Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 11

131 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11 commercial, retail, and office developments. The future certainly looks bright for residents, business owners, and visitors alike. “Garfield Heights is the center of Cuyahoga County and the heart of Northeast Ohio,” states Mayor Matt Burke. “We’re working hard to bring businesses in. It does help that we’re centrally located. We’ve been successful and we’ve got a lot of opportunities. Many people living here are looking for jobs so they can work closer to home. Since we’re a first-ring suburb of Cleveland, a lot of folks work in one of the outer-ring suburbs, but more manufacturing distribution businesses coming into our city will give residents an opportunity to take jobs closer home.” Two manufacturers relocating to Garfield Heights are Innoplast and Thermoprene. The former produces bollard covers along with other traffic- centric products, and the latter manufactures custom plastic, rubber, and aluminum extrusions. The sister companies are moving into the former GARF I ELD HE IGHTS , OHIO City View Center; the local mall until 2009. By then most of the retail stores had moved out leaving it mostly abandoned. The property was purchased in 2017 and rezoned for light industry and is now a thriving industrial hub called Highland Park. “What lured these large companies to our city is there’s no other place in the county with 180,000 cars traveling past on Interstate 480,” maintains Burke. “Also going east, west, or south within a two-hour radius, you’ll hit major cities. If you’re manufacturing or distributing a product, we’re centrally located.” A new legalized marijuana processing facility under construction is also hoping to gain from the prime location. There’s even a real estate company out of California – Craig Realty Group – considering developing land they purchased. Burke predicts it will be mostly commercial with some residential. He suggests, “Possibly retail parcels in front with commercial buildings in behind. That’s the future. When it happens, you’re going to see growth in our region, not just in