Health and Technology Corridor creates Cleveland jobs

CLEVELAND - A 3-mile long stretch of real estate on both sides of Euclid Avenue has been officially designated as the Cleveland Health and Technology Corridor.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland made the annoucement during a news conference at BioEnterprise-- a Cleveland business formation and recruitment group that's created more than 80 companies in the last eight years.

The corridor stretches from University Hospitals west toward downtown Cleveland and already includes 75 bio medical and 45 hi-tech comapnies.

The governor said northeast Ohio already employs 230,000 health care and bio science workers.

"Cleveland and northeast Ohio are a world center for biomedicine and we are recognizing that today by this designation," said Strickland.

James Haviland, representing Mid-Town Cleveland predicts more are on the way.

"We are ready to build, ready to occupy real estate that is being brought on line to house the very companies we are trying to attract."

For example, University Hospitals will house a new center for advanced imaging thanks to a $33 million investment by Phillips Healthcare.

"It will lead to patients receiving better imaging for more accurate diagnoses of their cancer, heart disease and other conditions," said UH President Thomas F. Zenty III.

The corridor also received a $5 million investment from Ohio's Third Frontier Program that will also help build University Hospitals new imaging center.