Posted July 5, 20231 yr In light of the Columbus area/Central OH winning some major corporate prizes such as Google's 2 billion data center expansion; Amazon's whopping 7.8 billion data center operations; Amgen with 350 new jobs; LG Energy's 4.4 billion EV battery plant in Fayette County not to mention Intel's HUGE chip facility in New Albany. I'm curious as to why Northeast Ohio, as a region, seems to always be getting passed over for the "big dogs". Unlike the City of Cleveland, there seems to be plenty of developable land in places like Geauga, Lorain, Medina, Portage counties to name a few. Please discuss. **In NO way this topic is for Columbus bashing!** I just want some insight as to what NE Ohio, as a region, could be doing better.
July 5, 20231 yr Years ago, I remember hearing that Cleveland was well positioned to be a data center hub with the vacant department store buildings in downtown Cleveland being perfect for large data centers. But for some reason that never happened. I wonder why?
July 5, 20231 yr Author 8 minutes ago, LibertyBlvd said: Years ago, I remember hearing that Cleveland was well positioned to be a data center hub with the vacant department store buildings in downtown Cleveland being perfect for large data centers. But for some reason that never happened. I wonder why? Good question
July 5, 20231 yr I don’t understand why the region can’t attract more businesses, especially the city.
July 5, 20231 yr The lack of a major, large, internationally known university- like Ohio State - hurts CLE greatly in the talent pipeline category for facilities like Amazon, Intel, Google - and the Columbus-based state government certainly doesn't work too hard to change companies' minds, if Ohio is their choice. With that said, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County also skew far older and less educated - with a more difficult business climate, many jurisdictions, and more built-out land = just easier to plunk down in Columbus, no? As a metro Clevelander - I feel that these projects are wins for Columbus first and foremost - and Ohio second - and cities like Clevleand as distant thirds... - with no ill feelings but lots of envy for what they will do locally in Columbus
July 6, 20231 yr Author 19 hours ago, eyehrtfood said: The lack of a major, large, internationally known university- like Ohio State - hurts CLE greatly in the talent pipeline category for facilities like Amazon, Intel, Google - and the Columbus-based state government certainly doesn't work too hard to change companies' minds, if Ohio is their choice. With that said, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County also skew far older and less educated - with a more difficult business climate, many jurisdictions, and more built-out land = just easier to plunk down in Columbus, no? As a metro Clevelander - I feel that these projects are wins for Columbus first and foremost - and Ohio second - and cities like Clevleand as distant thirds... - with no ill feelings but lots of envy for what they will do locally in Columbus Good points! I do know we have some agencies, particularly, Team NEO that are tasked to bring new jobs to the region. I wonder just how effective is Team NEO.
July 6, 20231 yr I heard Intel and Lorain County government were interested in getting rid of the Lorain County Airport for the chip factory that's heading to New Albany. But supposedly the FAA killed it. Gotta combine, clear and clean a lot of parcels for these big developments especially in developed areas like NE Ohio. Thankfully the state budget has an additional $350 million for its Brownfield Remediation Program and Cleveland has created a $50 million site-readiness fund that it wants to increase to $100 million. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 6, 20231 yr https://www.record-courier.com/story/business/2021/11/28/geis-may-add-more-than-7-million-square-feet-space-shalersville-industrial-development/8732525002/ One million square feet is under construction with 6 million more in the future. I would expect a large company to lease this site.
July 7, 20231 yr I'm not sure a large company wants to be that far away from a population center. Shalersville really dosent offer the labor pool or amenities in near proximity that New Albany or Grove City does. Land around Medina, North Ridgeville or Aurora would probably be enticing for large companies.
July 7, 20231 yr It's going to take a large company to fill this building! https://www.geiscompanies.com/copy-3-of-commercial-office-38/bendix
July 7, 20231 yr On 7/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, eyehrtfood said: The lack of a major, large, internationally known university- like Ohio State - hurts CLE greatly in the talent pipeline category Ummm, there's this place over by University Circle I've heard of. I may even know people who went there.
July 7, 20231 yr On 7/5/2023 at 6:32 PM, JB said: I don’t understand why the region can’t attract more businesses, especially the city. CERCLA hamstrings the city and inner ring. If a company isn't worried about inherited liability, their banks certainly are, and the programs meant to alleviate their concerns have become cumbersome employment programs for consultants and lawyers. Taylor Chair was an object lesson for many.
July 7, 20231 yr On 7/5/2023 at 5:50 PM, LibertyBlvd said: Years ago, I remember hearing that Cleveland was well positioned to be a data center hub with the vacant department store buildings in downtown Cleveland being perfect for large data centers. But for some reason that never happened. I wonder why? Digital communications means less need for data center employment as people can work from home or remote sites. The virus accelerated this trend.
July 7, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, E Rocc said: CERCLA hamstrings the city and inner ring. If a company isn't worried about inherited liability, their banks certainly are, and the programs meant to alleviate their concerns have become cumbersome employment programs for consultants and lawyers. Taylor Chair was an object lesson for many. Judging by that example, Bedford was able to secure money, clean up the site, and Taylor got a new facility in a two year span which seems pretty fast. How does that prove your point?
July 7, 20231 yr 3 hours ago, E Rocc said: Ummm, there's this place over by University Circle I've heard of. I may even know people who went there. Ohio State has 10 times as many students as Case and a similar or better reputation, especially in engineering (which I assume Amazon, Intel, and Google would draw from the most). I think the quantity of students available nearby is undoubtedly a factor in locating in Columbus vs. Cleveland and larger scale examples like California vs. Ohio.
July 7, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, JB said: Judging by that example, Bedford was able to secure money, clean up the site, and Taylor got a new facility in a two year span which seems pretty fast. How does that prove your point? I used to work in Bedford so I know this one. The state tax break fell through after Taylor had expended considerable resources on the move and a 200 year old business shut down. https://www.cleveland.com/business/2012/06/the_taylor_cos_of_bedford_ohio.html
July 7, 20231 yr 41 minutes ago, E Rocc said: I used to work in Bedford so I know this one. The state tax break fell through after Taylor had expended considerable resources on the move and a 200 year old business shut down. https://www.cleveland.com/business/2012/06/the_taylor_cos_of_bedford_ohio.html I’m not sure if you’re saying the business shut down because of this?
July 7, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, LlamaLawyer said: How beneficial are data centers for a local economy? To my understanding they don't involve very many permanent employees. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 7, 20231 yr 2 hours ago, acd said: Ohio State has 10 times as many students as Case and a similar or better reputation, especially in engineering (which I assume Amazon, Intel, and Google would draw from the most). I think the quantity of students available nearby is undoubtedly a factor in locating in Columbus vs. Cleveland and larger scale examples like California vs. Ohio. There should be more pressure on our local universities, especially the state schools, to work together more closely and to be measured on meeting economic development goals. I know there are some partnerships happening, but more needs to be done to leverage all that infrastructure. If you add up Cleveland State, Akron, Kent, Tri-C, Lakeland and Stark State, that's almost 140,000 students enrolled (according to Google).
July 7, 20231 yr Author 21 hours ago, KJP said: Gotta combine, clear and clean a lot of parcels for these big developments especially in developed areas like NE Ohio. Thankfully the state budget has an additional $350 million for its Brownfield Remediation Program and Cleveland has created a $50 million site-readiness fund that it wants to increase to $100 million. It seems like there is a lot of undeveloped land in counties such as Ashtabula, Geauga, Medina & Portage. I'm curious why there is, to my knowledge, not much development.
July 7, 20231 yr Author 2 hours ago, coneflower said: There should be more pressure on our local universities, especially the state schools, to work together more closely and to be measured on meeting economic development goals. I know there are some partnerships happening, but more needs to be done to leverage all that infrastructure. If you add up Cleveland State, Akron, Kent, Tri-C, Lakeland and Stark State, that's almost 140,000 students enrolled (according to Google). Back in the 1960s South Carolina (where I hail from) developed a network of two year technical schools around the state. The curricula at these schools were and still are tailored for existing industry and potential new industry. The provision of "ready-made" skilled workers attracted a great deal of business investment to the area. For example, in 1994, BMW opened a major manufacturing facility between Greenville & Spartanburg SC that employs 11,000 people with a total investment of $12.4 billion. The technical colleges in the Greenville/Spartanburg area provided a skilled pool of workers which was one of the reasons why BMW chose the GSP area. Maybe a network of public two year training schools should be considered in Ohio or at least NE Ohio. Edited July 7, 20231 yr by DHubb
July 9, 20231 yr On 7/7/2023 at 3:01 PM, DHubb said: Back in the 1960s South Carolina (where I hail from) developed a network of two year technical schools around the state. The curricula at these schools were and still are tailored for existing industry and potential new industry. The provision of "ready-made" skilled workers attracted a great deal of business investment to the area. For example, in 1994, BMW opened a major manufacturing facility between Greenville & Spartanburg SC that employs 11,000 people with a total investment of $12.4 billion. The technical colleges in the Greenville/Spartanburg area provided a skilled pool of workers which was one of the reasons why BMW chose the GSP area. Maybe a network of public two year training schools should be considered in Ohio or at least NE Ohio. Technical schools should definitely be on the docket, as well as growing CSU, Case and strengthening Akron and Kent State. I feel like the Community Colleges would be a great start on the technical school side. Companies growing or expanding go to places with assets that will help them continue to innovate and operate efficiently. The infrastructure to manufacture things os here, but we need people who know how to do the work these companies need.
July 10, 20231 yr On 7/7/2023 at 11:47 AM, KJP said: To my understanding they don't involve very many permanent employees. Certainly not many full time and on-site.
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