Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit organization, wants every affordable housing unit in the U.S. to be green by 2020. Now, thanks to that bold ambition, a Cleveland apartment building will receive a green makeover, making it healthier and more energy-efficient for the people that live there.

Enterprise recently announced that it had closed on its first loan in the Ohio Green Communities Retrofit Fund, a $1 million program to renovate older apartment build... Read more >

The building boom kicking up dust in downtown Cleveland soon will give visitors to the Medical Mart, Convention Center and Horseshoe Casino another spot to lay their heads after a night out on the town. Optima Ventures and Sage Hospitality have purchased the former Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Centre hotel and plan to spend $64 million to renovate it into a new, luxurious 481-room Westin Hotel.

The project was spurred by an anticipated influx of visitors to downtown Clevel... Read more >

Green City Growers, a for-profit, employee-owned produce company that is part of the nonprofit Evergreen Cooperatives, will break ground next week on a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse. The project, which will cost $17 million and is expected to eventually create about 40 full-time jobs, will be built in an east side neighborhood so wracked by poverty it has been dubbed "The Forgotten Triangle."

The greenhouse, which is being constructed on a scruffy, 10-acre pat... Read more >

SironRX Therapeutics, which spun out of Juventas Therapeutics and the Cleveland Clinic almost a year ago, is finding marked success in healing wounds. The company received $1 million in Third Frontier funding to continue clinical trials in wound healing.
 
“What we observed at Juventas in treatments for heart disease, we have observed in wound treatment with the same product,” explains Rahul Aras, SironRX president and CEO. “With SRX100, we accelerat... Read more >

While U.S. job growth overall might be stuck in neutral, IT professionals should be chomping at the bit. Experts say technology occupations will be at the leading edge of job growth for at least the next decade. Better still: Three of the hottest cities for IT jobs right now are here in Ohio.

Young, tech-based companies have a major impact on Northeast Ohio’s economy. In a report created by Cleveland State University and commissioned by JumpStart, 90 startup companies generated $155 million in revenue and created 1,000 jobs in 2010.
 
“Our objective with this report is to make sure people know why entrepreneurship is important to the community,” says Cathy Belk, chief relationship officer with JumpStart. “These are all early-stage c... Read more >

Every year, Cleveland’s emerging healthcare economy nourishes dozens of successful medical start-ups. Unfortunately, as many of these firms grow, they are forced to relocate to the 'burbs or out of the region entirely because of a lack of flexible, tech-ready urban space. Now, thanks to the MidTown Tech Park -- and Health-Tech Corridor -- start-ups have good reason to stick around.

The Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) is holding its seventh annual small business conference on October 19th and 20th at the I-X Center in Cleveland. The event is the only one of its kind designed specifically for small business owners looking for an opportunity to learn, network and work together with other small businesses.
 
“Basically we put this together because we saw a gap in the marketplace for this kind of conference,” says Steve Millard, COS... Read more >

Cleveland State University is part of an economic impact study of shale in Ohio and its potential to give a big boost to the state’s economy. Ohio State and Marietta College are also participating in the study, commissioned by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the Ohio Shale Coalition.
 
The study focuses on the economic impact of drilling for gas and oil in the Utica Point Pleasant and Marcellus shale formations that run along the eastern half of the st... Read more >

Thirty-year-old Mark Raymond has stayed in hostels all over the world, and now he's bringing his passion, ideas and money to Cleveland to create a 60-bed hostel on West 25th Street in Ohio City.

"A hostel is a very valuable asset for a city to have, and I think Cleveland is a good place to start one," says Raymond. "Hostels attract nontraditional travelers on a shoestring budget, and if a city doesn't have a hostel, many will skip over it."
... Read more >

As an approach to planning, designing and managing public spaces, “placemaking” is gaining momentum across the country. This strategy gives local residents a voice in shaping new development so that addresses their needs as opposed to those of the developers. Simply put, placemaking is likely the best path to improving a neighborhood, city or region.

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA) will once again be hosting former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce, Frank Lavin tonight in its speaker series at the Union Club of Cleveland. Lavin, who recently co-published the book "Export Now," will talk about strategies for success in exporting to a global market.
 
“He is a great speaker and a great resource for organizations in the area,” says Jana Krasney, director of speaker programs for CCWA.... Read more >