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All this month, our Changing Gears series has been looking at empty places across the Midwest – from foreclosed homes to abandoned factories. But as companies adjust to economic conditions, many in the region have been re-evaluating the basics – including where they’re located.

Cities and states bend over backwards to create jobs, and they’re left with some big challenges when a company decides it no longer wants to be there. Tony Arnold of WBEZ in Chicago looked at the issue.

There’s a hot new trend among companies around the Midwest – threatening to leave. Several companies, especially around Chicago, have been asking big picture questions as they take a look at their bottom lines.

One is the food maker Sara Lee, which is going through a major transition as it prepares to split into two companies. One would be focused on meats, such as sausages and hot dogs. The other one would focus on beverages.

Company spokesman Jon Harris says the company believes a downtown location “would provide our new North American meats company with an environment that will be energetic, that will foster breakthrough thinking, create revolutionary products, offer fresh perspectives and really own the market.”

But that means moving from Sara Lee’s headquarters and test kitchens, which are currently based in Chicago’s western suburbs, in a town called Downers Grove.

While no location has been chosen for the meat company, downtown Chicago is preferred, Harris says. If Sara Lee does pack up and move, it would leave behind a massive office building designed to hold at least 1,000 workers.

That’s something Martin Tully, the mayor of Downers Grove, isn’t too excited about, especially as it relates to collecting property taxes. “It’s not insignificant,” he says.

Tully says he’s working with Sara Lee to try to keep operations based there, but it’s hard when the company is going to split up.

Also, Sara Lee has no deep ties to Downers Grove. Its offices have only been there for six years. Tully says those six years have been worth it – even if he has to find a new tenant. As he says – who would pass up having Michael Jordan on your basketball team for six years?

But he has a word of warning for other towns that might be looking to unload one giant piece of land. “You have to be on your toes and alert for those things as a community and as an economic development engine,” said Tully.

Another example is United Airlines, which is moving thousands of employees to what used to be called the Sears Tower. It’s trying to sell its property in Elk Grove Village, in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, not far from O’Hare International Airport, but nobody is really biting.

Mount Prospect – the town next door – wants to take over the land to try to redevelop it, even though there aren’t any buyers.

Stacey Kruger Birndorf, an expert on office space real estate issues for Transwestern, a commercial real estate company, says towns like Mount Prospect have to keep in mind what companies want when they look for a new home.

“I think so much of it is economically driven,” she says. “I wish I could say it’s geographically driven, but so much of it is economics.”

Kruger Birndorf says companies look at the cost of the property, where new recruits would want to work, and proximity to clients. She says young people by and large want to be downtown. But if a company wants a lot of space, the suburbs might be a better fit.

Asked whether it’s worth it for towns to allow big campuses that are hard to re-work into anything other than office space, Kruger Birndorf says towns have to go for it.

“If we don’t have some hope and some optimism,” there would never be any reason to do anything, she says.

As proof, look at Ann Arbor, Mich.  Pfizer, the international pharmaceutical company, had a 70-acre facility there, but moved out in 2007. It left a modern research facility empty, and took a chunk of the city’s property tax budget with it.

When Ann Arbor couldn’t find a buyer, the price dropped,  and the University of Michigan stepped in.

“You’re getting 2.2 million square feet of office and lab buildings, which seems like an incredible steal for $108 million,” said David Canter, the Executive Director of the North Campus Research Complex.

He’s turning the facility into a new type of research center for academia, putting researchers from different departments into the same workspace. Before taking over the Pfizer complex, each department on the university’s campus had its own building.

Now, Canter says pharmacists, dentists, and mathematicians can all be in the same place.

“As a result, the university will be able to grow without having to invest in designing and developing a lot of series of new buildings that tend to follow growth rather than be in advance of growth,” he says.

Canter says if Pfizer hadn’t left, this research project from the university wouldn’t exist. It’s an example of how thinking creatively about how work space is used  can let both companies and towns breathe easier.

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Your One-Stop Source for Local Shops It’s that time again and, whether you’re prepared or not, the holidays are here. This year, don’t stress out. Instead of battling it out in traffic to shop at big box stores in the ‘burbs, do yourself (and your neighbors) a favor and pledge to shop [...]

Posted in ArtsBizTechClaudia TallerCommentaryCultureEventsFashionHolidaysMusic: PopularNewsPartyPerformancePreviewShopLOCAL

[ November 22, 2011 10:00 pm to January 8, 2012 10:00 pm. ] Popping Up All Over Cleveland! Pop-Up Shops Invade Cle   By Claudia Taller Find unique holiday gifts and enjoy eye-candy shopping at pop-up stores this holiday season. Temporary retail shops are showing up all over Cleveland and other metropolitan areas as artists and designers take advantage of empty storefront space. In Cleveland, with creative [...]

“What states do you consider part of the Midwest?”

It was a simple question we asked Monday on Twitter. We were caught by surprise with the number of complex and disparate answers. Geographical boundaries are apparently open to wide interpretation.

Reader responses were – pun intended here – all over the map. It seemed everyone had their own, particular definition of the Midwest.

Some of you drew the Midwest along industrial lines while others drew it along agricultural boundaries. Some considered states in the Great Plains and Great Lakes their own distinct regions. Others lumped them together.

Some of you ardently advocated for Pennsylvania’s inclusion and Nebraska’s omission – and vice versa. Some people considered state lines irrelevant.

“The fact we have to ask reveals how screwy our state divisions are,” tweeted Rod Abid (@robabid).

Officially, the U.S. Census regions created by the Department of Commerce divide the Midwest into two sub-regions: The “East North Central,” which includes Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; and the “West North Central,” which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The terminology is stilted – last we checked, the North Central was an East Coast railroad. No one mentioned the “West North Central” in any of the responses we combed through.

But Michael Nardi (@iPublicPolicy) thought that, though the titles may be off, the definitions roughly matched his perception of the Midwest. He says two Midwests exist. One comprised of the “Grain States” of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. The other comprised the “Industrial States” of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York.

Others weren’t so sure about the outliers of the region – Nebraska to the west and Pennsylvania to the east. Their belonging was perhaps the most hotly debated in our impromptu Twitter discussion.

“Nebraska an easy yes. Penn., an easy no, “wrote Doug Hanks (@doug_hanks).

“Neb.? No. It’s the Plains. Western PA? Yes,” wrote Tim Logan (@tlwriter).

“Nope and nope,” wrote Scott Burgess (@autocritic).

“Simple answer. Both represented in Big Ten. Both Penn and Nebraska are Midwest,” wrote Matt Mikus (@mikusmatt).

Using the Big Ten Conference as a geographical measure aid and complicate attempts to define the region. Yes, Nebraska and Penn State are both members of the college sports conference based in Chicago. But they’re also the newest members of the 12-school conference at a time where geography is playing a diminished role in how schools determine their conference affiliations.

Besides, even the Big Ten has been vexed by the geographical conundrums presented by the Midwest.

When Nebraska was added in 2010, the conference split into two divisions. Initial expectations were they would be called the “Lakes” and “Plains” divisions. At the very least, many expected them to contain some sort of geographic reference points.

But the schools couldn’t fit neatly into those definitions and were ultimately not sorted by geography. The Big Ten elected to instead go with generic “Legends” and “Leaders” names for the respective divisions. (A local sports columnist was not impressed).

Another key sticking point for our readers was Pittsburgh. At the crossroads of Appalachia, the Atlantic states and the industrial Midwest, a consensus emerged that Steel City merited inclusion because it had more in common with Detroit and Cleveland than Philadelphia and New York. But not everyone agreed.

Erin Presson Ladd (@WordNerdErin) wrote us and said that her master’s thesis was based on this topic of Midwestern geography. In some broadly sketched parameters, she concluded the Midwest includes the area west of the Allegheny Mountains, north of the Mason Dixon Line, south of Canada and east of the Rocky Mountains.

But she added that, as an Illinois native, should could “NEVER” consider Pennsylvania as part of the Midwest.

Just when we were thinking we’d never come to a definitive conclusions – or perhaps reassuring ourselves because there are no right answers – along came a tweet from Nick Castele (@nickcastele), who traveled all the way to Hawaii to find the best definition we’ve heard yet.

“A Brit I met in Hawaii over the weekend asked,” he wrote, “If Ohio was ‘one of those flat, cold places.’”

Yep, sounds about right. Finally, a simple answer for our simple question.

******

Thank you to everyone who participated in our discussion about the Midwest states. We’re by no means done with the topic. If you have more thoughts, we’d love to hear them. You can comment on this post below or find us on Twitter @chgears.

Posted in BizTechCivic AffairsCommentaryNewsPoliticsRoldo BartimoleThomas MulreadyUncategorized

ROLDO: PD gives Jackson a Transplant or Two To read the local newspaper lately you have to believe that Mayor Frank Jackson has had a brain and personality transplant. Without the help of the Cleveland Clinic. He’s hot, they say. He’s spot on, they say. He’s managing, they say. He’s jumping with ideas, they say. That would [...]

Years ago, General Motors boasted that Saturn was “a different kind of car company.”

Now, the Spring Hill, Tenn. facility that once made the now-discontinued Saturn is becoming a different kind of assembly plant.

As part of a four-year contract agreement with the United Auto Workers, General Motors will re-open the shuttered assembly side of the plant next year. On Monday, the company announced nearly 700 workers will be hired in 2012 and nearly 2,000 will be added by 2015.

When they arrive, they’ll find an assembly plant unlike any other in the country. GM is trying what Forbes calls “an innovative manufacturing concept” at the facility. Rather than produce one or two models, Spring Hill will function as a flex plant that produces vehicles in high demand, serving as an overflow catch-all of sorts.

The flexible nature of the plant was conceived after General Motors’ production could not keep up with sudden customer demand for the Chevrolet Equinox last year. Sales of the model rose 18 percent year over year, and production was ramped up three different times since 2009. GM said it will spend $61 million preparing Spring Hill to build the Equinox, a crossover model that has been Canadian-built in the past, according to Forbes.

In the past, when high demand subsided, that meant layoffs for workers and an idle facility. A push to change those dynamics came in March.

Mark Reuss, the GM North America president, pitched the idea to UAW president Bob King during a March of Dimes fundraiser walk, according to Forbes. “I asked him whether he’d be interested in talking about a super-flexible plant that would handle peak demand for hot-selling vehicles,” Reuss told the magazine. “He loved it.”

Part of the plant will be used in a traditional manner, churning out a high-volume of a mid-sized model vehicle that has yet to be announced and likely will not be unveiled until 2015. The flexible side of the plant will likely build approximately 40,000 annual units.

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Wisconsin shipbuilder adds jobs. A northeast Wisconsin shipbuilder plans to double its workforce over the next 18 months after winning a contract with the U.S. Navy, according to our partner station WBEZ. Marinette Marine, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, will add 1,100 more employees as it builds 10 new ships under a contract for approximately $4 billion. “Seven hundred of those are hourly wage earners,” says company president Charles Goddard. “They’re union employees. They’re steel-fitters. They’re welders, pipe-fitters, electricians, they’re painters.” The ships, called Littoral Combat Ships, mark a new direction for the Navy toward smaller vessels able to navigate in shallow water.

2. Indiana will consider right-to-work law. State Republican leaders will attempt to turn Indiana into a right-to-work state during the upcoming legislative session. “I do expect an intense debate,” GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma told our partner station WBEZ. Republicans say the legislation would set Indiana on more competitive footing in enticing businesses to relocate. Such right-to-work legislation would end requirements that force workers to join unions or pay dues as a condition of employment, according to the station. Democrats fought similar legislation during the last legislative session, and dispute that there would be economic benefits. “House minority leader Patrick Bauer said, “This could be the eventual decline and fall of Indiana being an economic, viable state.”

3. Kasich touts Ohio job gains. In the past week, Gov. John Kasich has announced the arrival of more than 1,700 new jobs at three locations across Ohio. On Monday, he was on hand as material-handler Intelligrated announced it would add 200 technical and engineering jobs over three years in suburban Cincinnati. It was the third such announcement Kasich had attended this week, seemingly marking a shift in his strategy since SB5 was repealed by voters, says The Columbus Dispatch. “What that illustrates is that we’re starting to get our act together in the state of Ohio,” Kasich told the newspaper. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re answering the bell.”

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has an unlikely ally in his push to build a new international bridge between Detroit and Canada — the Buckeye State.

Ohio state senators say their state needs the bridge as much as Michigan.

They have introduced a senate resolution encouraging their northern neighbors to build a replacement for the 83-year-old Ambassador Bridge. Ohio Senate Resolution 141 states that bilateral trade with Canada generated $30.9 billion in 2010, and said Canada was the top market for Buckeye State exports.

“A modern border crossing that can support the ever-increasing amount of trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada is essential to the economies of Ohio, the Midwest and the U.S.,” says SR141, which was introduced by Republican Sen. Gayle Manning.

In Michigan, Snyder has been spurned by fellow Republicans in his attempts to build the bridge. They recently shelved two bills that would allow for the creation of an authority which would solicit bids for the project. Canada has volunteered to contribute $550 million toward the bridge.

Matty Moroun, owner of the private Ambassador Bridge, has fiercely lobbied against the project. On Monday, Snyder said he may try to circumvent the Michigan state legislature, a strategy that could test the limits of his executive power.

The Great Lakes states (and Ontario) have something significant in common: water. But beyond  Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, the states and province seem to go their separate ways.

On Monday, WBEZ’s Front and Center project and Changing Gears took a look at whether the Great Lakes states and province can cooperate politically. Guests included Richard Longworth, of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Indiana Congressman Scott Reske and Carol Coletta, president of ArtsPlace, a cultural group pushing economic transformation through the arts.

Listen to the program, and let us know: how can our states (and province) cooperate?