The Chicago-based property developer behind Cleveland’s medical mart still hasn’t signed any of its 63 prospective tenants to binding leases.However, it’s a common practice to sign prospective tenants to nonbinding letters of intent (LOIs) in the early stages of projects, various industry experts told The Plain Dealer.“I think everybody is aware that we are just [...]

Going back to those innocent and optimistic days of 2009 when the three-city medical mart competition was just taking shape, one thing has always been clear: For any of the projects to succeed, the healthcare industry would have to buy into the untested medical mart concept.That is to say, the success of any medical mart [...]

The property development group behind Cleveland’s medical mart has hired a 30-year trade show and meetings industry veteran to be general manager of the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center.Brian Casey’s duties will include attracting trade shows, clients and events to the medical mart and convention center, which is scheduled to open in 2013, according [...]

The initial list of tenants for Cleveland’s medical mart includes organizations from a wide variety of industries, with the heaviest concentration in furniture, design, information technology and nonprofits. Following is a breakdown of the major industries represented by medical mart tenants.

From hospitals to device manufacturers to health IT companies to furniture makers, the list of the Cleveland medical mart’s first announced tenants is impressive in breadth. But the lack of many big-name, high-profile national healthcare leaders makes the list seem, at first glance, underwhelming.

A list of the first announced tenants of the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center.

When the backers of Cleveland’s medical mart finally announce the project’s tenants Friday at a ceremonial groundbreaking, savvy observers will scan the list for the identities of big-name “anchor tenants.” The reason is simple: Those anchor tenants will be crucial to the success of the $465-million project by luring buyers who’ll also visit the project’s smaller, lesser-known tenants.

The long-awaited groundbreaking for Cleveland’s $465 million medical mart project will be… drum roll, please… Jan. 14, 2011. The ceremonial turning of the ground “on the historic Cleveland Malls” will happen at 11 a.m. that Friday, according to MMPI, the Chicago-based property developer that’s leading the project. The event, which also will feature remarks from civic, business and government leaders, is free and open to the public.

As Cleveland’s $465 million medical mart project inches closer to a groundbreaking, critics still question whether the pricey investment is worth the risk. “It’s a shot in the dark in some ways, in their ability to create a new economic diversity for their economy,” said former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, now a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute.

City and county officials are expected to sign several key documents related to Cleveland’s medical mart project Thursday, another milestone and sign of progress as the $465 million project marches on.