Opinion | Cleveland is Americas best example of reviving downtown

Welcome to Cleveland, the city that leads the nation — by far — in finding new uses for empty office buildings.

This is Public Square in the heart of downtown.

It used to be a transit hub full of cars and buses. A 2016 makeover turned it into an urban “living room” where people gather to eat, ice-skate and enjoy concerts.

Since 2016, developers have converted five office towers around the square into residences. New restaurants and coffee bars have also opened.

The key to Cleveland’s success? Focusing the transformation efforts on a compact area.

Apartments immediately around the square increased from about 40 in 2016 to more than 1,200 now.

When there are lots of office-to-residential conversions in one place, it changes the neighborhood vibe from “9-to-5” office work to an 18-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week place to be.

Empty downtown office buildings pose a formidable challenge to cities such as San Francisco and D.C. It doesn’t help that construction costs have surged and that interest rates are at a two-decade high. Real estate investments are largely on hold as developers wait for prices to fall. But Cleveland offers hope — and a useful model.

Our year-long project studying how to revive downtowns has identified three keys to success: First, to focus on a few blocks at a time (what urban planners call a “node”). Second, to make it as easy as possible to convert old office towers for new uses, via tax incentives and expedited permitting. Third, to offer unique amenities for residents, workers and tourists. Cleveland did all three in the area around Public Square.

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Former mayor Frank Jackson, who served from 2006 to 2022, says that when he entered office, “you could roll a bowling ball downtown after work and you wouldn’t hit anybody. It was a ghost town.” Cleveland epitomized the Rust Belt; businesses were leaving, and people were fleeing. Initial attempts at revival focused on a new convention center, spruced-up sports stadiums and a downtown casino. But something was missing: a great public space for everyone to gather.

The push to renovate Public Square began in 2011. Anthony Coyne, a lawyer who chaired the city’s Group Plan Commission, kept handy a PowerPoint deck with a vision for a square as vibrant — and green — as New York City’s Bryant Park or Chicago’s Millennium Park. He showed it to any business executive, civic leader and philanthropist who would listen.

The square started off in the 1800s as a pasture for animals. By the early 20th century, it had become a bustling shopping center. Many remember visiting department stores there such as Higbee’s and the May. By the late 20th century, high-rise office towers had taken over. The city put two big roads through Public Square that chopped the park into four tiny quadrants. The overarching goal was to make it easier for workers to commute from the suburbs. It typified what so many American downtowns had become in the previous 40 years: functional but sterile.

When Cleveland won the bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention, the city rushed to show a rejuvenated face to the world. It completed a $50 million renovation of Public Square, partly funded by donations. The result was a well-lit park that removed most traffic lanes. Half the square is devoted to a big, grassy area with many trees and benches. The other side of the square has a cafe, a Civil War monument and an ice rink (which turns into a splash pad in the summer).

The makeover had an immediate impact. Families brought kids to play in the water park. Office workers and students came to sit on benches and grab lunch at REBoL, an organic eatery on the square. Rallies and festivals such as Pride in CLE filled the square. And real estate developers began to buy the surrounding (mostly vacant) office buildings with a plan to turn them into rental apartments.

The Standard, a former union headquarters, was turned into 287 apartments that began leasing in 2018. Cleveland’s iconic Terminal Tower became part office, part residential with 297 units that began leasing in 2019. The May, the former department store, opened with 307 units in 2020. Two more former office towers — 55 Public Square and 75 Public Square — were turned into luxury apartments that began leasing in the past two years.

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Young professionals are the main group moving in, especially because all the units are rentals. But empty nesters, judges, athletes and even a few young families have also leased properties so they can be near museums and Cleveland’s sports stadiums. For the first time in years, a yellow school bus makes a daily stop at the square to pick up kids living there. “We’re a neighborhood church again,” said the Rev. Stephen Blonder Adams, senior pastor of Old Stone Church, which has been on the square since 1820. His blessing of the animals is a hit with dog owners living by the square.

(Dustin Franz for The Washington Post)

(Dustin Franz for The Washington Post)

Public Square is now a lively “mixed-use” neighborhood.

Residents walk their dogs.

Office workers eat lunch in the park or at new restaurants such as Marble Room Sushi.

And families come for the Christmas tree lighting and summer splash.

Public Square is luring businesses, too. Paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams is building its new headquarters on what used to be a nearby parking lot.

Urban planners say focusing on a node in this way gets momentum going. Success then spreads: Developers are transforming more old offices nearby.

There are more people out and about in the evenings now compared with before the pandemic, according to Spectus, a cellphone location data solution by Cuebiq Group. Malisse Sinito, the owner of restaurants around the square including Marble Room Steaks and Raw Bar, Marble Room Sushi and Il Venetian, said revenue and the number of diners are now exceeding pre-covid levels. “I’ve never watched downtown grow at this pace before,” said chef Rocco Whalen, who opened the restaurant Fahrenheit at 55 Public Square this summer.

Cleveland downtown foot traffic

Some cities have not used this concentrated node approach. D.C.’s map of buildings slated for conversion, for example, shows a scattering of sites. That should be reconsidered in 2024. A denser population attracts grocery stores, coffee shops and pocket parks, among other amenities.

Map of building conversions in DC

Office-to-residential conversions

are spread across downtown D.C.

16TH ST. NW

Planned

conversions

Rock Creek

Ongoing

conversions

23RD ST. NW

PENNSYLVANIA AVE

1,000 FEET

White House

Source: JLL Research 2023; Mapbox

Office-to-residential conversions are

spread across downtown D.C.

16TH ST. NW

14TH ST. NW

Planned

conversions

23RD ST. NW

Ongoing

conversions

PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW

White House

1,000 FEET

Source: JLL Research 2023; Mapbox

Office-to-residential conversions are spread across downtown D.C.

16TH ST. NW

Dupont

Circle

14TH ST. NW

Planned

conversions

Rock Creek

CONNECTICUT AVE. NW

23RD ST. NW

Ongoing

conversions

PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW

1,000 FEET

White House

Source: JLL Research 2023; Mapbox

Office-to-residential conversions are spread across downtown D.C.

Dupont

Circle

Rock Creek

14TH ST. NW

Planned

conversions

CONNECTICUT AVE. NW

23RD ST. NW

16TH ST. NW

Ongoing

conversions

PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW

1,000 FEET

White House

Source: JLL Research 2023; Mapbox

Revitalizing Cleveland also took government support, in the form of a 15-year property tax abatement for repurposing an old building. The state of Ohio offered a sizable tax credit for rehabilitating historic properties as well. Cleveland leads the nation in the percentage of its office space that is being turned into apartments hotels and used for other purposes, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment company.

“Without the state tax credit, we couldn’t have done it,” said Doug Price III, chief executive of K&D Group, which has renovated numerous downtown properties, including Terminal Tower and 55 Public Square.

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If the city where you live revitalized its downtown in a similar way to what Cleveland is doing, would you ever consider moving there?

The city of Cleveland and the state updated zoning codes to address the unique needs of converting older buildings. For example, the city began allowing residents to move in once a floor was completed instead of having to wait for the entire renovation to be finished. Mayor Justin Bibb (D) wants to replicate the success of Public Square with a similar transformation of the nearby riverfront and lakefront districts.

If there is one mistake Cleveland has made, it is that it is still catering to vehicles in Public Square. A bus lane still cuts the square into two parts. The road is unpopular with city residents and should be removed. There was also a recent shooting in the square that startled the community, and Cleveland, like many cities, is struggling with unhoused people living downtown. Mr. Bibb calls public safety his “first, second, third, fourth and fifth” priorities. He has boosted police pay by at least $8,000 for rank-and-file officers. He is also changing tax incentives next year to try to spur more development in parts of the city that have seen less investment.

Despite the flaws, Cleveland’s Public Square is a beacon to other cities looking to transform. Anna Huttner is one of the young professionals working at a firm on the square and living at the May — the place where her mom and grandfather used to shop. To Huttner and many of her peers, downtown is the place to be.

If Cleveland can do it, other cities can, too.

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About this story

The satellite images of Cleveland were captured in June 2023 from Planet Labs. Greater Cleveland Partnership and Cleveland-based City Architecture helped develop the visual assets of the article. The foot traffic analysis of the area around the Public Square was done by Amir Forouhar and Karen Chapple at School of Cities, University of Toronto, using anonymous location data provided by Spectus.

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