Paving the Way for Downtown's Future

Joe Marinucci will retire from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) at the end of April, after serving as President and CEO since its inception 16 years ago. Created in 2006, DCA manages services within a district that stretches from the Cuyahoga River to East 18th Street and includes areas in and around the Flats. The Alliance's most visible presence is in the form of the yellow-clad Downtown Ambassadors who walk or ride bicycles throughout the neighborhood, encouraging a cleaner and safer environment for residents, workers, and visitors.

During Mr. Marinucci's tenure, Downtown Cleveland changed dramatically. The city center is now home to 20,000 new residents, wecolmed several new hotels, re-opened Public Square, and hosted the 2016 Republican National Convention, the NBA Finals and a World Series. He helped bring $7.3 billion dollars of investment to Downtown and formed the Downtown Recovery Response Fund that helps small businesses deal with the effects of last year's civil unrest and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, as Cleveland begins to recover from the pandemic, Downtown faces both new opportunities and new challenges. Within the next 12 months, Cleveland will operate a mass vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center, host the NFL Draft and the NBA All-Star Game, and re-open Playhouse Square. While construction continues on new apartments and housing, concerns remain about the long-term viability of some small business and restaurants, as well as the future of Downtown office space as many companies increase the number of remote workers.

Join us as Mr. Marinucci shares how the tools, resources and investments of the last 16 years can help pave the way for Downtown's future.

The livestream will be available beginning at 12:30 p.m. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.

Production and distribution of City Club forums in partnership with ideastream is generously provided by PNC and the United Black Fund.