Released last month, the new 2020 Annual Report from Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) recaps a year that saw a slight softening in the residential housing market. DCA only slightly missed its long-term goal of having 20,000 residents by the end of 2020. Some 19,645 folks call downtown home, representing a residential growth rate of 31% between 2010 and 2020.
The slight shortfall in DCA’s projections should be easily made up in 2021, with major housing projects coming online in 2020, including the Avenue District II, the Avian, Hilliard Building, the Lumen, the May and Prospect Yard, the latter of which is a very important expansion of downtown’s housing portfolio.
“Prospect Yard is yet another one of those terrific historic preservation projects downtown,” says Michael Deemer, executive vice president of business development for DCA. “It’s in the Campus District and was a $12 million renovation of a building that created 42 apartments.”
Perhaps even more importantly, notes Deemer, those living spaces are available at a much more affordable price point than other downtown living options.
“They are targeted toward people who earn 30% to 80% of the median income in our area,” he says. “There are one- and two-bedroom apartments with open floor plans with Energy Star appliances and indoor heated parking.”
In addition to adding more “for sale” housing, offering more affordable housing has been and will be a continuing goal of DCA moving forward, says Deemer.
In total, more than $320 million in development happened downtown in 2020, including transformative residential projects, outdoor recreation enhancements, office spaces and hotel renovations. There are also plenty of new business and housing projects under construction, including 2125 Superior, 75 Public Square, Avenue Townhomes, Euclid Grand, Flats East Bank and the NCH Finger Bridge. One of the lifestyle enhancements made to downtown in 2020 was the new playground near the Great Lakes Science Center, says Deemer.
“Downtown residents have told us for years that one of the missing pieces of the puzzle for downtown living was the lack of a playground,” says Deemer. “So we were able to work with the Great Lakes Science Center and a very generous donor to build a playground on North Coast Harbor. It’s also a very nice addition for families who are coming downtown to visit.”
In terms of commercial and office space development, the new Sherwin-Williams global headquarters takes center stage. While 2020 brought a surge of remote work for many companies due to COVID-19, strong leasing activity in downtown clearly shows that employers believe in Cleveland. Indeed, more than 740,000 square feet of office space is under lease, and more than 53 businesses were attracted or retained in Downtown Cleveland in 2020.
While downtown also faced the challenge of civil unrest in 2020, more than $1.3 million has been allocated to 88 businesses through the Downtown Recovery Response Fund. DCA also engaged more than 50 organizations to put forth a statement supporting legislation declaring racism a public health crisis.
DCA also supplemented its advocacy work by creating #VoicesofCLE, a public art program that provides a platform for artists of color to use murals to amplify their voices, experiences and visions for a more equitable future. DCA also formed a Racial Equity and Inclusion Committee, which focuses on equity in business attraction and advocacy.
