But the experience of one veteran merchant reveals a slow-moving process that appears more discouraging than supportive.
Experts say it's typical of the complex task of developing even a small corner of a city.
Michael Luken is among the first Findlay Market merchants to invest his own money into making improvements in the market district. He is trying to expand his seafood and poultry business in a building near the market, and his expansion de pends on the city widening and lowering a 55-foot alley behind the building. But the alley project is still not completed. And now he is running out of time on outstanding loans. He needs to increase his business to pay his bills.