INDUSTRY ITEMS OF INTEREST

In Memory of Cora Donley, by Marcia Nolan  Cleveland Action to Support Housing lost a valued team member when Cora Donley passed away on April 20, 2011.  She died of a massive brain aneurism.  With Cora's passing she left behind husband, Larry Pope, and two children, Ebony and James.  The Cleveland Action to Support Housing staff, the board directors, lenders and many customers will miss her.  Cora worked for CASH for over 11 years and was a key participant in making all of the modifications in the program's philosophy, structure, services, and processes.  Cora will also be missed for her laser-like common sense approach which she put to good use with the organization and its clients.  She had a great sense of humor, which was useful with lenders and borrowers.  People like Cora Donley don't come along often, she will be missed.  The board and staff of the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition expresses our sincere condolences to the Donley family.
 

What Should be Done with Underperforming Schools?   The Leadership and Public Policy Institute (LPPI) at Baldwin Wallace College, a year-long institute for area high school juniors, is partnering with the Levin College Forum to present a forum entitled "What Should be Done with Underperforming Schools?"  The forum will be developed, planned and led by students in the 2010-2011 LPPI class.  Learn what these bright energetic students have to say on Tuesday, June 14th from 4-6:30 pm.  This free and open to the public conversation will take place at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Glickman-Miller Hall, Roberta Steinbacher Atrium located at Cleveland State University, 1717 Euclid Avenue.  To register, please visit www.urban.csuohio.edu/forum.
  

Cleveland Leadership Center Offers a Great Summer for  High  School Students  The Cleveland Leadership Center is launching a terrific new program this summer:  The Look Up to Cleveland Summer Leadership Academy.  The program will target High School Seniors and Juniors and give them all that the year-long Look Up to Cleveland offers, plus facilitated leadership skills development.  Students attend five consecutive all-day sessions, similar to the flagship program.  Each day covers a theme:  Cleveland's economy, Arts and Culture, Government, and Philanthropy with additional topics around civic vision and leadership training.  As in all of the Cleveland Leadership Center programs, the program will encompass five foundational curricular elements:  Leadership, Competitiveness, Active Citizenship, Inclusion, and Civic Capacity.  Additionally, the program will offer travel to key destinations in Greater Cleveland to expose the students to our community and our leaders. 
There will be two one-week sessions based at Hawken School's Sally and Bob Gries Center for Experiential and Service Learning in University Circle.  Each session runs from Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm and will be held the weeks of June 20th to June 24th and July 18th to July 22nd.  Fee for the program is $300, payable at the time of acceptance.  Scholarships are available.  If paying by credit card, a fee of $15 applies.  To apply, visit www.cleveleads.org and click on the LUTC Summer Leadership Academy application.  You may also apply by phone by calling 216-456-8004 and ask for Betsy Stueber.
 

MEMBER NEWS

Wall Street Journal Lauds Playhouse Square as "a Model of Economic Viability in the Arts."  Most people may not know this, but after New York's Lincoln Center, PlayhouseSquare is the second-largest performing arts center in the country by audience capacity.  In the late 60's, five theatres that were built in the 20's as vaudeville houses were awaiting the demolition ball.  But, Ray Shepardson, who worked for the Cleveland public school system, stumbled into the lobby of one of the theatres and thought it would be a crime to tear this down.  His early efforts led to the creation of the Playhouse Square Foundation.  What makes PlayhouseSquare unique is that it not only renovated and manages the performances spaces--including the Ohio, Palace, State, Allen and Hanna Theatres, but also created a local development corporation that owns more than 1.6 million square feet of office and retail space.  Its budget of more than $60 million puts it ahead of the better-endowed Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Two-thirds of PlayhouseSquare's annual budget supports the performing arts, while the other one-third is reinvested in its real-estate ventures.  In 1995, in partnership with the Wyndham Hotel Corporation, they developed a hotel which generates profits for PlayhouseSquare.  The Cleveland Play House, our area's oldest and most highly regarded theatre company will be moving to PlayhouseSquare in the reconfigured Allen Theatre and will build two smaller adjacent theatres for the Play House.  The two organizations are jointly raising $32 million for the renovation and new construction.  "The hallmark of Playhouse Square is that they realized a successful theater district could only work if there was a successful neighborhood," states Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.  "PlayhouseSquare got it, it's market-based and market-oriented.  The theaters are the core, but now there's so much more.  The project exceeded everyone's expectations." 
This article was written by Joel Henning, who writes about arts and culture for the Wall Street Journal.
 

Tom Yablonsky:  A Difference Maker  Crain's Cleveland Business recently honored Tom Yablonsky, Executive Director of the Historic Warehouse District and the Historic Gateway Neighborhood as one of their "difference makers."  When Tom Yablonsky was a teenager he worked at the downtown branch of the Cleveland Public Library.  He often spent his dinner breaks at The Arcade.  It was there that he fell in love with the 1890-vintage Arcade, old buildings in general and downtown Cleveland.  Years later, Tom helped engineer the $60 million adaptive reuse of the Arcade as a Hyatt Regency Hotel.  If not for this investment, the Arcade was sliding toward the wrecking ball.  Tom has developed a keen knowledge of Cleveland's history and is an advocate for rejuvenating our city.  His approach is to use bricks-and-mortar relics from Cleveland's former glory as a foundation to rebuild. 
Tom Yablonsky is an idea man:  Way back in 1983, he had plenty of ideas for the Warehouse District as it had just been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Only six buildings in the neighborhood were fully occupied.  He dreamed of what could be done to boarded up garment factories and hardware warehouses.  Since then, 50 buildings have been renovated to lofts, offices and some of the best restaurants and nightspots around.  The Gateway neighborhood has also seen a similar rebirth. 
Tom is now tackling some new tasks.  He is working on rejuvenating retailing on Euclid Avenue.  He supports the development of the Canal Basin in the Flats as a park, noting residents seek amenities that urban pioneers a generation ago did not even think about.  He is also very excited about the Warehouse District's recently won role to provide services to aid historic preservation and adaptive reuse of buildings in the downtrodden Flats.  "I don't believe in a big-bang theory of development, " Tom recently said.  "Success in cities is incremental."  You can read the entire story in the May 16th issue of Crain's Cleveland Business.
 

Clifton Arts & Musicfest  It has been 24 years since the first arts & musicfest began.  Wow, how time flies.  This year's annual event will be held on Saturday, June 18th from 10am-6pm at Clifton Boulevard and West 117th Street.  This free, family event will be held rain or shine and includes over 90 artists, children's activities, live music and entertainment, all day juried art awards, specialty exhibits, and great food all in a vibrant neighborhood.  This year will also feature world famous sand sculptor, Carl Jara.  For more information, visit www.cudell.com/artsfest.asp.