Downtown Cleveland is rebounding from the recession, but there is still much work to do according to a new study. The report by Cleveland State University shows more people are living downtown, but there are fewer jobs in the central city than there were before the recession.
The study says about 14,000 people are living downtown, roughly 3,500 more than in 2012. But downtown job growth is struggling to reach pre-recession levels, and that is hurting commercial office space values. Michael Deemer is head of business development for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, the group that commissioned the study. He says a positive sign is that more of downtown’s residents have higher education and skill levels, and that is generating some employment growth.
“As employers seek to locate closer to that growing talent base, within the last three years we’ve seen an increase of about 3,000 jobs in downtown Cleveland.”
Deemer says Cleveland needs to continue developing more residential space downtown to keep the momentum moving forward.
