The economic impact of the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center is still being formalized. Will the million-square-foot meeting and tradeshow complex be marketed more toward conventioneers spending a couple of active days in Cleveland, or will emphasis be placed on the medical mart as a "learning center" for healthcare professionals?

With these issues still coming into focus over a year out from the complex's projected opening, new senior vice president Jim Bennett believes that however the project is mapped, all roads will lead to Cleveland either for visitors arriving here for meetings and tradeshows or to see the latest in ground-breaking medical technology in a state-of-the-art setting.

Bennett, a healthcare industry veteran and resident of Cleveland since 1982, was hired in April by developer MMPI Inc. to oversee the $465 million investment. The 235,000-square-foot medical mart being constructed on the northeast corner of St. Clair and Ontario is set to house permanent showrooms focused on healthcare information technology, medical devices, health education and more. The mart is connected to a convention center located at the city's Mall and making up three-quarters of the complex's overall square footage. The convention center will feature 30 meeting rooms and a 30,000-square-foot grand ballroom offering picturesque views of Lake Erie.