It’s a professional career that shines as bright as the 20-foot, 4,200-crystal chandelier welcoming visitors to Playhouse Square. But to hear Art Falco’s take, it’s really all about the team he assembled at the Playhouse Square District Development Corp.
“First of all, it’s not what I have done, but rather what we have accomplished,” says Falco, who retired as president and CEO of Playhouse Square in June. “At the end of the day, one person can’t get so many things accomplished. I am just fortunate that I had a great team that took on the challenge.”
Falco was recognized in October at the Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s Ruth Ratner Miller Award Luncheon with a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. Joining Playhouse Square in 1985, Falco became president and CEO in 1991, directing his team to one of the most dramatic neighborhood revitalizations in the history of Cleveland. He helped the city realize its dream of renovating and reopening four of Euclid Avenue’s flagship theaters, with the completion of the Allen Theater in 1998.
Today, Playhouse Square is the second largest theater district in the nation, boasting 11 performance venues and six resident companies. It draws in about 1.2 million visitors a year, and its economic impact on the city is north of $100 million annually. But perhaps even more importantly, Playhouse Square District Development Corp. leveraged the arts to build one of Cleveland’s most dynamic neighborhoods.
“There really isn’t one single achievement that we have been able to accomplish that stands out above the rest,” says Falco. “When we completed what is now the Connor Palace in 1988, we thought we were finished with theaters and renovations.”
But there was more work that needed to be done.
“So we enticed a developer to build what is now the Renaissance Building, and then co-developed the Wyndham Hotel, which is now the Crowne Plaza,” says Falco.
Playhouse Square then took a look at creating a unique exterior environment. The most iconic representations of that today are the GE Chandelier, welcoming gateways, retro signage and uplighting of buildings.
“We wanted to create an I.D. for the district,” says Falco. “When you go to a city and visit a certain area, you want to know that there is something special about it. Many people who come to our city have never been inside our theaters. So the basic idea was to bring some of that architectural detail outdoors.”
An iconic neighborhood that attracts tourists is just one part of the equation. Falco and his team also knew that they had to get people living in the neighborhood.
“It’s all about how we create a dynamic 24/7 neighborhood using the theaters as the catalyst,” says Falco. “We have been able to fill the office buildings with tenants, and now our third focus is clearly how we get more people living in the neighborhood.”
Which really shouldn’t be all that hard. The latest project is the 35-story Lumen, which is pretty hard to miss for those driving through downtown.
“We plan to welcome the first tenants into the building in June of 2020,” says Falco. “Right now, we have 370 people who have expressed an interest in living there, but we only have 318 apartments.
“So we’re very bullish on the Lumen leasing up and leasing up quickly.”
Look for more residential projects, and perhaps a mixed-use development, Falco says.