The Cuyahoga County Council has approved two loans, each $1.5 million. One is to help convert downtown Cleveland’s East Ohio Gas Building into apartments. The other goes towards the Flats Residential Tower, a lakefront apartment and retail development.
Joe Marinucci is President of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. He says despite overall revenues being a bit lower than first anticipated, the casinos have generated jobs and traffic in areas that need them.
“They’re animating downtown Cleveland, there are pedestrians now walking – not only to and from the casino -- but in the immediate vicinity on a daily basis," says Marinucci. "So from that perspective, they’re doing exactly what we hoped. And they are providing dollars -- in this example -- to two projects that need the financial assistance in order to reach the finish line.”
Cuyahoga County officials say they’ve collected nearly $5 million from the state’s voter-approved casinos. It’s projected that by year’s end, roughly another $5 million will be generated for further development across Greater Cleveland.
A county spokeswoman says another application for funding will be reviewed soon, to support redevelopment of Playhouse Square.