New office building moves are in the cards for the Council of Smaller Enterprises, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Liggett Stashower, with each shuffling their office locations to make way for Rock Ohio Caesars’ planned casino in downtown Cleveland.

GCP and COSE are moving their 100 employees from the Higbee Building at Public Square to the LS Brand Building at 1240 Huron Road, which is the home of branding agency Liggett Stashower. The two organizations will occupy 50,000 square feet on the first four floors of the building.

Liggett, which currently occupies the first three floors of the LS Brand Building, will move over to a fourth floor space of about 39,000 square feet in the nearby Hanna Building by the end of this month.

Steve Veres, managing partner of Liggett Stashower, said he was happy to move yet remain part of PlayhouseSquare.

“We’re very pleased to be part of this collaborative venture enabling PlayhouseSquare and the city of Cleveland to grow,” he said.

Joe Roman, GCP president and CEO, said the city’s chamber of commerce group plans to seek another tenant to assume the remaining 20,000 square feet of space in the LS Brand Building.

“We see this as an opportunity to share our space with other civic or nonprofit organizations,” he said in a statement. “It fits in with the long-term vision of making PlayhouseSquare an ‘all-day’ district where people work, live and shop, as well as enjoy its many entertainment venues.”

Mr. Roman said all the moves will benefit downtown Cleveland.

“The GCP is happy to do what we can to accommodate the Cleveland casino, which is one of many new, major developments that will contribute to the escalating renaissance of Cleveland’s central business district,” said Mr. Roman, whose organization looks to move by late spring/early summer. “Downtown Cleveland is going to be even more vibrant and busier within the next two to three years.”

Four years ago, GCP and COSE helped to reopen the Higbee Building, which had been vacant for five years after Dillard’s department store closed. That decision also led to KeyBank taking three floors in the building in the past year.

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes PlayhouseSquare, said, “The intersection of East 14th and Euclid Avenue is the creative capital of our downtown nation. More idea leaders and thought drivers are calling this geography home, and this continues with this new venture. Every time GCP moves, they leave behind more jobs, more development, more opportunity. Their presence is a very welcome sign.”

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Dan Gilbert’s plan for a deluxe casino in Cleveland is about to go from a rendering to a reality.

The passage of State Issue 3 clears the way for casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo that promise thousands of jobs and millions of tax dollars.

Gilbert said, “Democracy is a great thing. We’re going to deliver something very special.”

Tim Wilmott, the President of Penn National, the gaming company partnered with Gilbert, said, “We look forward to building four, world-class casinos in the state of Ohio.”

Voting yes for casinos was Cardell Parker, of South Euclid. He said, “I’m excited about it. We should have more entertainment in the city of Cleveland.”

Kent Hedman, of Bratenahl, who voted ‘no’ said, “Voters said they want it. Obviously they do. I hope it does what they say.”

Ohioans who now gamble and spend money in Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania casinos will soon be able to stay home.

Ohio has six months to set rules and regulations for gambling.

Some lawmakers who opposed Issue 3 vow to put another issue on next May’s ballot to hike casino license fees and tax rates and toughen background checks.

Gilbert is exploring the possibility of opening a temporary casino, a possibility allowed by the measure voters passed.

He envisions work starting in fall of 2010, with a possible opening in early 2012.

Business groups backed the casino plan.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Joe Roman says the casino construction will join with building the Medical Mart and Flats East Bank projects to create a downtown building boom.

And he says casino revenues will boost a newly-restructured, reformed Cuyahoga County government approved by voters.

“We overuse the phrase ‘game changer.’ But this is one because it really does orient this county on a growth plan with new revenues to get there, ” he said.

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich was a staunch opponent of Issue 3 and four previous gambling proposals.

He’s “disappointed” in the voters’ decision. He predicts the measure will create great harm in Ohio, especially in poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Cleveland.

He vows to be a “conscience,” to make sure casino developers deliver what they promised