MMPI President Chris Kennedy (center) turns over the first ceremonial shovel of dirt at the event January 14 for the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center. Joining Kennedy for the groundbreaking ceremony on the Cleveland Mall were Ohio Governor John Kasich (far right), along with Cleveland Council President Martin Sweeney, Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, and Cleveland council member Joe Cimperman.

Government and convention center officials were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center on January 14. The project will be completed in fall 2013.

The complex, owned by Cuyahoga County and developed and managed by Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., Chicago, will be built at the site of the current convention center. The Cleveland MMCC will include a 120,000-square-foot Medical Mart, a permanent showroom available for lease by medical manufacturers and providers. It will be connected to the updated convention center, which will have about 300,000 square feet of exhibit space and approximately 160,000 square feet of meeting space.

Around 57 tenants have already been booked for the Medical Mart, including Cleveland Clinic, Johnson Controls, and Proxy Biomedical. Further, 31 organizations have booked conventions, including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Pfizer, Professional Meeting Planners Network, National Model Railroad Association, and International Medical Meeting Professionals Association.