Joe Roman on the site selection process
In in recent note to GCP members, Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership said:
“Given the Cuyahoga County Commissioners’ preference for a downtown location and the amount of land needed to accommodate a 300,000-square foot exhibition space plus showrooms and back-office functions, only a few sites currently seem to meet these criteria, although other ‘wild-card’ locations may emerge as possibilities. The Site Selection Advisory Group, headed by GCP Chairman Fred Nance, expects to make a recommendation to the county—which will make the final decision—either late this year or early in 2008. It’s important to note that we don’t consider the Medical Mart to be a single project that can ensure our region’s economic future. But it does promise to positively influence several key areas: helping to revitalize downtown Cleveland—critical to the Northeast Ohio economy; creating jobs for individuals with varying levels of skill and education (hospitality, healthcare, construction and high-tech); providing linkages that create opportunities for our existing manufacturing companies; and taking steps to position Cleveland as the healthcare capital of the United States.”
Amanda Marko
Greater Cleveland Partnership
September 27, 2007 at 7:47 pm
“creating jobs for individuals with varying levels of skill and education (hospitality, healthcare, construction and high-tech)”
I am curious about the top brass of this business. Will the CEO, CFO, COO, management and administrative staff live here? How does that economic model work? I get that the server at the sandwich shop will have more customers and the bellhop bags to ferry — more tips, but who will run this Medmart and make the 6 digits? How many jobs for Cleveland professionals will actually be in-house and ongoing at the Medmart itself? Does the profit go to Merchandise Mart in Chicago or to Cleveland? This has been confusing to me all along. Did I miss the post that had the human resources plan? And do we expect that major medical vendors will move staff to Cleveland permanently to staff their exhibits?