Cleveland's Mall B, where the city's existing convention center now sits, is one of three sites that MMPI has been considering since last summer, and was chosen by company executives and Cuyahoga County's commissioners back in January as the winning proposal. However, MMPI has, even this week, continued to entertain a competing proposal by Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises to build the center on its property along the Cuyahoga River behind Tower City. Forest City President David LaRue presented the latest Tower City design to MMPI on Tuesday - one he says would be cheaper by tens of millions of dollars than the mall proposal and a better fit for the demands of the convention business. But MMPI Vice president Mark Falanga says there are still major problems with the plan. He says while MMPI, and the commissioners, feel obligated to give the Forest City proposal a fair hearing, the mall site remains the preferred option.
Falanga: "We haven't seen any compelling reason to move off of the mall site, so I think we're ready to move ahead with the mall site, we're moving in that direction."
County administrator Jim McCafferty confirmed that, saying he expects the commissioners to make a public announcement - perhaps of a final decision - in about a week.