A shrinking Cleveland aims to attract newcomers

CLEVELAND - Cleveland, which thrived on waves of new immigrants but has seen its population shrink, has opened a welcome center to attract newcomers from around the world.

"It just doesn't make economic sense to close ourselves off from the world," Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald said as community leaders cut the ribbon for the welcome center in downtown Cleveland last week.

The Welcome Hub represents the most visible expression of Global Cleveland, an effort to repopulate the city and boost the regional economy by attracting talented newcomers from around the world, according to The Plain Dealer. Cleveland's population has dropped 17 percent to an estimated 396,815 since 2000.

The Census Bureau estimates that 4.6 percent of the city's population is foreign-born. Ohio's foreign-born population is about 3.8 percent.

The public-private Global Cleveland largely funded by the business community was years in the making and intends to reach out to immigrants as well as people born elsewhere in the United States.

"It's really taken some time to happen, but it's so important to Cleveland and to the region," Mayor Frank Jackson said. "This Welcome Hub will do the main thing we need to do. It will say `Welcome, welcome to this city'."

The concept of an international welcome center was sparked by population losses and slowed by anti-immigrant sentiment in recent years. A program took shape when the Jewish Federation of Cleveland rallied a diverse group of civic leaders into a leadership board and a consensus. Huntington Bank pledged $500,000 to the effort, and Global Cleveland was introduced at a summit in May with a goal of attracting 100,000 people in 10 years.

The center will have a diverse staff offering advice, steering immigrants to their cultural communities, and will guide entrepreneurs to resources and help skilled workers connect with employers.

Global Cleveland President Larry Miller urged people to become volunteer ambassadors, helping to spread the message that Cleveland is a great place to pursue a career.

"We will build on this spirit," said Miller, the former vice president of human resources at Lubrizol Corp. "We intend to welcome people from all races, all places, all ages and creeds."

Masakazu Ishikawa took the bus from his lab at Case Western Reserve University and said he'll be back. The orthopedic surgeon from Japan has an idea for a biomedical business.

"I think Cleveland is the best place to do it," he explained. "This is my dream."
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Information from: The Plain Dealer www.cleveland.com