SMALL BUSINESS
In largely vacated downtown Cleveland, many restaurants, like David Ina’s Zaytoon, fight for survival. CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I February 15, 2021
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REAL ESTATE
Newfound purpose Nonprofit launched by kidnapping survivor Gina DeJesus and her cousin draws outpouring of support in construction industry ``BY MICHELLE JARBOE | In a former manufacturing
building on Cleveland’s West 25th Street, sleek white tables await nonprofit volunteers, law enforcement officers and families seeking lost loved ones. Through the conference room’s windows, a mural of a young woman is visible on the brick wall of a building across the street. She’s surrounded by flowers, the word “hope” emerging from the loosely gathered bouquet in her hands. This 2,500-square-foot office, where the construction dust is still settling, is home to the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults. When kidnapping survivor Gina DeJesus, the woman in the painting, and her cousin Sylvia Colon signed a lease at the emerging Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression, they had a modest vision for their space. “We could have made it out of boxes, and that would have been fine,” DeJesus said. But local contractors teamed up to build something different — free of charge.
Gina DeJesus and Sylvia Colon are shown in an interview room of the newly finished home of their nonprofit, the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults.
See DEJESUS on Page 20
FOCUS | HEALTH CARE A shot of hope: Providers stand ready to deliver far more COVID-19 vaccines than they are receiving. PAGE 10
NEWSPAPER
VOL. 42, NO. 6 l COPYRIGHT 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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GUS CHAN FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
SPORTS BUSINESS
Now at almost 500 acres, Spire’s grand plan is coming into focus Complex looks to add new entrance and vineyard, form partnerships BBY KEVIN KLEPS
Space was never an issue for Spire Institute and Academy. The massive complex in Geneva spans 177 acres, and its 750,000 square feet of indoor facilities are capable of hosting high-caliber competitions in several sports. Instead, Spire’s problems were financial, as the institute, according to a 2018 appraisal, was said to be losing more than $1 million a year. Axxella, a Baltimore investment firm that purchased Spire from Ron Clutter in December 2019, believed
the solution was to keep adding to the property. Last year, Spire added esports and drone/robotics programs to its academy — the viability of which is the key to the complex’s success. Five dorms, each capable of housing 12 students or 24 campers, were constructed, and five more should be ready in mid-May. Plans for an 89-unit TownePlace Suites hotel were announced, and the project is slated to begin in March. Also completed was the construction of a 22,000-square-foot aca-
demic center and a rebranding that brought a new name (Spire IA) and website. “Our whole thought was, ‘We can get through this, and we’ve got a whole lot of work to do that can be done in the meantime,’ ” Ted Meekma, Spire’s co-managing director, said of advancements that were made during the pandemic. Now, as COVID-19 vaccines give hope that some sense of normalcy will arrive later this year, more improvements are on the way. See SPIRE on Page 21
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