rebuilding neighborhood markets: linking small business support & commercial vacant property...
TRANSCRIPT
L A V E A B R A C H M A N
E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R
G R E A T E R O H I O P O L I C Y
C E N T E R
N A T E C O F F M A N
E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R
O H I O C D C A S S O C I A T I O N
F E B . 3 , 2 0 1 5
R O U N D T A B L E
A SNAPSHOT OF COMMERCIAL
PROPERTY VACANCIES
Ohio Stats -
Commercial vacancy
rate: over 36%
Number of
commercial vacant
properties according
to USPS: 162,478
COMMERCIAL VACANCY IN OHIO
COMMERCIAL VACANCY IN OHIO
BUSINESS CREATION IN OHIO
Ohio: 47.9 percent drop in new business
creation between 1978 and 2011
Source: “Declining Business Dynamism in the United
States: A Look at States and Metros.” Brookings
Institution. May 2014.
Source: “Good News and Bad News on Small Business
Lending in 2014.” Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
January 2015. Data source: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation.
COMBINED CHALLENGE & SOLUTIONS
Addressing both high vacancy rates and small
business growth challenge
Could that be a game changer in our communities,
particularly in stabilizing neighborhoods with
potential for regrowth
Operationalizing new programs or models that build
on existing programs and leverage local capacity
MODELS FOR LINKING PROPERTY REUSE &
SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT
• Neighborhood Development Center, St. Paul, MN
• ProsperUS, Detroit, MI
The Midtown Global Market, which was a
vacant Sears building redeveloped by the
Neighborhood Development Center into a
public market and business incubator for local
entrepreneurs.
ProsperUS Detroit provides micro-enterprise
support in low-income immigrant and minority
neighborhoods in Detroit.
LINKING SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT &
COMMERCIAL VACANT PROPERTY REUSE
IN OHIO’S COMMUNITIES
FRAMING QUESTIONS:
1. Could this model be replicated in Ohio?
2. If so, what would it look like, and where might it be replicated?
3. What current resources or programs exist in Ohio to support this model, and what is needed?
4. What new programs/practices are possible, and what partners or organizations are required?
5. What are the barriers, and what are the opportunities?
Lavea Brachman,
Executive Director,
Greater Ohio Policy Center