Taylor Road merchants meet with city to discuss forming merchants association or SID; ARPA, county and non‑profit supports offered

Business owners and neighborhood stakeholders from the Taylor Road commercial corridor met with city officials, county staff and nonprofit partners on Feb. 4 to discuss forming a merchants association or a Special Improvement District (SID) and to learn what city and county resources are available to support small businesses.

The meeting, convened by a council representative and led in part by Myra Orenstein (former executive director of Coventry and Cedar‑Fairmount business districts), laid out the practical differences between an informal merchants association and a SID. Orenstein said a merchants association is a voluntary coalition that helps merchants speak with a unified voice, stage events and coordinate marketing. “Starting a merchants association is like that. It's like not being alone. It's creating a community,” she said. By contrast, she explained, a SID creates a funding mechanism tied to property tax assessments that requires a signature threshold (staff and presenters cited a 60% frontage buy‑in) and obligates building owners within the district once the SID is established.

City and county staff and nonprofit partners described assistance available to merchants. Lisa Bray of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland and UBiz Venture Capital outlined free business advisory services, procurement assistance, and loan and grant programs, and encouraged merchants to “stay squeaky” with service providers to get help. Aaron Kinney of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development said the county operates an Office of Small Business as a concierge to connect merchants with technical assistance and financing partners; the county offers a 30‑minute free listening session to scope needs.

Participants raised recurring local concerns about building maintenance, out‑of‑state landlords, inspections and code enforcement. Business owners said commercial building problems sometimes remain unaddressed until ownership changes and noted that the fire department performs regular safety checks but that commercial building inspections and enforcement were perceived as irregular. Staff directed merchants to the Mayor's Action Center (email/app/phone intake) for formal complaints and provided the phone number listed in the meeting: 216‑291‑2323.

Staff said the city has some ARPA dollars earmarked to support Taylor and Noble business districts and encouraged merchants to prepare documentation (tax returns and other records) if they intend to apply. The city also offered to distribute an attendee email list and asked merchants to convene block‑level meetings as homework and return with a representative plan at a follow‑up meeting in mid‑March or early April.

Speakers representing local businesses introduced themselves and described neighborhood concerns and opportunities. Among those who spoke were Burke Riley (Riley FAME Contracting), Nicolette Carrillo (HBN Luxe hair salon), Dawn Quintana (Quintanas on South Taylor), Hank Cornblunt (Mr. Brisket), Josh Saez (Fudecepa), and others who said they want consistent, scheduled meetings and shared marketing efforts such as maps, passport programs and coordinated events.

The meeting covered operational questions about SID boundaries and mechanics (contiguous frontage, how frontage percentage is calculated, how assessments are collected via property tax), governance (board officers selected by owners in a SID), and marketing strategies (shared websites, social channels, street fairs). Orenstein and other presenters encouraged starting with a merchants association to build merchant buy‑in and then pursuing a SID if property owners support it. “If you start as a Merchant's Association and the building owner sees all of the merchants wanna work together … the next step might be the SID,” Orenstein said.

The city and partnering agencies offered follow‑up contacts and technical help. The Urban League, county Office of Small Business, and Cedar‑Fairmount and Coventry leaders offered to consult with merchants on formation, marketing and grant applications. The committee asked attending merchants to organize block meetings and to report back at the next city‑facilitated convening.