Last Wednesday’s “A Free and Fair Press in Cleveland” forum with Mayor Justin Bibb and WKYC’s Russ Mitchell sparked conversation about the future of Cleveland and what will shape it.
The Cleveland ERA, according to Mayor Bibb is short for, “Economic Research and Action.” He calls it, “… A bold vision for how we connect Cleveland and its people to opportunity, progress, and long-term transformation.” Mayor Bibb’s plan is rooted in ambition. “We’ll make some stumbles, but we can have some ambition, we can want more, and we can be bold as a city once and for all.
When asked about his whereabouts during the breaking of ground for the Brown’s Brook Park Stadium, Mayor Bibb explained he was giving a commencement speech for “Look up to Cleveland,” and celebrating the civic leadership program’s 40th anniversary. “I am not the mayor of Brook Park, I am the mayor of Cleveland,” Mayor Bibb said. “We fought really damn hard to keep the Browns playing good or bad football on our lakefront, but now is the time to turn the page and write the next chapter.”
Mayor Bibb also doubled down on his decision to reject the Slavic Village data center saying, “I don’t see large scale, hyperscale, standalone data centers in this neighborhood as part of our future.” He explained cities and companies have data cloud facilities, but the Slavic Village data center proposal was different because it was hyperscale, standalone and not planned thoughtfully. Also, environmental concerns made residents weary given Cleveland’s and Ohio’s history of environmental overlook.
Issue 24 and U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver’s rejection of the City of Cleveland and the U.S. The Department of Justice’s police consent decree was also brought up. Mayor Bibb assured he did not regret his stance on Issue 24 and explained police accountability to a nuanced and divisive issue that’s hard to find compromise on.
Mayor Bibb plans to improve with more boots on the ground community engagement, increased partnership with the Cleveland Police Commission and an ongoing sustainment partnership to ensure the sustain of the reforms for the future. It’s also his goal to codify the Office of Police Accountability.
The future of Cleveland was a hot topic during the forum, Mayor Bibb’s ambitious plans for the city and revitalization came up, including The City of Cleveland’s new housing project plans targeting the East Side.
“The same taxing tools that we’ve used to unlock nearly $5 billion of development for our waterfronts. We’re using that to bring home ownership back to the neighborhoods of Hough, St. Clair, Superior and Fairfax,” Mayor Bibb said. “In the last decade, guess how many new homes have been privately built in those neighborhoods? Two. Guess how many vacant lots we have in those neighborhoods: 2900.”
Mayor Bibb also explained the Housing Innovation District is positioned adjacent to the Midline district, where the City of Cleveland is looking to revitalize the area and generate wealth among its residents with new jobs while creating an area that is walkable, economically prosperous and full of opportunity. “We are converting 350 acres in the inner city of Cleveland, centrally Fairfax, The largest development project in the city’s history, to create 2500 good paying jobs back into the inner city of Cleveland. That’s what it means to be open business in Cleveland.” Mayor Bibb said.
Brook Park came up again as Mayor Bibb discussed the 215 acres Cleveland would get back from Brook Park to resolve an ongoing dispute over airport-area land. This would give Cleveland control over I-X Center and Emerald Park acreage. “I’ve been getting a lot of inbound leads about Cleveland being a hub for aerospace and advanced manufacturing,” said Mayor Bibb. “… Now I have the I-X Center, Emerald Park, and that acreage to market and sell to companies around the world to choose Cleveland as their home.”
The recent Cleveland Metropolitan School District school closings also came up. Mayor Bibb expressed his displeasure with having to close the schools but explained between student population decline, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund depletion and unequal distribution of programs, the decision had to happen. He also cited the decision not to close schools eight years ago, exacerbating this issue.
Still the future is at the forefront of this conversation, and Mayor Bibb has considered the long-term financial sustainability of CMSD students as well as employment and educational plans including opening a trade school on the East Side, College Credit Plus and Tri-C enrollment and equal programming for CMSD schools. “This plan will set up the district, I believe, to be a competitive urban district, not just one of the best in the state, but one of the best in the country,” Mayor Bibb said.