In the 100 largest U.S. cities, more than two-thirds have a hospital or university as one of their top five employers. That’s certainly the case in Cleveland, where Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals are the city’s No. 1 and No. 2 employers. In fact, in 2018, Cleveland Clinic became Ohio’s largest employer. Both locally and nationally, “eds and meds” institutions are important drivers of our economy.
In 2012, University Circle Inc. convened a national forum in Cleveland to learn how cities across the country are leveraging education and medical districts to drive economic innovation. Since then, the Anchor District Forum, as its now known, has convened in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo, St. Louis, Columbus, Indianapolis and Cincinnati. These cities share many commonalities. They are legacy cities in heartland states where heavy industry jobs have moved south and offshore, forcing them to reinvent themselves in the new economy.
Moving toward an innovation economy can be daunting to traditional manufacturing cities, but many cities are succeeding. In Pittsburgh, for example, steel is still in the name of their football team, but more jobs are located at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the city of Pittsburgh’s largest employer. In Pittsburgh’s Oakland District, the evolution of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University has shifted the economic ecosystem from rust belt to high tech.
In St. Louis, Washington University, BJC Healthcare and the University of St. Louis partnered together on the Cortex Innovation Hub, a 200-acre innovation district. Their vision was to make the St. Louis region globally competitive by building a hub to accelerate start-ups and recruit established corporations.
Cortex’s location was chosen because of its proximity to research institutions and a new light rail transit hub, connecting it to the city’s transit system. To make innovation districts work, the areas need talent, venture capital, ease of technology transfer and access through multimodal transportation.
Today, more than 400 companies and 4,500 jobs call Cortex home and in 2018, Microsoft opened its first Midwest headquarters at Cortex. In just more than 15 years it has gone from a center of innovation to an innovation neighborhood bursting with 24/7 mixed-use dynamism, including co-working spaces, coffee shops, gyms and companies doing business big and small in Midtown St. Louis. For Cortex, place matters as innovative firms are competing for employees that want proximity, walkability, vitality and ways to commute other than driving.
Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Cleveland are all cities with populations between 300,000 to 400,000, and they all have research institutions to anchor innovation district growth. Visiting Uptown Cincinnati this September, our Anchor District Forum delegation included representatives from 14 cities from across the United States. We explored the Innovation Corridor where Uptown Consortium Inc. (UCI) has purchased 65 acres of innovation space with the help of a capital contribution from their eds and meds anchors. UCI’s inclusive growth strategy for the Corridor aspires to leverage the benefit of five anchor institutions in the five Uptown District neighborhoods.
The town and gown disparity between campus and community exists, but University of Cincinnati President Neville Pinto is committed to working with their partners at UCI to address workforce growth opportunities for minority businesses and female business enterprises. They’ve partnered with WEB Ventures, a consulting firm created by three retired executives from Proctor & Gamble with deep ties to the Uptown District neighborhoods. WEB Ventures advises the anchor partners on community benefit and inclusive growth development in the supply chain and contracting ecosystem.
Success is already evident in Cincinnati with projects like the 1819 Innovation Hub. University students mingle with business and engineering executives from firms like P&G, Kroger and Cincinnati Bell to develop innovation platforms for the next economy.
Two hundred fifty miles north of Cincinnati, the infrastructure is in place for Cleveland to leverage its world-class education and medical anchors for an innovation-based economy. The HealthTech Corridor between the downtown Campus District, Midtown and University Circle is already connected by transit along the Euclid Corridor. It includes three hospitals, five universities and a Health Education Campus with unparalleled potential. The future is here in Cleveland.
Chris Ronayne is president of University Circle Inc. and chairman of the Canalway Partners Board of Directors. He is the former Cleveland planning director.