Debbie Berry, PE – Vice President of Planning and Real Estate Development for University Circle Inc.

Dear Colleagues:

After years of discussion, it appears that funds are available to build the “Opportunity Corridor,” a new roadway that would connect the south and westsides of the city to University Circle by running from the intersection of I-490 with 55th Street to 105th Street. Money is nice, but is the Opportunity Corridor a good idea? How will it affect economic and social development in CWRU’s neighborhood?

The Corridor is one of many transportation initiatives in our part of town. Among others are relocating the RTA station to Mayfield Road, and creating a pedestrian bridge across Martin Luther King Blvd. to ease access from campus to the planned Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at The Temple. So the news about the Corridor actually happening is a good occasion to ask the broader questions about transportation to, from, and around the circle. This is public policy that hits close to home. We look forward to discussing it with Ms. Berry.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Debbie Beery currently serves as Vice President of Planning and Real Estate Development for University Circle Inc. (UCI). Her responsibilities include managing physical development projects on all UCI owned lands, coordinating development and expansion opportunities being lead by UCI’s 40+ member institutions, and overseeing needed infrastructure and neighborhood improvements.

Debbie is directing the effort to transform UCI into an active development corporation that is driving a neighborhood renaissance in University Circle. She is leading multi-million dollar investments at key locations throughout the district, which include UCI’s Bring Back Euclid Avenue Campaign and eight strategic investment projects that will change the face of University Circle with a hotel, new housing, businesses, and wayfinding and streetscape amenities.

Prior to joining UCI, Debbie served as the Lakefront Plan Manager for the city of Cleveland and managed the Waterfront District Plan, a comprehensive redevelopment plan for more than eight-miles of Cleveland’s shoreline, including the $50 million reconfiguration of the West Shoreway, which will allow better access and development opportunities along the city’s waterfront.

Debbie holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University and a Masters Degree in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in Ohio. She is currently serving as President of the Cleveland Metroparks Board of Commissioners and Chairperson of the infrastructure advocacy organization of Build Up Greater Cleveland (BUGC). She also serves as a Board member for the Cleveland Leadership Center, Women in Transportation, the local chapter of the American Planning Association, and the District One Public Works Integrating Committee (DOPWIC). Debbie was named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business top “Forty under 40” and she is a graduate of the 2008 Leadership Cleveland class.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library. The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

November 22: Economic Effects of Health Care Reform: The Massachusetts Experience. With Mark Votruba, Associate Professor of Economics.

November 29 : No Session – Thanksgiving Break

December 6: TBA