain green-building standards. ToIntro won’t be the loftiest mass-tim- gether, those city incentives are ber building in the United States for worth $12.2 million upfront.

The funding for Intro also inlong. A timber-framed residential tower is scheduled to open in Mil- cludes a $2 million city loan and a waukee next summer, and other am- $10.8 million loan from the Ohio bitious projects are on the drawing Department of Development.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County board.

But Intro demonstrated how the Port Authority also played a financpublic sector and private businesses ing role, through an arrangement in Cleveland can collaborate to do that gives developers a sales-tax something new, said Deb Janik, se- break on construction materials. nior vice president of business And the port was the gateway for growth and development at the the mass timber, which arrived by ship from an Austrian manufacturGreater Cleveland Partnership.

“This was a signature project that er.

“There should be hundreds of redefined the approach to roll up our sleeves and work together,” she other people accepting an award in said, adding that the city’s building hand with us,” Willobee said.

Harbor Bay bought the Intro site, department was strikingly receptive across the street from the West Side to the challenge.

A corner apartment at Intro offers a view of the West Side Market.

Studio apartments feature downsized appliances, including vintage-style refrigerators.

Market, in 2019. The company razed the aging Market Plaza strip center on the corner and worked with nonprofit group Ohio City Inc. to relocate the retailers in or near the neighborhood.

The developer owns enough land along Gehring Street, at the southern edge of the site, for an additional phase of construction. And Harbor Bay is adding to that footprint.

Last week, the company paid $2

million to purchase a parking lot just south of Intro. The seller was an affiliate of MRN Ltd., a local development company that plans to remake the former Voss Industries complex along West 25th as a mixed-use project.

For now, the parking lot will accommodate valet parking for Intro.

But Dan Whalen, the Northeast Ohio native who serves as Harbor Bay’s vice president of design and development, has visions of developing it — perhaps with a tower mixing apartments and condominiums.

During a recent tour of Intro, Whalen pointed out the exposed wood ceilings, joists and beams that lend warmth to the apartments and commercial spaces.

Harbor Bay is launching its own hospitality and restaurant business, which will oversee a specialty coffee shop and café; a wood-fired sports bar, with a sprawling patio; and an upscale tapas lounge and steakhouse in the building.

The central green space, landscaped and outfitted with mass-timber benches, will include a beer garden and a custom Airstream trailer tricked out as a bar.

Rents for the apartments will start around $1,400 a month, Whalen said. Most of the units are studios or one-bedrooms. The top residential floor is broken up into 10 penthouses.

For the largest penthouse, a 3,900-square-foot unit with three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, specialty millwork and custom features, Harbor Bay expects to seek $17,500 a month, Whalen said.

“We’re going to ask a big number and see what happens. … We’ve probably already gotten six or seven athletes and executives through here who haven’t even blinked,” he said.

Tenants will have access to fitness facilities, including an outdoor yoga deck, and a roof deck with a pool, a hot tub, sheltered kitchen areas and fire pits.

Harbor Bay expects Intro to support 299 jobs and $8.6 million in payroll, according to a project summary provided to the International Economic Development Council.

The developer and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which helped assemble incentives for the project, highlighted the building’s proximity to transit — a Rapid train station and major bus routes — and anticipated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and stormwater runoff due to the unconventional design and construction.

Janik hopes the building serves as a model for other real estate projects and a launchpad for new skills and jobs in the region. Harbor Bay already worked with a Cleveland company, Nova Structural Steel, to design and produce timber plates for the caps and bases of Intro’s columns.

“I think we will see more of this in Ohio and Northeast Ohio,” Janik said, noting that most of the mass timber used in the United States still comes from overseas. “I think we have the potential to leverage this as a business-growth and business-development opportunity.”

Michelle Jarboe: michelle.jarboe@ crain.com, (216) 771-5437, @mjarboe

16 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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10/7/2021 1:40:56 PM

SPONSORED CONTENT

Making an impact by changing the system Deaconess Foundation award honors systems change in workforce development

Systems change — as it relates to workforce development — is described as the collective efforts of employers, workers, talent developers and other stakeholders to make a transformative impact.

To celebrate such efforts in Northeast Ohio, the Deaconess Foundation created the Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award. The prize, which was presented last week, recognizes efforts that lead to systems change in the Cuyahoga County workforce development ecosystem. The award also honors longtime Deaconess Foundation president and CEO Deborah Vesy, who retired last year.

“Many people have said if it were not for Deborah’s leadership in this space, our improving systems wouldn’t be where they are today,” said Deborah Vesy Cathy Belk, president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, a private foundation committed to helping people build careers that sustain them and their families.

“She really focused on thinking and working at the systems level.”

The winner of the Deborah Vesy Systems Change Champion Award receives an unrestricted $50,000 grant. The award is given to organizations whose systems change initiatives yield transformative results or show the significant potential to do so. Recipients must also demonstrate a commitment to reducing the impact of racial inequalities in the workforce development system.

WINNER

Workforce Connect Manufacturing Leadership Team and ACCESS to Manufacturing The Workforce Connect Manufacturing Sector Partnership initially came together in 2019 when manufacturing leaders in the region sought to create innovative on-ramps to manufacturing jobs for underrepresented populations.

The effort, led by MAGNET and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, eventually resulted in an entry-level training program called ACCESS to Manufacturing.

Created in collaboration with Towards Employment and the Precision Metalforming Association, the four-week program includes a stipend; 120 hours of curriculum; work readiness and technical manufacturing training; and employer-led, hands-on activities.

The ACCESS program also partnered with 25 employers in the interview and hiring

process, which resulted in a 70% placement rate. All participants who pursued a job received an offer. Program graduates hired by these employers also each receive a year of post-placement coaching, which has been shown to increase retention and advancement rates.

“Along with (benefiting workforce development), businesses and employers are making substantive process change to their recruiting, hiring and supervision processes to be more inclusive and more accommodating for these populations,” said MAGNET managing director Adam Snyder. “We need them to behave differently in the hiring, onboarding and retention process to make sure that we’re inclusively welcoming different populations into the manufacturing industry.”

From top left: ACCESS to Manufacturing provides job training. The Lincoln-West School gives students specialized training in health care. NewBridge has programs focused on health-care careers. Generation Work positions young people to enter the labor market.

FINALISTS Lincoln-West School of Science and Health After a 2014 conversation with a Black student who was touring MetroHealth, its president and CEO Dr. Akram Boutros was inspired to address the lack of exposure to health system career paths for many students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Not only did the student have low expectations for his future career, but he also wasn’t sure where to start when it came to finding that path.

As a result, the Lincoln-West School of Science and Health was founded in collaboration between MetroHealth and CMSD, with the mission of serving high school students interested in health care careers and addressing the lack of diversity in the field.

Students of Lincoln-West get unique firsthand exposure to health care and other careers within the MetroHealth System while forming relationships with a variety of professionals. The school graduated its first class of 20 students in 2019, with 100% accepted into college.

There now are 264 students at the school, more than two-thirds of which identify as Black, Hispanic or multiracial, and 35% who consider English their second language. The school also focuses on teaching this population English, so they are better able to navigate the workforce.

“We are serving as an example for other health systems that have gone and made significant partnerships like ours,” Boutros said. “They have taken on the responsibilities to provide pathways to these kids with a renewed focus on equity and inclusion.”

NewBridge

Generation Work

Attitude, attendance, appearance, ambition, accountability, acceptance and appreciation can make all the difference as it relates to workplace success. These concepts are also central to the “Bring Your A Game to Work” program that local nonprofit NewBridge launched as a complement to its workforce development efforts.

The goal of Generation Work is simple: Position young people to enter the local labor market and succeed.

NewBridge is a community-based, arts-infused workforce training center and after-school education program dedicated to teaching students from Cleveland’s most challenged neighborhoods, specifically focusing on health care careers. The nonprofit’s overall mission is to address the systemic root causes of many participants’ inabilities to meet their goals. It uses a trauma-informed, socialemotional learning lens to consider the internal motivations affecting one’s actions.

Launched locally in 2016 with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the initiative aims to promote economic mobility for young adults ages 18 to 24, particularly those of color, who are enrolled in federal workforce development programs and eligible to receive public benefits.

By encouraging collaboration, communication and the alignment of systems among funders and providers, Generation Work seeks to build capacity, improve equitable services and remove barriers to workforce entry.

“Every one of our students has had their lives negatively impacted by, at minimum, community-based trauma,” said Bethany Friedlander, president and CEO of NewBridge.

“Bringing this lens to the work environment is allowing participants to work on two tracks simultaneously, emotional resiliency and technical skills training.”

Local partners include Towards Employment; Cuyahoga County; The Centers for Families and Children; Ohio Means Jobs; The Fund for Our Economic Future; Youth Opportunities Unlimited; OhioGuidestone; and the Advanced Technology Academy at Cuyahoga Community College.

“We want to be able to provide support and make sure they are connected to resources,” said Carole Beaty, chief of programs at The Centers. “Yes, the important piece is career pathways, but we know that if there’s a barrier because of homelessness or being a single parent, if we don’t address those circumstances, it won’t be successful.”

Since the launch of the “Bring Your A Game to Work” program, NewBridge has seen a 14% increase in job trainee retention rates, which is especially significant as it occurred during a pandemic. Pre- and post-testing also revealed a 54% increase in emotional awareness, and a 42% increase in emotional management among participants.

Since its inception, the effort has impacted local programs serving more than 1,000 young adults, with more than 800 entering the workforce or going on to further training.

Additionally, its programs have touched the businesses community, with 580 employers engaging, 557 hiring, 122 helping with programming and 20 changing practices.

This advertising-supported section/feature is produced by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain’s Content Studio content.

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CRAIN'S LIST | PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL HIGH SCHOOLS Ranked by fall 2021 enrollment AVERAGE TUITION BEFORE AID/ AFTER AID

TYPE (ROOM AND BOARD)

# FACULTY/ % ADV. DEGREE

% GRADS 4-YEAR COLLEGE

RELIGIOUS?

HEAD OF SCHOOL

RANK

SCHOOL

STUDENTS (GRADES 9-12) FALL 2021/ FALL 2020

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

SAINT IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland 216-651-0222/ignatius.edu

1,436 1,514

$18,000 $12,235

Boys only; Day school

13:1

114 89%

99%

Y/Catholic

The Rev. Raymond P. Guiao, president

WALSH JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL, Cuyahoga Falls 330-929-4205/walshjesuit.org

1,010 983

$13,195 $9,418

Coed; Day school

10:1

98 78%

99%

Y/Catholic

Karl Ertle, president

ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL, Lakewood 216-221-3776/sehs.net

910 910

$18,150 —

Boys only; Day school

13:1

71 84%

94%

Y/Catholic

James Kubacki, president

ARCHBISHOP HOBAN HIGH SCHOOL, Akron 330-773-6658/hoban.org

820 830

$12,300 $5,960

Coed; Day school

12:1

70 75%

90%

Y/Catholic

Chris DiMauro, president

PADUA FRANCISCAN HIGH SCHOOL, Parma 440-845-2444/paduafranciscan.com

760 750

$13,150 $7,500

Coed; Day school

10.6:1

76 67%

99%

Y/Catholic

David Stec, president

NOTRE DAME-CATHEDRAL LATIN SCHOOL, Chardon 440-286-6226/ndcl.org

731 710

$14,300 —

Coed; Day school

13:1

57 61%

99%

Y/Catholic

Joseph A. Waler, principal; Dr. Michael J. Bates, president

MAGNIFICAT HIGH SCHOOL, Rocky River 440-331-1572/magnificaths.org

705 716

$17,100 $10,832

Girls only; Day school

9:1

69 67%

98%

Y/Catholic

Moira Clark, president

SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, Cleveland 216-251-6788/sja1890.org

685 676

$16,300 $11,344

Girls only; Day school

12:1

61 80%

92%

Y/Catholic

Kathryn H. Purcell, president

ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY HIGH SCHOOL, Akron 330-253-9113/stvm.com

642 630

$12,200 $9,300

Coed; Day school

11:1

57 69%

80%

Y/Catholic

Leo P. Hyland, president

HAWKEN UPPER SCHOOL AND THE MASTERY SCHOOL OF HAWKEN, Gates Mills 440-423-4446/hawken.edu

585 549

$28,537 $18,189

Coed; Day school

8:1

75 75%

100%

N

D. Scott Looney, head of school

11

CUYAHOGA VALLEY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, Cuyahoga Falls 330-929-0575/cvcaroyals.org

564 561

$10,500 $8,800

Coed; Day school

12:1

57 41%

98%

Y/Nondenominational Christian

Jason Spodnik, president

12

HOLY NAME HIGH SCHOOL, Parma Heights 440-886-0300/holynamehs.com

552 570

$10,850 $8,357

Coed; Day school

14:1

38 67%

90%

Y/Catholic

Shelbrey L. Blanc, president; Karen L. Carter, principal

STUDENT: TEACHER RATIO

SOUND SOLUTIONS FOR PRIVATE & PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS Michael Mullee + maloneynovotny.com + 216.363.0100

13 14

CLEVELAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland 216-441-4700/centralcatholichs.org

530 530

$9,300 —

Coed; Day school

10:1

58 47%

86%

Y/Catholic

Sister Allison Marie Gusdanovic, principal

LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL WEST, Rocky River 440-333-1660/lutheranwest.com

517 495

$12,000 —

Coed; Day school

12:1

43 37%

85%

Y/Lutheran

Chris Steinmann, superintendent, CEO, Cleveland Lutheran High School Association; Michael Waugh, principal

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

GILMOUR ACADEMY, Gates Mills 440-473-8050/gilmour.org

498 474

$29,895 $14,201

Coed; Boarding and day school ($17,160)

11:1

44 77%

98%

Y/Catholic

Kathleen C. Kenny, head of school

VILLA ANGELA-ST. JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland 216-481-8414/vasj.com

475 460

$9,300 —

Coed; Day school

13:1

36 50%

98%

Y/Catholic

Lorenzo M. Jones, principal; Thomas M. Carone, president

ELYRIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Elyria 440-365-1821/elyriacatholic.com

459 433

$8,900 —

Coed; Day school

11:1

40 63%

98%

Y/Catholic

Annie Heidersbach, president

LAKE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Mentor 440-578-1020/lakecatholic.org

457 490

$11,100 —

Coed; Day school

14:1

33 70%

91%

Y/Catholic

Mark Crowley, president

WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY, Hudson 330-650-4400/wra.net

441 402

$42,600 $25,433

Coed; Boarding and day school ($23,300)

5:1

68 86%

98%

N

Suzanne Walker Buck, head of school

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL, Hunting Valley 216-831-2200/us.edu

423 420

$35,268 $15,150

Boys only; Day school

7:1

58 83%

100%

N

Patrick T. Gallagher, head of school

SAINT MARTIN DE PORRES HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland 216-881-1689/saintmartincleveland.org

400 399

$20,000 $400

Coed; Day school

13:1

33 42%

60%

Y/Catholic

Charles "Chaz" Napoli, president

HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL, Shaker Heights 216-932-4214/hb.edu

360 363

$33,850 $24,125

Girls only; Day school

8:1

61 84%

100%

N

Fran Bisselle, head of school

LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL EAST, Cleveland Heights 216-382-6100/lutheraneast.org

323 345

$9,961 —

Coed; Day school

12:1

27 26%

92%

Y/Lutheran

Chris Steinmann, superintendent, CEO, Cleveland Lutheran High School Association; Andrew Prusinski, principal

TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL, Garfield Heights 216-581-1644/ths.org

320 317

$12,500 $10,400

Coed; Day school

11:1

29 32%

95%

Y/Catholic

Sister Shawn Lee, president

BEAUMONT SCHOOL, Cleveland Heights 216-321-2954/beaumontschool.org

314 315

$17,215 —

Girls only; Day school

10:1

39 77%

100%

Y/Catholic

Wendy A. Hoke, president

BENEDICTINE HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland 216-421-2080/cbhs.edu

300 320

$12,900 $8,996

Boys only; Day school

12:1

23 71%

90%

Y/Catholic

Ryan Ryzner, president, principal

CARDINAL MOONEY HIGH SCHOOL, Youngstown 330-788-5007/cardinalmooney.com

300 314

$9,000 $6,900

Coed; Day school

14:1

30 65%

99%

Y/Catholic

Thomas Maj, president

CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Canton 330-478-2131/centralcrusaders.org

300 300

$9,000 $6,200

Coed; Day school

17:1

42 70%

98%

Y/Catholic

Dan Gravo, president

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS HIGH SCHOOL, Louisville 330-875-1631/aquinasknights.org

250 200

$9,000 $6,200

Coed; Day school

17:1

32 70%

98%

Y/Catholic

Dan Gravo, president

24 25 26 26 26 29

Research by Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) | Information is supplied by the schools.

Get all 40 schools and +280 executives in Excel format. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data 18 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

P018_CL_20211011.indd 18

10/8/2021 8:13:01 AM

INSIGHTS & ANSWERS

SPONSORED CONTENT

Holistic financial planning can reduce headaches, legal issues down the road

By KIM BONVISUTTO, CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO-CLEVELAND

PAT PASTORE Regional president PNC Cleveland

JOHN BEER Managing director PNC Private Bank, Cleveland

The pandemic sent just about everyone on a rollercoaster ride of uncertainty.

But your financial plan, including your estate plan, doesn’t need to take the same ride, according to the leaders at PNC. Pat Pastore, PNC regional president of Cleveland, said the global health crisis has led to a great deal of uncertainty, causing many to take a hard look at their overall financial picture.

But the desire to have a holistic view of those plans was complicated by the fact that individuals often had investments in multiple locations.

“They may have had an investment advisor at one firm, a broker at another. When the market starts experiencing a lot of turmoil, as happened early on in the pandemic, clients wanted a comprehensive view of what was going on,” Pastore said. “We saw a trend of consolidations in how many providers an individual or family might use.”

John Beer, managing director of PNC Private

BankSM in Cleveland, said, as PNC worked with clients to look at their overall financial plan, one important piece of the puzzle was estate planning.

STEP 1: THE PLAN Addressing one’s overall financial picture by taking investments, taxes and estate assets into account is essential for successful personal wealth management. An estate plan can ensure a personal financial situation remains private and even help families make health care decisions.

The implications of not having a plan can result in your assets being distributed in accordance with the Ohio intestacy laws and the probate court determining who will care for minor children. This could take a considerable amount of time and may not follow the wishes you had for your family and your assets.

STEP 2: THE REVIEW Once a plan is in place, remember to take it off the shelf, dust it off and review it every three to five years. Major life events, such as changes in relationships or family dynamics, or even asset changes, are reasons to review and adjust an estate plan.

“While an estate plan is a static document you created, it shouldn’t stay static. There will continue to be life events that will impact

a client’s estate plan,” Beer said. “It’s really important to review the plan with your advisors, including estate planning attorneys, on a periodic basis and adjust it as needed.”

STEP 3: TITLING Once the estate plan is updated and documents are prepared to reflect the current situation and goals, it’s time to think about titling — both individual and joint accounts.

It’s important to make sure account titling and beneficiary designations coincide with the estate plan. Failing to coordinate titling can lead to increased taxes, frustration and legal issues for heirs. It’s important to know how assets are owned so property passes in the desired manner to the right party.

“If you don’t change the titling, then the estate plan might not work at all,” Beer said. “We work with clients to align their assets with how the estate plan was written.”

STEP 4: ICE PACK So the estate plan is complete, and guardianship of minor children and health care directives are set. But it doesn’t mean much if your loved ones aren’t aware of the plan or know where to find it.

Beer suggests creating an In Case of Emergency (ICE) Pack -- a physical folder with printed copies of estate planning documents, health care directives, health and life insurance

policies, power of attorney and living will.

Create a list of important information that will help designees carry out the plan, as well as health care-related information, including medical history, prescribed medications and any health issues.

Include a list of important contacts – estate planning attorneys and accountants, online account usernames and passwords, and documentation for assets, debts, expenses and account information. While this information is meant to assist in executing an estate plan upon death or incapacity, the ICE Pack should remain in a secure place due to the sensitive/private nature of the content.

Pastore said PNC works with clients to ensure their overall estate and financial plans are best positioned for the future by driving and implementing the above best practices.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) uses the marketing name PNC Private BankSM to provide investment consulting and wealth management, fiduciary services, FDIC-insured banking products and services, and lending of funds to individual clients through PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC Bank”), which is a Member FDIC, and to provide specific fiduciary and agency services through PNC Delaware Trust Company or PNC Ohio Trust Company. PNC does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice unless, with respect to tax advice, PNC Bank has entered into a written tax services agreement. PNC Bank is not registered as a municipal advisor under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.“PNC” and “PNC Bank” are registered marks, and “PNC Private Bank” is a service mark, of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ©2021 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

This advertising-supported section/feature is produced by Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain’s Content Studio content.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE KIND OF YOUNG MEN WHO WILL: ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS, INVENT BETTER SOLUTIONS, BREAK THE RECORD, DELIVER THE SPEECH, SUPPORT HIS FRIEND, DO THE RIGHT THING, MEET THE CHALLENGE, DEVISE THE PLAN, SUMMON THE COURAGE, STAND FOR THE TRUTH, FIGHT FOR WHAT’S RIGHT, INSPIRE THE TEAM, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, GO THE EXTRA MILE, STRENGTHEN THE COMMUNITY, PROTECT THE PLANET, ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE, SEIZE THE DAY, AND FORGE HIS OWN PATH.

IS THIS YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW?

University School is awarding fully funded, four-year scholarships, regardless of family income, to ten ninth-grade students beginning fall 2022.

Learn more about the Jarvis Scholarship program and apply at www.us.edu/jarvis.

For boys, Junior K - 12 OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 19

P019_CL_20211011.indd 19

10/6/2021 11:22:11 AM

DATA SCOOP

Private high schools say ‘no’ to vaccine mandates, with exceptions

BY CHUCK SODER

The vast majority of local private high schools aren’t requiring COVID-19 vaccines for staff or for students participating in extracurriculars, but a few schools — very few — have taken the leap.

Of the 40 schools on the full digital version of Crain’s Private and Parochial High Schools list, 28 answered a question asking whether they are requiring staff to be vaccinated. Just one, Hawken School (No. 10 on the list), said yes.

Only two schools said they’ll require students to be vaccinated for at least some extracurriculars: St. Martin de Porres High School (No. 21 on the list) and Hershey Montessori School’s

Adolescent Program in Huntsburg (No. 39). Twenty-five schools answered a question on that topic.

A few others said they were thinking about implementing mandates, but by far the most popular response to both questions was “no.”

Several of those “no” schools gave Crain’s additional context: A few said they’re strongly encouraging vaccination. Beaumont School (No. 25 on the list) noted that all staff have been vaccinated, despite not having a mandate. Western Reserve Academy (No. 19) said unvaccinated staff and students undergo weekly testing.

St. Martin said in an Aug. 27 news release that its mandate covers “sports teams, performance groups, and anyone interested in participat-

ing in group activities such as dances, immersion trips, or overnight retreats.” Why? The release cited the spread of the Delta variant, scientific evidence for vaccination and the desire to remain open for in-person classes.

It’s unclear how prevalent such policies are among their public school counterparts in Ohio; a spokesperson for the state of Ohio said decisions are local and schools aren’t required to report such policies. However, a few large U.S. public school districts have made headlines for requiring vaccines for staff and students. For instance, on Oct. 1, California announced it will require COVID-19 vaccines for older public and private school students, with medical and

personal belief exemptions.

Most parents nationwide are split on the idea: 52% of parents of students are in favor COVID-19 vaccine mandates for eligible students, while 46% oppose such requirements according to a survey conducted in mid-September by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

As for the list ...

Catholic schools as always largely dominate the top 10, led by St. Ignatius High School at No. 1 with 1,436 students, down 5% year over year.

However, though the 24 Catholic schools on the full digital list had watched their enrollment slowly slide over the past decade, this year

LAWSUIT

their total enrollment increased by just a hair — 0.08%. Other schools saw an increase of about 1.5%. Together, combined enrollment for the entire list grew 0.6%.

Average tuition climbed roughly 2%, whether you’re talking about sticker price or what families actually pay, judging by schools that submitted consistent data for 2020 and 2021.

The biggest year-over-year change? School endowment values are way up, likely driven by a rising stock market. The 10 schools that reported June endowment values for both 2020 and 2021 saw a combined 20.6% increase in their value.

Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com, (216) 771-5374, @ChuckSoder

SKILLS

From Page 1

From Page 8

The pension fund accuses the firms of violating the greenmailing statute that was created to make investors disgorge profits collected in the wake of certain manipulative behaviors. The purpose of the law is really to prevent such activities.

Specifically, greenmailing applies to a situation where an investor is seemingly engaged in a hollow takeover bid for the express purpose of making a company buy back its shares at a higher cost in order to avert that takeover.

The Ohio case — in particular, the court’s interpretation of Ohio Revised Code 1707.043, or Ohio’s socalled greenmailing statute — has even caught the attention of the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities.

The agency recently filed an amicus curiae brief regarding the case, something that is uncommon at the trial court level.

But then again, this is a unique case.

It’s the first of its kind in Ohio, in fact. The greenmailing statute at play has never been applied in the 30 years since it was written into the law.

“Construing this statute beyond its stated purpose and its intended scope would very likely chill healthy market behaviors that are neither manipulative nor greenmail by design, behaviors like good faith proxy campaigns that specifically inure to the benefit of an Ohio corporation,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in the amicus curiae brief.

“Is this case going to be important? You bet it is,” said Anat AlonBeck, an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law whose research focuses on corporate law and entrepreneurship. “It’s going to be important because of the large financial institutions who are the ones who invest in large public companies. The decision here will have an impact in that world. Do we want to encourage (shareholder) activism or have a chilling effect on it? If the judge says this is greenmailing, then that’s what could happen.”

The term “greenmail” comes from a blend of blackmail and greenbacks, an antiquated word for money.

As Alon-Beck explained, greenmailing activities were most common in the 1980s and the Gordon

have heard it from their directors, etc.

In others, everyone gets an email from the CEO. Others congregate for a town hall. When announcing a significant change, use the channel you’ve already established for each audience — unless there’s a compelling reason to do something different. Making sure the announcement goes out as planned, to every critical group, in precisely the right order and at the right time is complicated enough without testing out new technology or some other novel presentation approach that hasn’t been used before.

Remember the outliers

Anat Alon-Beck, assistant professor of law, Case Western Reserve University School of Law. | CONTRIBUTED

Gekko-esque days of Wall Street when hostile takeovers were everywhere.

“Usually, the way you define this is when you purchase enough shares in a company in order to threaten that takeover,” she said. “Then, you use the leverage to pressure the target company to buy back those shares at a premium. If they do that, you abandon the takeover and make some money along the way.”

The Ohio statute was put on the books when these kinds of behaviors were already being largely regulated out of practice. That’s why it hasn’t been applied before in a case in the Buckeye State.

The pension fund accuses Ancora and Macellum of engaging in a greenmail campaign for the “purpose of affecting the market trading of Big Lots publicly traded common stock,” noting the firms did so “to increase the profits they received, or might receive, from publicly proposing to acquire control of Big Lots, which they did on March 6, 2020, and then selling their Big Lots stock at inflated prices within 18 months thereafter, which they commenced in August 2020.”

The case calls for the investors to disgorge the profits they derived from this purported unlawful conduct.

Big Lots stock was trading around

$17.77 on March 6, 2020. By that following August, it was above $40 per share.

Ancora, a well-known activist investor, discussed its strategy as an activist shareholder with Crain’s in 2019. CEO Frederick DiSanto noted the firm’s efforts in this area were being motivated in part by a need to put to work growing levels of capital.

The firm is the third-largest money manager in Northeast Ohio, according to Crain’s research, with more than $8.8 billion in local assets under management (AUM) at the end of 2020.

DiSanto also discussed efforts with Big Lots in particular in April 2020 as it put pressure on the company to improve and revamp its board. Ancora and Macellum did this by initiating a proxy contest and nominating several of their own directors. If all of the investors’ picks were elected, it would completely change the board’s makeup.

The Columbus retailer eventually compromised with its activist shareholders and appointed two new directors backed by the investor groups. The company seemingly unlocked additional value in the wake of this, and the stock rose accordingly.

Big Lots’ stock price has bounced around since summer 2020, peaking at just above $70 per share in March

2021 before falling to around $46 per share as of Thursday, Oct. 7. Its per share price is up about 10% year-todate in 2021.

So did Ancora and Macellum engage in greenmailing in their actions with Big Lots?

That is what the court will need to decide.

Thomas Flemming, an attorney with New York firm Olshan Frome Wolosky, which is representing Ancora and who worked on the Big Lots proxy campaign, declined to comment on the case.

Joseph Murray, an attorney with Columbus’ Murray Murphy Moul + Basil representing the plaintiffs, did not respond to a request for comment.

With greenmailing having been most common during the hostile takeovers of a bygone era, AlonBeck said, observers will be curious to see whether courts today view Ancora’s and Macellum’s tactics as unlawful or appropriate behaviors for activist investors.

If the court sides with plaintiffs, the result could have a ripple effect.

“It is an interesting legal question here,” Alon-Beck said. “The decision is going to be important not just for us, but for other states that could end up taking a look at this.”

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobile

Organizations making significant announcements need to keep in mind the individuals and groups that need special attention to make sure they hear the news appropriately. Hospitals, manufacturing plants and hotels that run 24-7 operations will need to find a way to make sure second- and third-shift staff don’t get overlooked when the news is announced at 9 a.m. Significant donors who typically get a personal call from the CEO may feel slighted when they receive the same email message as less-generous contributors. Global corporations need to carefully consider how employees in China will hear the news as quickly as ones in New York City.

Don’t stop with an initial announcement. In the days after an announcement of significant change, those most affected may still be absorbing the news. Set up a process for those who have questions to get answers. Keep an ear to the ground to make sure the news you thought you were sharing has been received that way. Be ready to address concerns before your non-crisis event evolves into a situation that needs crisis management skills.

And finally, remember that change typically takes time to become reality. Keep your stakeholders in the loop as you implement your change so they understand what is happening and embrace it — or at least accept it. Look for milestones to use as news pegs and reasons to continue communicating with those who will be affected.

Change can be exciting. Change can be hard. Either type is more easily internalized if it’s understood.

20 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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AKRON

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION

Akron’s DFA reloads its tax-credit arsenal with $50 million allocation

1. Title of Publication: Crain’s Cleveland Business

BY DAN SHINGLER

on 1/4/21. Combined issues on 5/24/21 and 5/31/21,

Akron and other parts of Northeast Ohio are getting some help raising capital for projects in low-income neighborhoods, compliments of some hard work by the Development Finance Authority of Summit County in the city.

The DFA, which has a strong track record of winning allocations for state and federal tax credits, announced Sept. 22 that it has been awarded a $50 million allocation of federal New Markets Tax Credits — its largest ever.

“It is a big deal,” said Rachel Bridenstine, executive director of DFA’s Development Fund of the Western Reserve & Western Reserve Community Fund. “To put it in perspective a bit, we have had just a little over 50% (success rate) in terms of a track record of getting these awards. Since we got the initial certification to work with New Markets Tax Credits in 2011, we’ve gotten four awards. We don’t apply every round, because we want to be very careful about the allocation of these funds, but yes, it’s a big deal — $50 million is the largest award we’ve received.”

DFA will now begin looking for projects to put those tax credits to work, and Bridenstine said they’ll support commercial and industrial projects in low-income Census tracts with a goal of helping to lift up impoverished neighborhoods.

In Akron, the majority of the city, including downtown, qualifies to use the tax credits due to income levels, Bridenstine said — though that could change if an influx of new residents raises the average income, especially as downtown fills up with pricey apartments.

That would be just fine with the DFA, which would be happy to see the entire city become ineligible for the tax credits via its residents rising out of poverty.

“We’re not going to have to think about that for a while,” Bridenstine said of rising incomes downtown.

“But the hope is we can move the needle a little and Akron won’t be mostly a distressed Census tract, which it currently is.”

The NMTCs have already had a significant impact in Akron since the DFA began deploying them 10 years ago, backing projects ranging from the redevelopment of the Bowery District, which got $16.5 million in the tax credits in 2018, to the current development of 139 apartments at The Goodrich at Akron’s Canal Place by Mentor developer Lance Osborne, which got $6.5 million in New Markets Tax Credits. Those are on top of many smaller or lessknown projects in Akron and elsewhere in Northeast Ohio, Bridenstine said.

The credits aren’t meant to be a panacea; they don’t provide the bulk of capital that a project needs, but are used to fill gaps in financing to make possible developments that would otherwise go unfunded, Bridenstine said.

The credits are ultimately used by lenders who back projects and who can use the credits to offset other income. That takes some of the risk out of lending on projects in chal-

(STATEMENT REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912, AS AMENDED BY THE ACTS OF MARCH 3, 1933, JULY 2, 1946 AND JUNE 11, 1960 (74 STAT. 208) SHOWING THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION OF:

2. Publication number: 532-210 3. Date of filing: October 1, 2021 4. Issue frequency: Weekly, except for no issue 6/28/21 and 7/5/21, 8/30/21 and 9/6/21, 11/22/21 and 11/29/21 5. Number of issues published annually: 47

C R A I6.NAnnual ’ S Csubscription L E V E L Aprice N D$79.00 BUSINESS

Mentor Developer Lance Osborne said his mixed-use development at Canal Place, dubbed The Goodrich, would not have gotten started without New Market Tax Credits. | DAN SHINGLER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

lenging localities and also helps the lending banks meet lending requirements specified by the Community Reinvestment Act, Bridenstine noted.

While they don’t provide full project financing — the Bowery was a $42 million project, and Osborne said his project will have a similar price tag, for example — they are still a critical component in a project’s financing, say Bridenstine and others.

“That was the case with ours, because we were kind of depending on state historic tax credits that we did not get,” Osborne said. “The federal and state tax credits filled that gap, so (The Goodrich development) would not have happened without the New Markets Tax Credits.”

Osborne was able to get the credits in part because his is a mixed-use development. New Markets credits can’t be used for a purely residential development and are meant to help fund business development, so a project must be at least mixed-use to be eligible, Bridenstine said.

They also must be used in low-income areas, which in the case of NMTCs are severely distressed Census tracts with a poverty level of at least 30%, according to federal data.

The business that’s developed with the tax credits must then derive more than half of its income from business in a low-income community, have at least 40% of its services performed by employees from the community, and must also have at least 40% of its tangible property located in the community.

The requirement that a project also must have a commercial or industrial element limits their use somewhat. For example, Osborne said he can’t use them on what he hopes is his next project — building 100 more apartments in another old industrial building near Canal Place, this one at 123 W. Bartges St. Instead, Osborne said he’s counting on historic tax credits from the state to get that project’s financing over

the top.

“The thing with New Markets is, you need a commercial component.

That’s what distinguishes it,” Osborne noted.

That said, it’s still a good thing for developers like him if the DFA can use those tax credits to get more businesses started near their residential projects, since those businesses will be places where residents can potentially shop, eat or work, he said.

Osborne’s not surprised DFA won the allocation — it was one of 100 community development organizations in 34 states to receive an allocation in the latest round of awards.

“They’re fantastic. We couldn’t have done (The Goodrich) without (DFA president) Chris Burnham — and that’s a fact. He helped get everyone together and push it home.

He has a great team, too.”

The city also is pleased that DFA won the large NMTC allocation, said Akron business expansion and retention manager Brad Beckert.

He said Akron always advises backers of commercial and industrial projects that the credits are available.

“It helps us because it’s one more tool we can use and we can tell them, ‘This is another funding source you can use to capitalize your project,’ ” Beckert said. “We’ve had some that used it and some that didn’t, but the more tools we have to help a company, the better.”

And, because the credits can and have been used to support mixeduse developments that include a residential component, they fit well with Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan’s quest to rebuild the city’s population and improve its housing stock, Beckert said.

“Absolutely, it does,” he said. “A key factor we’ve seen is that residential has gone through the roof and occupancy rates are amazing.”

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Editor, Elizabeth McIntyre, Crain Communications Inc., 700 W. St Clair Avenue, Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230.

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14. Issue Date for Circulation Data 9/27/2021

|

15. Average number of copies of each issue of this publication sold or distributed through the mails or otherwise during the 12 months preceding the date shown above was: Total number of copies: 20,928; Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors and counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 3; Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 4,027; Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS SForm E P T3541: E M B7,414; E R 3 - 9 , 2 018 | PA G E 21 Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 7; total paid distribution: 11,451; Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 9,021; Free or nominal rate in-county copies Included on PS Form 3541: 0; Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 110; Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other clases through the USPS: 0; Total free or nominal rate distribution: 9,131; Total distribution: 20,582; Copies not distributed: 346; Total: 20,928, Percent paid: 55.64%.

Actual number of single issue published nearest to filing date (Sept. 27, 2021); Total number of copies: 21,713; Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 6; Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 5,233; Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 5,259; Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 7; Total paid distribution: 10,505; free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 10,964; Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0; Free In-county copies: 0 Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 102; Total free or nominal rate distribution: 11,066; Total distribution: 21,571; Copies not distributed: 142; Total: 21,713; Percent paid: 48.70%.

17. Publication Statement of Ownership, if the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the October 11, 2021 issue of this publication.

18. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Jim Kirk, Publisher 09/27/21

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS To place your listing in Crain’s Cleveland Classifieds, contact Ainsley Burgess at 313-446-0455 or email ainsley.burgess@crain.com

CLASSIFIED SERVICES ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Businesses for Sale Distributor of Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Sales $1.9M mike@empirebusinesses.com www.empirebusinesses.com 440-461-2202

LIST YOUR AD TODAY

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 21

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10/8/2021 12:14:49 PM

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section

To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

EDUCATION

LAW

LAW

Baldwin Wallace University

Benesch Law

Sutter O’Connell

Baldwin Wallace University has named Timeka L. Rashid, Ph.D. as vice president for student affairs.

Rashid will work to build meaningful student experiences that foster success, along with parent and family engagement. Rashid previously served as Cleveland State University’s assistant vice president for inclusive student engagement and as Kent State’s associate dean of students. She was just tapped to lead communications for NASPA’s Small Colleges and Universities Division Advisory Board.

Lauren E. Lipsyc has joined Benesch as an associate in the firm’s Real Estate and Environmental Practice Group. Lauren focuses Lipsyc her practice on real estate matters spanning retail, manufacturing, office, hospitality, industrial, health care, and other commercial industries.

Nathan H. Boninger has joined Benesch as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Nathan has experience representing clients in a variety Boninger of cases in state and federal court, including contract disputes, class actions, and numerous other complex commercial matters.

Sutter O’Connell is pleased to announce that Mary E. Dennison has joined the firm as an Associate.

Dennison will concentrate her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, construction law, premises liability defense, products liability, and warranty defense.

Dennison received her Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from Wheeling Jesuit University. She is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

LAW

NONPROFITS

Ulmer & Berne LLP

Open Doors Academy

Ulmer is proud to announce Partner Dolores (Lola) Garcia has been promoted to Vice Group Leader of the firm’s nationally recognized Business Litigation Practice Group. A Harvard Law graduate, she is a talented business litigator and deeply committed client advocate who represents organizations of all sizes in state and federal courts.

In her practice at Ulmer, she provides counsel on wideranging issues involving business disputes, commercial contract interpretation, and compliance issues.

Open Doors Academy welcomes Patty Zamora as the new Dir. of Marketing & Comms. Patty is a recent Cali. transplant bringing over 20 yrs. in corporate comms. roles inside the nonprofit, telecom & biotech industries. Prior to joining ODA, she managed the volunteer & donor programs for the San Diego Salvation Army’s Adult Rehab Center, including its fundraising and media relations efforts. At Open Doors, she will oversee the promotional efforts of providing afterschool learning to at-risk youth.

EDUCATION

Baldwin Wallace University Jeremy Short is now serving as Baldwin Wallace University’s first chief talent officer. The new CTO role provides holistic leadership for the full talent life-cycle of faculty and staff, including recruitment, onboarding, evaluation, development and retention. Short came to BW from The MetroHealth System, where he was director of talent management and development. He spent the 17 prior years at SherwinWilliams, rising to lead diversity and inclusion for 30,000+ employees in the Americas Group.

ENGINEERING / CONSULTING

USA Firmware USA Firmware has promoted Chris Myers to the role of Vice President of Engineering & Operations. His position will help the growing organization leverage its expertise in Firmware and IoT to turn smart ideas into smart products. He combines over 33 years of experience in engineering, strategy, IoT, and product development to create a stellar combination of skills for the company. Chris has been with USA Firmware for six years and will be an excellent leader for the rapidly growing business.

S H A R E Y O U R C O M PA N Y ’ S J O U R N E Y

Feature your latest milestones, launches, partnerships, awards and more in Crain’s

For more information, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to

CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM/COTM

RECRUITING

jobs.”

Jill Turski, regional director for the Robert Half International Inc. From Page 1 staffing firm, said she’s also advisbut on our social channels more ing clients to offer and highlight broadly, it’s a great way for people tuition reimbursement programs to see the unknown impact of our — a benefit most clients that ofwork and the amount of talent and fered it didn’t traditionally highcreativity that exists within our light when they advertised job workforce,” said John Gonzales, a openings.

“You do have to get a little bit manager of communications who focuses on social media at the more creative, advertising for Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer things you didn’t advertise before,” she said. “Something like District.

The sewer district is responsi- tuition reimbursement can help ble for treating the wastewater for to attract younger workers.”

In addition, employers have to most of Cuyahoga County and portions of Summit and Lorain adapt and be willing to hire more counties, and for maintaining key quickly and make faster decisewers in its service areas. Its mis- sions, said Kathy Hill, owner of sion also includes environmental the Express Employment Profesresponsibilities, in particular pro- sionals franchise in Brecksville.

“I encourage our clients to be tecting the water quality of Lake Erie and the rivers and streams screening in instead of screening out,” she said. “The employers leading into the lake.

“The clean-water mission is a have to adapt, and employers big part of the appeal for our em- have to look at everything. They ployees who stay with us long- have to be willing to hire more term and for the candidates that quickly, make faster decisions.”

Hill said getting candidates to we attract,” said Elizabeth Brooks, the sewer district’s director of hu- an interview is even harder than in the past. man resources.

“To get one person “We’re very successful through the door, for exin attracting very qualiample, you know, we fied people for our roles might have to call five because of that mission candidates to schedule component; the envione interview and then ronmental component of we’ll have to schedule the work that we do is a maybe four interviews to big attractor,” she said. get one person to show “And I think (Gonzalez up,” she said. “Just the and his social media Gonzalez no-show rate for interteam) do a great job of views, for confirmed inshowcasing that mission terviews, is 50% to 75% in a way that’s very relatright now.” able, that’s very fun, Tim Bleich, president that’s very modern. I of Vector Technical Inc., mean, you could have a a Willoughby staffing public utility not feel so firm that focuses on fun and modern.” helping manufacturing George Sample, an asfirms fill jobs, confirmed sistant vice president in that employers should the human resources de- Sample expect to be paying more partment of the Federal for new hires.

Reserve Bank of Cleve“I had never seen salaland and president of the ry jumps as high as they Cleveland affiliate of the probably have over the Society for Human Relast six months to a year,” source Management, Bleich said in an interagrees that being more view on Oct. 5. “Accordvisible on social media ing to our salary guy, about efforts to support typically we see about a the community is in3% (annual) increase creasingly important in Brooks across the board; in anhelping to attract and ticipation for 2022, it’s 3.8%, so keep good employees.

“Everything that you send out almost 4%.”

Bleich said his clients also are as an employer can’t just be, ‘Hey, come work here,’ ” he said. “A lot offering perks, such as bonuses or of it has to be value matching. So more paid time off.

“Companies realize, ‘Gosh, you see organizations that are posting things that they’re doing, we’ve got to pay more to be comhow they’re helping the local petitive,’ so I think that a lot of communities. What you really companies are revamping their want is a sentiment about your or- entire (compensation) plan,” he ganization, where people are like, said.

Bleich also advises clients they ‘Hey, that feels like it would be the kind of place I would want to in- have to speed up their hiring processes because good candidates vest my career at.’ “ Sample also believes that have options. He said his firm is LinkedIn Jobs can be the best tool making sure his recruiters have for reaching people who are in done full background checks on professional and other higher-lev- candidates before the first interel positions and are not actively view.

“As soon as they’re walking out looking for a new job.

“LinkedIn has by far been the of your interview, their cell best tool to use for passive job phones blowing up with recruithunters. You can post things on ers from everywhere, calling them Indeed or you can go to Monster on another job,” he said. “We’re or whatever, but you’ll see folks encouraging clients, ‘Hey, if it’s a who are actively looking for posi- fit, man, make them the offer right tions,” he said. “A lot of the candi- there.’ It’s almost like the car dates you want for positions, es- salesman who won’t let you walk pecially professional-level out.” positions, or higher-level leadership positions, these are not folks Jay Miller: jmiller@crain.com, who are currently looking for (216) 771-5362, @millerjh

22 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

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10/8/2021 10:04:24 AM

e t a r b e Cel THE 2021 40 UNDER 40 CLASS!

These young professionals are scaling businesses to new heights, making decisions that put their organizations on the map and producing a seemingly infinite stream of impactful work all over Northeast Ohio.

Crain’s Cleveland Business congratulates this year’s 40 under 40 class!

crainscleveland.com

Executive editor Elizabeth McIntyre (216) 771-5358 or emcintyre@crain.com Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Associate publisher Amy Ann Stoessel (216) 771-5155 or astoessel@crain.com Managing editor Scott Suttell (216) 771-5227 or ssuttell@crain.com Assistant managing editor John Kappes (216) 771-5359 or john.kappes@crain.com Web editor Damon Sims (216) 771-5279 or dpsims@crain.com Assistant editor Rachel Abbey McCafferty (216) 771-5379 or rmccafferty@crain.com Art director Kayla Byler (614) 312-7635 or kayla.byler@crain.com Senior data editor Chuck Soder (216) 771-5374 or csoder@crain.com Cartoonist Rich Williams REPORTERS

Stan Bullard, senior reporter, Real estate/ construction. (216) 771-5228 or sbullard@crain.com Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits.

(216) 771-5479 or lcoutre@crain.com Michelle Jarboe, Enterprise reporter.

(216) 771-5437 or michelle.jarboe@crain.com Amy Morona, Higher education.

(216) 771-5229 or amy.morona@crain.com Jay Miller, Government.

(216) 771-5362 or jmiller@crain.com Jeremy Nobile, Finance/legal/beer/cannabis.

(216) 771-5255 or jnobile@crain.com Kim Palmer, Government.

(216) 771-5384 or kpalmer@crain.com Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron.

(216) 771-5290 or dshingler@crain.com ADVERTISING

Events manager Erin Bechler, (216) 771-5388 or ebechler@crain.com Integrated marketing manager Cody Smith, (330) 419-1078 or cody.smith@crain.com Managing director, marketing and events Jill Heise, (773) 832-9495 or jill.heise@crain.com Sales and marketing coordinator Shannon Smith, (440) 281-6397 or shannon.smith@crain.com Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Loren Breen, Mara Broderick, Kaylie West People on the Move manager Debora Stein, (917) 226-5470, dstein@crain.com Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey Office coordinator Karen Friedman Media services manager Nicole Spell Billing YahNica Crawford Credit Thomas Hanovich CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service and subscriptions: (877) 824-9373 or customerservice@crainscleveland.com Reprints: Laura Picariello (732) 723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com

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6 - 9:30 P.M. | Music Box Supper Club REGISTER TODAY! visit crainscleveland.com/crains-events

Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain CEO KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 (216) 522-1383 Volume 42, Number 37

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