its vibrant orange logo while walking to
baseball games or Star Plaza. “Storefront visibility was a key factor in choosing a space,”
says Gina Dalessandro, vice president, sales
and marketing, Quez Media.
Plus, clients can pop in to visit or meet.
“We love being able to walk to our clients’
offices or have them walk here,” Dales-
sandro says, adding Quez Media employees
love walking to work. A large number of
the staff lives on West 9th Street or nearby
in Lakewood. “It’s nice for them to be
closer to the office.”
With a strong internship program,
Quez Media can attract students and
show them the live-work-play aspect of
being associated with a downtown busi-
ness. Businesses competing for young
workers, who may consider moving out of
town, are wise to consider locating where
the people are.
“There is a dynamic of investing where
your employees live, work and play—it’s
that quality of life they are competing
for with other markets,” says Rico Pietro,
principal, Cresco Real Estate. “Businesses
have better opportunities to recruit when
they can offer that full range of services in
a downtown market that you may not find
in the suburbs.”
People attract other people. As resi-
dential occupancy rates near full capacity
downtown and as waiting lists grow, the
demand for downtown dwellings increases,
and so (slightly) does cost. As an estimate,
residential rent that was traditionally $1
per square foot could now be closer to
$1.25 or $1.50 per month per square foot.
The increase makes downtown develop-
ment a profitable, attractive endeavor for
builders who are beginning to invest in
more property conversions.
Opening Doors for Business
With large tenants taking up space in
Cleveland’s core, the benefit of investments
made in rehabbing and polishing up properties trickles down to small businesses that
lease piecemeal space in these buildings.
The leftovers are looking real good
these days.
“Large tenants moving downtown offer
the stabilization of a property, allowing
owners of large properties to make capital
investments, whether a new façade,
updating the lobby or creating common
areas like conference rooms,” Pietro says.
“The balance of vacant space falls to
smaller businesses, which means they get
better property and better amenities at the
same price they would pay for outdated
space. It creates a better quality of living
for their employees.”
Significant upgrades are simply not
cost-effective for small pieces of big
