Crain's Cleveland Business

VOL. 40, NO. 37

SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2019

The Lists

Source Lunch

Investment banks, foundations Pages 21, 22

Author, associate professor Stephanie Ryberg-Webster Page 27

INSIDE: MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

MEET ME IN THE CLE Revamped Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse readies for takeoff Page 14

It’s easy going green with your next event Page 12

Wine venues, catering trends Pages 16-17 The view of downtown’s big three as seen from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

(Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

TECHNOLOGY

EDUCATION

Why not Cleveland?

I Promise School is evolving, adapting

Road trip pitches Northeast Ohio to Silicon Valley tech execs

By Jay Miller jmiller@crain.com @millerjh

U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River said he thought Silicon Valley needed to know more about the technology assets and opportunities of Northeast Ohio. So he put

together a small group that included businesspeople and academics and went west after Labor Day to ask the question, “Why not Cleveland?”

He came back believing Northeast Ohio has an opportunity to grow its technology sector.

“My background, coming from the technology world and spending some

Entire contents © 2019 by Crain Communications Inc.

time in Silicon Valley, I thought it’d be a really neat idea to put together sort of a delegation to go out west and pitch what we’re trying to do in Northeast Ohio,” Gonzalez he said in a telephone interview, “but then also to listen to some of the ideas that are percolating around Silicon Valley and try to apply them to what we’re doing. It was a great trip, across the board.”

Though Gonzalez may be best known for his years playing football at Ohio State University and in the NFL, he also knows his way around Northern California’s high-tech scene.

SEE WHY NOT?, PAGE 26

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By Rachel Abbey McCafferty rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

One of the key lessons from the first year of the I Promise School in Akron was the importance of flexibility.

The school, a collaboration between the Akron Public Schools and the LeBron James Family Foundation, is now in its second year, serving about 340 third- through fifth-grade students. By 2022, the school will expand to serve third through eighth grade.

The Akron Public Schools have long had programs to support at-risk students, like those selected for the school, but the I Promise School takes a more focused, comprehensive approach.

When the I Promise School

opened in 2018, Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, said she felt like the team was ready.

They were, to a point, but the school has had to continue listening to its families and evolving quickly as their needs shift. Campbell doesn’t ever expect that to stop.

“Because what’s affecting our families today may not be the same thing that affects our families tomorrow,” she said.

The LeBron James Family Foundation offers financial support to the I Promise School, but it also brings what Campbell called its “We are family” philosophy. That means the school aims to support students beyond the school walls and offer resources to support their families, as well.

SEE I PROMISE, PAGE 23

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PA G E 3

Cities take on the challenge of public health Lakewood and Old Brooklyn are going all out to address the needs, lifestyles and well-being of residents

By Lydia Coutré

Old Brooklyn

lcoutre@crain.com @LydiaCoutre

The Old Brooklyn CDC released the results of its community healthneeds assessment last year. Since then, the organization has initiated a series of efforts to address some of the needs identified in the survey.

First, it revamped its weekly farmers market, transforming it into a much broader community resource that ran throughout the summer. The CDC moved the event from a weeknight to Saturdays and to a new space that was more easily accessible by public transportation, adding a slew of additional resources: activities for children, nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, fitness programming, early childhood literacy work, local artists, live music and more.

Partners joined in. Sixth City Cycles ran a bike ride through the neighborhood before the market started. Every other week, Northeast Ohio Medical University came onsite to perform health screenings. MetroHealth and Recovery Resources were onsite every week offering physician referrals and signups for different benefit programs. The Cleveland Food Bank came monthly to offer signups for WIC and SNAP. “It’s almost like McMahon having a festival every week,” McMahon said.

The community health-needs assessment also revealed that 60% of respondents weren’t using parks. The Old Brooklyn CDC now aims to have everyone who lives in the neighborhood be just a 10-minute walk from a park. The CDC partnered with public health students at Case Western Reserve University, who are holding a series of focus groups to ask residents what they’d like to see in a park and what types of activities or fitness programming would work for them. That work is ongoing as part of the graduate students’ capstone projects. Separately, the CDC is working with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy on converting a former landfill into a park.

These just scratch the surface of what the CDC is looking to address, with much of the work done in partnership with various other organizations.

Adler, of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said there’s more awareness and research around how much of an individual’s health is affected by factors outside of clinical care.

And as payment systems change from fee-for-service to value-based care, health systems are incentivized to keep people healthy, which often means engaging with organizations outside of their walls.

Adler said he expects to continue to see more nontraditional entities look at their work in the context of health.

That won’t always lead to them doing different work, but health is a growing factor in how other organizations approach their work in communities.

While many organizations are broadly thinking about how to improve health and engage the community, McMahon said she believes Old Brooklyn CDC is one of the few non-health care organizations taking active steps to deeply evaluate and directly address those needs.

“I do think, though, as community health becomes more prevalent, we are at the forefront of a trend,” McMahon said.

The closure of Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Hospital a couple of years ago has placed the city of Lakewood in a unique position to focus on the health of its citizens, work often tackled by health care organizations and nonprofits.

The city initially received about $21 million in an allocation of assets from the hospital, said Lakewood Mayor Michael Summers. Of that, $7 million to $8 million is being spent on securing and demolishing the building, with the rest available for reinvestment by the city.

“Most communities and most municipal mayors don’t wake up in the morning with health care as a primary objective,” Summers said.

It’s a tough subject to address. Without significant resources, Summers said, there’s not much he could do. But with the infusion of funds, alongside two health foundations in the city, Summers and city leaders have spent a lot of time thinking about health.

While the circumstances are unique, Lakewood isn’t the only nontradiSummers tional entity in the area looking to address social determinants of health. The Old Brooklyn Community Development Corp. last year took the uncommon step of undertaking a community healthneeds assessment, a systematic way to analyze community health and create a plan to address unmet needs.

The Affordable Care Act requires tax-exempt hospitals to regularly conduct such assessments.

During the Old Brooklyn CDC’s strategic planning process a couple of years ago, a theme arose in conversations with residents, stakeholders and partners: quality of life in a healthy neighborhood.

“So, in talking at the time, our executive director and a consultant we were working with basically said, ‘We’re hearing so much of this concern that is sort of outside the boundaries of traditional community development work, which is, you know, with housing and brick-and-mortar type stuff,’ ” said Heather McMahon, director of community health for the CDC. “ ‘So we really need to look at what community health means, and what this could do for the organization.’ ” David Adler, senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said more cities and neighborhoods are getting involved in health work.

“From where I stand, I think cities and nonprofits are — often if they haven’t traditionally been in the health space — are seeing how their work relates to health,” he said. “I think many are still trying to understand what that should mean for them. In other words, if they still see themselves as primarily economic development or community development but they realize those are fundamentally health issues, what’s the right way for them to engage with, whether it’s a health care system or other health-oriented organizations?”

Organizations are figuring out how to do that, he adde, and there’s a lot of “creativity and excitement” in the space.

P003_CL_20190916.indd 3

The Old Brooklyn Community Development Corp. partners with nutrition educators and chefs from the neighborhood to do free cooking demonstrations for healthy foods alongside nutrition education during the neighborhood’s weekly summer farmers market. (Contributed photographs)

The Old Brooklyn CDC revamped the neighborhood’s farmers market, adding various classes and activities to the summer-long program where residents can grab fresh produce.

Lakewood As Lakewood went through the contentious process of its only hospital closing, Summers said an enormous amount of work went into understanding what the city needs to be healthy.

“A part of it was that so many of the issues that contribute to our lack of health are chronic conditions and lifestyle-driven behaviors,” he said.

“And in order to improve those, you

don’t need a hospital; what you need is good outpatient care, and you need to be in an environment that creates a culture of better health.”

The city also has two new foundations that are the result of the hospital transition: The Three Arches Foundation, which is the legacy of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation, and the Healthy Lakewood Foundation, which was created by the master agreement that transitioned the hospital.

The city’s Live Well Lakewood initiative lays out the ambitious goal of making Lakewood the healthiest community in the country. With many different approaches to health out there, Lakewood is in the process of detrmining which one makes sense for the city.

“So we’ve got a lot of work, decades of work here in Lakewood,” Summers said. “And we’re trying to create the foundation that creates that culture of health.”

Some of the work of Live Well Lakewood has been going on for years, such as the city’s efforts to improve the safety of its sidewalks. It’s now in year seven of that 10-year strategy. But Summers said the current, more aggressive push behind health efforts is the direct result of the hospital closure.

He added he envisions the work ultimately being passed to someone outside of government, as it is not the best entity to lead the effort long-term.

“I think it’s leading the charge now because, I guess, one is my sense of awareness and urgency,” Summers said. “I’d love to be able to hand this subject off to our community in some meaningful way. I think government can do some good short-term work, but I think ultimately its best work would be done outside government.”

Live Well Lakewood aims to help the city become the healthiest community in the country. To make health initiatives sustainable, the city needs to start with its youth, said Mayor Michael Summers.

(Contributed photo)

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Bridgeworks LLC, a joint venture led by Michael Panzica, a principal of Hemingway Development of Cleveland, and Graham Veysey, a progenitor of Ohio City’s Hingetown area, is the leading prospect to snare a site that Cuyahoga County is shedding.

That’s the word according to three sources familiar with the situation, including one who said the project may bring “multiple hundreds” of additional apartments to the site at the northeast corner of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue.

The same source said it’s likely to be a more than 10-story building. The sources asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to discuss it by the county or the project’s principals.

The Panzica-Veysey joint venture has emerged as the leading prospect to buy what’s called the “Cuyahoga County Bridge Garage.” The county began seeking bids for the 1.5-acre site, which contains two old county office buildings, in December 2018, as the third and last phase of its 2011 operations consolidation plan. The county consolidated its public works operations at 2501 Harvard Ave. Speculation about which real estate developer will land the site for the potential project has swirled on the West Side since the March deadline for proposals to be filed with the county’s agent on the deal, Allegro Realty Advisors.

A resolution authorizing Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to sell Bridgeworks LLC the site for $4.15 million is scheduled to be considered by Cuyahoga County Coun-

Two buildings (center) of the Cuyahoga County Bridge Garage might become an apartment site. The buildings and adjoining parking are at the west end of the Superior Viaduct next to the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Cleveland. (Cuyahoga County)

cil’s public works committee on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

State incorporation records identify Veysey as the incorporator of Bridgeworks LLC. Veysey owns the former Ohio City Firehouse, which he and his wife, Marika Shiori-Clark, converted to a coffee shop and video studio that became a linchpin of Hingetown, the area on West 29th Street south of Detroit that is home to multiple retail shops, Saucy Brew Works and the Transformer Station art space.

Panzica and Veysey are among the partners in Church + State, an 11-story apartment building going up in what’s becoming apartment row in Ohio City. The proposed Bridgeworks site is immediately east of The Quarter, a $70 million mixed-use project on the other side of West 25th.

Rick Foran, a partner in West 25th Street Lofts a block south of the

Bridgeworks site, was not aware of the winning bidders’ identities but said he’s intrigued by the potential development in the neighborhood.

He said it’s striking that with plans for the park at Irishtown Bend on the southeast corner of West 25th and Detroit, the Quarter on the northwest and southeast side, the additional project could finish off the fourth corner of the intersection with new developments.

“It will be a gateway to Ohio City and to downtown,” Foran said of the potential project.

Panzica, reached by phone last Thursday, Sept. 12, said Bridgeworks had no comment on the county site and refused to discuss the scale of his group’s potential project.

Crain’s reporter Kim Palmer contributed to this story.

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PA G E 5

De Nora Tech is growing into new home in Mentor

By Rachel Abbey McCafferty rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

De Nora Tech recently moved into a new building in Mentor, adding more than 30,000 square feet to its footprint and completing a process that was almost a decade in the works. But the company’s not ready for a break just yet. Already, De Nora Tech is looking to expand its new plant, which would add more product lines and jobs to the growing company.

De Nora Tech is a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrie De Nora in Italy, joining the company as part of an acquisition in 2005. In Ohio, in addition to the new Mentor plant and the yet-to-be-closed Chardon facility from which it moved, De Nora Tech has administrative and research facilities in Concord.

The products De Nora Tech makes often work behind the scenes.

De Nora Tech produces anodes and cathodes for the electrochemical industry. In practice, that means the company is creating sheet-metal products, largely from titanium, with specialty coatings for a variety of uses. So De Nora Tech isn’t a chemical company, project manager Jamie Schafer said, but rather, its products help chemical reactions to occur.

About half of its business comes from customers in the chlorine-generating business, Schafer said. Chlorine is component used to make a lot of plastics.

The other half of the business is more diverse. One of the more recog-

By moving its headquarters to Mentor, De Nora Tech added more than 30,000 square feet to its footprint. (Contributed photo)

nizable products in that part of the business is the company’s pool anodes, which are used in saltwater pools instead of chlorine tablets. The company also does a lot of work in wastewater treatment and in cathodic protection on steel, which helps prevent structures from rusting.

De Nora Tech is always looking for new markets. Currently, Schafer said, it’s targeting large-scale battery storage for the energy sector as a potential place to grow.

Prior to moving to Mentor, De Nora Tech’s manufacturing facilities were located in nearby Chardon.

That building had been expanded seven or eight times, Schafer said, and it was getting cramped. The facility was also getting “landlocked” in a more commercial area, he added, which would have made further ex-

pansions difficult.

The company wanted a “home to grow into,” Schafer said. Expansion discussions started about nine years ago and, in 2014, the company officially committed to finding a new space in the area.

De Nora Tech didn’t want to move out of easy commuting distance for its existing employees, so the company conducted a study to find a location that would serve as an “epicenter,” Schafer said. The site at 6300 Tin Man Road in Mentor was within a couple miles of the ideal identified in the study.

The company broke ground in Mentor in 2017, building its new plant from the ground up.

In Chardon, De Nora Tech has about 75,000 square feet spread over two buildings. The new structure in Mentor is about 107,000 square feet. Addition-

ally, the new building allowed De Nora Tech to improve the process flow in its plant, as the old facilities were a patchwork of rooms which inhibited that.

The company also designed the new building with improved lighting and ventilation for its workforce.

Overall, the company invested about $33 million in the move, including purchase of the land, construction of the building and the addition of some new equipment.

After construction was complete, De Nora Tech started the move to Mentor in February 2019, essentially completing the process in July, Schafer said.

De Nora Tech originally planned to bring about 160 to 165 employees to Mentor but, by the time the move actually happened, it had grown. Today, Schafer said, the facility has about 210 employees.

“So, it shows our growth even in those couple years,” he noted.

And the company is already looking to grow even more. De Nora Tech is seeking board approval to add an additional 17,000 square feet to the Mentor plant to bring on some new product lines, Schafer said. One of those product lines is an asbestos alternative that the company currently only makes in Italy.

There is also a process that’s still in Chardon that would be part of the additional expansion. Once that process moves to Mentor, the Chardon buildings will be closed and sold.

If approved, Schafer expects construction on the expansion would begin in the spring of 2020, with completion in the fall of that year. He

estimated it would cost about $6 million and add another 14 employees to De Nora Tech.

In addition, Schafer said the company has room to add another 80,000 square feet to the new building in the future.

The Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to have De Nora Tech in the city and to hear that the company already plans to expand the new site further, said chamber president and CEO Christine Weber-Bresky.

When companies join the community, they bring job opportunities and a lowered tax base for residents, she said. The addition of a new company can mean more business for companies already in the area, as they draw on one another’s services.

“Any company that comes to Mentor, even if they bring two jobs, means so much to us,” Weber-Bresky said.

The city of Mentor has a “healthy and accommodating business climate,” and attracting an international company like De Nora demonstrates that, said Kevin Malecek, director of economic development and international trade for the city.

Mentor sits down and works with any business looking to locate there, walking them through possible grants and other supports, Malecek said. De Nora Tech received a 10year Mentor Incentive Grant, starting in July 2019. To qualify for it, the company has to maintain an average yearly payroll of at least $3.5 million.

If De Nora Tech meets that, it will receive a grant equivalent to a portion of the payroll withholding taxes for employees at the site.

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Ohio connects with LinkedIn to aid unemployed Buckeye State is first to try pilot program that can help out-of-work users register for benefits and find jobs

By Kim Palmer kpalmer@crain.com @kimfouroffive

Professional services website LinkedIn has a pilot program designed to remove barriers that unemployed workers face in maintaining benefits and looking for jobs. To test the program, it found a good partner in the state of Ohio, which has one of the largest group of individuals receiving unemployment benefits in the country.

Ohio is the first state in the country to roll out a LinkedIn unemployment benefits feature, accessible now on the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) website. It will serve the 200,000 Ohio workers per year who apply for and collect unemployment insurance.

If any Ohioan goes to LinkedIn. com/unemployment, there are links that allow visitors to register for benefits with the state and then access tools to manage the unemployment process and assist in finding a new job.

“There is a dedicated LinkedIn page for the Ohio unemployment claimant.

We have one as well on the main page where claimants seek information on how to get unemployment,” said ODJFS spokesman Bret Crow.

If you haven’t been unemployed recently, you might not be aware that Ohioans receiving unemployment benefits must actively look for work and apply for at least two jobs, at two distinct employers, every week. By law, that job-search information then

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ website has resources such as info on its new partnership with LinkedIn.

must be reported back to the state every week to maintain eligibility.

“We recognized that we could make it easier for people to stay on top of that requirement by helping them to leverage our 20 million jobs and ensure that they meet that requirement of two jobs a week in Ohio,” said Lakshman Somasundaram, a LinkedIn product manager.

LinkedIn, a web-based, employment-oriented service, already en-

ables members to search job postings from its community of more than 30 million companies and 645 million members, Somasundaram said.

“Through this partnership, we have created tools and made available resources to help unemployed Ohioans track their work search activities and maintain unemployment benefits while they look for the right job,” he said.

In addition to LinkedIn, any job

seeker also can search OhioMeansJobs.com, where, as of early September, there were about 161,000 job postings — more than 82,800 of them with salaries $50,000 or higher — and nearly 3,000 internship postings.

The LinkedIn program, which went live in early September, allows job seekers to keep track of weekly work searches online with auto-complete logs that can be saved and exported and sent to ODJFS to fulfill eligibility requirements.

“That is the whole point, to try to make it as convenient as possible for the job seeker and not be such a burdensome task,” Crow said.

There also is a feature that reminds users weekly if they have met the minimum two-job-application requirement to maintain eligibility. In addition to managing applications and access to potential employment, the LinkedIn page has links to free employment education courses and an online unemployment advice group.

“This page is not just about maintaining unemployment insurance benefits. It’s about being a launching pad to all those other resources that help people,” Somasundaram said.

The courses include offerings such as “Recovering from a Layoff” and “Mastering Common Interview Questions.” The unemployment resource community offers experts available for advice and guidance on looking for a job.

Earlier this month, the state sent about 35,000 emails to benefit recipients in Ohio. Of those, fewer than

10,000 opted to use traditional mail — think postcards — to transmit their work search logs. The rest chose to communicate electronically via the LinkedIn service.

“It is not mandatory. This is voluntary,” Crow said. Every two weeks, any new applicant filing for unemployment insurance in Ohio will be informed about the program, he added.

The Ohio LinkedIn pilot is scheduled to run for six months, at which time both the state and the company will evaluate the program’s performance.

“If, when we talk to users, they say they are using these tools to get out of unemployment and back into the workforce quicker, that helps us prioritize things on our end and ensure that this is valuable. Then we can extend beyond the pilot states,” Somasundaram said.

Arizona and Michigan rollouts are scheduled to follow the Ohio pilot, he said. If successful, the program will expand to more states.

“Ohio is the first because of the eagerness and the innovation,” Somasundaram said, citing the work of the state’s Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and InnovateOhio, directed by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.

“LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the workforce,” he added.

The program, as of now and for the foreseeable future, is free to both the state and the claimants.

“We love free as a state,” Crow said.

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PA G E 7

Apartment project slated for downtown Willoughby

By Stan Bullard sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

The former Andy Buick site in downtown Willoughby — a car dealership under multiple names and brands at 38000 Euclid Ave. since 1940 — will be recast as a mixed-use project with apartments.

Mark Sims, who owns the site, said his version is to convert the site into a project rivaling Crocker Park in Westlake and Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, in terms of design.

Sims said he already has three tenants who have signed letters of intent to occupy space in the original two-story building, including a high-end grocer, a coworking space and a hair salon. He declined to identify the prospective tenants until leases are signed.

The new tenants will occupy empty space in the former dealership. The Bar Athletics, a cross fit training center, will remain in place for the remake.

“We plan to install 27 apartments in the building, on its second floor and part of its first,” Sims said in a phone interview last Wednesday, Sept. 11.

A second phase would incorporate additional apartments or might be sold to a home builder for use as a site of for-sale townhouses, Sims

This dock-rich structure is part of a Maple Heights industrial property that recently sold for more than $20 million, according to Cuyahoga County land records. (CoStar)

Industrial portfolio sells for $32 million “The Soho” is the proposed remake of the former car dealership in downtown Willoughby as commercial space and apartments by longtime car dealer Mark Sims. RDL Architects of Shaker Heights is the designer. (Contributed rendering)

said. That will depend on whether enough parking can be retained on the site to accommodate apartments, he said.

Sims declined to say how much the proposed project will cost to develop.

“It’s a significant number,” he said. “We plan to offer high-class apartments.”

Willoughby Mayor Bob Fiala said the city is prepared to work closely with Sims.

“It’s an important corner at the entrance to our downtown,” Fiala said in a phone interview last Thursday, Sept. 12. “We’re hopeful that it gets redeveloped.”

However, Sims has yet to formally

present a plan to the city. Fiala said much depends on what kind of units Sims plans to install.

“We want units that will attract people with high incomes who enjoy the kind of place that downtown Willoughby has become,” Fiala said.

However, the site will need to be rezoned to allow residential use from its current general business classification, which does not permit housing under the municipality’s zoning code.

Sims said the dealership was his first as he ventured into the car sales business when he bought the Willoughby property in 1988. He now sells cars online. His former Lyndhurst store is leased to Tesla.

CUSTOM PUBLISHING SECTION:

ESTATE PLANNING

By Stan Bullard sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltyWriter

Three Northeast Ohio industrial properties have changed hands between national real estate heavyweights. The portfolio consists of properties neither beautiful nor new, dating from the 1950s through the 1970s, but tenanted by substantial concerns.

Affiliates of Chicago-based Brennan Investment Group paid a total of $32 million to affiliates of Austin-based AIC Ventures for the portfolio Aug. 13, according to Cuyahoga County land records.

The priciest of the properties is the Maple Heights-based warehouse complex of Sherwood Distributors, 5801 S. Lee Road, which sold for $20.9 million.

The others were an office-industrial complex occupied by manufac-

turer Maradyne Corp. of Cleveland at 4540 W. 160th St., which sold for $7.7 million, and an office-warehouse at 5135 Naiman Parkway occupied by pellet and airsoft-gun retailer Pyramid Air at 5135 Naiman Parkway in Solon. That sold for $3.7 million.

The Cleveland property includes about 280,000 square feet of commercial space and the Solon property 70,400 square feet of commercial space, according to county land records. The county’s online site does not have a current size of the Maple Heights property listed, nor does online real estate data provider CoStar.

Brennan, which already owned industrial properties in Northeast Ohio, has a portfolio of more than 40 million square feet in 30 states.

AIC has a portfolio of 44 million square feet in 408 properties throughout the United States. Both also raise equity from outside investors.

Produced by Crain’s Content Studio–Cleveland in partnership with the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, this custom section will tackle all the tough topics linked to preparing for the future, from arranging for your business interests to planning for your family.

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Why Ohio could be primed for more bank M&A

By Jeremy Nobile jnobile@crain.com @JeremyNobile

Bank M&A activity in the Northeast Ohio market seems to be picking up after a lull, and while some deals recently announced might not directly spur others, it’s likely consolidation could once again ramp up.

“What’s happening is banks are realizing this is a challenging revenue-growth environment, and when you merge, you can deliver cost savings for shareholders,” said Fred Cummings, president of Elizabeth Park Capital Management. “So I think we are going to see more deals. We are very bullish on M&A right now.”

The flattening yield curve and falling interest rates will squeeze margins for banks, which have been enjoying steady growth in the current economy. While the jury is out on when the next recession could hit, pockets of investors are increasingly fretting that the economy is overdue for the next inevitable downturn.

Those factors could spur some organizations to combine balance sheets. That’s what Cummings, who runs a bank-focused hedge fund, is driving at — and hoping for.

We’re already seeing signs of it.

A $473 million strategic deal recently announced between First Defiance Financial Corp., the Defiance-based parent company of First Federal Bank of the Midwest, and United Community Financial Corp., the Youngstown-based holding company of Home Savings Bank, was largely motivated by creating a larger bank — the combined company will have $6.1 billion in assets — that could better weather a downturn while creating additional buying power for the new firm.

“We will take a breath to bring our

Growth by Design

The Youngstown-based parent company of Home Savings Bank recently announced a merger with First Defiance Financial Corp. (Shawn Wood)

Crowley

Cummings

own two groups together,” said UCFC president and CEO Gary Small, “but by this time next year, we will be looking at the next deal. We are staying active as an acquirer.”

In addition, other factors are at play that are more specific to this market.

Despite the consolidation of years past, Ohio still has a meaningful

Northeast Ohio’s economic development engine at work

Oliver

Small

number of well-performing community banks. About 85% of all banks with a retail presence in Ohio are headquartered here, according to FDIC data, and the majority are smaller firms, with many having fewer than $1 billion in assets. Those could present attractive targets for companies looking to gain size.

Such was part of the motivation for Farmers National Banc Corp., the holding company for The Farmers National Bank, buying Maple Leaf Financial Inc., the parent organization of Geauga Savings Bank, in an estimated $39.6 million cash-and-stock deal announced in August. For Geauga Savings, the sale creates liquidity for shareholders.

And then there are the super-regionals like Huntington Bancshares, Fifth Third Bancorp and Cleveland’s

KeyCorp, all of which have been active acquirers through the years.

Huntington, of course, led this region’s last merger of more significant market impact when it bought Akron’s FirstMerit Corp. in a $3.4 billion deal in early 2016. That transaction was announced a few months after KeyCorp said it was buying Buffalo’s First Niagara Financial Group in a $4.1 billion deal.

Banks of that sort could potentially merge to enjoy the benefits of additional scale — not necessarily out of financial necessity, but to simply be more competitive.

It’s not unlike what BB&T and SunTrust Banks are looking to do with their $28.2 billion merger, which would create a company of $442 billion in assets (expected to be called Truist Financial). If approved, it will become the country’s sixth-largest bank. Of course, that combination also helps lift both banks well beyond the $250 billion-asset threshold that invites additional regulations with which to comply.

Whether it’s more local deals like UCFC and First Defiance or megadeals like BB&T and SunTrust, there’s a bit of a lemming mentality at work that gets other companies and their

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boards thinking about the benefits of buying or selling.

“As far as deal fuel going forward, when there is activity in a given market, it usually gets competitors thinking more about M&A and whether there is play for them,” said Patricia Oliver, a banking consultant with Tucker Ellis and head of its financial services practice. “Every time a sizable deal is announced, everyone in the market should be reassessing where they stand as both a buyer and as a seller.”

There are always exceptions. PNC Financial Services Group will be supplanted as the country’s sixth-largest bank if that BB&T deal goes through, but CEO William Demchak has said he’s not interested in acquisitions right now, as American Banker recently reported.

Meanwhile, banks without a deep market share here want more of it.

The Cleveland, Columbus and even Cincinnati markets are attractive to banks in nearby states, particularly those in western Pennsylvania looking for growth outside their borders.

Executives for Warren, Pa.-based Northwest Bancshares, for instance, which runs Northwest Bank ($10.5 billion in assets) and purchased Lorain National Bank in 2015, recently told Crain’s the company is actively vetting deals in Ohio in addition to Indiana and northern Kentucky. CEO Ronald Seiffert said the company is feeling “very positive” about deal opportunities through the next 12 to 24 months.

Northwest completed an acquisition of the parent organization of Union Community Bank in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County earlier this year.

Northwest, like many of its competitors, is definitely a buyer. And it’s hankering for more of Ohio, which it could find in another willing seller.

While there is no shortage of curious buyers, the X-factor in all of this is whether sellers actually want to sell.

An adage in finance is that banks are sold, not bought. And while stocks may be trending down, and the shortlived boosts of tax reform have worn off, there’s a chance many possible M&A targets will want to retain their independence rather than sell.

Investors could still pressure them to think otherwise, though, similar to how an activist investor is pushing The Middlefield Banking Co. to consider a sale.

“Our view is the industry is very healthy and, by and large, these Ohio banks are doing very well. They have good profitability numbers and are in position to keep going if the board and management chooses,” said Charlie Crowley, managing director with investment bank Boenning & Scattergood. “Some of these stocks are under pressure because of concerns about the yield curve and whether that foreshadows a recession. But fundamentally, banks are still in very good shape. There is no real need for an uptick in M&A activity.”

Nonetheless, while bank M&A never really stopped, we’re seeing more of it now, even if the motivations between each are unique.

If that continues, Crowley suggested that some independent banks might actually feel motivated to sit back and let other deals unfold rather than jump on the deal bandwagon.

That’s because there tends to be a little fallout after every combination, resulting in opportunities to pick up other bankers and clients.

“The deals will be more opportunistic,” Crowley said. “There will be overtures made by larger buyers, but that doesn’t mean the sellers will think they need to respond, or that now is the right time to.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Opinion From the Editor

Engage! survey is an eye-opener

Editorial

Make the case There’s a lot of history, jobs and civic pride on the line in a big decision coming up for The Sherwin-Williams Co. — one that will require Northeast Ohio leaders to step up in a big way.

The Cleveland-based paint and coatings manufacturer last week confirmed publicly what real estate insiders have been chattering about for a while: It’s looking for a new global headquarters site and a new R&D facility.

Sherwin-Williams’ site search won’t cover the earth, but it will include “locations in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and several other states,” the company said. Sherwin-Williams has been in its 101 W. Prospect Ave. headquarters for nearly 90 years, and CEO John G. Morikis said the company’s growth over the decades “has resulted in a less-than-optimal configuration of headquarters, offices and R&D facilities across multiple locations.”

What’s the company looking for in new space? Morikis said it’s exploring options “that will help us to accelerate productivity and efficiency, enhance technology and innovation, enable greater collaboration, support recruitment and retention, and reduce maintenance costs over the long term.”

Those are logical goals for a giant with revenue of about $17.5 billion last year. Left unsaid — though we all understand it at this point — is that retaining Sherwin-Williams in the city or the region will require significant financial incentives. The stakes are high, as the company pays $15 million per year in taxes to the city of Cleveland, and its employee payroll in Cuyahoga County tops $500 million.

It’s critical to keep Sherwin-Williams in Cleveland. The city has made big gains as a place to work, live and play, but losing the headquarters would be a significant blow to the vitality of downtown. This will require Mayor Frank Jackson to come out of hiding and be an active player in efforts to keep the company in Cleveland. (Ideally, this already would have happened and Sherwin-Williams would have had no need for its statement last week, but, as Jackson would say, it is what it is.) Corporate headquarters decisions are complicated, and they’re based on factors that sometimes are out of public officials’ control. But

we hope city leadership has learned from the loss of other headquarters, most prominently that of Eaton (which at least stayed in the region), as it crafts a strategy to convince Sherwin-Williams to stay here.

This isn’t just on Cleveland officials, though. The state of Ohio, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO, universities and other stakeholders have to help make the case that the city and region have the right real estate, talent and tech innovation potential to make this a good home for Sherwin-Williams in the long term. It also would be a good time to redouble efforts to strengthen Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, so Sherwin-Williams and other companies with global reach can get executives where they need to go.

The hard work starts now.

A winner

The upcoming Cavaliers season won’t feel — and in particular, won’t sound — the same following the death last week of play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod.

McLeod, 67, was the voice of the Cavs on Fox Sports Ohio since the 2006-07 season, and his passion for the game, the team and the city was clear in every broadcast. He called the biggest moment in Cavs history — the Game 7 win over the Golden State Warriors for the NBA title — and the emotion in his voice spoke to what every fan was feeling.

Social media, and Twitter in particular, can be a nasty place.

But upon news of McLeod’s death, those who knew him personally, and those for whom he was the entry point for enjoying their team, shared stories that reflected universal appreciation for him as a broadcaster and as a man. In this season of transition for the Cavs, with a new head coach, promising rookies and a building that’s wrapping up a near-total facelift, McLeod’s enthusiasm (those catchphrases!), dedication and professionalism will be missed.

Publisher and Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com)

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Managing Editor:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

Contact Crain’s:

216-522-1383

Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

Young professionals in Northeast Ohio like our region — 94% of respondents in an Engage! Cleveland survey had a positive perception of our area.

That’s pretty impressive, until you consider a second number in the annual survey conducted by the nonprofit aimed at attracting and retaining young and diverse talent in Greater Cleveland. Of that 94% with a positive view of Northeast Ohio, 42% were passive — that is, neither promoters nor detractors — about advocating for the region.

And that hurts, because we are in dire need of advocates. A positive outlook doesn’t move the needle the way positive advocacy can.

The optimist in me, though, believes this presents an opportunity. How do business and civic leaders — and frankly anyone interElizabeth McIntyre ested in attracting and retaining young people in our region — convert those who feel good about living and working here into salespeople for Northeast Ohio?

That’s a question we all have to ask, and a challenge we all face. It’s highlighted in the second annual “State of the Young Professional Community” report, gleaned from a survey aimed at gauging what young professionals here want and need from our region. The survey attracted 967 respondents.

Ashley Basile Oeken, president of Engage!, told an audience gathered to hear the survey results on Sept. 12, “The big takeaway is we need more cheerleaders.”

Young professionals want to be at the table and have their voices heard. Those of us — ahem — more “seasoned” professionals, as Engage! board chair Gary Shamis referred to us, must figure out how to make that happen.

“What this says to me is: Are we actually listening to them?

Are we actually responding to them? Because if that’s the case, these numbers would be a lot higher,” said Engage! board member Steve Gleydura.

The cost of living is our region’s greatest asset, cited by 61% of survey respondents, followed by our natural assets and arts and culture. Our largest challenge is a familiar complaint, and one often cited by millennials and Gen Z: the lack of adequate public transportation, cited by 46% of respondents. The next two on the list of greatest challenges are safety and economic development.

Compensation matters a lot for young professionals. While Northeast Ohio’s cost of living is relatively low, salary matters.

As one anonymous respondent said, “Cleveland doesn’t offer a competitive rate of pay for young professionals. Many of my peers have discussed leaving and being paid three times what they make here. Because the cost of living is so low, salaries aren’t competitive, but we are more concerned with paying off student loans than buying homes and making roots.”

Second to compensation for attributes most important in a job was work-life balance.

When asked how other cities are managing to attract and retain younger talent, Oeken said peer cities like Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Columbus and Nashville receive more support from city and county governments. Greater Cleveland’s risk-averse tendencies often hold us back, she said.

“A lot of initiatives that are happening across the country that are attracting people, if you bring them to folks in Cleveland, the decision-makers, they are not as interested because there’s a little bit of risk involved,” Oeken said.

Where young professionals have the power — and numbers — to be heard is by getting engaged in politics, said Engage! board member Michael Bowen. “We can change the shape of leadership in this town by simply voting and mobilizing,” he said.

We’ve decried brain drain for years and worried about Cleveland as our children find work in Chicago and Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. Thanks to the Engage! survey, we aren’t left to wonder why. We know what needs to be done. Our future may depend on whether we do it.

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.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com.

Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

9/12/19 3:59 PM

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Fracking should be bridge to renewable energy future

By Noah Smith/Bloomberg Opinion

Natural gas beats coal

U.S. electricity generation by source, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is leading the charge for a 3K national moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, the pro- in gigawatt hours, in trailing 12 months cess of extracting oil or gas by cracking open subterraCoal nean rock. Unfortunately, such a ban would make an2 other of his goals — switching to green energy — harder to achieve.

1 Natural gas At a recent climate forum, Sanders and fellow DemRenewables ocratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris called for a total ban on fracking (as hydraulic fracturing is 2005 2010 2015 2019 commonly known), on the grounds that it harms the 2001 environment in multiple ways. Its products, oil and natural gas, both add carbon to the atmosphere when (Sanders has also proposed banning the other option, burned. It can release various pollutants, contaminat- nuclear power). This will mean much greater carbon ing nearby drinking water supplies. Fracking for gas emission and deadly air pollution from coal. It also also generates methane, which contributes to global would push up global oil prices, generating big windwarming. Many voters support a ban, suggesting that falls for leaders like Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Bin Salman. they’re aware of these problems.

Such a reversal would be a terrible shame. In recent So the U.S. would be better off without fracking. And because of the shift to renewable energy sources such years, coal power has plummeted, as a result of fracking and the rise of natural gas. as solar and wind, this will evenMeanwhile, the fracking boom tually happen. Optimists believe You can’t use solar has helped the U.S. go from being it can be achieved by 2050; Sandand wind to build the the world’s biggest oil importer to ers has set an ambitious goal of potentially being a net oil exportfull decarbonization of electricity generation capacity er in 2020. and transportation by 2030. But Banning fossil fuels outright, as banning fracking too quickly for more solar and some on the left might suggest, might jeopardize this crucial tran- wind until you have a would only make things worse. sition.

Eliminating the source of 83% of Why? Because switching to re- lot of it. The U.S. the country’s electricity generanewable energy requires a lot of simply isn’t there yet tion and more than 99% of its veenergy. Solar panels, wind turhicle power would quickly reduce bines, batteries and electric cars — it doesn’t have the U.S. to pre-industrial living must be manufactured in huge enough green energy standards. quantities. Buildings must be retInstead of rejecting fracking, rofitted with new electrical wiring to power the the U.S. should seek to mitigate its and energy efficiency technolo- transition. environmental problems while gies. Millions of vehicles will have to transport workers and materials to houses and transitioning away from oil and natural gas as quickly power plants to install the technologies. Smart power as possible. Available technologies can reduce pollugrids and storage facilities will be needed to overcome tion and methane leaks. Wastewater treatment, the use of recycled water and water-free fracking can mitthe intermittency of wind and solar.

All of this will take huge amounts of energy — elec- igate groundwater contamination. Meanwhile, methtricity and vehicle fuel. Where will it come from? Cur- ane leaks can be addressed by upgrading or replacing rently, renewable sources account for only 11% of U.S. old equipment, capturing gas released at the wellhead primary energy consumption. Electric vehicles may and banning the practice of flaring.

These would, of course, be temporary steps. Fossil be gaining market share, but they still comprise fewer than 1% of the country’s fleet. You can’t use solar and fuels will eventually be phased out. But ironically, dowind to build the generation capacity for more solar ing so faster means using more of them in the short and wind until you have a lot of it. The U.S. simply isn’t term. And domestically produced natural gas and oil, there yet — it doesn’t have enough green energy to with the appropriate environmental protections, are the least bad kind. Fracking is a bridge to the renewpower the transition.

Instead, if fracking is banned immediately, the U.S. able energy future. We shouldn’t blow it up until we’ve will probably go back to using coal and imported oil crossed.

P011_CL_20190916.indd 11

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Focus

MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

TRY THE GREEN SCENE Sustainability is becoming the watchword all along the food chain for corporate meetings and gatherings. (Nate Migal for Crain’s)

More companies consider the environmental impact of menus for their events

By Douglas J. Guth clbfreelancer@crain.com

A

s going green has gone mainstream in business — whether that means increased energy efficiency, nonpolluting manufacturing processes or use of renewable energy — Earth-friendly practices have also extended to corporate events, with many organizations following sustainable food and beverage methods along the entire food chain.

Restaurants and caterers are working with local companies to ensure green practices are met even before food gets to an event. Shrinking an organization’s carbon footprint requires knowing where and how food and beverages are sourced, and how those items are managed once they’re prepared and delivered.

Spice Kitchen & Bar, via its Spice Catering Co., plans events for Nestlé and other entities where sustainability is a core value, meaning the Gordon Square farm-to-table eatery gets creative license in how it builds a sustainably focused gathering.

Organizations wondering about jumping on the green bandwagon should first determine where their food is coming from, said Spice director of operations Jess Edmonds. Spice sources its ingredients chiefly from family farms within 150 miles of Cleveland, which keeps food fresh and results in a smaller transportation footprint. Edmonds and owner Ben Bebenroth only partner with farms that practice environmentally kind methods like crop rotation. Edmonds added that understanding a food provider’s ethos is a must for any company interested in greening up an event.

“We stopped selling guacamole due to the mass destruction of rainforests to plant more avocado trees,” she said. “This is just one example of how when we learn about a food impacting an ecosystem negatively, we no longer use that product.”

Spice Catering sources many ingredients from farms within 150 miles of Cleveland. (Contributed photos) Spice director of operations Jess Edmonds, above, and owner Ben Bebenroth, right, only partner with environmentally sensitive farms.

SEE SUSTAINABLE, PAGE 18

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

ROCKIN’ RENOVATION

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse’s 22 meeting, banquet, hospitality and event spaces could bring more and larger private gatherings

By Kevin Kleps

Places to meet

kkleps@crain.com @KevinKleps

The destination areas in the renovated Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse:

If you attended a Cleveland Cavaliers game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse last season, it was difficult to miss the black curtain that covered three sections of Loudville.

Soon, that space — where more than 1,000 seats were removed, reducing the arena’s capacity to 19,432 — will be home to the Budweiser BrewHouse. The huge, open, standing-room-only space on the upper level of the arena is one of the signature parts of a two-year, $185 million renovation of a facility that will open the 2019-20 season as one of the league’s six oldest venues.

The BrewHouse, with a large bar that offers excellent views of the court and soundproof panels on the wall at its back, is one of the largest gathering places that was added during the extensive renovation.

The arena will have what the Cavs call eight “destination hospitality areas” — from newly created neighborhoods to expanded atrium areas and the new-and-improved Loudville — that feature 16 spots where fans can order food and beverages or just hang out. There will also be six higher-end club and membership spaces,

East neighborhood: Symon’s Burger Joint West neighborhood: Bell’s Brewery, Banditos, Flour South neighborhood: Saucy Brew Works, Greenhouse Kitchen, Market at the Fig Northwest atrium: Fahrenheit, Rocco’s Northeast atrium: Core concessions South Loudville: Budweiser BrewHouse, core concessions East Loudville: Overlook Bar, Quaker Steak & Lube, pizza and core concessions Rotunda: Symon’s Burger Joint (express), Crown Royal Bar Club and membership spaces: Huntington Legends Club, Bacardi Ocho Signature Lounge, Westfield Champions Club, Chairman’s Club, Courtside Club, Members Lounge, plus 62 redesigned suites

and all 62 of the FieldHouse’s suites will have been redesigned.

The work, which included $70 million in public financing, will be on display Sept. 28, when the Cavs host

an open house for the public, and Sept. 30, when the Black Keys will perform in the arena’s first post-renovation concert.

Those dates can’t get here soon enough for Brooke Bockelman, the vice president of booking and events for the Cavs and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“As an events person, I can only explain it so much. I can only show the renderings so many times,” said Bockelman, who started with the Cavs in April, after serving as the director of booking for Columbus Arena Sports & Entertainment.

There’s a lot to tell.

Soon, it will be showtime.

When the renovations are completed — a recent tour showed there was quite a bit of work to be done, but the Cavs say the project is on schedule — there will be 22 meeting, banquet, hospitality and event spaces at the 25-year-old arena.

And while Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is known for the 200-plus ticketed events it hosts in a typical year, the arena also brings in about 1,400 private events annually. The renovations, Bockelman said, will give the Cavs a chance to increase that number, as well as to host larger private events.

“It gives us a unique opportunity,” said Bockelman, who had been in

charge of booking events for Nationwide Arena, the Schottenstein Center and Ohio Stadium. “I think people think of convention centers and hotel ballrooms for more corporate-style meetings. But this gives us the opportunity to put our name in the ring.”

Spaces such as the Budweiser BrewHouse and the Overlook Bar, which is located in the east end of Loudville, are ideal because they are

more customizable for “mix-andmingle” events, Bockelman said.

The Overlook Bar provides elevated views of the glass curtain that envelops the arena, plus cool shots of downtown. Such spots can be ideal for “people who are looking for that wow factor,” Bockelman said.

She added that the organization has been working with Destination Cleveland on attracting larger,

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

The footprint of the players’ locker room at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has tripled and includes prominent displays of the Cleveland skyline.

‘A fair fight’ for events

Above: The Bacardi Ocho Signature Lounge displays the names of Cavs partners on a large screen. Right: The expanded Westfield Champions Club has “Moscow Mule” seating.

(Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

corporate or convention-type events to the arena. The Cavs also recently brought in a sales staffer to focus on the banquet and events spaces.

P014_015_CL_20190916.indd 15

Len Komoroski, the CEO of the Cavs and the FieldHouse, has repeatedly said the arena will look and feel new by the time the work is completed.

The venue formerly known as The Q was already one of the top-performing arenas in the world.

In 2015, there were 434,581 entertainment tickets sold at the arena, which, according to Pollstar, ranked 13th in the U.S. and 33rd in the world.

Two years later, The Q checked in at No. 18 in the U.S. and No. 40 in the world, and its 457,725 tickets sold — a tally that doesn’t include sporting events — represented a 5.3% increase from 2015. (The Republican National Convention and the renovations brought down the arena’s numbers in 2016 and ’18, respectively.)

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PA G E 15

But the competition for bigger plush seats,” Gabel said. “These are events was getting much stronger, the experiences that fans come to Komoroski said, citing PPG Paints want. They want a Loudville. They Arena in Pittsburgh (which opened want a place they don’t have to worry in 2010), Little Caesars Arena in De- about sitting and can enjoy the game troit (a 2017 debut) and Columbus or concert by standing.”

The FieldHouse has new and ex“upping its game considerably” as a few examples. panded versions of all of that.

“This now allows us to have a fair There will also be extensive artfight as we’re battling for events,” the work (privately funded and featuring Cavs CEO said of the FieldHouse ren- local, national and international artovations. “It also puts us in position to com- “Was (the arena) in danger pete on a sustained of falling to the wayside? basis.”

The arena — partly I don’t think so. Was it time for due to its previous capacity of 20,562 and a transformation? There’s because it was well- no question.” maintained — would have continued to at- — Barry Gabel, a senior VP of marketing tract big-name events and sponsorship sales for Live Nation and touring acts, said Barry Gabel, a senior VP of marketing ists), a tunnel (dubbed the “power and sponsorship sales for Live Na- portal”) with 2,200 square feet of LED panels, self-ordering food and bevertion.

“Was it in danger of falling to the age systems and improved wayfindwayside? I don’t think so,” Gabel said. ing. The concourses are roomier, and “Was it time for a transformation? the Loudville improvements are exThere’s no question.” pected to create what the Cavs are Customers, he said, gravitate to jokingly calling a “reverse migration” places where they have the best ex- to an area that fans who were looking periences. Bands are aware of that, for meeting spots previously exited.

“If we left it as is, it’s not to say we thanks to reactions they see on social media, and they’ll see it “loud and wouldn’t have had events,” Komorosclear” when ticket sales figures are ki said of an arena that, after a conreleased. tentious debate over the project was “The things that are key to the are- settled, was selected to host the na are the new technology, the kind NBA’s All-Star festivities in 2022. “But of seats they can sit in, the experience you would have continued to see atof being in a VIP club with more trition over time.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

Meetings mean business for area wineries

W

Northeast Ohio wine venues offer facilities ranging from simple to sophisticated for your next event

Ch an res co

By Paris Wolfe clbfreelancer@crain.com

Wineries in Northeast Ohio are hot destinations for board meetings, sales gatherings, corporate retreats, client/donor events, holiday parties and more. Many of the region’s 33 wineries offer something, from a simple meeting space to a sophisticated conference area with built-in audiovisual capabilities. Wine and wine/food-related activities are available during or after events. The variety of destinations means broad and varied budget points as well.

Grand River Winery in Madison Township has been hosting business meetings since 2005. The facility can hold up to 100 on an off day or up to 60 during regular business hours.

Smaller groups can meet in the cellar.

“A winery gets you away from your typical, corporate setting. You come out to the country, see beautiful vineyards, blue skies,” said owner and president Cindy Lindberg. “The location opens your mind to help you become more of a free thinker. It’s also a great team-building atmosphere be-

Madison’s Laurentia Vineyard and Winery can host up to 70 guests for corporate or private events. (Contributed photo)

cause you have your serious meeting and end with a wine tasting and social hour or dinner.”

Just down the street, Laurentia Vineyard and Winery, opened in 2015, offers cellar space for up to 70 guests. Wine tanks and a cellar bar create an ambiance that’s a pleasant

change from the usual corporate meeting space, and rolling barn doors let in outside light on a sunny day. Wine tastings, winery tours, wine dinners and culinary experiences can end the day.

One of the newest additions to winery meeting scene is Sapphire

To keep with the wine theme but Creek Winery & Gardens in Chagrin Falls. Opened in March 2018, the fa- step outside the winery destination, cility can host up to 300 people for The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake corporate events, renting either the offers wine education programs for those who book meetings through entire property or select spaces.

“Choosing our winery as a venue the conference center.

In Winearoma class, wine educatakes an event that is ordinary and expected to another level,” said Kathleen tor Lauren Fiala passes around 40 Dangelo, president of the winery. “We items with aromas most commonly have had corporate clients tell us that found in wines. Classmates discuss participation in events held at Sapphire Creek “A winery gets you away from have exceeded past paryour typical, corporate ticipation numbers.”

Once meetings wrap setting. The location opens up, guided wine tastings, an open happy your mind to help you become hour or wine pairings more of a free thinker.” can begin. That, she said, shifts the social dy- — Cindy Lindberg, Grand River Winery namic. owner and president The Lakehouse Inn Resort and Winery in Geneva-on- their interpretations and test their the-Lake can provide lodging and knowledge by sampling three differmeeting space for up to 50. The on- ent wines. site spa offers packages during meetA Chardonnay Discovery class ing downtime. Team-building op- teaches students to deconstruct tions include wine blending with the Chardonnay into basic components winemaker or learning knife skills and gain a better understanding of with the chef from the connected this noble grape. Participants examCrosswinds Grille. ine oak chips for their characteristics, In wine blending class, attendees lemon juice for acidity, honey for the learn why and how wine is blended. weight and residual sugar, tea for asThen, they blend a bottle of red wine to tringency. Then, they examine Chartake home. In the 60-minute knife stills donnays from three local wineries to class, the chef demonstrates how to discuss what they’ve learned. hold and maintain a knife, basic knife During The Lodge’s wine blending cuts and how to keep edges sharp. class, attendees learn about classical For multiple-day meetings, Gervasi blends such as Bordeaux/Meritage.

Vineyard in Canton is part of a com- After discussing the character that plex that includes 48 rooms among its each of the red varietal grapes brings new Tuscan-themed hotel and six vil- to the blend, the class uses local las. In addition to wine tastings and wines to create their own blend.

Many other wineries throughout winery tours, the facility offers cooking classes for groups of 16 or fewer and Northeast Ohio offer both facilities and experiences for corporate guests. cooking demonstrations for up to 50.

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PA G E 17

What trends are on the menu for catering Changing tastes and influences are reshaping dining at corporate events

By Paris Wolfe clbfreelancer@crain.com

Entertainment is one of the trends in catering today. People want what sustains them to entertain them. That doesn’t mean a theatrical performance but adding an engaging twist on the food or venue, according to several Northeast Ohio caterers.

Building a meeting or event around a theme is one way to create that experience, said personal chef Lisa Pucci Delgado. For one business event, she used the ambiance and menu of a Prohibition party.

For chef Chris Hodgson, owner of Cleveland’s Driftwood Catering and several restaurants around the city, entertainment translates to something interactive. That can be as simple as grazing stations or as unusual as a wall of doughnuts.

“People want to feel part of the experience,” he said.

For Spice Catering Co. on Cleveland’s near West Side, the venue — Spice Acres, a farm and rustic barn in Brecksville — is the unique meeting space and part of the experience.

“When people want more than a boardroom lunch, we can do something interesting and unique at Spice Acres,” said Jess Edmonds, catering director. “Being outside of a fluorescent-lit office building does wonders for creativity.”

With a dash of caution, meeting planners are introducing adventure through ethnic menus.

More ethnic touches, healthier choices, local sourcing and organic items are among the menu trends for company events.

(Dan Milner for Crain’s)

something that’s not too innovative,” he said. “They may be willing to try new sauces for their tacos, but not new meats.”

Hodgson agreed. “People want to try something new, but they may not want a full-on ethnic dinner. They want something that’s different within a safe environment.”

If tiptoeing into ethnic food isn’t enough of a challenge, caterers are tasked with developing healthy choices that can be adapted to special dietary requirements, such as vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten- or dairy-free.

“So many different needs and desires can make dinner service difficult,” Hodgson said. “We work with event organizers to get that information ahead of time so we can take care of it before we get onsite.”

In many cases, health-conscious may also encompass a desire for local and organic. Caterers strive to accommodate that.

If some of these trends seem a little dated, they might be if viewed from a restaurant perspective.

“Catering trends tend to lag a little behind restaurant trends,” Katz said.

“People are introduced to food through restaurant experiences before they want to do it with catering.”

“People want unique and they want to try new things,” said Doug Katz of Fire Catering in Cleveland Heights. He lists Southeast Asia, India, Morocco and the Middle East as influencers.

Delgado would add the bold flavors of American barbecue to the list; think ethnic American.

Kevin Spring of SDCatering.com says strong flavors and departures from the everyday can stump some planners. “People are looking for something innovative, but they want

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

SUSTAINABLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Maintaining the practice According to a 2016 study from Oxford Economics commissioned by the Events Industry Council, the meetings industry in the U.S. spends $48 billion on food and beverages annually.

When coupled with United States Department of Agriculture reports stating that 30% to 40% of food produced nationally is wasted, local event planners said companies should at least try to cater for sustainability.

Levy Restaurants handles all food and beverage services at Cleveland’s Huntington Convention Center, catering 250 events in 2018 alone, said general manager Matt Del Regno. The company embraces sustainability year-round, sourcing antibiotic-free poultry from local Amish farms and greens from partners including Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio. If a local source is tapped out, Del Regno will contact out-of-state fallbacks with similar business practices.

“There’s no carrots growing in Ohio in January,” Del Regno said.

“We’ll forecast out and work with farmers to preserve vegetables for certain events.”

Organizers said organic foods are a staple of any sustainable menu. Or-

If cost is a concern, Del Regno asks clients to meet him in the middle. Sustainable kale is pricey, but serving a half-kale, half-arugula dish will defray costs and still remain eco-friendly.

“Event planners can make reasonable accommodations on budget,” Del Regno said.

“From a corporate standpoint, “It’s about small there’s a demand for sustainability You can steps. find humanely to be on the priority list.” treated chicken that’s a little — Joe Perez, executive chef for Bon Appétit more expenat the Cleveland Museum of Art sive. Be transyou’re buying, Bebenroth suggested parent and talk about that for the folavoiding high-carbon-footprint in- lowing year.”

As for post-event planning, if a gredients like traditionally raised beef, which takes a large amount of company orders 500 meals for an water to raise. Consider instead a event and only 450 people show up, vegetarian plate; if a protein is need- those 50 uneaten meals are still safe ed, reconstitute pork chops into a for consumption. Food can be donatsausage dish or other diverse item. ed under safety standards set by the Joe Perez, executive chef for Bon Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act Appétit at the Cleveland Museum of and the U.S. Food Donation Act of Art, tries to strike a balance between 2008. Stone Soup Cleveland is one meat and vegetable dishes for the 500 option locally, as the nonprofit reevents the catering company handles claims excess food and redistributes each year. Responsible portion sizes it to those in need. of animal-based proteins cut down Through a relationship with Cleveon waste, while any seafood Perez land Food Bank, CMA donated meals procures is certified green by the to the Ed Keating Center sober living Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood facility. Food scraps, meanwhile, are Watch program. Bon Appétit also has picked up by Rust Belt Riders, a a forager in southern Ohio to find lo- Cleveland company that composted 1.3 million pounds of food waste in cal beef, poultry, lamb and pork.

“From a corporate standpoint, 2018 from area restaurants, grocery there’s a demand for sustainability to stores, businesses and nonprofits.

Co-founder Daniel Brown conbe on the priority list,” Perez said. “For us, it’s about educating the client.” nects event planners to sources of compostable cutlery, plates and bowls, with the understanding that During and after an event simply tossing those items is as For a typical corporate lunch, Ed- harmful to the environment as any monds suggested replacing individu- single-use plastic.

“It’s one thing to make the jump ally wrapped plasticware or boxes with nondisposable platters and from plastic to compostable, but it’s bowls. Spice once catered a company no good if those products are just goevent with retro lunchboxes bought ing to a landfill,” he said. “We make from thrift stores. recommendations on products, then Bebenroth said he understands work with venues to set up a wastemost guests attending a meeting management plan.” won’t care where food comes from, Companies with best environmenbut there are small ways to commu- tal practices build events around nicate an event’s sustainability with- guests' dietary preferences gleaned during the registration process, said out being overbearing.

“You can have a pickle display at Brown, who expects green event the center of the table, or herbs or ed- planning to grow apace with larger ible flowers,” Bebenroth said. “You environmental concerns.

“It depends on the culture and valcan touch (these items), eat them and talk about them. We’re not hit- ues of the organization,” he says. ting you over the head with a list of 30 “Knowing where that material comes from is vitally important.” farms.” ganic means no chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers are used on crops, while planting is rotated from field to field. Farm animals are raised cagefree on organic feed without hormones or antibiotics.

After understanding from whom

Above, Bon Appétit’s Perez; below, Spice catering Co. emphasizes sustainability in its farm-to-table dishes. (Contributed photos)

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 19

Focus on accessibility in your event planning

By Judy Stringer clbfreelancer@crain.com

On a scale of one to 10, Robin Jones said she gives Midwest conference and meeting planners a “five” when it comes to providing accessible events to all guests.

“Most only pay attention to these issues when a specific request has been made versus being proactive and integrating these issues into their everyday practices and anticipating the need,” she said. Jones is project director and principal investigator for the Chicago-based Great Lakes ADA Center, one of 10 national centers that provide information and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. That includes assisting hospitality organizations and event coordinators when they call with questions about accessibility and accommodations.

She’s seen an increase in such calls over the last few years, although she said they are still too few and too far between, especially when one considers how sensitive conference and meeting organizers have become to other potential guest limitations, such as dietary restrictions.

“It’s pretty routine to be asked about food allergies or restrictive diets, like veganism, when you are registering for a conference or being invited to a luncheon,” Jones noted.

“But there just is not that same proactive anticipation on limitations with vision, hearing or mobility.”

Some of the most common needs relate to mobility. While ramps and elevators at most public and commercial buildings mean event planners don’t necessarily have to think about how individuals with limited mobility can get in and out of those venues, there are other concerns, according to Jones.

Any block of rooms being reserved for an event, for example, should include wheelchair-accessible rooms as well as standard ones. If there will be shuttle service between a conference center or main hotel and other event locations, one or more of those buses should have a wheelchair lift, she said.

“Transportation is a huge issue and probably one of the things that is most often overlooked,” she added.

Outdoor venues can present additional challenges, according to Carole Anthony, founder of Cleveland-based Accessible Arrangements Event Planning. Traversing uneven ground, sand or gravel is not only hard in a wheelchair or walker, it can be painful for those suffering with nerve sensitivity or recovering from surgery.

“Modular walkways make it much more smooth and accessible,” Anthony said.

Also, rooms that are packed with tables and chairs will be difficult to navigate for individuals using wheelchairs and walkers. Jones pointed out that multitiered buffet tables may be beautiful aesthetically but put food out of reach for someone in a wheelchair. In fact, buffets in general are troublesome to those with mobility challenges, who may struggle managing a line and/or carrying a plate.

“If you are going to have a buffet or food stations throughout the space, you will need to make sure there will be adequate staff to help people,” she said.

Jones said another common “afterthought” is accommodations for speakers or panelists who use wheelchairs or walkers. In those cases, planners will need to ensure there is a ramp to the stage and/or a lectern at

P018_019_CL_20190916.indd 19

an appropriate height.

Vision, hearing and learning challenges present additional considerations.

For events with a lot of printed material, for exAnthony ample, organizers might need to provide accessible format options such as large print or Braille. Jones said meeting planners also can look into renting or leasing navigation beacons, which can be placed in different event rooms or locations and, when paired with a way-finding app, help blind and low-vision guests find their way around the venue.

Other accommodations can include video captioning, hearing loop systems and sign-language interpreters, depending on the situation.

“Typically captioning is used by a wide range of disabilities,” explained Jones, “so it could be somebody who does not know sign language because maybe she lost her hearing in her 20s.

But it is also used heavily by individuals who have learning disabilities, particularly auditory processing disorders. With their hearing, they also need to see what is being said in order to process that information.”

As a side benefit, captioning can help non-native English speakers as well.

Hearing loops are useful in large rooms, according to Anthony, where

sound may bounce off walls and other objects, making it difficult for hearing aids to work properly.

The best practice, both said, is to ask guests about accommodations when they are register or RSVP for an event. Including accessible hotel rooms in a reserved block has to be done well ahead of time anyhow, Jones said, but knowing about mobility issues early also will help planners pick appropriately sized conference rooms and line up staffing needs for any buffet-style meals.

The same goes for closed captioning and alternative formats for printed materials. By the time guests arrive, it’s too late to provide those types of accommodations. Often, organizers might not even realize a

guest had difficulty and needed help until after the event is over.

“Guests will say in a survey that they couldn’t hear the speakers or couldn’t see the video screens,” noted Anthony.

“In the ADA context, you have the right to receive advance notice of the need for accommodations,” Jones said. “What we recommend, and we are seeing it more and more, is that registration forms list out possible accommodations, like sign-language interpreter or captioning, or include a blank box under accommodations so that guests can write in what their needs may be.”

She also recommends disability awareness training for staff who work conferences and other events, especially when relying on volunteer help.

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MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

Do’s and don’ts for a virtual meeting Best practices and recommended platforms, plus tips to keep the tech from getting in the way

By Mary Vanac clbfreelancer@crain.com

“It was almost like being there.”

In days gone by, people used that phrase to describe the experience of looking at the vacation postcards, photos or videos of friends who traveled to exotic locations.

Today, we can use the phrase to describe virtual meetings, once we learn how to choose and use available technologies.

“The whole point of the meeting is to have the participant be part of your team,” said Ben Keller, IT principal for JumpStart Inc. in Cleveland. “If you’ve made them mad at the technology, you’ve just blown the meeting.

Virtual meetings Hosting a virtual meeting comes with lots of questions, according to the folks at Gilbert Creative in Atlanta, Ga.: “How many people will attend? How many presenters are involved? What type of media will be shown? How will you record and host the on-demand version?”

One of the first and most important questions is: “What’s the best platform?” the creative firm says in a blog post.

If you meet virtually with a handful of clients once or twice a year, it may make sense to use a simple virtual meeting platform, such as Join.me or Zoom, which offers a free version, said Lance Whitney, a freelance writer for PC magazine.

Both Join.me and Zoom let you set up and host a virtual meeting, invite a certain number of participants and share your screen so others can see it, Whitney said.

Videoconferencing The professionals at JumpStart, a venture development organization that helps entrepreneurs start and grow companies, use Microsoft Teams for most ad hoc or scheduled meetings with 15 or fewer participants, said Chris Riddle, systems analyst and network administrator. “(Microsoft Teams) has functionality that includes ad hoc, almost FaceTime-style meetings, that you can do fast,” Riddle noted, referring

Keller

Riddle

to the video and audio calling app for your smartphone. Participants can join a meeting by clicking on an emailed link or dialing a number.

Teams, which is the successor to Skype for Business, makes sense for JumpStart because the nonprofit organization already subscribes to Office 365, Microsoft’s suite of business software tools such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

JumpStart adds Teams to its Office subscription by paying an additional fee — small because the organization is a nonprofit — per user, Keller said.

Microsoft Teams does also offer a scaled-down, free version.

If you’re interested in doing more than simple tasks during your virtual meetings, videoconferencing soft-

ware might be a better bet. In addition to collaborating with colleagues, a lot of videoconferencing software offers options for webcasting, screen sharing, remote accessing of computers, text chatting, file sharing, communicating via digital whiteboards or cameras, and live broadcasting.

PC magazine labeled Microsoft Teams, along with Intermedia Unite, ClickMeeting, Cisco Webex Meetings and Zoom Meeting, as an Editor’s Choice in a recent ranking of videoconferencing software.

Virtual meeting etiquette Following proper etiquette while setting up, hosting and participating in virtual meetings or videoconferences can help smooth technology bumps for novices and enable productive collaborations for everyone.

1. Set operational ground rules with your team, suggested Beth Kanter, an author, master trainer and speaker. Think about using technology that is most accessible to your meeting participants and a phone line with audio clarity and stability, said Kanter, who was named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company.

2. Plan more than your meeting agenda. Plan for who will talk about what during your meeting, and how long each presenter should speak, Kanter said. Think through the purpose, roles, materials and activities (such as brainstorming) before starting your meeting.

3. Test your technology and iron out any problems before the meeting.

There’s nothing worse than not having enough bandwidth for your virtual collaboration. “Start with a speed test,” JumpStart’s Keller said. “How wide is your pipe? If you do run into problems, you’ve got to be a detective. If you don’t have enough, avoid video sharing, then screen sharing, then audio sharing.”

4. Train meeting participants how to use their phones and computers during the videoconference. “Be aware of the likely novice level of the other participants on your calls,” Keller said.

“You might be an expert, but someone might be doing this for the first time.

Plan time in the meeting for coaching people through using the technology.”

5. Do not multitask during your meeting! Don’t let the video camera in your meeting room or on your computer catch you watering your plants. “Make sure you are actually paying attention,” Keller said. “If you’re sitting there looking bored, people can see that.”

6. Monitor your sound and image quality. “If you’re offsite and you’ve got a dog barking in the background,” mute your phone, Keller suggested. If you’re using a phone line to improve audio quality, mute the speaker on your computer to avoid a feedback loop. Watch your audio volume. Is it high enough? Too high?

7. Be careful about the documents or screens you’re sharing. “Virtual meetings often now mean screen sharing, at a minimum,” Keller noted. “Be aware of what you’re sharing. Make sure you close documents you don’t want to share and block pop-ups.”

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THE LIST

Investment Banks

Ranked by number of local investment bankers COMPANY LOCAL ADDRESS RANK PHONE/WEBSITE

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60

Cleveland

Consumer, health care, industrial, oil and gas, public sector, real estate, technology, utilities-power and renewables

2003

Mike Jackson Raj Trikha

Randy Paine president, KeyBanc Capital Markets

2

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC 1375 E. 9th St., Suite 2500, Cleveland 44114 216-241-2800/bglco.com

31

Cleveland

Mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations and opinions, real estate and other strategic matters

1989

Andrew K. Petryk Effram E. Kaplan

Michael E. Gibbons founder, senior managing director

30

Cleveland

Mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, financial opinions and valuations, restructuring and bankruptcy

2004

Ralph M. Della Ratta

3

Citizens Capital Markets Inc. (formerly Western Reserve Partners) 200 Public Square, Suite 3750, Cleveland 44114 216-589-0900/citizenscommercialbanking.com

Ralph M. Della Ratta managing partner

EdgePoint Capital 2000 Auburn Drive, Suite 330, Beachwood 44122 216-831-2430/edgepoint.com

24

Beachwood

Industrials, health care, energy, consumer, distribution and logistics, business services

2000

Thomas Zucker John Herubin Six additional managing directors

Thomas Zucker president

Marsh, Berry & Co. 28601 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 400, Woodmere 44122 440-354-3230/marshberry.com

14

Woodmere

Insurance

1981

Phil U. Trem John M. Wepler

John M. Wepler chairman, CEO

Fifth Third Capital Markets 600 Superior Ave. E., Cleveland 44114 216-274-5152/53.com

11

Cincinnati

M&A advisory, debt capital markets, financial sponsor coverage

1858 (1)

Jeremy Eberlein Joseph Carson

Joseph D. DiRocco regional president, Northeast Ohio, Fifth Third Bank

7

League Park Advisors 1100 Superior Ave. E., Suite 1700, Cleveland 44114 216-455-9985/leaguepark.com

9

Cleveland

Mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, capital raising, outsourced corporate development

2010

J.W. Sean Dorsey

J.W. Sean Dorsey founder, CEO

8

Harris Williams 1900 E. 9th St., 25th floor, Cleveland 44114 216-689-2400/harriswilliams.com

7

Richmond, Va.

Global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services

1991

William P. Watkins

William P. Watkins managing director

9

BellMark Partners LLC 25101 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 210, Beachwood 44122 216-575-1000/bellmarkpartners.com

6

Boston

Merger advisory services, restructuring, valuations and fairness opinions, strategic alternative reviews

2009

Andy Vollmer

Andy Vollmer managing director, co-CEO

9

Candlewood Partners LLC 600 Superior Ave. E., Suite 1800, Cleveland 44114 216-472-6660/candlewoodpartners.com

6

Cleveland

Mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, advisory services, restructuring

2001

Glenn C. Pollack

Steve Latkovic managing director

Carleton McKenna & Co. 1801 E. 9th St., Suite 1425, Cleveland 44114 216-523-1962/carletonmckenna.com

6

Cleveland

M&A advisory (sell-side and buy-side), capital raising and pre-transition advisory

2001

Brooke A. Hradisky Nora T. Mahoney Christopher J. McKenna Paul H. Carleton

Paul H. Carleton managing partner Christopher J. McKenna managing director

MelCap Partners LLC 1684 Medina Road, Suite 102, Medina 44256 330-239-1990/melcap.com

6

Medina

Middle-market investment banking firm focusing on M&A advisory, private placement of debt and equity capital, and general advisory services

2000

Marc A. Fleagle Albert D. Melchiorre Robert T. Pacholewski

Albert D. Melchiorre president, founder

13

Boenning & Scattergood 3333 Richmond Drive, Suite 345, Beachwood 44122 216-378-1430/boenninginc.com

5

Philadelphia

Banking, insurance, water and infrastructure, manufacturing, retail and consumer products, health care, public finance

1914

Charles Crowley Christopher M. Chapman

Christopher M. Chapman Charles Crowley managing directors

13

Cascade Partners 30000 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 200, Orange 44124 216-404-7221/cascade-partners.com

5

Detroit

Tightly held or family-owned businesses in health care, industrial products, business services and distribution sectors

2012

Ken E. Marblestone

Ken E. Marblestone managing director

15

Bruml Capital Corp.

1801 E. 9th St., Suite 1620, Cleveland 44114 216-771-6660/brumlcapital.com

3

Cleveland

Merger, sell-side and buy-side transaction advisory services, raising private capital, valuation and fairness opinions

1986

Andrew S. Gelfand

Robert W. Bruml president

15

Chemical Bank 23240 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 600, Beachwood 44122 216-706-3753/ChemicalBank.com

3

Detroit

NA

1917 (1)

NA

James R. Lynch Jr. regional president, Northeast Ohio

15

EPOCH Pi LLC 3204 Clinton Ave., Cleveland 44113 216-472-6658/epochpi.com

3

Cleveland

Working with socially and environmentally conscious, culture-focused and purpose-driven companies

2015

Lynn W. Carpenter

William W. Vogelgesang partner

18

Falls Capital Corp.

175 Sorrelwood, Chagrin Falls 44022 216-533-6905/fallscapital.com

2

Chagrin Falls

M&A advisory, sell and buy side; generalists in lower-end middle market transactions

1991

Pete Peterson

Pete Peterson president

18

Loyalhanna Partners 15775 N. Ridge Drive, Novelty 44072 216-454-0450

2

Novelty

General industrial, transportation, specialty materials, internet

2000

John B. Hollister III Douglas Q. Holmes

John B. Hollister III partner

Cohen Capital Advisors 1350 Euclid Ave., Suite 800, Cleveland 44115 216-774-1100/cohenca.com

1

Cleveland

M&A advisory services - distribution, manufacturing, electrical equipment, telecommunications, metals, business services, specialized consulting services

2004

James Lisy

James Lisy managing director

20

Emprise Partners 3201 Enterprise Parkway, Suite 200, Beachwood 44122 440-668-6027/emprisepartners.us

1

Beachwood

Merchant-banking firm; providing middle market buy-side representation as agents and investing in companies as principals

1989

Mathew J. Hanson

Mathew J. Hanson managing director

20

Pars Capital Partners LLC 8816 Orchard Ave., Brooklyn 44144 440-796-9407/parspartners.com

1

Brooklyn

Transaction services in the contract research organization (CRO) and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) spaces

2017

Rudy S. Sangari

Rudy S. Sangari managing partner

20

Red Hawk Associates Ltd. P.O. Box 24905, Cleveland 44124 216-245-7879/redhawkassociates.com

1

Pepper Pike

Mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, debt restructuring

1998

David Brown

David Brown managing director

20

River's Edge Alliance Group LLC 25935 Detroit Road, Suite 118, Westlake 44145 440-915-3082/RiversEdgeAlliance.com

1

Pittsburgh

Lower-middle market mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, strategic ownership planning, private capital market advisory, business valuations

2004

Scott David Mashuda

Scott David Mashuda managing director

4 5 6

9 9

20

YEAR FOUNDED

CHIEF LOCAL INVESTMENT BANKER(S)

TOP LOCAL EXECTUTIVE(S)

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER: CSODER@CRAIN.COM

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data Information is supplied by the companies. Send feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com (1) Represents the founding date for the bank, not the investment banking unit

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

THE LIST THE LIST

Foundations Foundations Ranked by value of grants awarded in 2018 Ranked by value of grants awarded in 2018 FOUNDATION RANK CONTACT INFO FOUNDATION Foundation, Cleveland RANK Cleveland CONTACT INFO 216-861-3810/clevelandfoundation.org Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland 216-861-3810/clevelandfoundation.org The George Gund Foundation, Cleveland 216-241-3114/gundfoundation.org The George Gund Foundation, Cleveland 216-241-3114/gundfoundation.org KeyBank Foundation, Cleveland 216-689-7394/key.com/foundation KeyBank Foundation, Cleveland 216-689-7394/key.com/foundation Peg's Foundation, Hudson 330-655-1366/pegsfoundation.org Peg's Foundation, Hudson 330-655-1366/pegsfoundation.org Stark Community Foundation, Canton 330-454-3426/starkcf.org Stark Community Foundation, Canton 330-454-3426/starkcf.org Akron Community Foundation, Akron 330-376-8522/akroncf.org Akron Community Foundation, Akron 330-376-8522/akroncf.org Nordson Corporation Foundation, Westlake 440-892-1580/nordson.com Nordson Corporation Foundation, Westlake 440-892-1580/nordson.com Saint Luke's Foundation of Cleveland, Cleveland 216-431-8010/saintlukesfoundation.org Saint Luke's Foundation of Cleveland, Cleveland 216-431-8010/saintlukesfoundation.org GAR Foundation, Akron 330-576-2926/garfoundation.org GAR Foundation, Akron 330-576-2926/garfoundation.org Nord Family Foundation, Amherst 440-984-3939/nordff.org Nord Family Foundation, Amherst 440-984-3939/nordff.org Parker Hannifin Foundation, Mayfield Heights 216-896-3000/parker.com Parker Hannifin Foundation, Mayfield Heights 216-896-3000/parker.com The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation, Pepper Pike 216-591-9111/kesmithfoundation.org The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation, Pepper Pike 216-591-9111/kesmithfoundation.org

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

GRANTS AWARDED GRANTS (MILLIONS) AWARDED 2018/ (MILLIONS) 2017 2018/ $104.8 2017 $101.0 $104.8 $101.0 $38.6 $22.4 $38.6 $22.4 $33.7 $27.7 $33.7 $27.7 $12.5 $3.5 $12.5 $3.5 $12.0 $9.7 $12.0 $9.7 $10.4 $13.3 $10.4 $13.3 $10.1 $9.3 $10.1 $9.3 $7.6 (2) $8.4 $7.6 (2) $8.4 $7.1 $6.1 $7.1 $6.1 $7.0 $6.9 $7.0 $6.9 $6.9 $7.0 $6.9 $7.0 $6.8 $7.4 $6.8 $7.4

ASSETS (MILLIONS) ASSETS 2018 LARGEST 2018 GRANT (MILLIONS) $2500.0 $2,202,600; CaseGRANT Western 2018 LARGEST 2018 Reserve University $2500.0 $2,202,600; Case Western Reserve University $486.9 $10,000,000; Say Yes Cleveland $486.9 $0.0 $0.0 $91.9 $91.9 $252.8 $252.8 $220.2 $220.2 $26.9 $26.9 $168.3 $168.3 $151.8 $151.8 $140.0 $140.0 $0.0 $0.0 $150.7 $150.7

$10,000,000; Say Yes Cleveland $10,000,000; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum $10,000,000; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Northeast Museum Ohio $7,500,000; Medical University $7,500,000; Northeast Ohio Medical University $700,000; Keep Memory Alive

GIVING FOCUS AREAS Enhance lives ofAREAS Greater Cleveland residents GIVING FOCUS Enhance lives of Greater Cleveland residents Education, arts, human services, environment, economic development Education, arts, human services, environment, economic Neighbors,development education, workforce and service Neighbors, education, workforce and service Mental health, arts, education Mental health, arts, education Wide array of charitable causes

$700,000; Keep Memory Alive $87,500; AMHA Building for Tomorrow $87,500; AMHA Building for Tomorrow Tech Corps $304,000;

Wide array of charitable causes NA

$304,000; Tech Corps $375,000 (2); Cleveland Neighborhood Progress $375,000 (2); Cleveland Neighborhood Progress $700,000; Akron Civic Theatre

Education, human welfare Health equity; social determinants of health

$700,000; Akron Civic Theatre $300,000; El Centro De Servicios Sociales $300,000; El Centro De Servicios Sociales Would not disclose Would not disclose $600,000; Playhouse Square Foundation $600,000; Playhouse Square Foundation

NA Education, human welfare

Health equity; social determinants of health Help Akron become smarter, stronger, and more vibrant Help Akron become smarter, stronger, and more vibrant Art and culture, civic affairs, education, health and social services Art and culture, civic affairs, education, health and social services Needs of the community, science and math education, environmental stewardship Needs of the community, science and math education, environmental stewardship Arts and culture, education, economic development, environment, health, human Arts and culture, education, economic services development, environment, health, human services

FOUNDED/ LOCAL FOUNDED/ STAFF (1) LOCAL 1914 STAFF (1) 74 1914 74 1952 12 1952 12 1969 1 1969 1 2001 4 2001 4 1963 12 1963 12 1955 17 1955 17 1988 4 1988 4 1997 10 1997 10 1967 7.4 1967 7.4 1988 6.13 1988 6.13 1953 0 1953 0 1955 2 1955 2

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S) Ronald B. Richard, president, CEO TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S) Sally Gries, chairperson Ronald B. Richard, president, CEO Sally chairperson DavidGries, T. Abbott, executive director David T. Abbott, executive director Elizabeth S. Gurney, director of corporate philanthropy, KeyBank Elizabeth S. Gurney, director of corporate philanthropy, Rick Kellar, president KeyBank Rick Kellar, president Mark J. Samolczyk, president, CEO Mark J. Samolczyk, president, CEO John T. Petures Jr., president, CEO John T. Petures Jr., president, CEO Cecilia H. Render, executive director Cecilia H. Render, executive director Anne C. Goodman, president, CEO (3) Anne C. Goodman, president, CEO (3) Amer Mayer, president Christine Christine Amer Mayer, president Anthony Richardson, executive director Anthony Richardson, executive director Thomas L. Williams, chairman, CEO Thomas L. Williams, chairman, CEO Ellen Stirn Mavec, chairman, president Ellen Stirn Mavec, chairman, president

SOUND SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR FOUNDATION Contact Pam Lebold + plebold@maloneynovotny.com + 216.363.0100 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 32

In His Steps Foundation, Independence 330-528-1785/ihsfound.org In His Steps Foundation, Independence 330-528-1785/ihsfound.org Wayne County Community Foundation, Wooster 330-262-3877/waynecountycommunityfoundation.org Wayne County Community Foundation, Wooster 330-262-3877/waynecountycommunityfoundation.org Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, Cleveland 216-421-5500/mtsinaifoundation.org Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, Cleveland 216-421-5500/mtsinaifoundation.org The Youngstown Foundation, Youngstown 330-744-0320/youngstownfoundation.org The Youngstown Foundation, Youngstown 330-744-0320/youngstownfoundation.org Community Foundation of Lorain County, Elyria 440-984-7390/peoplewhocare.org Community Foundation of Lorain County, Elyria 440-984-7390/peoplewhocare.org Community West Foundation, Westlake 440-360-7370/communitywestfoundation.org Community West Foundation, Westlake 440-360-7370/communitywestfoundation.org Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Hudson 330-655-1660/bdmorganfdn.org Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Hudson 330-655-1660/bdmorganfdn.org Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Mayfield Heights Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, 216-906-4578/fowlerfamilyfdn.org Mayfield Heights 216-906-4578/fowlerfamilyfdn.org Case Alumni Foundation, Cleveland 216-231-4567/casealum.org Case Alumni Foundation, Cleveland 216-231-4567/casealum.org The Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, Cleveland 216-696-4200 The Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, Cleveland 216-696-4200 Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton, Canton 330-454-5800/scfcanton.org Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton, Canton 330-454-5800/scfcanton.org Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Cleveland 216-589-5700/mhjf.org Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Cleveland 216-589-5700/mhjf.org Reinberger Foundation, Orange 216-292-2790/reinbergerfoundation.org Reinberger Foundation, Orange 216-292-2790/reinbergerfoundation.org The Lubrizol Foundation, Wickliffe 440-347-1797/lubrizol.com The Lubrizol Foundation, Wickliffe 440-347-1797/lubrizol.com Barberton Community Foundation, Barberton 330-745-5995/barbertoncf.org Barberton Community Foundation, Barberton 330-745-5995/barbertoncf.org Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, Cleveland 216-357-4460/socfcleveland.org Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, Cleveland 216-357-4460/socfcleveland.org John Huntington Fund for Education, Cleveland 216-321-7185 John Huntington Fund for Education, Cleveland 216-321-7185 The Raymond John Wean Foundation, Warren 330-394-5600/rjweanfdn.org The Raymond John Wean Foundation, Warren 330-394-5600/rjweanfdn.org John P. Murphy Foundation, Cleveland 216-623-4770/murphykulas.org John P. Murphy Foundation, Cleveland 216-623-4770/murphykulas.org Deaconess Foundation, Independence 216-741-4077/deaconessfdn.org Deaconess Foundation, Independence 216-741-4077/deaconessfdn.org

$6.7 $6.1 $6.7 $6.1 $6.7 $5.8 $6.7 $5.8 $6.0 $7.0 $6.0 $7.0 $5.6 $6.6 $5.6 $6.6 $5.5 $6.0 $5.5 $6.0 $5.5 $4.8 $5.5 $4.8 $4.9 $5.2 $4.9 $5.2 $4.2 $6.3 $4.2 $6.3 $4.1 $5.1 $4.1 $5.1 $3.9 $2.3 $3.9 $2.3 $3.6 $2.2 $3.6 $2.2 $3.3 $3.3 $3.3 $3.3 $3.3 $3.2 $3.3 $3.2 $3.2 $3.2 $3.2 $3.2 $3.1 $2.9 $3.1 $2.9 $2.9 $3.2 $2.9 $3.2 $2.8 $2.5 $2.8 $2.5 $2.1 $3.3 $2.1 $3.3 $2.0 $2.0 $2.0 $2.0 $1.8 $1.5 $1.8 $1.5

$27.3

$500,000; CRU

Faith based

$27.3 $84.9

$500,000; CRU $567,060; Friends of Wayne County Fair $567,060; Friends of Wayne County Fair Jewish Federation $1,698,608; Campaign for Jewish Needs $1,698,608; Jewish Federation Campaign forCity Jewish Needs $1,000,000; of Youngstown

Faith based Arts, education, environment, health, human services Arts, education, environment, health, human services Academic medicine/bioscience, urban health, Jewish community, health policy Academic medicine/bioscience, urban health, Jewish community, health policy Unrestricted

$1,000,000; City of Youngstown $705,723; Mercy Foundation of Lorain County $705,723; Mercy Foundation of Lorain County $150,000; Greater Cleveland Food Bank $150,000; Greater Cleveland Food Bank $221,500; John Carroll University

Unrestricted Lorain County community needs

$221,500; John Carroll University $500,000; University Hospitals Health System $500,000; University Hospitals Health System $100,000; Case School of Engineering $100,000; Case School of EngineeringConservancy for $500,000; Cuyahoga Valley National Park $500,000; Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley $350,000; JRC National Park

Entrepreneurship Arts, education and health

$350,000; JRC $60,000; Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland $60,000; Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland $500,000; Playhouse Square Center $500,000; Playhouse Square Center $500,000; Cleveland Zoological Society $500,000; Cleveland Zoological Society $2,326,104; Barberton City School District $2,326,104; Barberton City School District $100,000; Saint Vincent Charity Medical Center $100,000; Saint Vincent Charity Medical Center NA

Early childhood, homelessness, mental health Support for PK-12 pubic schools

$84.9 $151.0 $151.0 $105.0 $105.0 $128.6 $128.6 $109.4 $109.4 $155.0 $155.0 $29.5 $29.5 $71.9 $71.9 $8.5 $8.5 $82.9 $82.9 $63.6 $63.6 $67.7 $67.7 $11.5 $11.5 $74.7 $74.7 $83.5 $83.5 $31.6 $31.6 $79.2 $79.2 $46.7 $46.7 $53.0 $53.0

NA $550,000; Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. $550,000; Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. $125,000; Cuyahoga Community College Foundation $125,000; Cuyahoga Community College Foundation $450,000; Fund for Our Economic Future/Workforce Connect $450,000; Fund for Our Economic Future/Workforce Connect

Lorain County community needs Basic needs Basic needs Entrepreneurship

Arts, education and health Scholarships, laboratories, faculty support, students Scholarships, laboratories, faculty support, students Helping people help themselves Helping people help themselves Early childhood, homelessness, mental health

Support for PK-12 pubic schools Arts, education and human services Arts, education and human services Education; primarily focused on science, technology, engineering and math Education; primarily focused on science, technology, engineering and math Education, social services, economic development, community Education, social services, economic development, community Poverty, homelessness, Catholic sisters, Central neighborhood Poverty, homelessness, Catholic sisters, Central neighborhood Post-secondary grants in scientific and technical fields of study Post-secondary grants in scientific and technical fields of study economic and Community revitalization, educational opportunity, public sector Community leadership revitalization, economic and educational opportunity, public sector leadership Arts, community and education Arts, community and education Workforce development Workforce development

1998 2 1998 2 1978 3 1978 3 1994 6 1994 6 1918 2 1918 2 1980 10 1980 10 1997 8 1997 8 1967 8.5 1967 8.5 2003 1 2003 1 2004 9 2004 9 2005 0 2005 0 1996 5.55 1996 5.55 1959 4 1959 4 1968 1 1968 1 1952 2 1952 2 1996 6 1996 6 1996 8.5 1996 8.5 1954 1 1954 1 1949 7 1949 7 1960 4 1960 4 1997 3 1997 3

Robert S. Cathcart, executive director Robert S. Cathcart, executive director Sara Patton, executive director Sara Patton, executive director Mitchell Balk, president Mitchell Balk, president Janice E. Strasfeld, executive director Janice E. Strasfeld, executive director Cynthia Andrews, president, CEO Cynthia Andrews, president, CEO David T. Dombrowiak, president, CEO David T. Dombrowiak, president, CEO Deborah D. Hoover, president, CEO Deborah D. Hoover, president, CEO Chuck Fowler, president Chuck Fowler, president Stephen Zinram, executive director Stephen Zinram, executive director Phillip A. Ranney, secretary, trustee Phillip A. Ranney, secretary, trustee Joni T. Close, president Joni T. Close, president Daniel J. Keenan, executive director Daniel J. Keenan, executive director Karen R. Hooser, president Karen R. Hooser, president Eric R. Schnur, chairman, president, CEO, The Lubrizol Corp.

Eric R. Schnur, chairman, president, CEO, The Lubrizol Corp.

Suzanne Tucker Allen, executive director Suzanne Tucker Allen, executive director Susanna H. Krey, president Susanna H. Krey, president Peter W. Adams, president Peter W. Adams, president Jennifer E. Roller, president Jennifer E. Roller, president Nancy W. McCann, president Nancy W. McCann, president Deborah Vesy, president, CEO Deborah Vesy, president, CEO

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER: CSODER@CRAIN.COM RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER: CSODER@CRAIN.COM

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data Information is supplied by the foundations.

Send feedback Chucklist Soder:— csoder@crain.com Want the full Excel version of tothis and every Crain's list? Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data

(1) Full-time as of June 30, 2019.

Saint Luke's grant total includes $2.6 million in grants recommended through its donor advised fund at the Cleveland Foundation; among them is the listed grant Information is equivalent supplied by the foundations.

Send(2) feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com awarded to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. (3) Saint Luke's announced on Sept. 11 that Goodman will step down once the foundation completes a search for her replacement.

(1) Full-time equivalent as of June 30, 2019. (2) Saint Luke's grant total includes $2.6 million in grants recommended through its donor advised fund at the Cleveland Foundation; among them is the listed grant awarded to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. (3) Saint Luke's announced on Sept. 11 that Goodman will step down once the foundation completes a search for her replacement.

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LIST ANALYSIS

Foundations on list post 10.6% increase in giving

By Chuck Soder csoder@crain.com @ChuckSoder

Local foundations were particularly generous last year.

The 34 organizations on the full digital version of our Foundations list awarded nearly $342 million in grants in 2018, up 10.6% from 2017.

And that’s saying something: In 2017, total giving increased 6.8% for the 31 foundations on the list that

have consistently submitted data over the past three years.

The trend shows up even when you exclude the Cleveland Foundation, which is by far the largest foundation on the list. It awarded $104.8 million in grants and had $2.5 billion in assets in 2018.

But the largest individual grants, both for $10 million, were made by the next two organizations on the list.

The George Gund Foundation, No. 2 on the list, awarded $10 million to the Say Yes to Education program. In

January, it was announced that Cleveland would become a Say Yes to Education chapter. In short, the program will give students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District access to scholarships and additional support services.

The other $10 million grant came from the KeyBank Foundation, which is No. 3 on the list. The money is funding the CLE VIP program at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which lets Cleveland residents attend the Rock Hall for free, as well

as the Rock Hall’s transformation program.

To find the foundation that posted the biggest percent increase in total giving, move one more spot down on the list to No. 4: Peg’s Foundation of Hudson awarded $12.5 million last year, more than triple its 2017 total.

That’s largely because of a $7.5 million grant it gave to Northeast Ohio Medical University. The money will be used to fund mental health programs in the community.

Though total giving on the list in-

creased, total assets fell 4.7% from 2017 to 2018.

Foundations that keep assets in public company stock will see their asset totals rise and fall with the stock market, which plunged in late 2018 but immediately recovered in 2019 (a fact that also hampered 2018 asset totals reported by companies on our Money Managers and Investment Advisers lists earlier this year).

The list includes only grantmaking foundations. It excludes foundations that support only one organization.

I PROMISE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The school looks to remove potential barriers to learning, providing transportation for students living more than two miles away as well as daily breakfast, lunch and snacks.

The school’s model also includes extensive supports for families, such as a food pantry, legal aid and medical services and GED classes. And those supports keep growing. New this year are a laundry facility and English-asa-second-language classes.

Parent Ciara DeBruce didn’t know those wraparound services would be part of the experience when she enrolled her daughter, fourth-grader LaRiyah Moore, in the I Promise School, but she’s since made use of the available resources.

“It’s all-around care,” she said. “It’s very family-oriented.”

DeBruce has seen a number of changes since Moore became a student. Her daughter appreciates that students have opportunities to move around, instead of always being asked to sit still. Her reading levels have increased and she was almost always with a book this summer.

The wraparound services are one of the pillars on which the I Promise School is built. The school also incorporates a STEM curriculum and, critically, trauma-informed practices in education. That means the school spends a significant amount of time on social-emotional learning for students.

An hour is set aside in the morning dedicated to social-emotional learning, explained Keith Liechty-Clifford, school improvement coordinator at the Akron Public Schools. During that time, teachers hold what are called I Promise circles that incorporate lessons on topics like anger management or preparing for the day.

Sometimes, Liechty-Clifford said, a student may say they’re angry, but they’re actually nervous about something happening that day. Teaching students about their emotions and helping them to identify exactly what they’re feeling — and giving both students and teachers de-escalation tools — is important, he said.

Teachers at the I Promise School know students are coming in at a lower reading level, said fourthgrade teacher Amy Kaser, but rather than frustrating students with assignment after assignment, the focus on social and emotional supports allows teachers to look at the whole person and see where they are emotionally.

It’s important that students learn to recognize those emotions in themselves, too.

Bridget Casenhiser, a fourth-grade teacher who runs a combined classroom with Kaser, agreed, saying the school views itself as an extension of the students’ families. It aims to first bolster students emotionally and then to focus on academics.

P023_CL_20190916.indd 23

I Promise School students gather in a morning circle. (LeBron James Family Foundation photographs)

Students Mission Rai, left, and Pujan Rai work in a classroom.

From left: Ethan Snell, Darol Vinson, Victoria McGee, Amy Kaser, London Riley and Bridget Casenhiser gather at the school.

One of the ways teachers do this is through the morning and afternoon I Promise circles.

In Casenhiser and Kaser’s class-

room, students begin their morning circle by listening to a song, usually chosen by Casenhiser. The goal is for the song to inspire something that

the students can focus on for the day.

For example, students may promise that they’ll be a better listener that day, which the teachers will remind them of, Casenhiser said.

“So they are able to identify and make a connection with that,” she said.

In the afternoon, the students reconvene for what Kaser calls a “restorative” circle. It’s a time for students to unwind from lunch and recess and to share their feelings from the day so far.

To include such a strong focus on social-emotional learning means the I Promise School needed a less-traditional schedule. Teachers are on site from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the foundation funds an additional hour of afterschool programming from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Also, the school year starts four weeks before the rest of the buildings in the district, Liechty-Clifford noted. That approach is designed to minimize the loss of learning students can experience after a long break.

Teachers and administrators have had to be flexible to adapt to changes at the school. For example, the district was able to reach a scheduling agreement with the I Promise School teachers on the near-year-round model without raising costs, Liechty-Clifford said. Instead, there are more breaks and long weekends scheduled throughout the year. And the foundation supports the school with summer camps while class is out during the shortened summer break.

The school’s approach to professional development has also changed.

“That was the major challenge and the major learning that I grasped over year one, is to understand that

what looks great on paper doesn’t always look great in reality,” said principal Brandi Davis.

Initially, teachers were out of class for professional development for three hours every Wednesday. The school brought in substitute teachers who had been carefully interviewed and trained, but as the year went on, many of those subs got jobs elsewhere and were no longer available, Davis said. That started to cause management issues for classrooms and anxiety for students.

The school changed its approach, cutting down on the time teachers were in professional development and bringing in community partners to conduct programming and supplement the work of the substitutes.

This year, the I Promise School completely changed its approach to professional development. Instead of using substitute teachers, the school adopted a co-teaching model, allowing one teacher to stay with the students while the other goes to professional development. In addition, professional development takes place twice a month instead of every week, Davis said.

As the I Promise School evolves and adapts, Liechty-Clifford said Akron Public Schools is watching it for lessons that can be applied more systemically and broadly.

They aren’t the only ones. The LeBron James Family Foundation wants the school to succeed for its students and families, Campbell said, but it also views the I Promise School as a potential model for how public schools can create “generational change.” She said the foundation hopes that by meeting families where they are, the I Promise School could help solve some of the issues facing urban districts today.

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AKRON

Neighborhood Watch

A real estate agent’s dream With large, midcentury homes amid beautiful settings, Northwest Akron is a sought-after residential area

By Dan Shingler dshingler@crain.com @DanShingler

Something’s missing in Northwest Akron.

“You’re right,” said Jason Segedy, Akron’s director of planning and urban development, as he drove us through a tour of the neighborhood.

“I know the houses here don’t turn over like they do in some other neighborhoods, but we’ve been driving around for a while now without seeing a for-sale sign,” he noted.

Not that there aren’t any at all, but as if to emphasize the desirability of this section of town, the first for-sale sign we found also said “sold” on top.

What can you say? It’s a nice neighborhood. A real estate agent’s dream really, where words such as “wellkept,” “stately,” “beautiful” and sometimes even “quaint” or “charming” are actually accurate descriptions of the homes.

It’s also in a gorgeous spot in town.

In fact, Segedy explained, much of the neighborhood was once part of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens’ original grounds of more than 4,000 acres.

Most of that land was kept as forest by the estate, which also prevented much of present-day Northwest Akron from being developed until about the 1950s, he said.

The current grounds of the 70acre Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens — the former home of F.A. Seiberling, one of the co-founders of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. — sits just about smack in the middle of the neighborhood.

That would be enough to satisfy most folks’ desire for some scenic beauty in their community, but that’s just where Northwest Akron starts.

Most of the neighborhood is canopied by tall oaks and other trees that far predate the 50- and 60-year-old homes they shade. To the north, most of the neighborhood borders the Sand Run Metro Park, while Fairlawn Country Club seals off the western border and Portage Country Club sits on the southern border between West Market Street and North Portage Path.

“It kind of is Akron’s country club neighborhood,” Segedy said.

Little wonder it’s mostly residential, or that it’s been kept up better than some other parts of town over the years.

Along the roads that border the country clubs, big, midcentury homes throw open their windows toward the trees and fairways that no doubt lured their owners to the area

P024-025_CL_20190916.indd 24

in the first place.

Little wonder, too, that real estate agents love getting listings here: Homes tend to sell fast and for good prices. And those prices are wideranging: You can find small homes selling for less than $100,000 (if and when they come on the market), while bigger homes, such as those along the golf courses, can fetch more than $400,000, Segedy pointed out.

Ryan Shaffer, a real estate agent with Stouffer Realty in nearby Fairlawn, is certainly a fan.

When he gets a call from a potential buyer who spotted one of his signs, he tells them he knows the neighborhood.

“It’s a neighborhood I work in regularly. It’s also the neighborhood I grew up in and currently live in,” he added with a chuckle.

He went to Firestone High School — “the old one, with no A.C.,” he said, noting a new Firestone Community Learning Center replaced the old school in 2016.

Shaffer said he likes the neighborhood for the same reasons most other residents do: great surroundings, convenient location, nice local amenities and, perhaps above all else, it’s just solid and holds up.

“The street I live on is one street over from the street I grew up on … and some of my neighbors are the original owners of their homes. People stay here and raise families,” Shaffer said.

A lot of clients don’t ask for “Northwest Akron” specifically, he said.

Many probably don’t know the neighborhood even exists as its own entity. But they often point to a spot on the map of Akron and ask if there are homes near it, and that spot is often in Northwest Akron, Shaffer and others said.

“It’s a great starter area for people and a great place for retirees, too,” Shaffer said.

Fellow real estate agent Laurie Morgan Schrank, with Keller Williams — hers was the for-sale sign with “sold” plastered on it — agreed.

Most of the homes, though older, have been redone, she noted. She only wishes she had more to sell.

“I don’t see a lot of turnaround here. People buy those homes and just nest in them,” she said.

While you won’t find industry or big offices in the neighborhood, Northwest Akron is not devoid of commerce entirely. It’s home to the kinds of businesses its residents want.

“You have the best bakery in town and a nice wine shop there, at a great place to walk to from that neighbor-

In Northwest Akron, a particularly pretty part of the city, homes sell fast and for good prices. You can find small homes selling for less than $100,000, while bigger homes can fetch over $400,000. (Shane Wynn for Crain’s)

Ab

We t abo of s we s plan agre serie pass hoo at N bea and resid

Pilgrim Square Shopping Center is an anchor of the neighborhood and home to the West Side Bakery, 750ml Wines and other shops.

Scott Emerman, who runs the Pilgrim Square Barber Shop, gives Moise Zarouk a trim at the shop in Northwest Akron.

hood,” Morgan Schrank said.

She’s referring to the Pilgrim Square Shopping Center at West Market Road and Sand Run Road — an anchor of the neighborhood and home to the Pilgrim Square Barber Shop, the West Side Bakery, 750ml Wines and other shops.

Barb Talevich has owned the bakery for 25 years and lives less than five minutes away in Fairlawn Heights. She said she picked the right location from the get-go.

“The neighborhood we’re in … people are just wonderful. It’s just a great spot to be in,” Talevich said, adding that even after 25 years, she routinely sees new faces at her counter, often from companies that are expanding in and around Akron.

The same goes for Scott Emerman, who has run the Pilgrim Square Barber Shop for the past eight years.

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Summer events do well, but construction hurts eateries

By Judy Stringer clbfreelancer@crain.com

About this series We thought we knew a fair amount about Akron, which is the hometown of some of us at Crain’s. That is, until we started driving around with Akron planning director Jason Segedy, who agreed to take part in an ongoing series to show us his knowledge and passion for the city — one neighborhood at a time. This month, we look at Northwest Akron, which, with its beautiful setting amid lush greenery and golf courses, is a highly desired residential area.

Three chairs, one barber, sometimes a wait to get a cut and always a lot of banter is what he said he offers. A lot of his customers are from the neighborhood and he likes to get them going while they’re in the shop.

“It’s mostly regulars, but a lot of new people coming and moving to Akron, too,” he said.

Nothing’s off-limits for conversations, including religion and politics.

But it’s all in good spirits. and the neighborhood residents respect and look after one another too much to take much offense, Emerman contended.

“It’s a community setting, and everyone knows and talks to each other,” Emerman said. “I have a highclass crowd because of the location!”

He added that the neighborhood around him seems to be thriving, along with the businesses that share his plaza.

“This is a classy little plaza in a cute little area. They’re all doctors, professors, engineers and professionals who come in mostly … but even the people here in the trades are doing well now,” Emerman said.

And more are coming.

“People are moving here from all over the country and they’re loving it.

And they’re buying houses they couldn’t afford where they’re from,” Emerman said.

P024-025_CL_20190916.indd 25 25 P025_CL_20190916indd.indd

Concrete barriers, metal fencing, one-way streets and mazelike walkways don’t appear to be deterring Rubber City eventgoers, even though some restaurants are feeling the pinch.

Major venues along Akron’s Main Street corridor, currently in the throes of a $31 million reconstruction project, have seen little impact from the ongoing overhaul.

The city is in the first stage of the two-phase Main Street project, funded in part by federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.

Akron chief of staff James Hardy said “hardscaping” for phase one, which began in July 2018 and involves the South Main corridor between Cedar and Mill streets, is expected to wrap up by year’s end, with the corridor improvements fully finished in the first quarter of 2020.

The second phase, between Mill Street and state Route 59, launches thereafter, he said, and will take about a year.

Despite the construction, Lock 3, the city’s biggest outdoor concert venue, is on track to post a banner year, Hardy said. More than 77,000 people attended the Rock the Lock Friday concerts series, which wrapped up on Sept. 6. Rock the Lock drew 58,000 in 2018 and 65,000 in 2017.

Add in other Lock 3 seasonal activities, including the popular Rib, White & Blue and Italian festivals, and 2019 attendance is up some 10,000 guests compared to 2018, to a total of 253,392, according to the city, with several special events, such as Lock 3 Oktoberfest, still to come.

“I would say people are just finding their way, despite the construction,” Hardy said. “They are finding their way to the parking decks and they are finding their way into venues.”

Hardy credits “good weather” for much of Lock 3’s strong season, particularly the Rock the Lock series, “which is the largest program in the summer outside of festivals,” he said.

Akron RubberDucks general manager Jim Pfander also thinks the weather has played a more significant role at Canal Park this year than the construction mayhem.

This year likely would have been better for the minor league baseball team’s attendance, he said, were it not for an unusually wet spring and one dangerously hot weekend in July.

Still, the Ducks drew 5,077 fans per game at Canal Park. That was up 1.6%, or 81 per contest, from 2018, according to Minor League Baseball stats.

Weather affected 16 home games, according to Pfander, including three complete rainouts on weekend nights and a heat advisory

Work on downtown Akron’s Main Street didn’t deter baseball fans from cheering on the RubberDucks this season. Attendance at Canal Park increased slightly in 2019. (Dan Shingler)

during the July 18-21 homestand.

Based on presales for the latter, “We were expecting possible sellout crowds, and it was so hot that we got half of the crowd we expected,” he said.

“Our walkup attendance — people who come to the park and buy tickets an hour or less before the game — was actually better this year than it’s been in a long time,” Pfander said, “so to me, I am not sure we saw a huge impact from the construction.”

Orange barrels have not yet sidelined theater audiences, either, according to Akron Civic Theatre executive director Howard Parr, with one big caveat. Parr said the 2019 season was “mostly wrapped up” before the heavy construction arrived on its doorstep in July.

“Now, right in front of the theater, there is a fence dividing Main Street.

So if you are walking, you can’t get from one side of Main Street to the other without going pretty much all the way around the block,” he noted.

“So, while I have not seen construction affect us this year, it does not mean I will not see it going into our next season, which (just began) in September.”

Still, Parr added he is encouraged by the strong July and August attendance counts at Lock 3, which is next door, and because it is particular shows — not the venue — that draw people to the Civic Theatre.

“Also, we have the benefit of knowing who a lot of those folks are because they bought tickets (online), and we send an email on the day of show saying, ‘Here is where you can park,’ and giving them any specific information on road closures,” Parr explained. “We just have a lot easier time communicating with patrons than, say, a restaurant does.”

Cilantro owner Charlie Somtrakool said South Main Street eateries like his are taking a hit. Somtrakool estimated business was down some 20% even before work started directly in front of the building.

“As of right now, it is extremely difficult to get into the restaurant,” he said. “With the sideway blocked in one direction, the only way to get to Cilantro is a little sidewalk you have from Bricco around the corner. And you can’t cross the street.

You have to walk around the whole street (block) to get to us, and it’s practically a dead end.”

Somtrakool said the restaurant has a loyal lunch base, but much of it is made up of people who work in Akron. It’s people who live and work outside of Akron, he said, who are deciding it’s too much of a hassle to come into the city to eat.

“It’s been over a year of this,” he said. “Am I fatigued? More than fatigued. I am very fed up with the construction.”

Mike Pickett, a manager at Barley House, couldn’t pinpoint “an exact percentage” of business lost because of construction, but said patronage is “definitely down.” In the past month, for example, he’s had several cases where parties booked earlier in the year were canceled.

“They are saying that construction is too bad, and they don’t want to make their guests try to find parking and just get around under these circumstances,” Pickett said.

He added he thinks even the inhouse lunch crowd is thinner as area workers opt to order online instead of braving the Main Street mess.

Suzie Graham, president and CEO of Downtown Akron Partnership, said that the construction’s biggest impact so far is curtailing “evening

and weekend business to downtown restaurants.” DAP has partnered with the city of Akron and the Knight Foundation, she said, to roll out a number of initiatives aimed at softening the blow, including reimbursing area businesses for the cost of Door Dash delivery charges when they try the service out for a month and developing promotional pieces highlighting downtown and/or individual establishments.

Other efforts have been more tactile in nature, such as navigational signage along the streets and sidewalks, online parking maps and traffic advisories and subsidized valet parking at the intersection of Main and Exchange streets.

“We want to ensure there is messaging out there that just as many people made it downtown for a show at the Civic or a concert at Lock 3 or one of the fantastic RubberDucks games. It is possible and not overwhelmingly challenging to make it to downtown to come out for dinner,” Graham said, “and certainly worth the extra minute or two or the extra block that you might walk to show your support for our local and independently owned businesses.”

As for the people who do make it in, “the major topic of conversation is the construction,” said Pickett.

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Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or for more information, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 or email dstein@crain.com.

ACCOUNTING

CONSTRUCTION

LAW

RSM US LLP

Donley’s

Minc Law

We are pleased to announce that Robyn Katelanos has been promoted to Assurance Senior Manager. She has approximately eleven years of experience in public accounting providing professional services and business advice to a diversified base of clientele. Robyn specializes in consumer and industrial products and is aligned with the audit practice in Ohio. Clients include primarily public companies as well as privately held companies and employee benefit plans.

We are pleased to announce that John Berkebile has been promoted to Senior Project Manager. Since joining Donley’s in 2002, John has worked on numerous higher education and healthcare projects. Most recently, he served as the project manager on CSU’s Center for Innovation in Medical Professions and the Health Education Campus project. As a key leader of the HEC team, John has routinely stepped up leading Initiatives such as our CM Quality Program, Lean, and CM Internal Training programs.

Internet defamation law firm Minc Law is proud to announce the addition of attorney Andrew Stebbins. Andrew represents both businesses and individuals in a broad spectrum of litigation matters. He has handled every aspect of litigation and won favorable jury verdicts, six-figure settlements and injunctive relief on behalf of his clients. Andrew earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster.

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Citizens Capital Markets, Inc. Rosanne Aumiller joined Citizens Capital Markets as Director - Valuation Advisory.

She has provided public and private clients with valuations for financial reporting, business succession, ESOP and tax purposes. Rosanne is a CPA, and holds specialty credentials: Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Accredited Sr. Appraiser (ASA). She serves through board leadership with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation. Rosanne can be reached at 216.574.2118 or rosanne.aumiller@citizensbank. com.

Donley’s We are pleased to announce that Courtney Moore has been promoted to Senior Project Manager. Since joining Donley’s in 2011, her work portfolio includes the Health Education Campus, Tinkham Veale University Center, and Tomsich PLMI Laboratory, along with co-chairing cost reporting and software initiatives. Her career began in 2004, after graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Architecture and the University of Southern California with a Master’s in Construction Management.

Kisling, Nestico & Redick Kisling, Nestico & Redick (KNR) senior partner Robert Redick is retiring.

Redick co-founded Kisling, Nestico & Redick in 2005 with Gary Kisling and Rob Nestico.

During his 13 years with the firm, Redick fought for clients to hold insurance companies accountable for their actions. He also oversaw the firm’s daily financial operations and assisted with other management functions. In the next chapter of his life, Redick plans to move to Florida full-time to travel and enjoy the sunshine.

BANKING

Fifth Third Private Bank has named Chuck Grimm, CFP®, CPA, as Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor.

Chuck is responsible for facilitating a broad array of wealth management services, including asset management, trust planning, lending and depository products for Fifth Third wealth and asset management clients in Northeast Ohio. He brings more than 30 years of financial services experience to Fifth Third Private Bank.

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Donley’s We are pleased to announce that Nate Heitner has been promoted to Senior Project Manager. Nate joined Donley’s as a Project Engineer in 2011 and became a project manager in 2014. His portfolio of Donley’s projects is quite diverse and includes MOCA Cleveland (new museum), CWRU Tinkham Veale, City of Akron Rack 14, Oatey’s headquarters, and the Summa West Bed Tower. Nate has provided expertise in Viewpoint and the standardization of our documentation process.

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Rep. Anthony Gonzalez led a visit to Silicon Valley to educate executives about what the region can offer. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

WHY NOT? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

After football, he got his MBA at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and then spent two-and-a-half years in San Francisco as chief operating officer for an education management software company, now called Informed K12, before returning to Northeast Ohio. A Republican, he was elected to Congress in 2018, replacing the retiring Jim Renacci.

His congressional status probably made it easier for the group to get in to meet some of the executives. However, Bernie Moreno, president of the Bernie Moreno Cos., who was on the trip, said that “while the businesspeople wanted to talk about legislation, Gonzalez was always quick to pivot to asking that if they were considering expanding into the Midwest, they should be thinking about Northeast Ohio.”

The group spent the day after Labor Day in the technology hot spot, taking four meetings with corporate and financial execs.

“The question that I’ve always had is, ‘Why not Cleveland? Why Not Northeast Ohio?,’ ” Gonzalez said.

He and the others asked that as they pitched the assets of the region and the universities doing high-tech research and graduating digitally prepared students.

“I wanted to make sure that we were starting to get on their radar,” Gonzalez said.

That’s important right now. Silicon Valley companies are decentralizing as the cost of doing business in the San Francisco Bay area only gets more and more expensive.

“Some of these larger tech companies, as they grow and expand, they want to do that outside of San Francisco,” Gonzalez noted. “One (of the reasons is) because the labor market there is incredibly tight. Wages are very, very high, and so they’re looking around the country at places like Pittsburgh and Austin and Denver and Ann Arbor, even at Columbus.

Why not Cleveland?”

One reason may be unfamiliarity with the region, said Gonzalez’s travel partner Ari Lewis, a tech investor and partner of the Green Block Group, a tech industry communications consultancy that also has an office in Columbus.

“People need to be educated about Cleveland,” said Lewis, a Case Western Reserve University graduate who splits his time between Cleveland and New York, where he grew up. “A lot of these folks just really didn’t have the information.”

Suzanne Rivera, vice president for research and technology management at CWRU, was glad to have the opportunity to let the tech companies know that her school and Cleveland State University have the faculty ex-

pertise and the emerging technology they need, as well as producing quality computer science graduates who could be great employees for them.

On one visit, the group made its pitch to an executive from Opendoor, a company that acts as an online middleman between home buyers and sellers. Rivera said the company is building its computer engineering staff around the country.

“To have an audience with their chief legal counsel and be able to make the argument to her that Cleveland should be considered for their expansion was a wonderful opportunity,” Rivera said. “She seemed willing to consider it.”

In addition to meeting with Opendoor’s chief legal counsel, the group

“The question that I’ve always had is, ‘Why not Cleveland?

Why Not Northeast Ohio?’ ” — U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez

met with executives at Rigetti Computing, a maker of powerful computers; the Founders Fund, a venture capital firm whose portfolio includes Airbnb, Lyft and Spotify; and a group of blockchain firms at Coinbase, a digital currency exchange.

Nigamanth Sridhar, dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Cleveland State University, said one takeaway for him was the advice that Northeast Ohio should play up its strengths in health care and manufacturing. The trip also reaffirmed for him the way local universities are preparing their students for the work of the future.

“It gave us a little more wind to our sails as we work on new and innovative interdisciplinary programs that bring subject matter from multiple disciplines into a single degree program for students,” he said.

Moreno, the driving force behind the upcoming Blockland Cleveland conference to promote blockchain applications, said he was energized by what he saw on the trip and that he believes there is an opening to grow an innovative, digital economy in Northeast Ohio.

Gonzalez agreed, adding he thinks the region needs to make more of these pitch trips to Silicon Valley.

“You will never convince me that Northeast Ohio can’t participate in this and thrive in the innovation economy, in the software space,” he said. “We have everything you need.

We have incredible universities, we have people who are graduating with the skills that are needed. But, you know, we need to go out and get it.

We actually have to go out and make our case and fight for the business.”

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Stephanie Ryberg-Webster Associate professor, urban studies, Cleveland State University; co-author, ‘Legacy Cities: Continuity and Change Amid Decline and Revival’ At Cleveland State’s Levin College of Urban Affairs, Stephanie Ryberg-Webster teaches classes on historic preservation, urban planning and policy. Her recent book, with co-author and CSU colleague J. Rosie Tighe, is a compilation of essays about Cleveland and other peer cities that have experienced population loss and economic contraction. The “broad narrative” outlines a city with a troubled, segregated history — but also with an abiding infrastructure that is ripe for revitalization — countering the simplistic labels of “declining” or “shrinking” cities. “In a city like Cleveland there is more opportunity to be proactive,” she said. “There are ways to maintain the affordability and use it as an asset to draw people in. To identify what are all these legacy assets … and how can we use that to build a better city, revive the city.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. — Kim Palmer

Ryberg-Webster file Favorite building in Cleveland “That is really tough. I adore our main public library, and that is probably both the building lover and the academic in me.”

Favorite urban place in the country “I have fallen into the trap: I have to say New York City.”

Current reading “I’m currently reading ‘Into the Water’

by Paula Hawkins.”

Lunch spot Elements Bistro 2300 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 216-802-3131

The meal One ordered roasted cauliflower steak with water, and the other had the Elemental Club with extra-crispy bacon and a water.

The vibe Located on CSU’s campus, this small but busy bistro has a wraparound patio looking out onto Euclid Avenue.

It’s great for people-watching.

The bill $26.06 with tip

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Cincinnati — a native Ohioan who ended back here more by chance than by design. My undergrad is in urban planning from University of Cincinnati from DAP (College of Design, Architecture and Urban Planning).

How did you end up at CSU? I worked in Chicago professionally as a city planner for a year, went back to graduate school at the University of Maryland for a masters in historic preservation, spent two years at Ohio State working on a Ph.D. in city planning, and decided it just was not a good fit for me. I ended up at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where I got my Ph.D. in city and regional planning with a focus in historical and urban preservation. Got the job here at Cleveland State, and now I’m starting my 10th year.

Where do you live now?

We currently live in Shaker Heights.

Amazingly, this is the longest I have ever lived in one place aside from growing up in Cincinnati.

What classes do you teach?

Right now, I’m teaching what I consider my bread-and-butter class: a historic preservation seminar class, which is a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students. It is very urban-focused. I am also teaching this fun undergraduate class called The City in Film, where we use popular films as a lens to think about how we perceive and experience the urban environment.

You used the term “Legacy Cities” in the title of your book. Was it intentional not to use a more pejorative term?

Yes. The title is ours, but the phrase “legacy cities” has come from a lot of people thinking through what to call these cities. It really resonated for us because it has this dual meaning.

The “burning river” is this negative legacy, but there is also a positive legacy, because it took the burning river to create the EPA, other environmental laws that cleaned up the river.

What are some of the positive legacies in Cleveland?

The Cleveland Foundation is one of the oldest, if not the oldest community foundation in the nation.

They still do great work and are still deeply embedded in this city. That does not exist in newer cities. The Cleveland Clinic — they can build branch campuses, but no one could afford to move that facility to a new location. The embedded infrastructure is astronomical. It is not going anywhere.

How important are legacy institutions to Cleveland?

I think that Clevelanders love their institutions. We have a set of institutions, entertainment centers, restaurants that really match the big cities, but at an extremely affordable price.

What is misunderstood about legacy cities?

These cities are not singular entities.

All cities are complex things. It is not just decline, decline, decline and rust, abandoned factories,

segregation and poverty. It is all of that plus a lot of positive things.

Does urban revival just happen or does there have to be a plan?

To improve a city that benefits all individuals, it needs concerted efforts and intentionality behind what’s done, otherwise people will get left behind, people will be displaced, people will be frustrated and left out.

How do neighborhoods tell the story of a Cleveland’s renewal?

There are pockets of revitalization, (like) Detroit Shoreway and Ohio City, and they are beautiful and great places to live, but there are also still places with real challenges.

What are some Cleveland-specific positives?

Housing. We can look at its affordability as an asset, because housing has become so expensive in other cities. Cities being affordable is uncommon. The market in some places in Cleveland is really affordable.

Are there any conclusions about Cleveland’s revival?

Part of our academic optimism, working on this book, is that Cleveland actually has a chance. For San Francisco, it might be too late.

There is no going back. … It is so far gone in housing affordability. But we are not. It is turning that negative, that problem, on its head, making an opportunity. We could figure out how to have policies and how to have strategies that help revive the city and in a much more racially inclusive way.

700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310 Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 Phone: (216) 522-1383 www.crainscleveland.com Twitter: @CrainsCleveland Publisher/editor Elizabeth McIntyre Group publisher Mary Kramer Managing editor Scott Suttell Sections editor Michael von Glahn Creative director David Kordalski Web editor Damon Sims Associate editor/Akron Sue Walton Assistant editor Kevin Kleps Senior reporter Stan Bullard, Real estate/construction Reporters Jay Miller, Government Rachel McCafferty, Manufacturing/ energy/education Jeremy Nobile, Finance Kim Palmer, Government Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits Senior data editor Chuck Soder Cartoonist Rich Williams Local sales manager Megan Lemke Events manager Erin Bechler Integrated marketing manager Michelle Sustar Managing editor custom/special projects Amy Ann Stoessel Associate publisher/Director of advertising sales Lisa Rudy Senior account executives John Petty, Scott Carlson Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Loren Breen People on the Move manager Debora Stein Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey Office coordinator Karen Friedman Media services manager Nicole Spell Billing YahNica Crawford Credit Thomas Hanovich Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc.

Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong CFO Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr., Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr., Chairman (1911-1996) Reprints: Laura Picariello, 732-723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com Customer service and subscriptions: 877-824-9373 Volume 40, Number 37 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for the last week of December, at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230.

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THE WEEK Next step

a process to explore options” for both a new headquarters and a new research-and-development facility.

Sherwin-Williams will consider multiple potential sites, including locations in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and “several other states,” the company said. Any move to new facilities is not expected to occur until at least 2023. The company has multiple facilities in Northeast Ohio, where it employs about 4,400 people. (See editorial, Page 10)

St. Luke’s Foundation president and CEO Anne Goodman is stepping down as leader of the foundation to start her own consulting business serving the nonprofit community.

The foundation said it will conduct a national search to find its next leader.

In the meantime, Goodman will continue in her role until a successor is named later this year or in early 2020.

Leading the foundation for the past five years has been an “honor and a pleasure,” Goodman said.

Fulfilling its destiny

Exploring spaces Sherwin-Williams Co. is looking for a new global headquarters, and the search may take it out of town.

The Cleveland-based paint and coating manufacturer said it has “initiated

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The Sherwin-Williams Breen Technology R&D Center is shown in the foreground, with the company’s global headquarters behind it.

(Sherwin-Williams)

Amazon announced that its fulfillment center in Euclid is open for business. The online retailer said it celebrated “Day One” of operation on Sunday, Sept. 8, as it welcomed new employees inside the building between Babbitt Road and East 260th Street. The

650,000-square-foot building employs hundreds of full-time associates who will pick, pack and ship items like electronics, books, housewares and toys to customers. The company in August said it planned to hire 2,000 workers in Euclid. When the project was proposed in 2017, its cost was estimated at more than $175 million.

All for one Fred McLeod, the play-by-play voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Fox Sports Ohio since the 2006-07 season, died on Monday night, Sept.

9. The Strongsville native was 67.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said McLeod, who called more than 1,000 Cavaliers games, “passionately embodied the Cavaliers ‘All for One. One for All.’ DNA in every aspect of his life.” (See editorial, Page 10)

9/13/19 11:05 AM

Redefining the modern law firm.

The 135 attorneys of Minneapolis firm Briggs and Morgan are joining forces with Taft to become 600+ strong.

We’re growing to serve clients and people better than ever.

Taftlaw.com

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9/12/19 11:15 AM