CLEVELAND — The future of Cleveland's West Side Market is taking shape after city leaders announced the founding of the new non-profit governing body for the 111-year-old landmark on Thursday.
The Cleveland Public Market Corporation (CPMC) board will initially be comprised of 15 members, with a maximum of 21 in the future. The search is now underway for a CPMC executive director.
Here are the members of the CPMC's board:
- Dave Abbott, retired president of The George Gund Foundation
- Carrie Carpenter, Senior Vice President, Regional Manager of Corporate Affairs, Huntington National Bank
- Shelly Cayette, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Amanda Dempsey, previous West Side Market Manager
- Colette Jones, Chief Marketing Officer, Cleveland Foundation
- Henry Hilow, Attorney, Hilow & Spellacy
- Dr. Don Malone, President of Cleveland Clinic's Ohio Hospitals and Family Health Centers
- Kerry McCormack, Ward 3 Councilmember
- Tom McNair, Executive Director, Ohio City Inc.
- Randy McShepard, Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief Talent Officer, RPM International, founder of Rid-All Green Partnership
- Tom Nagel, retired from DB Schenker
- Jason Russell, Vice President, Operations and Leasing, Bedrock Detroit
- Tanisha Velez, Owner, Cleveland Fresh Microgreens
- Ramat Wiley, Owner, Adun Spice Company
- Ann Zoller, Senior Advisor, Strategy Design Partners
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb nominated Abbott, Russell, and Wiley to the board. The West Side Market Tenants Association nominated Dempsey, Hillow, and Nagel.
"Establishing CPMC will provide the Market the stability and mission-driven direction it needs to thrive and be preserved as a community asset,” said Bibb in a statement, “I feel confident that this initial board of leaders will set West Side Market on the right path.”
United West Side Market Tenants Association president Don Whitaker said he's been involved in the advisory process. He said vendors didn't want to use their board nominations to join themselves. "We've got to get back to just running our business, focusing on that, and not on the infrastructure of that building because that's what we've been doing for the last five years now," Whitaker said.
Whitaker said the group is still cautiously optimistic, pleased with the progress so far and transition to new management.
"There's so much potential, there's so much that we can do but we're going to do it together with the community, not as a solitary body," CPMC board member Carrie Carpenter told 3News' Bri Buckley.
Carpenter said that everyone joining the new board is dedicated to the market's future, ensuring vendor and community input will be a large part of it.
"Whether its renovating the second floor for dining or event space, to helping incubate entrepreneurs for new businesses, to redoing some of the wings of the West Side Market to better serve consumers and the businesses that are here," Carpenter said.
The city says the CPMC board will soon hold its first meeting to elect officers and adopt bylaws. It will also apply for federal 501c3 tax-exempt status.
Meanwhile, the city also released the first phase of its West Side Market master plan as it transitions to nonprofit management. The 63-page report details the year-long research and assessment done by the Market's advisory board and national market consultant Ted Spitzer.
As 3News food correspondent Doug Trattner reported in January, phase one of the master plan featured interviews conducted with all of the market's vendors. In addition, nearly 450 customer surveys also took place over a three-day period.
While the report applauded the West Side Market's importance of serving its "culturally, economically, and geographically diverse customer base," it also pointed to many of the challenges facing the CPMC. Notably, there are 25 vacant stalls in the Market Hall and 39 vacant stalls in the Arcade. Current vendors also pointed to numerous facility problems, including lack of heating and air conditioning, lacking of seating/dining areas, maintenance delays, and a poor parking system.
You can read the entire report below.
The city says the next phase of its master plan will provide concrete recommendations and "a vision for the future of the Market."
“Despite the challenges that the Market has faced in the past few decades, it continues to act as an anchor institution in Cleveland. Moving forward, we hope to take advantage of the Market’s strengths to ensure it can be a thriving community asset for the next generation,” Bibb added.