Posted March 31, 200817 yr Hi all, Cleveland's Jewish Community Federation is considering leaving downtown Cleveland and relocating to the suburbs. Many of us "urbanists) are working hard to convince the JCF to stay downtown rather than move to a new building in Beachwood. The Jewish News just posted an online vote on the issue. Please visit www.clevelandjewishnews.com to vote. Please email to everyone you know (Jewish or not) who might be sympathetic to our cause and get them to vote, early and often, for keeping the JCF downtown. Thanks! Let's keep these jobs here in the CBD!
March 31, 200817 yr I thought they realeased a statement, earlier this year or late last, that they "desired" to stay downtown? :wtf:
April 2, 200817 yr The Federation's desire has always been to keep it's HQ in the city, however the vast majority of the population it serves is now in the eastern suburbs, so there's a lot of push to move it out east. The current facility is outdated, cramped and unsuited to their needs, so something has to change, but my understanding is that at this point it's a toss up either way. I'll have a better idea next Friday, as I'll be sitting in on a meeting where some decision makers are going to go over their options.
April 17, 200817 yr Should Federation move its HQ east? BY: MARILYN H. KARFELD Senior Staff Reporter Published: Friday, April 11, 2008 2:23 AM EDT About 50 civic leaders have joined forces to contest the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland’s proposed move to an eastern suburb. A group headed by David Goldberg, co-chairman of AmTrust Bank, formerly Ohio Savings, was to present objections to the move at a meeting today (April 11) of Federation’s Community Relations Committee (CRC). More at: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2008/04/11/news/local/acover0411.txt
April 17, 200817 yr “We are the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, not of Beachwood,” notes Anita Gray, a longtime civic activist and national president of Ishmael & Isaac, a group that seeks reconciliation between Jews and Arabs in the local community. Catholic and Protestant faith movements are headquartered downtown, she notes. “How does it portray Jews if we move out of downtown? Psychologically, it sends the wrong message if we physically disconnect from the city." I couldn't agree more.
April 20, 200817 yr Maybe the downtown development efforts of Maron, Wolstein, Stark and others (hello Ratners???) can include marketing efforts aimed at Jews (is that even legal to market real estate to a religious or ethnic group??) to help bring more Jews into the city and especially downtown. That way there won't be a physical disconnect between the center city and Jewish Community Federation. Without such an effort, there will be a strong temptation to relocate the Federation to the eastern suburbs, what with the rising price of gasoline and the simple convenience of being close to your constituency. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 21, 200817 yr Moving out of downtown is one of the dumbest things they could do. There would be no more reason to give the JCF a seat at any of the community tables regarding anything.
April 22, 200817 yr I was at this meeting, and KJP's point was one that was brought up. In fact, Ari Maron made a very moving speech about why he and his family made their commitment to downtown, and how important he feels a vibrant urban center was to drawing younger Jews back, or new population in from other locations. The draw to the eastern suburbs is primarily one of logistics and pragmatism. Currently 85% of the Jewish population lives east of Cleveland, and 50+% lives in Beachwood and points east. The vast majority of the agencies the JCF supports are located in the eastern suburbs as well (Basically, the Federation itself, and the ADL are the only two agencies headquartered in the city anymore). David Heller, who advocated for the move east made a point that it's difficult from a time standpoint, for many people with families to commit to meetings downtown and still be able to spend time with their families in the suburbs. Having the JCF move east (probably in Beachwood near Richmond and Shaker) would create an epicenter for the Jewish community, and increase participation in meetings and other events. The argument is that even if the JCF moves east, the Federation would still have ties to downtown, and still work actively with city leaders on initiatives for the betterment of Cleveland and the region. It seems like a lot of the decision making has been going on behind closed doors between a few key people. David Goldberg, in response, amassed a small army to counter this initiative, including some of the names you see in the article. In my mind their arguments are extremely persuasive. From my own standpoint, while having a eastern HQ would certainly be easier, I have to wonder where the population trends are going to be in 50 years, which is what they estimate the lifespan of a building would be. For reasons that have been disucssed on here in multiple threads, that the population trend is reversing back to city life, or at least inner ring suburbs. My concern would be that 1) having everything east creates an insular compound that sends a message that we're not part of the community and 2) we may have a situation in 20-50 years where an eastern HQ is as far removed from its community as the current downtown location is now. I think one member in attendance summed it up best when he spoke of his grandchildren, and how he hopes they will one day step up to become leaders of the community. But, to paraphrase, he would be disappointed in them if their decision to actively participate was predicated on ease of location rather than their passion to be a part of the community. Two other things, 1) a member of the Ratner family was there, and in fact is on the Building committee, and 2) Anita Gray is a firecracker, and I love the woman to death. She's as active a proponent of urban living as anyone
July 9, 200816 yr Cleveland State University includes Jewish Community Federation building in its master plan Posted by Steven Litt/Plain Dealer Architecture Critic July 08, 2008 10:12AM Categories: Architecture The Jewish Community Federation building in Cleveland faces an uncertain future because the federation may leave it. Roadell Hickman/PD file The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland hasn't figured out yet whether it wants to stay in its downtown headquarters or move to the suburbs. Cleveland State University, however, is sending a strong signal that it wants the JCF building if the federation leaves. More at http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/07/the_jewish_community_federatio.html
August 8, 200816 yr Jewish Federation of Cleveland weighs move from downtown to Beachwood Friday, August 08, 2008 John Horton Plain Dealer Reporter Warrensville Heights- Stay downtown or go? Officially, the plan called for table-top dialogues held within Northeast Ohio's Jewish community the past two nights to avoid directly asking that question.
August 8, 200816 yr I wonder if University Circle is being considered as a compromise location; still in the city but closer to the eastern 'burbs. Could be a nice way to reinvigorate the old Temple on E105.
August 9, 200816 yr Good idea! Even if they had to reconfigure the space, they could do something cool like that design firm did up the hill in Cleveland Heights.
August 22, 200816 yr Committee envisions expanded downtown presence for Jewish Community Federation Letter urges 'vibrant' Community Federation campus downtownFriday, August 22, 2008 Robert L. SmithPlain Dealer Reporter Buoyed by new and passionate support from local Jews, backers of a downtown headquarters for the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland are re-emphasizing their argument and proposing a grander vision. They have asked leaders of the JCF, which guides Jewish life in Northeast Ohio, to expand its downtown offices into a campus that could help to revive both the city and the Jewish community. More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1219393873306960.xml&coll=2&thispage=1
August 22, 200816 yr Lets tell Goldberg to build offices for them on top of his 515 garage along with apartments above that. Here's his chance! Coarse, I don't know how that would jive with the Christian coffee store on the ground floor...talk about one mixed use building though!
August 22, 200816 yr ^I've heard of mixed-use, but a mixed-faiths building? clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
August 22, 200816 yr It's certainly not unheard of. Hallinan & Hillel already share a facility in University Circle and hope to expand to include additional faith groups. ... though it occurs to me that you were probably just being cheeky!
August 22, 200816 yr As Jake Taylor said in Major League the movie, "SH!T Harris, Let's not start a holy war here."
September 2, 200816 yr new article on the subject. Doesn't look good for staying downtown. http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2008/08/29/news/local/fed0829.txt
September 3, 200816 yr Having just noticed this thread and since many people have voiced well articulated thoughts as to why the CJF should remain downtown, I would like to add one more. I grew up in the eastern burbs had/still have numerous Jewish friends. For whatever reason, my Jewish friends more often (opinion) then others (non-jewish)voiced dreams of moving out to L.A. and New York etc. It was sad because so few of them seemed to be aware of their rich ethnic idenity as it relates to Cleveland. It would be a shame to see one of our cities most valued populations abandon the city symbolicly and possibly literaly in the future.
September 11, 200816 yr " It would be a shame to see one of our cities most valued populations abandon the city symbolicly and possibly literaly in the future." It would seem that some of the trustees don't give a kak. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
September 11, 200816 yr I actually recieved a phone call the other night from someone conducting a survey on whether I think they should stay downtown or move to Beachwood. Of course I told them that they should remain where they are...
September 11, 200816 yr ^I believe this would be why... http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1221121815245600.xml&coll=2
September 12, 200816 yr It appears a compromise was made and they will be opening new offices in beachwood and keeping the building on euclid.
September 12, 200816 yr Here's the letter that was in my inbox this morning Letter to the community from Harley I. Gross Sept. 11, 2008 Dear Community Member: On September 11, the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Federation adopted the unanimous recommendations of the Federation’s Building Committee and officers to maintain Federation’s current offices at 1750 Euclid Avenue, explore opportunities to expand our support for downtown Cleveland and to purchase a Beachwood building to house operations in the heart of the Jewish community. The 1750 Euclid Avenue building will continue to maintain meeting rooms for Federation committees and gatherings and office space for the president and other staff as needed. Our Board of Trustees will meet at both the downtown and east side locations. To accentuate our Cleveland presence, I will appoint a committee to work with Federation’s downtown neighbors and other interested parties to develop programs that will enhance Jewish engagement in downtown and support economic development. I am pleased that after months of discussion and debate over this issue, our leaders joined in common purpose and approved this win-win course, which will positively impact our future and further our mission of changing and saving lives. In one bold stroke, our board seized the opportunity to support downtown and Greater Cleveland while creating offices in the heart of the Jewish community. Our everlasting support for the general community is significant and will remain a priority. Our community, its leaders and the Federation itself through its programs and services, are intrinsically linked to the greater community we are all Clevelanders. We take great pride in our deep and long-lasting ties to the City of Cleveland and the region. Federation-run programs and services, government and community relations activities, and the financial and human resource contributions of the Federation will not falter. At the same time, we are confident that having the staff in close proximity to agencies, donors and community members will benefit the community in numerous ways, making our Federation stronger and better situated to serve and meet the needs of the Jewish community, to be there for the people who rely on us for food and shelter, to build a Jewish future for our children and grandchildren, to stand in solidarity with the people of Israel, and to do our share of tikkun olam making the world a better place for all people. Our community has truly become stronger for having listened to and considered all viewpoints raised on this issue. Now it is time to build on our energy and forge a more vibrant Federation and united Jewish community one that is accessible and inviting to all. Ultimately, our success as a community is about what we do. This focus is what has made our Jewish community one of the premier communities in North America. The millions of people who depend upon us need us to remain united. Only in unity will our mission be achieved. Harley I. Gross Board Chair Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland
September 12, 200816 yr Well, I'm not sure that keeping four or so staff members in Cleveland really constitutes retaining a downtown presence, but whatever, man. Jewish Federation opts to move bulk of office to Beachwood Posted by Robert L. Smith/Plain Dealer Reporter September 11, 2008 23:21PM BEACHWOOD -- The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland will pull the bulk of its operations out of downtown and staff a new office in the eastern suburbs, ending a 105-year tradition of locating its headquarters in Cleveland. After months of fevered debate, members of the federation's board of trustees voted 77-37, with one abstention, Thursday night to buy an office building in Beachwood. More at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/09/jewish_federation_opts_to_move.html
September 12, 200816 yr It appears a compromise was made and they will be opening new offices in beachwood and keeping the building on euclid. This isn't a compromise. Few things upset me like people who think you are stupid. Taking 126 of your 130 employees to a new building in Beachwood, and then leaving 4 people at a building you won't sell downtown with some meeting rooms so that your board can occasionally meet there is what is... moving your headquarters to Beachwood. All 70some members of the board that voted in favor of this should be ashamed of themselves, and I think in the long run will really regret this. This is incredibly disheartening. Unfortunately I understand when businesses relocate, for tax reasons, etc. But I've never seen a group of people uproot from a communutity, abandon the center city, and do more harm than good, just so some people can have a shorter commute to work. unreal. ADD: When are these people going to get it (and by these I mean people who pull their businesses to the suburbs)? Without a strong center city, the suburbs will wither and die. Seriously.... when?
September 12, 200816 yr David Goldberg was pretty adamant about withdrawing all support from the Federation, should they move their HQ. He was a driving force to keep the Federation downtown. I'll be interested to see how he responds to this. I'm pretty disappointed in the decision. Most people I spoke with thought it made sense to keep the HQ downtown, as there is an abundance of available meeting space in Beachwood already, with the Siegal College, the JCC, etc. I think I'm going to take the same approach to Federation as I do to United Way going forward. Thanks for calling, appreciate what you do, but I'm writing a check to the individual agencies I believe in, not your umbrella organization. Clearly their values are not in sync with mine.
September 12, 200816 yr I just don't understand how they can't see the disconnect this is going to create. Yes most of the Jewish community is in Beachwood. But now young Jews growing up in Cleveland will relate "Beachwood" to Cleveland. They will grow up thinking fondly of home which they'll call Cleveland when they are off at college, but all their associative memories will be of Beachwood, save coming downtown for a couple sporting events. They'll think fondly, but they will leave for Chicago, Boston, New York, etc. This happens a LOT with kids from exurbs. I think removing this connection from the city will actually shrink the Jewish community over the years. It has been my finding that of all my friends now (I'm 32) the ones that stayed in Cleveland are ones that either grew up in the inner ring suburbs, or went to a private school in the city proper... often a combination of both. I grew up in an exurb, and almost EVERYONE I went to high school with moved away. They never really knew Cleveland, and never really considered coming back here after college. It's really a shame.
September 12, 200816 yr Per the article I posted yesterday: Melamed Communications says it found that 44 percent of the region's Jews believe the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland should remain downtown. Twenty-five percent believe the federation should move to Beachwood and 31 percent do not care or are undecided. Among members of the general community polled, both Jews and non-Jews, 37 percent thought the federation should stay downtown, 21 percent said it should move to Beachwood, and 42 percent did not care or were undecided. What is not surprising is that more Jews cared or were not undecided that non-Jews. What is surprising is how many more members of both the Jewish community and of the general community thought the Federation should stay downtown, and that the Jewish people felt this way even more strongly than the non-Jewish people polled. It will be interesting to see how this (IMO bad) choice affects how much support they receive. I am hoping they are keeping the downtown building in case (or when) they realize moving the headquarters out of downtown was a huge mistake.
September 12, 200816 yr I just don't understand how they can't see the disconnect this is going to create. Yes most of the Jewish community is in Beachwood. But now young Jews growing up in Cleveland will relate "Beachwood" to Cleveland. They will grow up thinking fondly of home which they'll call Cleveland when they are off at Cleveland, but all their associative memories will be of Beachwood, save coming downtown for a couple sporting events. They'll think fondly, but they will leave for Chicago, Boston, New York, etc. This happens a LOT with kids from exurbs. I think removing this connection from the city will actually shrink the Jewish community over the years. It has been my finding that of all my friends now (I'm 32) the ones that stayed in Cleveland are ones that either grew up in the inner ring suburbs, or went to a private school in the city proper... often a combination of both. I grew up in an exurb, and almost EVERYONE I went to high school with moved away. They never really knew Cleveland, and never really considered coming back here after college. It's really a shame. This is one of the points that was made in the first conversation I participated in. Ari Maron said pretty much what you just said, and most of the people in the room (this was a Community Relations Committee meeting) were in agreement.
September 12, 200816 yr I just keep thinking how much good they could have done for downtown and how much momentum they could have created with a new headquarters, possibly a temple, something to energize and help bring jewish residents (probably younger) back into the city. I'm not even Jewish and my heart sank when I saw this on the news last night.
September 12, 200816 yr The organization is going to lose some serious donations with this move. Especially since it comes off as so un-thought out and hasty. Very little research was done and that rubs a lot of the prominant downtown supporters the wrong way. We'll see what these "activities" they plan for the Euclid location turn out to be. I am guessing they will be a weak attempt.
September 12, 200816 yr Anyone have a basic idea of the makeup of the trustees (age, etc.)? clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
September 12, 200816 yr Yes most of the Jewish community is in Beachwood. I agree with everything you said McCleveland, but this statement reminded me that I wanted to point out a fact that the JCF seems to be missing and many people neglect. 75% of Jewish people in Cleveland live east of downtown. This means that 1 in 4 live downtown or west of downtown. I think they completely neglected this fact when they considered the move. 50% of the Jewish people live in Beachwood or points east. The ones that live west of Beachwood (mostly Cleveland Heights) would probably have similar commutes to either location (and in rebuttal to the stupid "reducing the carbon footprint" comment in one of the articles I saw, many, many more could take public transportation downtown than to Beachwood). So 50% of the Jewish people would probably have an easier (or at least not any harder) commute to downtown than they do now, and the rest have a fairly normal commute (Beachwood and Solon to downtown is not outrageous like they make it seem). However, now the Jewish people that live on the west side have a very long commute to Beachwood, and one that is extremely inconvenient to make without a car and freeways.
September 12, 200816 yr Very little research was done and that rubs a lot of the prominant downtown supporters the wrong way. What keeps getting me is that it's not just a lack of research. They did research and found that an overwhelming plurality (44% to 25%) and nearly a majority wanted the HQ to stay downtown. How could they ignore that? Also, the lack of a temple is seriously disappointing. I see that as one of the only reason we do not see many more young Jewish people wanting to move downtown.
September 12, 200816 yr Anyone have a basic idea of the makeup of the trustees (age, etc.)? I'm willing to bet most of these people are 50+. I've been telling people for some time that I think the Baby Boomer generation will have done more harm to our cities by the time they are done, than any generation in history. We're going to be cleaning up their messes for a long time. The most amazing thing to me about Baby Boomers is that they are oblivious to the damage they do. To them it is all about personal convenience.
September 12, 200816 yr "a volunteer base ... reluctant to drive downtown." Anyone else bothered by this? Maybe it's just me, but when I volunteer for causes I believe in - I set aside any potential inconveniences. That's incredibly shallow and self-serving if a reluctance to go to downtown Cleveland is more important to volunteers than providing service to their cause. "I think the Baby Boomer generation will have done more harm to our cities by the time they are done, than any generation in history." I wish I could disagree. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
September 12, 200816 yr If they're only going to leave 4 workers and some occasional programming at the current site I'd prefer they vacate entirely, so that the building and/or land can be used for something else. This seems like the worst of both worlds. Are we really to believe that they are going to use moving to Beachwood as a catalyst for new programming Downtown?
September 12, 200816 yr If they're only going to leave 4 workers and some occasional programming at the current site I'd prefer they vacate entirely, so that the building and/or land can be used for something else. This seems like the worst of both worlds. Are we really to believe that they are going to use moving to Beachwood as a catalyst for new programming Downtown? I had the same thought. I think they believe they will avoid any sort of public backlash if they keep a "presence" downtown. Keeping a 95% empty building for an occasional meeting is not a presence, and it doesn't help. You're right, they would be helping more if they vacated entirely and let CSU buy the building (as they once considered) so that something productive can be done with it.
September 12, 200816 yr ^^ Well, they haven't even begun convening a committee to determine what "new programming" would be used for the existing space. I cannot imagine that they would maintain the current building (and its four or five employees) without leasing some of the remaining space to CSU or others.
September 12, 200816 yr ^^ Well, they haven't even begun convening a committee to determine what "new programming" would be used for the existing space. I cannot imagine that they would maintain the current building (and its four or five employees) without leasing some of the remaining space to CSU or others. They lease the next door building for a lot of employees, so that would be the first space vacated, I'm presuming. Regarding the Board of Trustees, here's a link providing who they are. http://www.jewishcleveland.com/page.aspx?ID=32481 I don't know everyone on there but spotting an eye over the list would tell me it trends in the 45+ range. Some of the people are my age (mid 30's)
October 21, 200816 yr Crain's Jewish federation moving offices to former Lamson HQ By STAN BULLARD 4:30 am, October 20, 2008 The former headquarters of Lamson & Sessions Co. is the destination of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland as the nonprofit establishes East Side offices and reduces its presence at its longtime downtown headquarters at 1750 Euclid Ave. The nonprofit, which works to address social and educational needs of the region's Jewish and general communities, bought the building Sept. 30, according to Cuyahoga County land records. The property was available because Thomas & Betts Co. of Memphis, Tenn., which bought plastic pipe and conduit maker Lamson & Sessions for $450 million in September 2007, is integrating Lamson's operations with its own. Harley Gross, the federation's chairman, said the organization paid $7.2 million for the building at 25701 Science Park Drive with money from its $137 million Centennial fundraising campaign. Mr. Gross said the 68,500-square-foot building meets the federation's space needs for its 130 staffers, based on a professional space needs study. He also said it's centrally located among Jewish agencies and the East Side Jewish population. Originally, the federation planned to build on a parcel it owns in Beachwood. However, Mr. Gross said Bennett Morrison, a broker at the Colliers Ostendorf-Morris brokerage, contacted the federation about the availability of the Lamson & Sessions building. Mr. Morrison said he recently had obtained the listing for the building from Thomas & Betts when he read a Plain Dealer story about the federation's desire to move east. window.OAS_RICH('Middle1') The idea of moving most of the federation's operations outside Cleveland was hotly debated among board members who wanted to stay in the central city and those who wanted to provide most of its clientele with easier access to the organization. The board voted Sept. 11 to make the move. The building will undergo a substantial rehabilitation after remaining Lamson & Sessions employees vacate it next January, Mr. Gross said. The federation's executive director, Steve Hoffman, and its five-member community relations staff will have offices both downtown and in Beachwood. Thomas & Betts announced last November after it bought Lamson & Sessions that it would dispose of Lamson's pipe division, which it sold last month to Mitsubishi Corp. Thomas & Betts also has integrated Lamson's former Carlon electrical products unit with its other operations, so all that's remaining in the Beachwood building is a “small, core staff” that manages the former Lamson Home Products business, said Patricia Bergeron, vice president of investor and corporate relations at Thomas & Betts. Those employees will move to smaller offices, though the location hasn't been determined, she said. Steve Egar, president of the Egar Steiger Associates brokerage in Beachwood, said the Lamson & Sessions building is a perfect location for the federation. “Many of the Jewish and Israeli organizations the federation works with are located on Chagrin Boulevard,” Mr. Egar said. “If you look at where the vast majority of the Jewish population is on the East Side, Beachwood is in the center of it.”
October 21, 200816 yr ^Yeah, look at all that parking, green space, and the inspiring architecture! Is it any wonder why they left the crime ridden and desolate downtown for this suburban paradise?
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