Crain's Cleveland Business

CRAIN’S LIST Profits are up for many on Crain’s Familyowned Businesses list.

PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS: K-12 fundraising strong. PAGE 10

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CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JUNE 13, 2022

‘A GAME-CHANGER’

Geis, Stonemont plan 1 million-square-foot spec building in Portage County

BY MICHELLE JARBOE A developer team is planning the largest speculative industrial building in the region’s history. The Geis Cos. and Stonemont Financial Group are preparing to start construction on a 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Portage County — without any tenants on hand. The building will be the first to rise at the Turnpike Commerce Center, a 470-acre business park located just off the Ohio Turnpike in Shalersville. See BUILDING on Page 21 A rendering shows the 1 million-square-foot speculative industrial building that Geis Cos. and Stonemont Financial Group are planning in Shalersville, in Portage County. | GEIS COS.

‘I’m excited to be getting back in the booth’ Builders bask in strong sales as headwinds grow Joe Thomas on his return to Browns preseason broadcasts and his NFL Network future

BY JOE SCALZO

BY STAN BULLARD

As rising interest rates and climbing construction costs look to conspire to end a long, positive run in Northeast Ohio’s new-home business, homebuilders are looking to make the best of a deteriorating situation.

Multiple builders say they have had clients drop contracts for new homes or shelve projects between the double jeopardy of mortgage rates hitting the 5% range and construction costs going up 20% the past year. Now, record-high gas prices are clouding the outlook for consumers.

Sam Petros, CEO of Petros

Homes of Broadview Heights, said he is changing how he approaches the land development section of his company.

“New homes are still selling right now,” Petros said. “But I think a lot of people are getting bopped out of the market by interest rates and construction costs. We can’t carry on this way, with cost, supply and labor issues. The labor issues, the trouble subtrades are having finding tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians, are unlike anything I’ve seen. Yes, there are retirements, but I don’t know where they all went.”

See BUILDERS on Page 21

NEWSPAPER

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Former Browns left tackle Joe Thomas will return as the analyst for Cleveland’s three preseason games this season. | NFL NETWORK

THE

LAND SCAPE

A few weeks before last year’s NFL preseason, former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas developed a vocal cord polyp, which forced him to spend a week on voice rest.

“I couldn’t speak or even open my mouth,” he said.

This was bad for any number of reasons, but the biggest was that he was about to make his debut as the preseason analyst for WEWS News 5 for two Browns preseason games. It was the equivalent of a left tackle going through a game without arms or a Cleveland fan making it through a season without alcohol.

See THOMAS on Page 20

A CRAIN’S CLEVELAND PODCAST

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1/25/22 7:23 PM

FOOD & DINING

Pandemic changes tipping etiquette

BY JACK GRIEVE

Tipping today is very different than it used to be.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended many people’s attitudes about service workers and how generously to tip them.

At the same time, receipts and tip jars are being replaced by touch screens and gratuity suggestions at places where consumers didn’t used to tip. Delivery drivers and takeout options are creating gaps between customers and service providers.

Amid these changes, what’s the proper tipping etiquette? Where are you supposed to tip? And how much should you leave?

David Manilow, creator and producer of Chicago’s PBS station WTTW’s former weekly food show “Check, Please!,” joined the Crain’s Chicago Business Daily Gist podcast to answer these questions. Here’s what he recommends:  Always tip generously. When in

doubt, give more.  Tip in cash when possible.  Calculate percentages after tax.  Tip 10-15% for delivery orders.  Give $1-2 per drink, or 15-20%. For more elaborate drinks that require greater attention from the bartender, you should tip more.  Tip higher at breakfast. Prices tend not to be as elevated as they are for other meals.  Bring $5-10 cash to tip on carryout orders. Some people think you don’t need to tip on carryout, but this is not the case.  Tip 10% for curbside service.  Don’t like tipping for services before they are completed? That’s not an excuse to skip the tip at businesses that offer pre-tipping. Bring cash so you can tip afterward.  Do you feel awkward when a barista or cashier turns the touch screen with various tip options around to you? That’s an issue you have with the technology, not the worker. Just because you don’t like the means

A server cleans a table at a restaurant in Clemson, South Carolina. | MICAH GREEN/BLOOMBERG

does not mean you can avoid tipping.  Don’t balk at establishments that are forthcoming about additional fees used for things like providing health insurance to employees. We

should encourage that kind of transparency.  Tipping shouldn’t be complicated.

Maintain a general understanding of what’s expected and always lean on the side of generosity.

Crain’s Chicago Business is a sister publication of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Jack Grieve: jack.grieve@crain.com, @jackeryg

GOVERNMENT

Cleveland leaders seek $6.5B health research agency

BY KIM PALMER

“IT COULDN’T BE A MORE OPPORTUNE TIME FOR OUR CITY AND OUR REGION TO REALLY CAPITALIZE ON AND RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN REVERSING COURSE ON DECADES OF DISINVESTMENT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.” — U.S. Rep Shontel Brown

“CLEVELAND IS IDEALLY SUITED TO THIS. WE KNOW WE ARE IN THE RUNNING. WE CAN ABSOLUTELY WIN THIS IF WE KEEP UP THE PRESSURE.” — U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown

In an atypical moment of bipartisanship, nearly a dozen members of the Northern Ohio congressional delegation came together to urge the Biden administration to make the Cleveland area the headquarters of a new federal agency tasked with directing “high-risk, high-reward research” on hard- or expensive-to-treat diseases.

In the letter addressed to Biden and the Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, the 11 lawmakers describe Cleveland as the embodiment of “resiliency, rebirth, innovation and growth,” with a “vibrant health care sector replete with world-class, integrated health systems; top tier institutions of higher education; and hundreds of groundbreaking biomedical companies.”

The description is part of an effort to bring to the city the $6.5 billion Advanced Research Projects Shah Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, an independent agency under the National Institutes of Health tasked with a three-year mission to “champion innovative ideas in health and medicine” focused on time-limited projects related to a range of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.

ARPA-H is modeled after DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which was created more than 60 years ago to fast-track technology for the military. DARPA has been responsible for a massive amount of breakthrough technology, claiming the internet, global positioning satellites and drones as just a few examples.

In an effort to emulate DARPA’s

success in health and medicine, the proposed ARPA-H will focus on time-limited projects conducted outside of intensely peer-reviewed research conducted at the NIH. “The ARPA-H legislation is written so that by statute, this federal agency needs to be located outside of the Washington, D.C., metro area,” said Baiju Shah, president of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

“We’re still learning what the process will be, but we know they are going to be looking for regions that are strong in the biomedical sciences.”

Requiring a non-D.C. location for the agency is an opportunity for Cleveland, which has poured hundreds of millions of private and public dollars into the area to bolster commercialization in the health care and technology spaces, Shah said.

The collaborative work and myriad partnerships of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals and MetroHealth, coupled with affiliations those hospital systems have fostered with Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University, should go a long way toward demonstrating that there’s a supportive health-tech ecosystem here, Shah said.

In 2021, JobsOhio, the state’s nonprofit economic development agency, announced a $100 million investment to create the Cleveland Innovation District. With additional funding from the Clinic and the state Development Services Agency, the district represents a $565 million commitment, including a state-of-the-art global center for pathogen and human health research.

The ramp-up of investment in

the Innovation District, Midtown and University Circle is fertile ground for the proposed agency, according to Cleveland Clinic’s chief research and academic officer, Dr. Serpil Erzurum.

“We’re one of the most innovative health systems in the country,” Erzurum said of the Clinic, which also hosts an NIH Center for Accelerated Innovation. “We translate research to tech rapidly.”

Additionally, the Clinic and IBM’s 10-year quantum computing partnership is set to place the company’s first 1,000-plus qubit system on-site at the campus by the end of the year.

“Everything we do in research is all about data. There is a massive amount of data to tackle, synthesize and understand,” Erzurum said.

“With our IBM partnership, we will have the highest computing power of any private on-premise quantum computer.”

The convergence of information, technology, computing, science and researchers in Cleveland helps the city’s case, as does its sharing of a time zone with Washington, D.C., and its relatively close proximity to the nation’s capital, Erzurum said.

“To me, it makes sense that one of the branches for the NIH should be located in Cleveland, in the top medical centers in the world,” she said. “It would be synergistic; everybody would benefit. It’s time our government localizes these agencies.”

Another goal of the new agency, according to the White House, is “to serve patients equitably.”

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Democrat from Cleveland and one of the co-signers of the letter supporting the ARPA-H bid, said placing the health care agency within a community that has seen terrible disparate racial health outcomes would

help solve those equity problems.

“It couldn’t be a more opportune time for our city and our region to really capitalize on and recognize the importance of equity and inclusion in reversing course on decades of disinvestment in our neighborhoods,” Brown said.

She said bringing the agency to “the heartland” would serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation and prove that the Biden administration is serious about the commitment to equity in those communities.

Regardless of whether ARPA-H finds a home in Northeast Ohio, the region is poised to benefit from work that will rely on individual program managers to spearhead research, said Dr. Stan Gerson, dean of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

“Whether or not the agency ends up in Ohio, I could see the region’s health care leaders taking part in some of that work,” Gerson said. “If Cleveland was selected, if the project administration came here, it would be the think tank center. It doesn’t mean we would get the benefit of all the $6.5 billion, but we would be close, and that is always good.”

There is no set timeframe for the decision, though Brown said she’s hoping for an answer in the next few months.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, another Cleveland Democrat and co-signer of the letter, was less definitive about the timeframe but said he is optimistic about the region’s chances.

“Cleveland is ideally suited to this,” Brown said. “We know we are in the running. We can absolutely win this if we keep up the pressure.”

Kim Palmer: kpalmer@crain.com, (216) 771-5384, @kimfouroffive JUNE 13, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3

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To Matthew Juravich, sports analytics and sports business are more than just the two new undergraduate degree programs at the University of Akron.

“These are my babies, in a way,” said Juravich, an associate professor of management and the Zips’ faculty athletics representative. “It’s been a multiyear process (for getting them approved) with a lot of internal politicking and jumping through hoops and bureaucracy.

“Now, we’re at the fun part. We’re ready to welcome our first cohorts.”

Here are four things to know about the new programs, which debut this fall: Both will be housed in the College of Business’ Department of Management.

The bachelor of business administration in sports business includes all the core classes that come with a business degree (accounting, business statistics, marketing, etc.) before students move on to sports-specific classes as upperclassmen. Ohio University is the only other Ohio school with a sports business degree housed in the college of business, “so that’s a point of distinction in Northeast Ohio for sure,” Juravich said.

The bachelor of science in sport analytics is the first degree of its kind in Ohio, and one of the few offered nationwide. (Syracuse, Rice and Cal-Baptist also offer programs.) It was developed with direct input from analytics experts and data scientists from nationally known sport organizations.

It includes coursework from a number of different colleges and departments on campus, including mathematics, statistics, computer science and several departments

within the College of Business.

“The curriculum is super rigorous,” Juravich said.

Cleveland’s three professional sports teams gave input.

In 2019, when Juravich started sifting through the curriculum options, he connected with some prominent industry figures in Cleveland, including Jon Nichols, who was the director of analytics for the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time and has since been promoted to vice president of basketball strategy and personnel. Juravich also worked with Keith Woolner, the principal data scientist for baseball analytics with the Cleveland Guardians, and Ken Kovash, the Cleveland Browns’ vice president of player personnel process and development.

Those three helped Juravich think about the curriculum in practical terms, so graduates would be armed with the skills they will need to earn industry jobs.

“It was cool to have people in the industry weigh in on the curriculum development and curriculum selection,” Juravich said.

The sports analytics degree offers a lot of versatility.

When fans think of sports analytics, they might think about baseball’s “Moneyball” movement or the data that inform GMs across professional sports on who to trade, who to draft and how to value players.

That’s part of it, Juravich said.

“Team operations is sort of the sexy side,” he said, “but there are a lot more career opportunities on the business analytics side. If you look at the staff directory for teams across professional sports, many — if not most — have changed their business operations groups to include analytics in their titles. Everything is

data-driven, even in the customer service and marketing departments.

“If you want to work in sports, great, we’ll help you get there. But even if that doesn’t work, you still have an excellent foundation to be an analyst.”

Akron wants to recruit new students — particularly diverse ones.

The two programs are unique among Northeast Ohio schools, but the sports analytics degree in particular is designed to help Akron recruit nationally. UA recently hired longtime golf agent R.J. Nemer as the new dean for the College of Business, and Juravich wants to tap his extensive network to connect with students who wouldn’t normally consider Akron.

“The sky’s the limit for that one,” Juravich said of the sports analytics program. “It’s just about taking the next step when it comes to marketing and promotion.”

Like a lot of industries, professional sports teams are interested in hiring more diverse candidates.

(Baseball front offices, in particular, are heavy on white males from Ivy League schools.) Because Akron is more affordable — and more accessible — than most universities, it could be more attractive to a wider range of students.

“I’ve had some discussions with some people in the industry about this,” Juravich said. “We’re not formal partners, but they’re giving input and collaborating on how we can build pipelines to people with more diverse backgrounds, whether that’s race or gender or something else. It’s definitely something we’ll look to build out in the years ahead.”

Joe Scalzo: joe.scalzo@crain.com, (216) 771-5256, @JoeScalzo01

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AKRON

New local retailers flock to downtown Akron

BY DAN SHINGLER

Downtown Akron’s retail sector is experiencing some of the symptoms of post-COVID, pent-up demand.

For real estate.

Each year, the Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) has a cohort of its Start Downtown program, which aims to match emerging retail entrepreneurs with spaces available from downtown landlords.

It has always taken more than a year to deploy the funds DAP gets for the program, which in recent years have come from Hudson’s Burton D. Morgan Foundation in the form of $20,000 annual grants.

But it didn’t take nearly that long to find participants this year.

“We went through our funding in two months,” said DAP CEO Suzie Graham, without lament. “As soon as we opened the application process, we had a lot of interest in the program this year.”

While Graham said she would welcome and could use additional funding, she said she’s mostly just happy to see such strong interest from new retail businesses in locating to downtown storefronts.

“The businesses in those storefronts do more for the culture and personality of the downtown community than anything else we work on,” Graham said.

The program was started in 2015.

Today there are 13 downtown retailers, which include bars and restaurants, that found their homes through Start Downtown, not including six that were approved for funding this year.

The program works with business owners to help determine their need for space and preferred locations. It then seeks to find a vacant space that will work for them.

If they’re approved and sign a lease, they receive rent subsidies via DAP that pay 80% of their first month’s rent, then 10% less each month for six months. After that, the businesses are responsible for paying their full rent.

The goal is that after six months, a new business is on better footing and has worked through any early issues with getting the revenue flowing and operations running smoothly. Start Downtown isn’t meant to sustain businesses that aren’t profitable, but it makes the slope into the deep end of the pool a little more gradual and forgiving, Graham said.

On top of the rent assistance, DAP helps find new business owners help with everything from developing their business plan to legal assistance on leases and other contracts, Graham said. It also matches them with other sources of assistance, such as the Akron Resiliency Fund run by the Development Finance Authority’s Western Reserve Community Fund to provide low-interest business loans.

Start Downtown places four to six businesses per year, depending on how many it can fund with that year’s money based on rents, and there are six in the most recent cohort: Capital Talent Development Group, which focuses on working with underserved and underrepresented youth and adult talent in

Perfect Pour was one of six new businesses launched with help from DAP’s Start Downtown program and customers are flocking to its fried green tomatoes and other specialties, says server Lila Rajkoummale. | DAN SHINGLER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

the labor market; Ernie’s Catering, a barbecue specialist; Perfect Pour, a burger and bourbon restaurant; Street Craftery, which produces handcrafted home goods and offers DIY workshops and classes; Sweet and Savvy Cake Shop, a specialty bakery; and Velvet Vintage, a curated shop selling vintage clothing and furniture.

“Five of these businesses are owned by women, and five are owned by people of color,” said Kimberly Beckett, DAP director of business relations and development, who manages the Start Downtown program.

This was the first time that DAP has been able to award all of its Start Downtown funding at once, Beckett said. She said downtown’s growing residential population is helping to draw business owners.

“We had seen an interest in retail coming out of 2021, which was kind of surprising with some of the challenges we’ve had downtown with construction and COVID hitting pretty hard,” Beckett said. “But with our increase in residential population, things have come together.”

Start Downtown appears to be popular with both business owner tenants and downtown landlords.

Da’Shika A. Street, who’s opening Street Craftery on Main Street this year, said she relied on DAP and the program to help her find her location about half a block south of Canal Park.

“I’ve been looking for space for these endeavors for a while. I always stayed in touch with DAP and stayed on their radar and kept inquiring about who was moving out,” Street said. “And Kimberly Beckett was incredible. ... She ended up connecting me to the property owner of the building I occupy, and it was a smooth transition.”

DAP’s help, with rent and other aspects of her business, has made the process much less stressful than it might have been, Street said.

“Going from a home business to a brick-and-mortar store, there can be a lot of anxiety,” she said. “(Start Downtown) makes a big difference

Supreea English started her Hair Geek salon with help from DAP’s Start Downtown program but now has five years of business under her belt.

and it helps the confidence of the entrepreneur going in. You feel like you have some footing and some people behind you.”

Street plans to open her store July 1. Like a lot of other businesses in this year’s Start Downtown program, she’s now busy readying her space.

The same goes for Sweet and Savvy, a bakery moving into new space on North High Street — conveniently, next to Akron Coffee Roasters — that’s being started by popular Akron baker Savannah

Griggs.

Sweet and Savvy’s landlord, developer Tony Troppe, said he wasn’t aware of the Start Downtown program until recently, but welcomes it as another way to help businesses move downtown.

“It seems like it’s giving them a head start with some early operational dollars,” Troppe said. “Trying to open is a big challenge and these guys (DAP) are on it. They and the city are helping new businesses out a lot.”

DAP also tries to curate its busi-

nesses a bit, or at least to place them where they’ll succeed and not compete directly with a similar retailer, Beckett and Graham said.

Sweet and Savvy, for instance, isn’t located near Sweet Mary’s Bakery on Mill Street — a past participant in Start Downtown — but is next to the popular coffee shop.

While Graham said not every business has to stay in business for years and years to be a success, some past participants in Start Downtown, formerly called the Pop-up Retail program, have done just that.

Sapreea English, for example, owns Hair Geek, a salon in The Standard, which is being converted from student housing to traditional apartments by Alabama-based Capstone Real Estate. English said she has been at the location for five years and is on her second landlord.

“It helped a lot,” English said of Start Downtown. “Because I was my only startup person in the beginning. ... For my first year, it was just me in here.”

Her rent subsidies have long run out. Though she would have liked a bit more help during the height of the COVID pandemic, Hair Geek can stand on its own without the subsidies today, English said.

Some businesses in this year’s Start Downtown cohort already are open, such as Perfect Pour. The restaurant is proving popular with downtown residents, as well as local health care workers, with people from both groups coming in regularly for specialties such as fried green tomatoes, said Perfect Pour server Lila Rajkoummale.

The Morgan foundation is pleased with the bang for buck it’s getting from its funding of the program.

“A common barrier new businesses face is access to affordable space,” said foundation grants and communications manager Gina Dotson, via email. “Start Downtown subsidies are not permanent assistance, but designed to help businesses ease into spaces so they can focus more intently in the early months on growing a customer base. DAP’s close relationships with business owners and building owners give them the exceptional ability to help businesses think thoughtfully about the best spaces for their goals. … The foundation is gratified to support a program that is helping small business owners contribute to a strong downtown.”

Graham and Beckett are eager to open the program again next year — unless DAP gets more funding for the program before then, which is something Graham said she may pursue. The return on investment would warrant expanding the program, she said.

“We’re talking about $20,000 to support four to six new businesses,” Graham said.

If DAP does get additional funding, Beckett said she’s confident she can deploy it to launch more businesses downtown.

“We continue to see interest,” Beckett said.

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290

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EDUCATION

Kent State looks to expand by launching operations in Africa Kent State University is taking over the world.

Well, not quite. But the university is expanding its global footprint by establishing operations in Rwanda, Africa. The initiative will “serve as a strategic starting point for engaging in the African continent’s expanding higher education market,” according to a recent news release.

It’ll be conducted via what’s known as a nonprofit community benefit company. This is a similar legal setup to what the university uses in some of its other international operations, like Florence, Italy, Geneva, Switzerland, and New Delhi, India, per officials. The university earned a national award for its international efforts last year.

Plans for this new push include “identifying high-quality education agencies already in existence that represent respected international partners; establishing, maintaining and improving working relationships with recruiting agencies and partner universities; and providing support for education-abroad programs and visiting university dignitaries,” the release stated.

One of the big goals of the initiative is helping to boost KSU’s presence in the markets of Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and nearby countries.

Along with that action item includes carrying out a recruitment plan.

This comes after Kent State, like many of its peers here in America, saw a roughly 4% drop in full-time enrollment last fall as the pandemic continues to amplify already existing enrollment struggles. The university remains Northeast Ohio’s largest in terms of enrollment, though, with more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

“I think institutions are really feeling the pressure to ramp up the global engagement,” said Rajika Bhandari, an international higher education expert and author of the book America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility.

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

BY AMY MORONA

As for this new effort in Africa, there are two main reasons for developing it, according to Marcello Fantoni, KSU’s vice president for global education.

“Number one, it’s a business reason,” he said. “We have to be where the market grows.”

Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050. That’s a stark difference from Ohio, where the amount of high school graduates is expected to continue declining.

The second reason centers on expanding upon current opportunities and creating new ones for current KSU students. Studying abroad is a popular option – about 1,500 KSU students take part annually – but most go to somewhere in Europe.

Fantoni said there’s a need to go “beyond this umbilical cord that connects Western Europe to North America” when it comes to international learning.

“There is something to learn everywhere in the world, and not just from the people that are the most similar

to us,” he said.

Enter The University of Rwanda.

The website of the only public university in the African country lists several other international partnerships, including with Michigan State University and Colorado State University here in America.

There’s been a lot of time spent developing relationships between the Rwandan university and Kent State.

The University of Rwanda’s president and a delegation of other officials visited Kent’s main campus for a week earlier this year. The “second in command” to the Rwandan ambassador visited, too, according to Fantoni, who added there’s an invite out to the Rwandan ambassador, as well.

The university is offering up some free on-site office space to use, as well as support from faculty and staff.

No money will be exchanged between the two institutions. Kent State is budgeting about $60,000 per year for this effort, according to officials.

The space will eventually be home to a liaison who will manage on-site

activities. The two institutions eventually will offer a joint master’s degree program in peace and conflict studies.

One deal with the Ministry of Defense will send students to Kent’s College of Engineering for five years.

Another with the Ministry of Education is in process. It would allow Rwandan teachers to sharpen their English skills through Kent’s ESL offerings.

Eventually there’s hope to establish a center in Rwanda similar to how the university operates in places around the globe. Fantoni said university officials would like to offer onsite support to Rwandan applicants who want to apply to KSU. “The students really don’t have don’t have any resources to count on,” he said. “We got about 4,000 applications from sub-Saharan Africa this year, so there is an urgent need for supporting those students to get through the application process.”

To have a successful partnership between two international institu-

tions — those that “go beyond checking the box, signing the MOU (memorandum of understanding) and really sustain over time,” per international education expert Bhandari — there needs to be a sense of equality between the partners.

It can quickly become an imbalance when a partnership becomes dominated by the norms of American higher education, she said.

“All of this comes down to really ensuring that there is a match, not just in terms of the work of the partnership and what it will entail, but also broader philosophies around what a post secondary education means,” she said.

As far as KSU’s next steps, the first hurdle was cleared late last month when its board of trustees approved the partnership. Next comes submitting paperwork to the government in Rwanda. The hope is to hire staff by late August or early September.

The exte stak pow you abou deve have asso And to fig work orde of-lif love been

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

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PHOTOS

Ahead of retirement, Cuyahoga Community College president Alex Johnson looks back

 Q: During your time as president, is there anything you wanted to do that you didn’t get a chance to start or perhaps complete?

A: A lot. I think the thing that I did not complete fully, and no president will, quite honestly in the foreseeable future, not even Dr. Baston (Johnson’s recently

named successor at the college), is this push to get more students in our community educated, particularly in higher numbers, to be able to take on jobs that provide a family-sustaining wage.

The idea of promoting student excellence and success is something

that you always strive to do better. It’s a journey. There are just stops along the way that kind of help you become more committed, to recognize what you’ve been able to do and build upon that. But that’s an area where there is never, ever an end. I believe that Dr. Michael Baston will bring in that same mindset.

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‘IT’S A JOURNEY’ Change is on the horizon for Cuyahoga Community College.

Current president Alex Johnson will retire from the college later this month.

The higher education veteran’s career includes stints as president of the Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania and chancellor of Delgado Community College in New Orleans. He also spent 10 years as president of Tri-C’s Metropolitan Campus.

Johnson held leadership positions at the national level, too, including with such organizations as the American Association of Community Colleges and Achieving the Dream. He’s the author of two books and winner of a variety of awards.

As the college gets ready for its first presidential leadership change in almost a decade, Johnson talked with Crain’s Cleveland Business on Wednesday, June 1.

— Amy Morona

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like child care, are truly critical. You do that in collaboration. You don’t do that alone. You do it with other organizations that have a history of connecting to individuals and providing support in a way that you’re not capable of doing.

Make sure you communicate with individuals at a meaningful level.

Focus on individual communication as opposed to something where you’re attempting to market your programs and services to the masses. We’ve got to really change our mindset in that regard.

The other piece is to engage in the community in ways that higher education does not normally do. We’ve instituted access centers, job hubs, and other mechanisms that allow individuals to benefit from Tri-C and earn credentials in settings located in their particular neighborhoods.

All of what I talked about are essential to

“SO IF THERE’S A LEGACY — AND I PUT THAT IN QUOTES — THAT I’D LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED FOR, IT’S MY EFFORT TO GAIN BROAD CONSENSUS ON THINGS THAT ARE BOTH BENEFICIAL TO THE INSTITUTION AND COMMUNITY. THAT’S WHAT I WOULD HOPE FOR.” — Alex Johnson, Cuyahoga Community College president

really, really improving your access and enrollment as we move forward.  Q: What do you want to be remembered for at Tri-C? What do you want your legacy to be?

A: For me, thinking about (one’s) legacy is kind of self-promoting or pretentious.

I don’t really talk about it like that.

I do hope that people both at the institution and my successor recognize that we did some good things

together, not individually. There’s nothing virtuous about what I do, because there’s nothing that we could have accomplished if it weren’t in collaboration with individuals both inside the institution and out.

So if there’s a legacy — and I put that in quotes — that I’d like to be remembered for, it’s my effort to gain broad consensus on things that are both beneficial to the institution and community. That’s what I would hope for.

 Q: OK, so if you were to give him — or let’s even just broaden it out to anyone taking on a new leadership role at a community college — some advice, what would it be?

A: My advice would be to engage the college community more broadly in decision-making and deliberation. Build a guiding coalition that helps you really ascertain where the institution is now and where it needs to go. That’s very important.

“MY ADVICE WOULD BE TO ENGAGE THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY MORE BROADLY IN DECISIONMAKING AND DELIBERATION. ”

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The other piece is building a network external to the organization, stakeholders who really appreciate the power and the value, but will also push you to create opportunities. I’m talking about business leaders, economic development leaders, individuals who have traditionally had an important association with the college.

And then the last piece after all of that is to figure out a way to balance that hard work with your personal endeavors in order to create a more viable qualityof-life experience for both you and your loved ones. That’s something I have not been able to do.

CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PHOTOS

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 Q: You mentioned your successor, Michael Baston. I’m curious — have you given him any advice yet?

A: I have not given him any advice. He is a seasoned veteran that has been a president for a number of years and the chief academic officer as well.

I believe very, very strongly that he understands the power and the value of community colleges first and foremost and then how that applies to an institution of the level and notoriety of Tri-C. He understands the importance of increasing the student experience, advancing a student experience. He knows the importance of community outreach and engagement. He understands the importance of positioning Tri-C as a driver of the economy. He also understands the importance of what we’ve done, not only at a local level but at a national level as well.

So I have not given him any advice, but in my conversations with him, I think he recognized the importance of building up on a great foundation that has been established by my colleagues.

 Q: I think that’s good advice for everyone. Segueing a bit, enrollment struggles have plagued community colleges, including Tri-C, over the past few years. If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change to help thwart those problems?

A: There are certain things you can accomplish through certificates and short-term training programs that lead to a foundation for your continued education, but at the same time, provide you with the viable opportunity to take on meaningful employment. What we tend to do is offer up the associate’s degree as the only thing that you can achieve. We offer that up as what you have to go to college for when there are other opportunities.

The other piece is to recognize that in addition to support for education, individuals need support for personal needs, wraparound services that help them overcome housing insecurity, food insecurity or provide support for transportation and other personal needs

How are you shaping your legacy?

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6/9/2022 1:01:02 PM

From left: Kumar Galhotra, President Ford Blue, speaks with Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine after Ford Motor Co. announced an investment at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake on June 2. | FORD

EDITORIAL

Plugged in E

lectric vehicles sure look like the future of the auto industry. And, we’re glad to be able to say, Northeast Ohio is shaping up as a big part of it, following Ford Motor Co.’s announcement that the automaker will invest $1.5 billion to expand its Ohio Assembly Plant in Lorain County, adding about 1,800 jobs — more than doubling the current workforce —and producing a new commercial EV to be named later.

The local investment is part of a bigger play by Ford to pump $3.7 billion into plants in three states (Michigan and Missouri are the others) to produce more electric vehicles and traditional gasoline-fueled autos while creating a total of 6,200 union jobs. At the sprawling Ohio Assembly Plant, which primarily is in Avon Lake but also includes portions of Sheffield and Sheffield Lake, Ford is adding the EV production while continuing to turn out E-series van, medium-duty trucks and Super Duty chassis cabs. Construction at the plant is expected to begin later this year, and assembly on the commercial EV is expected to begin by mid-decade.

That’s a major commitment for a plant that hasn’t always seemed to be on solid ground. As Ted Esborn, Avon Lake’s economic development director, said in a news release, “How many times in the last 40 years have Avon Lakers faced the threat of the plant’s closing? Any investment bodes well for the future of a plant, but this investment is special.”

Ford’s commitment represents a measure of validation for JobsOhio, the state’s private nonprofit economic development corporation, which, as Gov. Mike DeWine’s office put it, “has placed significant focus on supporting the automotive supply chain as original equipment manufacturers have begun to place a major focus on electric vehicle production.”

Northeast Ohio is undergoing a massive shift toward smart manufacturing. This is the latest, and largest, piece of evidence of that transformation.

There are some important things we don’t yet know.

Among them: exactly what type of EV Ford will make at the plant, the precise location of the expansion (it matters for the income tax allocation among governments in Avon Lake,

Sheffield and Sheffield Lake), and the nature of the $200 million in incentives the state of Ohio is offering in exchange for the company’s investment.

It’s an unfortunate reality of these big-ticket projects that they almost always feature a significant public subsidy. That’s the price of entering the game, which in this case adds 1,800 Ford jobs, generates some number of related jobs for the local economy and secures the future of a plant that’s a critical anchor for Lorain County and the region.

Want to play? Pay. DeWine, in a news release about the Ford investment, said only that the Ohio Tax Credit Authority “will consider a tax credit at a future meeting” and that JobsOhio “also plans to provide grant assistance.” It’s probably a pipe dream, but we’d like to normalize the practice of detailing the nature of the public’s support for these projects when they’re announced.

Only recently, with the release of the state’s capital budget, did we learn the full extent of public subsidy for the giant Intel Corp. project near Columbus. Taxpayers, who are footing part of the bill, deserve better.

Ford went out of its way to point out that the jobs it’s creating are union position — in contrast with EV leader Tesla and no doubt part of a strategy to get on the UAW’s good side and, in a tight labor market, secure the workers it needs.

Automotive News, a sister publication of Crain’s Cleveland Business, pointed out that such large-scale investment plans and product commitments “are typically used as leverage and timed to contract negotiations between automakers and the UAW, although the next talks are still more than a year away.”

It’s not easy to make electric vehicles. Look no further than the startup Lordstown Motors, which recently sold its factory to iPhone contract assembler Foxconn Technology Group for $230 million to raise cash and struck a joint venture deal with the assembler to make cars — but many, many fewer than it originally intended.

It would be great for Northeast Ohio is Ford is a big winner in the transition away from the internal combustion engine.

The pieces are in place to make that happen.

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

PERSONAL VIEW

Creating the ‘Netflix’ of food delivery

BY RICHARD OSBORNE

“I’m going shopping. Do you want anything?”

In pre-pandemic days, whenever my wife asked that question, it was my cue to join her on a trip to the supermarket to stroll the aisles, put items in the cart, wait in the long checkout line, load the groceries in the car trunk and unpack the bags back home. It is an experience I do not miss.

Osborne is a Today, “going shopping” is more often retired journalist a virtual experience, as she peruses end- and school less lists of possibilities online and ar- administrator. ranges to have her choices dropped off at our front door by services like DoorDash and UberEats. Similarly, “going out” for dinner at a restaurant usually means opening our front door and retrieving our meals — if we’re lucky, still warm or even hot!

— from the delivery driver.

For retired couples like us — not to mention frenzied moms and dads managing busy households — the rapidly expanding phenomenon of at-home, on-demand food delivery is one of those cultural shifts that suggests concomitant business opportunities. It is fair to put it on a par with streaming services and cell phones.

So, who will be the Netflix and Verizon of food delivery?

Not so fast, industry insiders say. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the early players in the food-to-your-door game have hit a plateau, despite the fact that early adopters like my wife and me keep spreading the news and winning over new delivery devotees. Instacart is the apparent frontrunner THE RAPIDLY currently, and perhaps smaller competitors like DoorDash and EXPANDING Uber eventually will be con- PHENOMENON OF sumed in the — pardon me— AT-HOME, ONeating frenzy.

But isn’t there enough busi- DEMAND FOOD ness to keep everyone’s hunger sated? After all, there DELIVERY IS ONE OF seems to be a store selling T THOSE CULTURAL Mobile, AT&T and Verizon phones on every corner. And SHIFTS THAT for every Netflix and HBO, a SUGGESTS new Apple+ or Amazon Prime Video emerges, and investors CONCOMITANT are quick to jump on board.

BUSINESS Here’s the rub: All these services make the products OPPORTUNITIES they deliver.

While the drastic change in consumer shopping patterns brought about by the pandemic has had a transformative impact on grocers and restaurateurs, as of yet that impact has not led to wide-spread vertical integration initiatives — delivery services that directly provide the food they bring to our doors.

Given its vertically integrated business model, Gopuff may not only bring us our food but also provide the answers to questions being asked by the Wall Street Journal and others: “Growth rates have normalized. Now, everybody is trying to figure out—where does this go? How do we do it profitably?”

Gopuff is different because it doesn’t rely on restaurants and stores. They already own all of the goods they provide.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company operates out of roughly 600 micro-fulfillment centers (up from 380 in 2020) in some 650 cities across the U.S. In addition, drivers are able to complete orders around the clock at a lower price than the competition.

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 FOOD, on Page 19

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

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OPINION

LAND FOR SALE: Beacon West, Westlake

Ideal Multi-Tenant/Office Building Property Features

PERSONAL VIEW

Rapid growth of money supply is source of inflation increase

BY DAVID MCCLOUGH

times faster than economic output. Obviously, the current inflation rate does not approach the 4,000% implied by these data, but the inflation rate increased suddenly and has persisted. Having consistently increased the money supply in response to recessions and a financial crisis, the Fed is now challenged with orchestrating anti-inflationary policy, higher interest rates, without causing a recession as seen in the early 1980s.

Perhaps the current geopolitical conditions and the supply chain difficulties associated with the response to the COVID pandemic hints at a potential solution.

A commitment to neoliberalism contributed to lower prices for decades as relatively expensive domestic labor was replaced by relatively less expensive foreign labor as production moved overseas and as machinery was deployed domestically wherever conditions permitted. Recent experience reveals vulnerabilities associated with a global economy driven by comparative cost advantages. Policy to encourage investment in domestic production addresses the vulnerabilities associated with over-specialization while promoting domestic economic growth needed to offset growth in the money supply. A consequence of increased domestic production will be downward pressure on the trade deficit as domestic production replaces imports.

In recent decades, the constant trade deficit supported foreign demand of U.S. debt as a way to recycle the dollars used to buy foreign goods. A consequence of the foreign demand has been lower interest rates

The highest inflation in four decades attracts considerable media attention but limited explanation regarding why inflation accelerated. We last experienced comparable inflation in January 1982, when the inflation rate was actually declining. This commentary examines the conditions leading to the sudden rise, but first it is instructive to recall relevant history.

In the early 1980s, the initial source of the disinflation was aggressive interest rate hikes by the Volker Fed. While effective in mitigating rising inflation, the rate hikes instigated a recession, something the Fed intends to avoid this time. Today the Fed again is raising interest rates to allay inflation. Say what you want about the effectiveness of monetary policy, but rest assured that increasing interest rates will thwart inflation.

Nonetheless, rate increases to reduce inflation typically precede an economic slowdown and the accompanying rise in unemployment. Given that the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported negative real growth for the first quarter of 2022, perhaps a recession has begun or is nearing.

The inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s was associated with rising oil prices. Readers may remember the Iranian Revolution that deposed the shah in favor of Ayatollah Khomeini. While most recall the hostage situation that followed, the economic consequence of the revolution was a reduction in Iranian oil production, which reduced the global supply of oil and triggered higher oil prices.

Unsurprisingly, the rising pric- THE SOLUTION IS NOT SIMPLY HIGHER INTEREST RATES es motivated hoarding, which exacerbated the price increases. AND ACCEPTANCE OF A RECESSION. THE SOLUTION IS A This political event represents a STRATEGIC COMBINATION OF RATE HIKES AND TAX supply shock with global implications. Coincidentally, geopolit- INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. ical realities once again are disrupting global oil markets. The Russian invasion of on U.S. Treasuries. Able to borrow at extremely low Ukraine and the subsequent embargo on Russian en- rates of interest, it is no surprise that the federal govergy, including oil, has reduced the global supply of ernment borrows without hesitation to fund expanoil and pushed oil prices higher. While sharing an oil sion of expenditures. Politicians might refer to expensupply shock, the cause of the current increase in in- diture as investment, but if the return fails to exceed the interest rate, the investment is nothing more than flation is closer to home.

Economics is an inexact science. Economists can expenditure. Some government expenditure is proanticipate economic events, but the predictions lack ductive, while other expenditure is not. Unproductive precision specific to timing and magnitude. For exam- expenditure is inflationary.

Critics may argue that domestic production is too ple, the Soviet Union was destined to fail, but predicting when proved elusive. Monetary policy likewise is expensive to compete with foreign production. While inexact, in part, because policy makers face uncer- in part true, we must also acknowledge that technotainty, hence the cautious approach exhibited by Fed logical innovation continues to progress and less labor is required of most production processes than policy makers.

In November 2008, the Fed lowered interest rates one-half century ago. Policy (i.e., tax incentives) to to 0.3% as part of the recovery effort of the Great Re- encourage investment in domestic production will cession. The effective federal funds rate targeted by motivate firms to identify the industries and products the Fed would remain below 1% through May 2017. suitable for domestic production. Government need The targeted rate would not exceed 2.5% thereafter. not identify the opportunities. It merely needs to offer In response to the COVID recession, the Fed lowered incentives for profit seeking firms to act in their interest rates below 0.1%. Even today after an initial self-interest.

In summary, rapid growth of the money supply one-half point hike that rocked stock and bond indices around the world, the effective rate remains be- without growth in output is the explanation for the low 1%. To lower the target interest rate, the Fed buys sudden increase in inflation. The solution is not simassets, typically bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury to ply higher interest rates and acceptance of a recesfund annual deficits and to rollover, that is, refinance sion. The solution is a strategic combination of rate in perpetuity, the federal debt. In exchange for the hikes and tax incentives to encourage domestic probonds, the Fed infuses the banking system with duction.

Higher interest rates will curtail investment in projmoney.

How much money has the Fed injected in the U.S. ects with lower expected rates of return but will not banking system? In February 2020, the Fed balance impede on investment in highly profitable projects sheet reflected $4.2 trillion in assets. By June 1, 2020, associated with reshoring production. The resurgence assets swelled to $7.2 trillion. As of March 21, 2020, of domestic production will mitigate the need of the the Fed balance sheet included assets of nearly $9 tril- Fed to sell assets (bonds) to reduce the money supply lion. For perspective, consider that immediately prior and offset money growth. Punishing rates and recesto the 2008 financial crisis, assets totaled only $900 sion is the only option. A softer landing with longbillion. In a relatively short period, 12-14 years, the term benefits is also a possibility. balance sheet increased by a factor of 10. In contrast, Real GDP has increased slightly more that 20% since McClough is associate professor of economics at Ohio 2008. The money supply has increased more than 40 Northern University.

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BEAUMONT’S NEW CEO

PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

Ann Hoelzel looks to expand International Baccalaureate impact, inclusiveness. PAGE 12

STATE OF K-12 FUNDRAISING STRONG

Donors respond amid pandemic

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

K-12 education has seen a lot of changes in recent years during the COVID-19 pandemic. But schools’ philanthropic needs haven’t gone away. In fact, many have grown as schools look to update facilities or better support students.

And donors have responded.

Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights has seen “big increases” in annual giving, said president Wendy Hoke, a trend she began to notice during the pandemic. People who had been giving at “modest” levels began growing their gifts, she said, and the school’s donor base has grown as well. Hoke said she believes this growth has come from a desire to support students in areas like tuition costs.

Additionally, Beaumont School is in the quiet phase of a capital campaign that likely will go public in the fall, Hoke said. The all-girls Catholic high school in Cleveland Heights started looking at a master campus plan in the spring of 2020, keeping in mind how the school would “emerge from the pandemic” and realizing that investing in some of its facilities would be necessary, Hoke said.

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Beaumont isn’t alone in its fundraising success as, overall, annual funds and capital campaigns were not deterred by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, at most independent schools, they grew, according to the D.C.-based National Association of Independent Schools’ latest Trendbook, which came out in September of 2021. The nonprofit association serves more than 1,600 independent, private K-12 schools in the U.S. The report found that online giving was up, and that schools had the opportunity to grow their overall donor pools going forward by working to keep those who gave during the pandemic.

The association’s Trendbook looked to the annual Giving USA report released in June 2021 for some broader context. Charitable giving overall was up in 2020, and giving to education was up by 9% compared with the previous year.

The report cited a strong stock market and increasing bequests from aging donors as reasons for the growth, but also targeted messaging during the pandemic.

“Among the themes schools highlighted were a greater need for financial aid for families affected by COVID-19, the challenge to make up for lost revenue, and the costs of reopening classrooms and programs safely,” the report stated.

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FOCUS | PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

EO

2

Support for Hershey Montessori School, a birth to 12th grade school in Lake and Geauga counties, has remained strong through the pandemic, said marketing and communications director Deanna Shrum. Last year, Hershey included a COVID relief fund as an option in its annual giving, but the school is not in the midst of any special campaigns.

“As we make those needs known, our community rises to the occasion,” Shrum said.

But that doesn’t mean fundraising at the school will be unchanged post-pandemic. Like most institutions, Hershey Montessori got creative when social distancing was a must. But now, Shrum said, they’ve realized that the virtual options can remain alongside the more traditional in-person ones. For example, the school hosts a race every year that went virtual early in COVID; now, it’s back to in-person, but the virtual race is an option for participants as well.

“Technology has definitely been our friend through this,” Shrum said.

Vision-driven appeals Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron has been working to attract millennials to its donor pool, learning what to emphasize to interest those potential givers, like sustainability.

“We are consistently trying to find ways to engage and energize a younger generation of giver,” said president Chris DiMauro.

And Hoban is a “blue-collar place,” he said, noting that it’s a point of pride. Embracing both of those things might mean that to meet Hoban’s goals, the school needs to seek 5,000 smaller gifts instead of 10 large ones, he said.

Archbishop Hoban High School unveiled its Every Knight, Every Day campaign at its 2022 Extravaganza event in April. | ARCHBISHOP HOBAN HIGH SCHOOL

fundraising.

Saint John School, which offers preschool through 12th grade, is the only Catholic school in Ashtabula County, Burke said. That helps its mission stand out. The school also works to partner with local companies so that its construction projects support the local economy. And people like to invest in schools that have a “growth mindset,” she said.

Saint John School moved to its

“WE BELIEVE THAT IF FUNDRAISING IS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, IT NEEDS TO BE MISSION-DRIVEN. PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO GIVE JUST TO BUY A NEW COMPUTER. THEY DON’T WANT TO GIVE TO ADD A NEW SECURITY DOOR. THEY WANT TO GIVE TO KIDS.” — Sister Maureen Burke, president of Saint John School in Ashtabula County

Hoban publicly launched its Every Knight, Every Day campaign, the school’s first capital campaign in almost a decade, in mid-April.

With the funds raised in the approximately $15 million campaign — a goal it hopes to meet in three to five years — school leadership plans to comprehensively renovate 35 classrooms, updating lighting, technology, furniture and more. It also plans to build an approximately 9,000-square-foot student center and contribute to the Hoban endowment fund, which provides scholarships for students.

And DiMauro said the school is looking to grow that endowment fund to include money for facilities as well.

People recognize that these are needed updates, DiMauro said.

Selling the “vision” is critical to fundraising, he said.

Sister Maureen Burke, president of Saint John School in Ashtabula County, echoed the importance of a strong vision when it comes to

2022_Grad_Ad_Crains.qxp_Layout 1 5/31/22 8:40 AM Page 1

current location about 10 years ago.

At that time, enrollment was about 220, Burke said. Today, the school educates 505 students.

Saint John School had embarked on a strategic plan prior to the pandemic, Burke said, formally kicking off the public phase of a $3.7 million capital campaign about a month ago. The school had expanded when it moved to its current spot, adding more classrooms and amenities like a cafeteria and gymnasium. Now, leadership is looking to modernize the entrance, making it more accessible and secure, and add a second cafeteria for its high school students.

“We believe that if fundraising is to be successful, it needs to be mission-driven,” Burke said. “People don’t want to give just to buy a new computer. They don’t want to give to add a new security door. They want to give to kids.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com

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FOCUS | PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

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MANUFACTURING

Lead the conversation in this paid feature

A word of caution before committing to a game of educational one-upmanship with Ann Hoelzel, the newly named principal at Beaumont School: It’s not going to be an easy win.

The Mentor native, who studied economics at Ohio State University as an undergrad, has earned five master’s degrees, including a law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

“I guess you could say I’m a lifelong learner,” she explained. “I’ve always been curious. I took classes as I worked, and every time I studied one area, engaged in it, I would discover that I needed to understand more about another area to really have a holistic view, especially in education. But when I got to the end of the educational administration program at Ursuline (College in 2018), I knew I was done.”

Hoelzel joined Beaumont in 2015, after administrative and teaching positions at St. Joan of Arc and at public school districts in Parma, North Olmsted, Solon and Euclid. She was initially hired as instructional technology facilitator for the Cleveland Heights all-girls Catholic school and has spent the last several years overseeing its burgeoning International Baccalaureate diploma program.

Crain’s caught up with Hoelzel on June 1, her first day as Beaumont principal.

— Judy Stringer The following conversation was edited for length and clarity.

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“I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I’M A LIFELONG LEARNER. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS. I TOOK CLASSES AS I WORKED, AND EVERY TIME I STUDIED ONE AREA, ENGAGED IN IT, I WOULD DISCOVER THAT I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT ANOTHER AREA TO REALLY HAVE A HOLISTIC VIEW, ESPECIALLY IN EDUCATION. “ — Ann Hoelzel, principal at Beaumont School

With grow

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W laur doe The in se ensu subj the I The know whic rese for C can serv

FOCUS | PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

O

but like all of us, we have seen changes in demographics.

Unlike then, when a class would be full in the spring, we find enrollment is more of an ongoing process and classes fill throughout the summer with incoming students and transfers.

s

 What sort of programs and/or initiatives are on your radar as the new principal?

As I mentioned earlier, we’re proud that two-thirds to 70% of our students are engaging in an IB course in some measurable way. Whether that’s a single course or five courses, they are getting some exposure to IB throughout their time at Beaumont. But we really want to explore ways that every single student can engage in that type of learning.

Another related focus in this next cycle is to look at the characteristics of the IB

camed win. ate ees, ity. exed, disrea But ro-

learner, which are called the IB learner profile traits, and to create rubrics around those characteristics and have students self-assess.

As we go into parent-teacher conferences, then, we’re not looking at just reviewing homework and tests but also looking at the personal qualities of the student in such a way that is really meaningful and research-backed and has engaged the student in their own personal reflection.

The third big initiative is our increasing emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. We had (Jesuit priest, Vatican consultant and bestselling author) Father James Martin speak with our students in May about being inclusive and the inclusive Catholic community. Right now, we are working with The Diversity Center on bringing programming in for our faculty in the fall.

 In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing parochial education? How is Beaumont responding to that challenge?

Decreasing demographics are a reality for all schools. Population shifts further the impact. Beaumont has long welcomed parochial, public and private school students, so we have an inclusive approach that gives us a bigger audience to serve. In addition, our resumption of in-person instruction following the COVID shutdown reinforced the value of our model.

Today’s pressing issues facing all of us further highlight the strength of our approach, as our Ursuline mission prepares our students to respond to society’s evolving needs with a dedication to social justice.

Contact Judy Stringer: clbfreelancer@crain.com

“AS WE GO INTO PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES, THEN, WE’RE NOT LOOKING AT JUST REVIEWING HOMEWORK AND TESTS BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE STUDENT IN SUCH A WAY THAT IS REALLY MEANINGFUL AND RESEARCH-BACKED AND HAS ENGAGED THE STUDENT IN THEIR OWN PERSONAL REFLECTION.“

ive ool She for has ter-

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O LLY “

u n i ve r s i ty s c h o o l

With Beaumont’s International Baccalaureate program, “the goal is reflective, growth-oriented personal or community engagement,” notes Ann Hoelzel. | CONTRIBUTED

 You got a law degree from Case?

Did you want to practice law?

When I graduated from college, I was torn between becoming a social studies teacher and attending law school. I chose teaching, and I think most teachers would say they feel a kind of calling to the profession, which I also felt and followed.

However, my interest in delving deeper into graduate or professional studies did not subside.

The more I learned about teaching, counseling and educational technology, the more I realized how many intersections there are with law at every turn. I interned at the Department of Education while in law school and took a school law course and found increasingly more intersections. My legal background has helped me immensely in analyzing and understanding issues that arise in schools as a teacher and as an administrator.  What is an International Baccalaureate degree and what purpose does it serve?

The IB diploma is the gold standard in secondary education. The diploma ensures high-level courses across six subject areas as well as completion of the IB core.

The core consists of a theory of knowledge class; the extended essay, which is an individual self-motivated research project; and CAS, which stands for Creativity, Activity and Service. This can range from all sorts of community service activities that every Beaumont

student engages in to assisting with the school play or improving your mile time — the goal is reflective, growth-oriented personal or community engagement.

Our first IB course was offered in 2017, and we graduated our first class in 2019.

Twelve students graduated this year with the full IB diploma, but somewhere between 66%-70% of our students are exposed to the beneficial rigor of IB.

CLASS OF 2022!

The 104 members of the Class of 2022 will attend 65 different colleges and universities across the United States— from Oregon to Maine—and abroad in Spain.

 You assume this new post during an $8.2 million facilities campaign.

What sort of changes are envisioned at the campus and why?

The Heart of Beaumont facilities campaign is redesigning student experience spaces. We will have a new bistro-style dining room and state-ofthe-art kitchen. We have a new turf athletic field being installed this summer and are upgrading our Merici Center for Success, our academic support services areas.

These anticipated upgrades will have a positive effect on our learning atmosphere and will provide our students with expanded areas for study and collaborative learning.  Declining enrollment has been a challenge at many parochial schools. Has that been a concern at Beaumont?

We continue to see that interest in faith-based education is strong. We draw from parochial schools, public schools and private schools. Our enrollment has remained steady over the past five years,

Read more about the Class of 2022 and their college plans at www.us.edu/grads JUNE 13, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 13

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FOCUS | PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

Many of the issues raised in the Education Forward report, such as the varied impacts of in-person and virtual learning, aren’t limited to Cleveland but affect schools nationwide. | DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG

New report looks at dramatic impact of COVID-19 on education in Cleveland

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

The pandemic's toll

While the world is working back to a new normal, the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t going to just go away.

And a new report issued on May 26 takes a comprehensive look at how COVID-19 has affected education for students of all ages in Cleveland and what can be done to fix the challenges created or highlighted by the pandemic.

The report, Education Forward, was commissioned by the Cleveland and Gund foundations and supported by work from a variety of education partners in the community.

The report focuses on early education, K-12 education and postsecondary, examining the improvements Cleveland had seen in the years leading up to the pandemic, the impact the disruptions of COVID-19 have had so far, and what’s needed to move forward.

It became clear a year or so into the pandemic that its impacts weren’t just going to pass, said Helen Williams, program director for education at the Cleveland Foundation.

“This was a traumatic and disruptive event,” she said. “And continues to be one.”

The Education Forward report was a way to take stock of the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and to chart a path for change.

“You can’t go forward if you don’t know where you are,” she said.

And the report was an opportunity to remind the community that Cleveland can make a difference when it sets such a path.

This year is a significant one for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District: it’s the 10-year anniversary of the passing of Cleveland’s Plan for Transforming Schools, a wide-ranging plan to improve education at all schools in the city.

And progress had been made since the plan’s passing in 2012, which the report highlights. The most notable was the improvement in graduation rates. For the class of 2020, 80.9% of students graduated, a 28.7 percentage point increase compared with the class of 2010.

The pandemic has taken a toll, though. The city’s digital divide — the split between who has access to the internet and the technology needed to use it — caused challenges while education was virtual. And the challenges didn’t stop there.

“The pandemic disrupted the lives of our citizens and exacerbated longstanding inequities. In a city where half our children were already living in poverty, families have struggled to meet their most basic needs — food, housing, safety, and healthcare,” the report said.

Chronic absenteeism is up and enrollment is down. Mental health challenges are abundant, and students have lost classroom learning time. And state tests have shown drops in proficiency in areas such as English and math.

The pandemic “laid bare the centrality” of the education system, Williams said, as people depend on it to educate students and offer them socialization opportunities. They also depend on it to care for children while parents are working. That all

was disrupted by the pandemic.

The pandemic highlighted some existing issues, like the digital divide, but it also created new ones, like mental health challenges created or exacerbated by COVID-19, Williams said. Students were isolated; their routines were disrupted. They were exposed to loss and experienced grief. And mental health provider capacity is severely lacking, a problem more starkly apparent than before.

The report looks at those different disruptions throughout education — and at opportunities for short- and long-term change, because disruption offers that.

A learner-centered approach The immediate needs for K-12 education include keeping buildings open — “proactively preventing the spread of COVID-19 through a community campaign that promotes vaccinations, mask wearing, social distancing, and testing,” the report said — using ESSER funding to address issues of mental health and social isolation, and creating strategies around chronic absenteeism.

The long-term priorities in the report are wider-reaching: putting a focus on a “learner-centered approach” to education that’s based on competency and a career vision, growing supports for students and families, and continuing to close the digital divide.

In terms of early education, Cleveland had seen access to high-quality programs, and enrollment in those programs increased in the years before the pandemic.

But the report noted that early education could not take advantage of virtual learning during the pandemic like older age levels could, and when in-person learning became an option again, many providers opted for smaller class sizes for safety.

Eight early childhood programs have closed in Cleveland since the start of the pandemic, the report said, with another six temporarily closed due to it.

Additionally, enrollment dropped for a variety of other reasons, too: “parents losing their jobs, being ineligible for subsidies, working from home, and perceiving alternative arrangements as safer than on-site childcare programs,” the report said.

“COVID-19 exposed the fragility of the early childhood education system, a result of decades of underinvestment and under-prioritization,” the report said. “The pandemic also exposed how critical early childhood education is to the cognitive and social development of our children as well as the stability of families and local economies.”

In the short term, the focus needs to be on bringing local early education capacity to pre-pandemic levels, the report said, but long-term, there should be an effort to improve affordability of the programs for families, compensation for employees and quality of the facilities and programming.

The impacts of COVID-19 on higher education attainment will take time to see, the report said, but fewer students in Cleveland completed FAFSA forms for financial aid. In 2020, 54% of Cleveland students completed the FAFSA. For the class of 2021, that dropped to 41%. Post-

secondary enrollment dropped for the classes of 2020 and 2021 (though the report noted that was following a significant increase that came with the first year of Say Yes Cleveland in 2019). The report noted that it will be critical to offer advising for those enrollment processes like FAFSA to move forward, as well as to identify and re-enroll students who left higher education programs in the pandemic.

Ultimately, the report found that education in Cleveland “has been fundamentally changed” since the start of the pandemic.

“The direct, negative impacts of the pandemic on students, families, educators, early childhood centers, K–12 schools, and postsecondary institutions have been profound, and will continue to be felt for years to come,” the report said.

“COVID-19 also brought into sharp relief longstanding inequities students face in our education system, which will continue to hinder educational achievement post-pandemic unless addressed. The pandemic is not yet over, but the conversation around how to cautiously shift toward recovery is at its peak. A cleareyed view of the last two years must recognize the unprecedented levels of disruption and harm that have especially afflicted Cleveland and similar communities with high percentages of vulnerable populations, including individuals with disabilities, refugees, people of color, and low-income families. COVID-19 hit harder here, and the recovery will take longer.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com

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FOCUS | PREP AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

BLOOMBERG As teachers navigated the daunting task of shepherding students through a public health and education crisis, their average pay dropped to the lowest in at least a decade.

The starting salary for teachers in the U.S. averaged $41,770 for the 2020-21 school year, a 4% decrease from the prior year when adjusted for inflation. New Jersey had the highest pay at about $54,000, while Missouri and Montana had the lowest, about $33,000, according to a report from the National Education Association.

Poor pay is at the heart of a chronic teacher shortage that was laid bare during the pandemic. It has forced officials to reckon with a withering talent pipeline, a lack of substitutes and high levels of dissatisfaction among educators.

Some states tapped stimulus funds to give teachers bonuses, but the short-term aid makes it difficult for schools to implement lasting salary bumps.

“We must recruit more educators

into our profession and we must keep them,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association. “It’s a crisis that is the result of the chronic underfunding of public education.”

Historic levels of inflation and pandemic uncertainty drove real wages, which factor in inflation levels, for starting teachers lower, erasing gains made over the course of the last 10 years. More broadly, inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings dropped 2.7% in March from a year earlier, the 12th straight decline, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nearly half of all districts in the country offer starting salaries below $40,000, the report found. Starting salaries were $2,048 higher in states that allow collective bargaining.

The education association, with 3 million members at every level of teaching, has been urging school districts to expand access to union membership and increase educator pay.

The average teacher salary is

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK PHOTO

Teacher salaries dropped to lowest in a decade during COVID pandemic

$66,397 for the 2021-22 school year, a figure that fails to keep up with inflation, according to the association.

When adjusted for inflation, teachers are earning an average of $2,179 less per year than they did a decade ago, its report said.

Since January 2021, 25 states have enacted or proposed legislation to increase teacher compensation, according to research from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul

estimates the state will need 180,000 new teachers over the next decade, and has taken steps to streamline a lengthy certification process and waived income limits for retired teachers in an effort to draw in more talent.

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TRANSPORTATION AND THE QUEST FOR TALENT: Putting lessons of The Paradox Prize to work

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MANUFACTURING

America Makes marks 10 years promoting additive manufacturing

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

Ten years ago, the White House announced a new initiative, one that aimed to establish centers of excellence in different areas of manufacturing across the country.

The first of these consortia was the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Youngstown, now known as America Makes. In its first decade, the institute has helped move the technology of additive manufacturing forward, as well as put Northeast Ohio on the map as a place of expertise for the field.

Additive manufacturing, sometimes known as 3D printing, combines layers of material together to form a part, as opposed to traditional manufacturing methods that may cut or otherwise subtract material from a whole to create something.

America Makes was established as a public-private partnership, offering companies and individuals a way to work together in a “pre-competitive way” to adopt additive manufacturing, said executive director John Wilczynski.

“It was all built on the idea that sharing information will be helpful to everybody,” Wilczynski said.

‘A long game’ Ten years later, that goal is the same. The institute’s three main pillars remain focused around technology development, education or workforce training and creating a community.

Wilczynski became executive director at America Makes about three years ago, but he’s been involved in the institute since its start in 2012, helping set up the facility and manage projects.

Generating and sharing data around the technology is a critical part of the institute’s work, Wilczynski said. And it takes time.

“Funding into research and development and building and developing a technology is not a short-term activity,” he said. “It’s a long game in the end.”

But the aim is to increase and accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing throughout industries. Wilczynski said the institute has about 230 members that are “fully bought into this idea.” And the institute knows just about everyone working in the additive manufacturing space.

That’s not necessarily what he wants.

“There are thousands of manufacturers,” he said. “It’s not important that they’re members or not members. It’s about how many people are working within the technology space.

And today, there’s just not that many.”

He wants to reach manufacturers who aren’t using additive manufacturing, so they can learn from America Makes and America Makes can learn from them. He wants companies to realize additive manufacturing is a tool they can use in their own business.

“Engagement” and creating a community have so far been the most important part of the institute’s public-facing side, Wilczynski said.

Now, the need for a trained or reskilled workforce and a strong supply chain are coming to the forefront.

Additive manufacturing, sometimes known as 3D printing, combines layers of material together to form a part. | GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

The technology will always be critical, he said, but the “ecosystem” around it is becoming ever-more important.

Seeing the possibilities America Makes helped to “catalyze” a lot of activity in additive manufacturing, showing the industry that it was a real option and making those connections along the supply chain, said Paul Prichard, corporate research fellow at Kennametal in Pittsburgh. Kennametal makes tooling for different industries. The company used to be headquartered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where it shared its campus with the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, which manages America Makes.

Kennametal became a founding member of America Makes and took part in some of the institute’s initial projects, Prichard said.

Howie Marotto, additive manufacturing business director at engineering and research services organization EWI in Columbus, first got to know America Makes in 2015, when he was named the director for additive manufacturing for the Marine Corps. The institute showed him what additive manufacturing could really do and helped create the network for the Marines in that space.

When he switched to the commercial side of the business a few years later, working for equipment distributor Phillips Corp., America Makes helped him make sure the products the company was selling were aligned with the federal government’s needs and goals.

While networking and creating a collaborative space for companies has been important, Marotto thinks that need will only grow as the industry does.

“People are seeing the possibilities of additive manufacturing,” he said, noting that access to the technology and the number of new companies entering the market are both “exploding.”

America Makes has been critical in collecting a base of knowledge about

the technology that isn’t held in a technical journal or someone’s thesis, said Rashid Miraj, director of technical operations at engineering software company AlphaSTAR. Making that available means people don’t have to “reinvent the wheel every time we try to build a new part or use a new material,” he said.

AlphaSTAR in California, which creates programs to predict material behavior, joined America Makes in 2015. Sarah Abdi, marketing communications manager at AlphaSTAR, said working with America Makes has helped the small business make connections and build relationships it otherwise wouldn’t. Everyone knows about the big OEMs, Miraj said, but the community created by America Makes has brought awareness to some of the smaller players in the industry that would be otherwise hard to find.

And while the formal project calls and programs are helpful, Miraj said that the real benefit of America Makes is that it’s “creating that forum” where members can interact and share ideas and collaborate on outside projects.

“America Makes really acts as an engine for pushing AM technology,” he said.

‘Momentum’ for Northeast Ohio

Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said awareness of additive manufacturing has grown, and a number of companies throughout the Mahoning Valley have been able to “reinvent” themselves with the technology. Awareness of the importance of training and reskilling in this area is also growing, as existing manufacturers start to incorporate additive manufacturing in their processes.

Having America Makes in Youngstown has helped bring attention to that need for Northeast Ohio’s manufacturers, educators and workforce development groups, Coviello said. There’s still a ways to go, but he doesn’t think the region would be where it is today in that journey if it wasn’t for America Makes.

And America Makes gives the re-

gion the chance to serve as a hub for additive manufacturing, a place where lots of companies embrace the technology and employees know how to use it. Coviello said this is especially important as the auto industry moves from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and as companies need to adapt and enter new supply chains.

America Makes has made an impact in its first decade, but Bill Koehler, CEO of economic development organization Team NEO, thinks the institute will be even more important in the next 10 years. Like any startup, it takes time to build a solid strategy and a strong team. And they’ve done a good job of that, he said, and of forming the relationships they need for the future.

And as the institute has grown, so has the technology of additive manufacturing, Koehler said. He thinks it will play an increasingly larger role going forward, as industries like automotive and aerospace change rapidly.

“I think we’re fortunate to have an organization like theirs in our market, and the opportunity for us is to figure out how to take advantage of that, to capitalize on their presence and extend it,” Koehler said.

In the 10 years since America Makes’ founding, the region has seen a concentration of additive manufacturing companies starting or locating here, Wilczynski said. He attributes that not just to the institute but to a collaborative effort made by area organizations like the Youngstown Business Incubator and higher education institutions.

And it’s not just locals who are glad to see Youngstown making its mark.

The region has a history to it. Miraj of AlphaSTAR said he’s grateful America Makes’ home is in Youngstown.

“Because so much of American industry started in Ohio,” he said. “To see it kind of getting rebuilt there, through additive, is a really positive thing.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com

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America Makes gives the Mahoning Valley the chance to be a “national and, frankly, international leader in an industry,” said Rick Stockburger, president and CEO of BRITE Energy Innovators in Warren. The nonprofit economic development organization, which supports entrepreneurs in the energy space, bases its work in part on what America Makes has been able to accomplish in the region, Stockburger said.

America Makes, along with the Youngstown Business Incubator, has been able to draw companies in additive manufacturing to the region, he said, and others have changed how they do business. There’s “momentum” in the space, he said.

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CRAIN'S LIST | FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES Ranked by full-time equivalent employees in Northeast Ohio RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

COMPANY

LOCAL FTE STAFF 3-1-2022/ 1-YEAR CHANGE

MINUTE MEN COS., Cleveland 216-426-9675/minutemenhr.com

FIRST-GENERATION OWNER

YEAR FOUNDED

21,629 1 -0.6%

Sam Lucarelli

1967

Staffing, workers' compensation administration Jay Lucarelli, CEO and employment services

KEN GANLEY COS. (GANLEY AUTO GROUP), Broadview Heights 440-584-8202/ganleyauto.com

2,172 7.4%

Thomas D. Ganley

1968

Auto dealership group

Kenneth G. Ganley, president, CEO

GOJO INDUSTRIES INC., Akron 330-255-6000/gojo.com

2,100 -3.6%

Goldien and Jerry Lippman

1946

Manufacturer of skin health and surface hygiene products

Carey Jaros, president, CEO Marcella Kanfer Rolnick, executive chair

HEINEN'S INC., Warrensville Heights 216-475-2300/heinens.com

1,750 0.7%

Joe Heinen

1929

Grocery store chain

Jeffrey Heinen Tom Heinen, co-presidents

AVI FOODSYSTEMS INC., Warren 330-372-6000/avifoodsystems.com

1,600 —

John Payiavlas

1960

Food and hospitality services company

Anthony J. Payiavlas, president, CEO

SPRENGER HEALTH CARE, Lorain 440-989-5200/sprengerhealthcare.com

1,318 26.4%

Grace Sprenger

1959

Senior housing and care continuum services provider

Nicole Sprenger, CEO Michael Sprenger, COO

COVELLI ENTERPRISES INC., Warren 330-856-3176/covelli.com

1,263 2%

Albert Covelli

1978

Franchisee of bakery-cafe fast casual restaurants

Sam Covelli, CEO

INFOCISION, Akron 330-668-1400/infocision.com

1,110 22.2%

Gary Taylor

1982

Telemarketing/direct marketing firm

Craig Taylor, CEO Karen Taylor, board chair

GREAT LAKES CHEESE, Hiram 440-834-2500/greatlakescheese.com

1,097 7.5%

Hans Epprecht

1958

Packager and manufacturer of natural and processed cheese

Dan Zagzebski, president, CEO

SPITZER MANAGEMENT INC., Elyria 440-323-4671/spitzer.com

1,000 0%

George G. Spitzer

1904

Automotive retail, real estate development, golf course and marina management

Alan Spitzer, chairman, CEO

DIGERONIMO COS., Independence 216-446-3500/digeronimocompanies.com

843 —

Sam DiGeronimo

1956

Family of construction service and development companies

Victor DiGeronimo Jr., CEO; Rob DiGeronimo, president, Independence Excavating; Anthony DiGeronimo, president, Precision Environmental

DAVE'S SUPERMARKETS, Bedford Heights 216-763-3200/davesmarkets.com

815 1.2%

Alex Saltzman

1935

Supermarket operator

Daniel Saltzman, president

TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

National expertise. Local talent.

maloneynovotny.com

Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors personally invested in the success of your business.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

VITAMIX, Olmsted Township 800-848-2649/vitamix.com

709 -0.7%

William G. “Papa” Barnard

1921

Manufacturer of blending equipment for home Steve Laserson, CEO and commercial use Greg Teed, president

JANITORIAL SERVICES INC., Cuyahoga Heights 216-341-8601/jsijanitorial.com

684 6%

Ronald Martinez Sr.

1969

Janitorial services company

Ronald Martinez Jr., president

OATEY CO., Cleveland 216-267-7100/oatey.com

650 3.2%

L.R. Oatey

1916

Manufacturer of plumbing products

Neal R. Restivo, CEO

SANDRIDGE FOOD CORP., Medina 330-725-2348/sandridge.com

634 -18.7%

Vincent R. Sandridge

1960

Manufacturer of refrigerated entrees, salads, soups and side dishes

Mark D. Sandridge, chairman, CEO

OHIO CAT, Broadview Heights 440-526-6200/ohiocat.com

624 -5.3%

Thomas H. Taylor Sr.

1945

Service, sales and rental for Caterpillar equipment and engines

Kenneth E. Taylor, president

THE RESERVES NETWORK INC., Fairview Park 866-876-2020/trnstaffing.com

620 1 -0.8%

Don Stallard

1984

Temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire staffing services firm

Neil Stallard, CEO

FAMOUS ENTERPRISES INC., Akron 330-762-9621/famous-supply.com

475 18.8%

Hyman Blaushild

1933

Distributor of HVAC, plumbing, industrial/PVF and building products

Marc Blaushild, president, CEO

EAST MANUFACTURING CORP., Randolph 330-325-9921/eastmfg.com

450 -10%

Howard Booher

1968

Manufacturer of aluminum semi-highway trailers, truck bodies and parts

Gary Brown, senior vice president, operations

CAR PARTS WAREHOUSE, Warrensville Heights 216-676-9304/carpartswarehouse.net

425 -2.3%

Tonino and Carmelina Di Fiore

1975

Automotive parts distributor

Tony G. Di Fiore, owner

COMPONENT REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES, Mentor 440-255-1799/componentrepair.com

425 -3.4%

Thomas Wheeler

1985

Aviation maintenance repair and overhaul

Rich Mears, president Thomas Wheeler, owner

VALLEY TRUCK CENTERS, Valley View 216-524-2400/valleyfordtruck.com

424 6.8%

Brian E. O'Donnell

1964

Dealership management group

Brian E. O'Donnell, president, CEO

K&D GROUP, Willoughby 440-946-3600/kandd.com

388 0.8%

Douglas E. Price III, Karen M. Paganini

1984

Owner and manager of 10,000 apartments throughout Northeast Ohio

Karen M. Paganini, president, COO Douglas E. Price III, CEO

NATIONAL SAFETY APPAREL INC., Cleveland 800-553-0672/thinknsa.com

350 16.7%

George Grossman

1935

Safety apparel manufacturer

Chuck "Chas" Grossman, CEO

A.J. ROSE MANUFACTURING CO., Avon 440-934-7700/ajrose.com

347 —

Anton J. Rose

1922

Supplier of stamped metal components and assemblies

Dan Pritchard, president, CEO

KING NUT COS., Solon 440-248-8484/kingnut.com

345 -4.2%

Michael Kanan

1927

Snack nut and food manufacturer

Martin Kanan, president, CEO

ORLANDO BAKING CO., Cleveland 216-361-1872/orlandobaking.com

335 1.5%

Guistino Orlando

1872

Baker serving breads and rolls

John Anthony Orlando, president, CEO

SIRNA & SONS PRODUCE, Ravenna 330-298-2222/sirnaandsonsproduce.com

328 2.5%

Gaetano Sirna

1979

Food distributor

Tom Sirna, president

MAROUS BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, Willoughby 440-951-3904/marousbrothers.com

326 —

Adelbert Marous Jr.

1980

Commercial construction company

Adelbert Marous Jr., president, CEO; Ken Marous, vice president; Scott Marous, chairman

Research by Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) | Information is from the companies. In addition to being majority owned by a single family, to be eligible for this list companies must have at least two family members in management, or they must have been passed down from a previous generation. NOTES: 1. This is a staffing firm; the vast majority of these employees work on behalf of other companies.

Get all 101 firms and more than 420 executives in Excel format. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data 18 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 13, 2022

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LIST ANALYSIS

Family business survey produces lopsided results

BY CHUCK SODER

The results were pretty lopsided.

Profits are up for many of the 101 companies on the Crain’s Family-Owned Businesses list — but they’re almost universally struggling to find employees.

Combined local employment grew 1.4% in the 12 months ending March 1 for the 95 companies that provided two years of consistent data for the list. That figure rises to 2.8% if you exclude the No. 1 company on the list, Minute Men Cos., a staffing and employment services firm with 21,629 Northeast Ohio employees, almost all of whom work on behalf of other companies.

That’s not bad historically for companies on this list. But there’s reason to think it could’ve been higher if hiring weren’t so hard these days.

Hard may be an understatement, judging by results we got when we asked companies on the list this multiple choice question:

address staffing challenges?

Most respondents chose more than one of the 10 choices we offered, but the most traditional answer was by far the most popular: 68.6% of 70 respondents picked “Raised salaries beyond cost-of-living increases.”

Though hiring has been tough, that’s not to say things are bad for family-owned companies in Northeast Ohio. Consider results for this question:

Over the past year, has it become easier or harder to recruit and retain talent?

Of the 76 companies answering that question, 37 — nearly half — picked “Much harder.” In fact, the seven choices we offered became less popular as they moved away from that extreme. For instance, the second-most popular choice, naturally, was “Somewhat harder” (24 respondents). And only one company picked any of the three options saying hiring has become easier (they went with “slightly easier”).

We also asked companies what they’re doing about the problem.

In terms of profit/loss, do you expect this firm’s financial performance to increase or decrease in FY 2022 vs. FY 2021?

Out of 70 respondents, 49, or 70%, said they expect profits to increase to some degree. Most of the rest picked “Remain about the same.” Even in the unlikely event that all 31 companies on the list that didn’t answer the question actually think their profits will decline in 2022, those projecting an increase would still outnumber them.

Even so, it should be noted that companies having a bad year may have been less likely to answer the question, though we promised anonymity.

Strong inflation could be contributing to those projections, as well.

Keeping those caveats in mind, other data from the list suggests that last year wasn’t bad, either. Not only did local employment rise for companies on the list, but combined revenue increased 19.9% for the 42 companies that provided Crain’s with two years of figures.

Those figures are among the additional details available in the full Excel list, which is available to Crain’s Data Members. To learn more visit CrainsCleveland.com/data.

Over the past year what actions has your firm taken specifically to

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

Gopuff, headquartered in Philadelphia, operates out of roughly 600 micro-fulfillment centers | GOPUFF

FOOD

From Page 8

Translation for retirees and families: Pay less, get it fast, and get it hot!

Competitors are clearly taking note. Instacart recently launched Instacart Platform, a suite of technologies and services for retailers that includes 15-minute delivery powered by “nano-fulfillment centers.” DoorDash also recently announced a vertically integrated offering with the establishment of over 70 DashMarts across roughly 50 cities. It’s a classic case of the modern proverb: When you can’t innovate, imitate.

Gopuff founders Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev, who started the company out of a van while attending Drexel University in Philadel-

phia, have utilized a vertical integration model since the company’s inception. In a recent New York Times interview, Gola said: “Having warehouses and inventory is the only way to profit over time … because it allows the company to make money from selling goods and not just charging delivery fees.”

Gopuff certainly has a head start on its competition, which is not something overlooked by investors who have been quick to dump money into the rapid-delivery market despite experts questioning the prospects for profitability. Still, Gopuff seems to have created a model for success, a promising sign for the company’s future in a highly competitive industry.

A recent Axios report revealed that Gopuff ’s investor pitch outlines a path to profitability, a goal all play-

ers in the market continue to chase.

The materials claim, Axios notes, that all of Gopuff ’s micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) launched in 2017 or earlier are generating at least 10% quarterly EBITDA (above 15% in Philly). That figure is 66% for MFCs launched in 2018, 34% for 2019 and 26% for 2020. It also claims a 14.2% per order profit for the 2017 and earlier markets, which cashes out to $3.67 per order. For 2020, those figures are 4.9% and $1.32, according to the report.

Meanwhile, retirees and families in places like Northeast Ohio look forward to shaving a few bucks off their food bills and enjoying food fresh from the (potential) local micro-center. And the next time my wife mentions grocery shopping, I will happily accompany her — to our favorite chairs.

The bottom line

In terms of profit/loss, do you expect this firm’s financial performance to increase or decrease in FY 2022 vs. FY 2021?

Increase significantly: 5 Increase somewhat: 22 Increase slightly: 22 Remain about the same: 15 Decrease slightly: 6 Decrease somewhat: 0

Staffing is still tough

Decrease significantly: 0

Over the past year, has it become easier or harder to recruit and retain talent?

Much harder: 37 Somewhat harder: 24 Slightly harder: 10 Little to no change: 4 Slightly easier: 1

Somewhat easier: 0

Pay up

Much easier: 0

Raised salaries beyond cost-of-living increases: 48

Over the past year, what actions has your firm taken specifically to address staffing Improved insurance/retirement benefits: 20 challenges? (There were 70 respondents, who could choose more than one answer.)

Added/expanded tuition/training benefits: 13

Get more with Ancora.

With proprietary investment strategies, wealth planning and retirement plan solutions - we help you get more out of life.

216-825-4000 / www.ancora.net

Permanently allowing remote work part or full time: 17 Added/expanded signing bonuses: 26 Recruiting from new geographies: 25 Recruiting from new schools: 17 Recruiting more people: 25 Loosened qualifications listed on job postings: 17 None of thess: 7 SOURCE: CRAIN’S SURVEY

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

JUNE 13, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 19

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THOMAS

pound interest. (Former Browns wide receiver) Odell Beckham Jr. got his salary in crypto. What is Joe Thomas’ financial advice?

Fortunately, Thomas recovered in time, teaming with play-by-play man Tom McCarthy and sideline reporter Nathan Zegura for games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants. (NBC handled the third preseason game.)

Thomas will be back in the booth this August for all three preseason games, joining play-by-play man Chris Rose and sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala on WEWS. “Last year was awesome and it was really fun, but it was a challenge because I kept thinking, ‘Is this the word where I’m going lose my voice and my ability to talk?’” Thomas said.

“I’m excited to be getting back in the booth with healthier vocal folds, where I feel like I can really elaborate and dive in and be a little bit more of myself.”

Thomas, a 10-time Pro Bowler for the Browns, is one of the NFL’s most versatile broadcasters, shifting seamlessly from his role as an analyst for the NFL Network (where he appeared on the pregame and postgame shows for Thursday Night Football), his Thoma & Hawk Football Show podcast with former Browns player Andrew Hawkins, and his media work with the Browns. He was mentioned as a possible successor to longtime radio analyst Doug Dieken and Thomas even called it his “dream job,” but said the job would have required him to spend too much time away from his wife and kids. (The role went to Zegura.)

Thomas, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, spoke about that decision, as well as how he’ll handle the situation with Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, his NFL Network contract, his investment philosophy, his debut on Instagram and more in a wide-ranging phone interview this week, which was edited for clarity.

I’m not a crypto guy. As you can imagine, as an offensive lineman, I’m a little bit more on the conservative side on everything, but investment-wise, too.

I’ve got a fairly balanced portfolio. I have been getting a little bit more into private equity-type things in the last five or six years. I’ve got a healthy amount of real estate, and I was a real estate major in the business school at Wisconsin. I own a couple farms.

So, kind of a little bit of everything, but a little bit similar to my football analyst work, I’m trying to pursue business opportunities that I enjoy rather than what the return looks like. Eventually, that will make a good return.

One of my big investments that I’ve been in for a while is Mission Barbecue. It was started by one of my friends who signed me with Under Armour (Bill Kraus), and then he retired with Under Armour and we talked about partnering on a barbecue restaurant that he was going to name Sloppy Joe’s. Then he got smart and realized you don’t want to put my name or face on anything, so we named it Mission Barbecue. I’ve partnered with him on his Midwest stores, and we’ve been doing really well with that.

It’s been a really fun venture because it’s successful and it’s got a really great brand and mission behind it. The reason they named it Mission is the mission is to give back and serve the men and women that serve us. First responders.

Law enforcement. Police. Firefighters.

Military. And to sort of do it with a loveof-country theme and it’s been a lot fun, especially because I get free barbecue whenever I throw a family party.

One thing that I didn’t do at all when I was playing was cook, because my wife is a great cook, and when she wasn’t cooking, the Browns were cooking for me. But we had our fourth kid right after I retired and my wife was like, “All right, it’s your turn.” So I had to teach myself how to cook first for the kids. Just basic stuff. But I found that my attention to detail and the obsession with process that helped me to succeed in football has helped me in the kitchen. So it’s been kind of fun diving in and focusing on trying to become a better cook. I tell people I’m not a chef. I’m just a person who likes to cook. But I want to get better.

From Page 1

Former Browns left tackle Joe Thomas will return as the analyst for Cleveland’s three preseason games this season. | CLEVELAND BROWNS

to see you because I’m going to take a different full-time job.”  Would that be different if you were making Tony Romo money or Troy Aikman money?

(Laughs.) Well, the good news is they pay left tackles pretty well in the NFL.

 When I listened to your preseason games last year, it felt like you were so enthusiastic to share everything with viewers. You could tell that you really enjoyed talking football.

I think that’s one of the things that me not doing it full time brings to the broadcast. I bring full joy and excitement when I’m up there. Don’t tell the Browns, but I’d do it for free and I’d almost pay to do it. I love being around the game and teaching people about what I basically became a Ph.D in, which was “WHEN I RETIRED, I WANTED TO MAKE line play. It’s the SURE I HAD THAT WORK-LIFE FAMILY least understood BALANCE. I READJUSTED MY PRIORITIES aspect of football, I think for dieFROM WORK TO FAMILY-THEN-WORK. ” but hards it’s the most interesting, because — Joe Thomas it’s the hardest to learn and least explained. Most color  Obviously, they had a changeanalysts, you’re hearing the quarterback over on the radio side with Doug perspective or the coach perspective, (Dieken) retiring and you were which is great. They give good insight, kind of interested, but it wasn’t but it’s mostly stuff everyone sort of a good fit for you because of the time away from your family. Tell me knows if they’re a football fan. For me, it’s more about peeling back the onion in about the decision to return as the a relatable and easy-to-understand way, analyst for the Browns’ preseason and giving insight into why offensive games. and defensive line play matters, why I love doing Browns games, whether it’s it’s impacting the game and how it’s radio or TV, but for me, it’s just about impacting the game. finding the right balance in life. When I retired, I wanted to make sure I had that  It seems like part of broadcasting work-life family balance. I readjusted my priorities from work to family-then-work. is mastering the 8-second sound bite, and I didn’t feel like you quite Doing 20 games — which is essentially did that, and I don’t mean that in a what it is if you do radio because of bad way. You wanted to talk. the preseason — is just too much time Oh yeah. You better not sit next to me away from my family. My kids are in on the couch during a game, because school now and they’re gone during I’m going to be yapping and going on the week, so the weekend is when we what’s going on on the offensive line. get to hang out. Being gone for a few of And I get a big audience to do it on those (weekends) is no problem and it’s TV, which is really special. That’s why I probably good, because they probably have so much joy. I’ve listened to guys want me out of the house for a little bit.

But being gone for all of them would not who have been doing it for a long time and they’re very good at it. They’re very be OK with anybody. polished, they do a good job of getting I always tell my kids that the reason I in and out, they get along with their played in the NFL was so I could spend partner but they don’t bring a lot of joy. more time with you guys when you’re They don’t bring a lot of new, interesting in grade school and playing your sports information. I think that’s where I maybe and moving into high school. The last separate myself a little bit, and I think thing I wanted to do was say, “See you that’s why a number of networks were later. Now I’m absolutely never going

“I BRING FULL JOY AND EXCITEMENT WHEN I’M UP THERE. DON’T TELL THE BROWNS, BUT I’D DO IT FOR FREE AND I’D ALMOST PAY TO DO IT. I LOVE BEING AROUND THE GAME AND TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT I BASICALLY BECAME A PH.D IN, WHICH WAS LINE PLAY.” interested in me doing things for them.  Let me ask about (Browns quarterback) Deshaun Watson.

Obviously, his situation is unique and if you’re doing preseason games for the Browns, it’s different than if you’re doing it for a national audience, but how do you handle his situation when it comes up?

Well, it remains to be seen still because we have no idea what the results of the NFL investigation will be, we don’t know what the results of the civil litigation will be, and we don’t even know if he’ll be available or if he’ll be playing. There’s a lot to be determined before we really have any idea how the preseason is going to lay out and how that would affect what we’re talking about. We’re not going to act like it’s not something on every Browns fan’s mind. But at the same time, if he’s not there for whatever reason, we’ll obviously let you know why and what the NFL has concluded if they’ve concluded anything at that point, but then try to focus on the team and the guys you are going to see on the field.  You do a lot with NFL Network and you were on-site for all of the Thursday night games last year, so how will that work now that Amazon has those games, and how will your role with NFL Network change?

My contract with NFL Network is up at the end of June, and we’re talking about extending that. Obviously, if you’ve followed NFL Network, you saw that they sold their Thursday night package to Amazon and are hiring, or presumably will be hiring at some point, a team. I think we kind of know who it’s going to be. I think they’re working on the contracts.

And NFL Network is also, I believe, is trying to sell to private equity, or to another company, a large portion of their network, so they’re kind of doing the bare-bones salaries approach. So, unfortunately, a lot of people have been cut over there. So it’s going to be sort of a bare-bones NFL Network group of not

only on-air talent, but behind-the-scenes people. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens over there.

They’ve (NFL Network) expressed interest in doing something with me, but they don’t have that big tent pole Thursday night football game anymore.

That was their highest-rated show, obviously, because it’s live football and that’s what people want to see more than all the news in the world. So, losing that is going to really change what that network really looks like. It’s going to be much more of a news network now, so where does that fit with me and what I had done previously, which was primarily the pregame, halftime and postgame stuff? I know there’s been talk about sending me over to some of the international games, either a pregame role or a correspondent and still covering some of the big events for the NFL like the combine, the draft and free agency like I’ve done in the past. But I think they’re still trying to figure out what things look like.

But the thing that makes me really excited — and the thing that’s always made me most excited about the NFL since I started playing for the Browns — is talking about the Browns. So being able to still do their preseason games, to be able to do their radio shows and to be able to do a lot of content for them and be involved primarily first and foremost with Cleveland is awesome. That’s kind of been my dream since I retired. I loved Thursday Night Football but sometimes they had games — sorry to Jaguars fans — but it was the Jaguars versus the Giants and I was like, “Oh, boy, I can’t wait to spend the rest of this week researching and watching film on these two teams!” Whereas now I’m shifting a little bit more toward the Browns focus with some of the stuff I’m doing, it’s like, “Hey, I’m already following the Browns, now I just get to talk about them a little bit more.” So it provides me with a little more opportunity to talk about the team that I love.  This is Crain’s Cleveland Business, so we have to get some business advice. (Former Browns defensive end) Carl Nassib talked about com-

 You’ve got a lot of good stuff about cooking on Twitter, but you just do Twitter well. You have a good sense of humor about yourself and when you need to take a strong stance you do, but for the most part it seems like you’re there to have fun.

I always try to keep Twitter light and in perspective. You’re basically listening to the people with the biggest bullhorn, and if you take their opinion too seriously, it’s probably not the right space for you.

I try to keep it light, and that’s what helped me survive 11 non-playoff seasons in Cleveland. I won’t say losing seasons, because we did have one winning season. But the other 10 were non-playoff and losing seasons.

Anyway, I’m trying to get into Instagram and it’s kind of scary because I haven’t had time to really learn it, but I know that I need to do it, especially as a person with a few businesses. And I’m looking to get into the youth athletic training space as well. I’m starting to try to open up some youth performance centers for grade school, middle school and high school kids starting in Wisconsin and hopefully bringing it to Ohio. You kind of have Instagram and Facebook, although it is a little bit daunting learning that stuff. Hopefully, I’ll figure it out quick.

20 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 13, 2022

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BUILDING

From Page 1

Geis bought the property, a stretch of farmland, in July. Now the Streetsboro-based developer has teamed up with Stonemont, of Atlanta, to coown and develop the first 77 acres, northwest of where the toll road crosses state Route 44.

“We really looked at the lack of availability from New York to Chicago … really the I-80 corridor from east to west,” said Zack Markwell, Stonemont’s CEO and managing principal, of evaluating the need for modern, move-in-ready space. “There’s very little availability. And obviously with the continued growth of e-commerce, what we’ve seen through COVID and moving out of COVID, we think there’s still a huge demand.”

Plans for the building show a footprint of just over 1 million square feet, with 220 docks and parking for 330 trailers and 900 cars. The broader property could support millions of additional square feet of development, depending on the size and types of users that materialize.

Greg Geis, the second-generation owner of the company that bears his family’s name, said the first building should be complete in early 2023. But that timeline depends on securing key public approvals.

The Portage County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday, June 9, in favor of a tax-abatement agreement for the project. Township officials in Shalersville already had signed off on exempting improvements to the 77 acres from property taxes for 15 years.

Geis and Stonemont will pay taxes on the value of the underlying land.

The board of education for the Crestwood Local School District also has approved the abatement deal. The

BUILDERS

From Page 1

One line of business that Petros is adjusting is in his company’s land development business, the long, risky process of getting tracts of land subdivided into home sites by local governments, installing infrastructure and streets to get the sites ready for sale to builders, many of them national concerns.

“I’m passing on (land) deals that I would have pursued last year,” Petros said. “Land development is getting cooler and cooler. Even if you can get the lots for just $2,000 apiece, by the time you get in the infrastructure, you can’t make it work. In some communities such as Grafton or Brunswick, you can’t afford to keep increasing home prices. Why would the price of a piece of plastic become 10 times more expensive in a year?”

Petros said that is the lesson he learned in the housing bust, when he was left with lots of land in 2008 as the market sank.

“I see it coming,” he said. “You have the Fed saying I’ll punch you next month and keep punching you until you take a seat to beat inflation.

I heard them. I took a seat.”

Petros said he’s glad his company works at the high end of the market, where most buyers are moving up from selling homes and that he’s diversified into multifamily the past few years.

Dino Palmieri, the owner of Palmieri Builders of Solon and the Palmieri hair styling chain, said some builders are starting to see slowing sales, but business remains brisk enough that he has not yet slowed down his land development efforts.

developers will make annual payments to the school district and Maplewood Career Center, a vocational school in Ravenna, as part of the agreement.

School board records indicate that the first project will cost at least $70 million to build, though neither Markwell nor Geis would provide a firm number. “It’s a lot,” Geis said.

Separately, Shalersville and neighboring Streetsboro are considering legislation to create a joint economic development district to share income-tax revenues from the project. That longterm arrangement would apply Streetsboro’s 2% income tax rate to workers at the site. The city would receive 35 cents of every tax dollar, and the township would receive the rest.

larger-scale projects,” he said, noting the shortage of sprawling sites where developers can erect buildings quickly to meet companies’ needs.

A recent site plan shows eight buildings at the Turnpike Commerce Center, ranging from 125,000 to 1.4 million square feet. Geis said he’s talking to three potential users who each need 80 to 90 acres. But Team NEO, a nonprofit regional economic development organization, also has heard from companies that might gobble up most of the park.

Christine Nelson, who leads Team NEO’s projects, sites and talent work, said those prospects include logistics businesses and suppliers in the semiconductor and electrical vehicle industries.

To kick-start the “THERE’S VERY LITTLE AVAILABILITY. speculative AND OBVIOUSLY WITH THE CONTINUED JobsOhio has project, offered the developers a $2 GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE, WHAT million grant through WE’VE SEEN THROUGH COVID AND its Ohio Site Inventory Program. The stateMOVING OUT OF COVID, WE THINK wide nonprofit ecoTHERE’S STILL A HUGE DEMAND.” nomic development corporation unveiled — Zack Markwell, Stonemont’s CEO that program in 2020 The local governments would use to fill gaps in the real estate market.

The need for such buildings has only the money for administrative costs and other expenses, including road main- grown over the last few years, in a tight tenance and improvements. The industrial market where shortages of agreement forbids Streetsboro from both labor and materials are prolonging construction, said David Stecker, annexing Shalersville.

The pending contract only covers an executive vice president at the JLL the first 77 acres. As the business real estate brokerage in Cleveland.

“That’s why these spec projects have park grows, additional sites could become part of the district — and might an advantage over build-to-suit, just also be candidates for tax abatement, because of speed to market,” said Stecker, who will be marketing the building officials said.

Patrick O’Malia, Streetsboro’s eco- for lease with colleague Joe Messina.

Brad Ehrhart, president of the nonnomic development director, believes there will be positive ripple effects profit Portage Development Board, across the region as new buildings start also stressed the need to respond quickly to companies and site selecto rise in Portage County.

“This could be a game-changer for tors. “If you have the product ready to “We don’t have to slow down,” Palmieri said. “It takes so long to get entitlements (city or township approvals) for land development that will slow you down. It’s going to be good for a while, but with all these people who have refinanced their home loans at low interest rates, there is a segment of the population that will be reluctant to move.”

Ironically, for a period with record-low interest rates stretching back to 2018, home starts have not soared as much as could be expected, even in an area such as Northeast Ohio with little population growth.

Slight expansion in single-family building is reflected in 2021 annual home starts just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area, single-unit permits were at 2,940 in 2021 compared with 2,814 in 2020. In Akron (the Portage-Summit MSA,) permits climbed to 880 homes from 788 the prior year.

Although the housing boom was far overheated before the Great Recession, production of single-family units peaked at 6,711 in 2004 in the Cleveland MSA and 2,480 in the Akron MSA. The homebuilding market is generally considered a shadow of its pre-recession self in Northeast Ohio, even with the benefit of a long run of cellar interest rates.

Robert Myers, president of Myers Homes of Chagrin Falls and president of the Greater Cleveland Home Builders Association trade group, said the trimmed pace of production stems from multiple sources.

“Nationally, we lost many of our builders, and many of our tradespeople. They retired, went into other businesses or simply didn’t come back when the market recovered,” Myers

said. “New federal regulations are also having an impact.”

The other factor, he said, is that after passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the reporting requirements for making land development loans became so tough that local banks left that business and have not returned to it.

“It’s been a weird dynamic,” said Frank Amato, the owner of Amato Homes of Walton Hills. “Everyone was ready for the market to slow down because of COVID-19, but it exploded.”

He added, “We still have a decent amount of interest and traffic, because there’s still not a lot of inventory on the market. Generally, we have a house sold before we finish it. The biggest challenge is that construction is taking longer than it should be due to the lack of labor.”

Amato said his company’s sales this year will surpass last year’s, but he still worries about changing interest rates.

“You have a lot of the population that thinks 5% is a high interest rate,” he said, even though it’s high only with record-low mortgage rates in the rear-view mirror.

“Land is the biggest challenge in the Cleveland market,” Amato said.

“The land that’s available is hard to develop because of the topography or its location.”

Mark Bennett, operations director at Bennett Builders & Remodelers of Westlake, said he believes the newhome market surfaces because land availability in some suburbs is an issue and it’s at such a premium it buoys home prices. In the meantime, he said, the remodeling business continues to grow.

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

|

go, that is a big portion of an attraction project. … I think the tax abatement will be an important area, too, for a customer,” he said.

It’s possible that Geis and Stonemont will partner on additional deals at the Turnpike Commerce Center.

“We view this as the first of many,” said Markwell, who lives in Hudson.

Stonemont has 6.2 million square feet of projects under development in Ohio, including a 450,000-square-foot Medina County warehouse where Geis is handling the construction.

S E P T E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018

PA G E 2 9

|

Geis views passing the millionsquare-foot threshold as a milestone for the market.

“Northeast Ohio has never been competitive in the large customer arena. … Typically, we were owner-occupied. Then we started to get national exposure with smaller facilities,” he said. “But I think it’s time for us to compete on a national level from a size and pricing standpoint.”

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

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C.W. JENNINGS INDUSTRIAL EMPIRE C.W. Jennings Global Enterprise Inc. Manufacturing / Distribution Advising Industrial / Consumer Goods Global Expansion Financing Construction / Acquisitions Corporate Partnering

C.W. Jennings Global Trading Centers Inc. International Commerce Network C.W. Jennings Industrial Holdings Inc. C.W. Jennings Industrial Capital Inc. C. W Jennings Industrial Building Inc. For Industrial Services Call Headquarters (216) 505 - 5049/(855) 707 – 1944

C.W. Jennings Global Industrialist Since 1973

REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS

ROCKY RIVER COMMERCIAL

REAL ESTATE O N L I N E O N LY AU C T I O N

BIDDING ENDS TUESDAY, JUNE 21ST AT 5:00PM

20015 DETROIT ROAD, ROCKY RIVER, OHIO MULTIUSE BUILDING – GOOD LOCATION ZONED GENERAL BUSINESS

This property offers the Rocky River appeal with a variety of uses. Situated near the intersection of Lakeview Avenue and Detroit Road, just off Interstate 90, the local shopping amenities are endless, making this an ideal exposure opportunity for any business. The building offers 4,564 square feet on the main level. The basement is finished, with exterior entrances, providing an additional 4,455 square feet of space to be leased as well. Ample parking is available in the spacious 5 car garage and on the asphalt lot adjacent to the building with 19 spots. Various recent updates include new windows, updated heating, new exterior canopies, new entry doors, steel ramp to rear entry, and more. This commercial property is a must-see! Private showings available through Howard McGuire.

BID ONLINE AT RES.BID Howard McGuire, Listing Agent 440-667-4608, Mary Hartley, Andy White Jake White, Seth Andrews, Broker Real Estate & Equipment Specialists.

(833) 765-3737 • www.RES.bid JUNE 13, 2022 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 21

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section

Taft

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 BANKING

INVESTMENT FIRM

LAW

Andover Bank

North Point Portfolio Managers

McCarthy Lebit

Andover Bank welcomes Cathleen Square, Vice President and Market Leader, Commercial Banker, to our new Loan Production Office at 3924 ClockPointe Trail, Stow, OH 44224. The Stow office will provide commercial and mortgage loan products to customers in the Akron, Canton, and Cleveland markets. “Cathy has strong ties to the Akron area and has worked in that market for over 30 years,” stated Sean Dockery, SVP Commercial Banking.

INSURANCE

Hylant Michael Maitland and Dennis Neate have joined Hylant as client service executive and client executive, respectively, the company announced Maitland Friday. Maitland and Neate, both formerly of Oswald Industries, will bring their extensive experience in insurance and risk management to their roles. “With Dennis and Michael joining our team, Hylant is in a better place than ever to offer a full suite of risk management solutions Neate to solve our clients’ ever-evolving needs,” said Kim Riley, Hylant regional CEO. The addition of Neate and Maitland continues Hylant’s expansive employee growth. Since January, Hylant has added more than 60 employees across its footprint as the company makes key employee investments to boost core capabilities and growth.

NEW GIG? Preserve your career change for years to come.

C O N TAC T

Plaques • Crystal keepsakes Frames • Other Promotional Items

Laura Picariello Reprints Sales Manager lpicariello@crain.com (732) 723-0569

North Point Portfolio Managers is pleased to announce that David Mrosko has joined our firm as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager. Dave has more than 25 years of portfolio management experience with a broad range of clients including high net worth families, endowments, foundations, individual retirement accounts and employee benefit plans. He will use his broad experience to work closely with some of North Point’s longest-term clients to construct portfolios that meet their unique goals. Dave earned an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and a business degree from Bowling Green State University where he majored in accounting. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

LAW

McCarthy Lebit welcomed David S. Banas as a new Principal Attorney for the firm, effective June 1, 2022. With the addition of David’s highlyregarded Elder & Special Needs Law practice, McCarthy Lebit essentially filled a service gap for existing clients who may need or want elder law and special needs counsel. David, a graduate of Capital University Law School (J.D., cum laude), brings more than a decade of experience in the field and has been appointed to lead the new group at McCarthy Lebit.

Riya Kurian is an associate in Taft’s Commercial Litigation practice. She has experience with depositions, mediations, arbitrations, Kurian propounding and responding to discovery, brief and motion writing, pleadings preparation, general legal research and writing projects, and court appearances. Riya earned her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst Young University. James (Jamie) Young is an associate focusing on corporate and finance matters.

He earned his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and bachelor’s degrees in finance and political science from the State University of New York at Fredonia.

REAL ESTATE

Nova Title Agency

LAW

LAW

Brouse McDowell LPA

McCarthy Lebit

Brouse McDowell is proud to welcome Associate Marcus Pryor II to our Insurance Recovery Group. He represents corporate policyholders in recovering insurance proceeds for their liabilities and losses relating to a variety of corporate policies. He joins Brouse with a diverse background with time in a national law firm, an in-house counsel role, and government experience. He also continues to serve as a judge advocate in the US Army Reserves.

McCarthy Lebit is pleased to announce the election and promotion of Nicholas R. Oleski to Principal of the firm, effective June 1, 2022. As an Associate in the firm’s Litigation group the past 6 years, Nick focused primarily on commercial litigation, criminal defense, and collections litigation. More recently, Nick’s practice has expanded, and now includes defending high profile public officials, corporate executives, and specialized professionals facing significant criminal prosecutions.

Nova Title Agency is elated to have named Katherine Brown to the position of General Counsel. Kate joined Nova Title Agency in 2014 after graduating from Cleveland Marshall College of Law, where she was an editor of the Global Business Law Review.

Since then she has worked as Associate Counsel and has been an invaluable member of our team, specializing in commercial work and complex real property matters. In her new position, Kate will continue to strengthen our commercial transaction team and oversee all of the real estate, title and legal matters Nova handles.

LAW

Hahn Loeser & Parks The firm is pleased to announce that Christopher T. Cheh joined as an associate attorney in the Cleveland office’s Trusts & Estates Practice Area.

Cheh assists individuals and families in wealth transfer planning through the creation of wills, living trusts, and irrevocable trusts, while implementing strategies to protect assets and maximize wealth preservation. A Northeast Ohio native and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law graduate, he also served as an associate at a small Cleveland law firm.

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

THE WEEK AROUND THE BEND: The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority and investors Tony and Bobby George are close to settling a real estate dispute that is holding up a $50 million hillside stabilization project in Ohio City. On Thursday, June 9, the port’s board of directors approved a resolution authorizing the agency to execute a settlement agreement. The multi-party deal, in the works for weeks, would resolve an eminent domain fight over a long-vacant building at West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue. After years of discussions and analysis, the port is preparing to shore up the slope above Irishtown Bend, where the unsteady hillside is threatening the Cuyahoga River shipping channel. The agency and its nonprofit partners control the entire 23-acre site, except for the 0.41-acre parcel that the Georges bought in early 2018.

BUILDING BLOCKS: Cleveland State University plans to spend $153 million to acquire two student-housing projects on the outskirts of its campus. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will issue up to $155 million in bonds to finance the purchases. The agency’s board of directors approved the bond transactions on Thursday, June 9. Documents presented to the board show that a Cleveland State affiliate, the nonprofit Euclid Avenue Development Corp., is forging ahead on deals to buy the Edge on Euclid, a 564-bed building at 1750 Euclid Ave., and the Langston, a 603-bed complex along Chester Avenue. The purchase price for the Edge is $64.5 million. For the Langston, which sits on land the university already owns, the sale price is $88.75 million.

PAYING UP: Akron-based Signet Jewelers Ltd. agreed to pay $175 million to settle a class-action lawsuit dating back to 2008 in which about 70,000 female employees of the company’s Sterling Jewelers unit accused the retailer of paying them less and promoting them less often than men. Signet, operator of big brands including Kay Jewelers and Jared, disclosed the proposed settlement Thursday, June 9, in a regulatory filing. If the agreement is approved, the company expects to fund the settlement in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Signet did not admit liability as part of the settlement. Signet said that as a result of the settlement, it “recorded a pre-tax charge of $190 million within other operating expense in the condensed consolidated statement of operations during the first quarter ended April 30.”

HERE’S SOME INTEL: Chipmaking giant Intel Corp. has made a big hire in advance of its big investment in Ohio. Santa Clara, California-based Intel on Wednesday, June 8, announced it has hired April Miller Boise as executive vice president and chief legal officer to lead the company’s global legal, trade and government affairs efforts. She starts in the job July 6 and will succeed Steven Rodgers, who retired this year after more than 20 years at Intel. Miller Boise is joining Intel from power management company Eaton Corp., where she has been executive vice president and chief legal officer since early 2020. Prior to that, Miller Boise was senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Troy, Michigan-based automotive supplier Meritor Inc. She also is a former managing partner of the Cleveland office of law firm Thompson Hine.

22 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JUNE 13, 2022

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crainscleveland.com

PRIVATE SCHOOL PLANNER YOUR GUIDE TO NORTHEAST OHIO SCHOOLS

Publisher and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Executive editor Elizabeth McIntyre (216) 771-5358 or emcintyre@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 Joe Scalzo, Sports business.

(216) 771-5256 or joe.scalzo@crain.com Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron.

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

T N A T R S O P M I DATE G. 22

U 27 TE: A A D JUNE E : E U S N I L IS 15 DEAD N O I : JULY T E A U P I D IC NT PART ONTE C .8 E L I : AUG E PROF U D AD

Crain’s Content Studio-Cleveland will publish a Private School Planner exploring the array of private education options in Northeast Ohio, from K-12 to planning for college and beyond.

The Private School Planner special supplement is distributed with the Aug. 22 issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Events manager Missy Chambless, (216) 771-5388 or missy.chambless@crain.com Integrated marketing manager Cody Smith, (330) 419-1078 or cody.smith@crain.com Sales manager Mara Broderick, (917) 612-8414 or mara.broderick@crain.com Sales and marketing coordinator Shannon Smith, (440) 281-6397 or shannon.smith@crain.com Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Kaylie Moran, Hannah Sekerak 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

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Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President and CEO KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain 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

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TUESDAY, JUNE 28 | 11 AM - 1 PM TINKHAM VEALE UNIVERSITY CENTER AT CWRU

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR HONOREES

April Miller Boise, executive vice president and chief legal officer, Eaton Bethia Burke, president, Fund for Our Economic Future Carol Cunningham, state medical director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS Marisa Darden, partner, Squire Patton Boggs Trina Evans, executive vice president, director of corporate center and chief of staff, KeyCorp Habeebah Grimes, chief executive officer, Positive Education Program Yvette Ittu, president, Cleveland Development Advisors Carey Jaros, president and CEO, GOJO Industries Jeneen Marziani, president, Bank of America Ohio Valerie Mayen, founder, Yellowcake Shop Tania Menesse, CEO and president, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Megan Lykins Reich, Kohl executive director, moCa Erika Rudin-Luria, president, Jewish Federation of Cleveland Marika Shioiri-Clark, principal and developer, SOSHL Studio Teleangé Thomas, chief operations and relationships officer, JumpStart

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