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CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I MARCH 4, 2024

SBA loan activity is up since pandemic

Cleveland apartment leasing declines

centers find success by staying in their lane — and, sometimes, not

Newly completed projects, public safety challenges contribute

By Jeremy Nobile

By Stan Bullard

While overall activity in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s core lending program dipped slightly in the agency’s Northern Ohio District this past fiscal year, borrowers are nonetheless turning to these products more than they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic both locally and nationwide. And current economic conditions may be one driver.

“Rock star spends Saturday night playing America’s most popular participation sport at city’s coolest downtown spot”? Both are true, of course, and they illustrate why it can be tough to write about bowling. On the one hand, the sport peaked in popularity around the same time as leisure suits and the number of bowling centers in the United States keeps dropping, going from 3,470 in 2012 to 2,849 in 2022. Plus, many of the bowling alleys that are still open have diversified their offerings, eliminating lanes (or pool tables) while adding things like laser tag, axe throwing and escape rooms.

Even though this winter has been a soft one as Northeast Ohio winters go, anticipation is strong for spring. That is especially true for apartment owners and managers who look forward to the resurgence of leasing action this spring and summer after a tepid 2023. “We had more downtown Cleveland move-outs than move-ins last year,” said Doug Price, CEO of large apartment ownership concern K&D Group of Willoughby. “Coming out of the pandemic, urban areas have lost excitement here and across the country. I’m hoping it comes back.” Data from Downtown Cleveland Inc., the nonprofit marketing and maintaining downtown, reports occupancy fell to 91% at year-end from 93% at the end of 2022. Some of the increased vacancy comes from additional apartment buildings coming online with a total of 840 units bound for completion this year in projects including The City Club Apartments, 313 Euclid Ave., and others. Vacancy also is higher in downtown and Cleveland neighborhoods, from Detroit Shoreway and Ohio City to University Circle, because of the concentration of new properties compared with widely separated suburban markets. In K&D’s case, Price points out its apartment complexes in the suburbs are much stronger across the board, often as high as 100%. Yardi Matrix, the Santa Barbara, California, realty data provider, estimates the Akron and Cleveland metropolitan area multifamily occupancy rate fell to 94.9% so far in the first quarter of 2024 from 95.7% in the like period of 2023.

See BOWLING on Page 16

See LEASING on Page 15

GETTY IMAGES/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS ILLUSTRATION

Despite a slight dip in 2023, volume is still above 2019 levels

Lending activity The SBA’s primary 7(a) Loan Program is designed for borrowers who are unable to obtain their desired credit on reasonable terms from non-federal, nonstate and non-local government sources—or, in other words, traditional lending sources. In theory, SBA products may be increasingly sought during more challenging economic cycles. But the increased popularity of the SBA program today compared with, say, 2019, could also be a lingering effect of pandemic-era stimulus efforts, said Maggie Ference, longtime director of Huntington Bank’s SBA. The Columbus-based bank is repeatedly the nation’s largest SBA lender by volume. The company provided 7,325 SBA 7(a) loans across the U.S. in FY 2023 totaling nearly $1.4 billion. With so many business owners turning to the SBA for support amid an economic downturn brought by the global health crisis—which came in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster See SBA on Page 17

By Joe Scalzo

Let’s start with two versions of the same story. Version one: A few years ago, a 70-year-old man walked into a Cleveland bowling alley late one weekend night, paid for an open lane and played a few games unbothered. Version two: A few years ago, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler walked into The Corner Alley on East 4th Street and played a few games while everyone else in the place (including the wait staff ) tried not to freak out. What would be the headline? “Elderly man spends weekend at Cleveland bowling alley” Or ...

RESTAURANTS Melt Bar and Grilled shutters its Independence location, continuing to consolidate operations after Avon closure.

SPORTS BUSINESS Cleveland wants to host the best Women’s Final Four in the sport’s history — and get the NCAA to come back.

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