Great Lakes Green Pages

Local architecture firm, KA has had yet another round of layoffs. This time they cut pretty deep, laying off shareholders. Could this spell the end of a Cleveland institution? While I do not know the ins and outs of the company or its financial statements, I am aware that the development and architecture industry in Cleveland has taken a pretty big hit in Cleveland that last few years. It has caused me to think about the future of the city and what we will be doing as we move forward. KA is an architecture firm that has been around for decades. Recently they have received some great awards for their designs by AIA, ICSC, and Cleveland Restoration Society. They should be thriving. So why the deep cuts and desperate lay offs? Is this a sign of the times or simply a bump in the road? Now let’s take a look at the Flats. The project slated for the East Bank of The Flats was the golden ticket to Cleveland’s future. It was going to change the downtown landscape, bring new business, and jump start a new era of prosperity in downtown Cleveland. As I drove by that area the other day, I had to pause. While it is true that the credit crisis is responsible for the slow down of development in this major project, why was so much of the existing building stock simply razed? Our rapid transit to the waterfront has been all but abandoned. Remaining buildings are all but empty and the entire area is a ghost town. If this is Cleveland’s future, then it is a bleak one… As I look at the stock prices of local developers and others in the building trades, I am forced to concede that these are indeed dire times for some of our biggest players.

So what does this mean for Cleveland? I think it is representation of our region as a whole. It has become time for this area, and other major areas to stop the in fighting and start thinking of the future of the city, the region and all our citizens. While we argue about the mall site, or Tower City for the new Convention Center and Medical Mart, similar ideas are being proposed in other cities. While we discuss and debate, New York is looking at their own concept of a medical mart. Other cities are beefing up their convention centers and we rattle on. When the project finally gets built, will it be too late to actually make an impact on Cleveland’s future? What about the responsibilities of Merchandise Mart Properties? Now that we have already allowed Woolstein to raze most of the flats and we are left with a huge mud patch, have we set a precedence for other companies? What if the economy takes another turn, will we have an empty Medical Mart and allow the operators to walk away scot free? It is my humble opinion, that if we have a huge mud pit with ample room, that we could easily build a convention center there. Let us simply get moving and stop the endless babble. Much like our local companies that refuse to change, if we hang on to the way of thinking and do not start to think outside the box, we are in for more rounds of layoffs (we just laid off 2 council members and it looks as if we will be laying off a couple more in a few years…). I look at our history. We tore down a beautiful Hippodrome. We destroyed a host of beautiful buildings in the name of progress. What stands there today? Some of the largest open parking lots I have ever seen. We need to start thinking of our city as a valuable asset. Our downtown real estate is too valuable to allow developers to tear it up and leave it. Are we destined to have a huge Flats Parking? We need to start thinking of Cleveland as a great town, and as such, stop bowing down to the pressures of corporate interests who may do little or nothing in the end for this town. If we want to be a “Green City on a Blue Lake” we need to institute tough legislation on recycling (especially for commercial properties) and stop the lip service. In these tough economic times, those companies who refuse to embrace change and take this opportunity to reinvent themselves risk being left behind while more nimble newcomers take away market share. Cleveland is in the same boat. If we do not take this chance to really make a real change in how we operate, we risk losing the momentum that we have started and will fall back to being the “mistake on the lake.”

What do I propose? While not being an economist or a public official, I am very opinionated. Here are some of my suggestions. I am sure that I am alone on some of them, but at least they represent some “out of the box” thinking that is needed to really get things moving in this town.

Implement a mandatory 5 cent charge on all plastic bags used at retail outlets. According to Supermarket News, Metro Inc (of Montreal) started a 5 cent bag charge in all its outlets and plastic bag use was reduced by 70%.
Immediately begin a comprehensive curbside recycling service to ALL areas of the city and impose fines for those who do not recycle. It works in San Francisco, and even Lakewood, so why not here? The savings in tipping fees will pay for the roll out and the savings in fuel costs for transporting garbage to a landfill some 40 miles away will pay for the ongoing costs. Furthermore, new business opportunities will be available. Resale of of used goods would increase and new shops could be opened.
Mandate deconstruction over demolition of existing buildings. Materials could be reused and new businesses started, like architectural salvage and used building materials. Along with that, mandate that all houses that are abandoned and not up to code must be repaired or become the property of the city. These homes could be deconstructed and the income generated from sale of the materials could stimulate the local economy. The city would then own viable property in landbank that could be sold at auction to developers and private owners for reuse.
Offer true tax incentives that attract new businesses to the city. Make them valuable and real. Furthermore, make them based on job creation and structured so that businesses see the advantages of staying in the region for longer periods (i.e. make them revocable if job creation does not stay at a desired level for 5 or 10 years).
Offer tax incentives for business that reuse large empty buildings inside city limits. The old Hugo Boss factory and Ashbury Court buildings have been empty and an eyesore for at least a decade, with no incentive to have them utilized. The Jay Hotel is sitting empty in a prime Ohio City location waiting for rehab.
Make all real estate transactions with the city transparent and rehab programs public knowledge. No more behind the scenes dealings.
Make developers use the land they buy (yes, the flats) and impose fines for not following through. This will stop things like the flats from being razed and left empty. Furthermore, make parking lots pay extra taxes for their underutilized lots. Any lots in the city limits that is used for paid parking must pay by lot size. This sill ensure dense structure. Parking lot operators will have to build upwards to make their lots more viable and the city will benefit from the taxes imposed. This will also free us from the grip of parking lot operators who refuse to sell or develop the large open lots in valuable areas (like the middle of downtown), by making them build up or lose the profitability of their current location.

While some of these things may seem crazy, I see benefits to all of them. Until we move out of our current comfort zone, we cannot expect real progress and prosperity in this city.