Beachwood Community Improvement Corporation

About the CIC

The Beachwood Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) originated on September 26, 1975 with founding trustees named as George Zeiger, Harvey Friedman, Eugene Pesti and Stanley Weinberg. In 1998, pursuant to ORC 1702.59, there was notice provided by the Secretary of State which identified a lack of a statement of continued existence which cancelled the existence of the CIC by the Secretary of State on July 10th, 2000. 

In May 2020, Beachwood Community Improvement Corporation submitted new articles of incorporation to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office which were approved. The Beachwood CIC also set in place by-laws for the organization designating it as the agency for development of the City of Beachwood and having been organized for the purposes of advancing, encouraging and promoting the industrial, economic and commercial and civic development in the City under section 1724.04 of the Revised Code, for the purposes of providing and developing economic opportunities in the City, and for all those further purposes as are enumerated by state statue.   

The Board of Directors of the organization include the City Mayor, the President of City Council or Economic Development Committee Chair, the City’s Economic Development Director, the Building Commissioner, the Finance Director, and two residents appointed to the board. 

The CIC's Role in Economic Development

The CIC was formed with the intent of providing an empowered body that can fulfil the objectives of the City’s Economic Development Strategy and the City’s Master Plan. The board of directors of the CIC may advance the development goals of the City of Beachwood in a way that increases the ability of the City to be flexible and proactive in its development efforts. It can advance, encourage and promote industrial, economic, commercial and civic development of the community or specific areas. The role of the CIC can be an important role in overall community revitalization.

  • Loan Review Committee: The Loan Review Committee will assist the Community Improvement Corporation in the implementation of a City of Beachwood established Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The RLF supports projects and investments that align with city’s key economic development objectives influencing commercial revitalization and growth in key industry clusters. The Loan Review Committee should be made up of representatives from financial institutions, CPA’s, accountants, commercial loan officers, credit analysts, loan review personnel, compliance officers, internal auditors, credit administrators, and other key stakeholders with extensive experience and knowledge of analyzing financial statements and/or credit analysis of commercial loans. This committee will make recommendations to the Community Improvement Corporation Board of Directors with final loan approvals requiring legislation before City Council.  
  • Innovation Committee: The Innovation Committee will assist the Community Improvement Corporation in fostering an ecosystem supporting new opportunities and investments in the areas of business commercialization, innovation, technology, research and development. The committee will seek to leverage the city’s existing innovation-focused businesses and networks to build upon them with additional expertise, knowledge and resources.  The Innovation Committee should be made up key stakeholders with extensive and diverse experiences and backgrounds, reflecting the multifaceted nature of bio-tech, bio-medical, innovation, life sciences, R&D and technology that can strategically bring together new community-based opportunities for consideration to the Community Improvement Corporation Board of Directors.