eNewsletter: September 2012

William D. Friedman
President & CEO

Welcome to the inaugural issue of our e-newsletter.  This is an exciting time for the Port as we advance new initiatives and help continue our community’s momentum.  Cleveland is in the midst of a surge in public and private development, and the Port is actively engages in these efforts.

We believe the Port is and must be a catalyst for job growth, economic vitality, and vibrant waterfronts. And we are strategically executing on that mission. For example, along the Cuyahoga River we are leading efforts to fix the 30-acre Franklin Hillside in Ohio City, which is slowly sliding into the river and threatens the ship channel that is vital to so many workers and companies. We are also helping to develop our community by securing private financing for projects such as the Flats East Bank complex.

On the lakefront we are working to create a busier port with more services for more companies, while consolidating our terminal operations to open additional land for the City of Cleveland’s mixed-use development. Along both the riverfront and the lakefront we are pursuing public access projects to link the people of Cuyahoga County to these natural assets in new and inviting ways.

We will use this newsletter to keep you informed of our progress and showcase the successful efforts of our partners and others throughout the city and region. In each edition, we will highlight our maritime work in a section called “On the Docks,” our environmental and infrastructure efforts in “Along the Water,” and our economic development and finance projects in “In the Community.”

These focus areas tie directly to the three fundamental themes that are at the heart of our 2011 Strategic Action Plan:

• Creating opportunities for job growth and business expansion;
• Developing civic assets by solving critical infrastructure challenges; and
• Managing the Port to maximize economic, environmental, and community benefits.

We continue to moving forward with our action plan, and we will regularly and transparently report on our progress. The Port has launched this newsletter not only to provide updates on our progress, but also to stimulate a dialogue with the public. As part of our public outreach we have also developed an improved website (portofcleveland.com) and will soon be engaged in new online conversations through The Civic Commons website (theciviccommons.com). And we will continue to look for more ways to enhance our lake and river, our economy, our environment, and our community.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss our newsletter or other Port work. 

Did You Know?           

• Nearly 18,000 jobs depend on Cleveland’s Port-and-river maritime activities and investments
• More than $1 billion in family income annually is supported by Cleveland’s maritime sector
• $112 million in local and state taxes are generated annually that help keep our communities safe, clean, and attractive