Properties Magazine (December 2023) by REjournals

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A Promise Reflected in Every Window.

1925 Pete and Lucille Kuyper invest in the Rolscreen Company to manufacture window screens that roll up and down like a shade. 1937 The first Pella window makes its debut. 1958 Pella introduces roomside removable wood grilles (windowpane dividers).

In the small Dutch Community of Pella, Iowa in 1925, Pete and Lucille Kuyper invested in a newfangled invention – a window screen that rolled up and down like a shade. The couple went on to found a company based on the principles of traditional American values, integrity and the desire to enrich the homes and lives of others.

1960 Pella wood sliding glass doors become a popular design element in American homes.

Today, Pella Corporation is still owned by the Kuyper family, and continues to be a leader in technology and product innovation. In fact, we've been awarded more than 150 product and design patents. And the team at Pella is as committed as ever to continuing the company's proud heritage of building innovative windows and doors.

2000 Pella entry doors are introduced.

1964 Pella invents the first double-hung window with a sash that pivots so exterior glass can be washed from inside the home. 1966 Pella introduces the world’s first window with blinds tucked between-the-glass. 1970 Pella introduces wood windows with lowmaintenance aluminum-clad exteriors. 1985 The first Pella Window Store opens. 2003 The company introduces its first vinyl window and door line. 2009 Pella is the first to introduce a new highaltitude insulating glass option with argon 2017 Pella introduces Architect Series Reserve™ windows and patio doors and adds Architect Series Contemporary varieties. 2020 Pella introduces the patent-pending EasySlide Operator

Contact the Pella Commercial Department at 216-586-6959 or visit www.pella.com

December 2023, Volume 77, Number 12

FEATURES info@propertiesmag.com www.propertiesmag.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Watt mwatt@propertiesmag.com 216.251.2655 Photo courtesy of S9 Architecture and Peio Erroteta

OFFICE MANAGER Lisa Larissey llarissey@propertiesmag.com 440.429.6153 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Doug Bardwell, Scott Esterly, Dan Holland, Christopher Johnston, Alec Pacella MEDIA CONSULTANTS Matt Lehnert mlehnert@propertiesmag.com 216.251.6753 Larry Overbey loverbey@propertiesmag.com 216.251.6649

AIA Akron Recognizes Design Excellence

Community Building

CBIZ Headquarters Redefines Rockside Corridor

Ready to Serve

Special Section: Building Products + Maintenance

Awards program honors architectural achievements in the region Cleveland Foundation enhances philanthropic mission with new headquarters in MidTown Independence’s first Class A office building in decades rises near I-77, I-480 interchange

OWNER Real Estate Publishing Corporation Jeff Johnson, CEO jeff.johnson@rejournals.com

Concord Township opens fire station to meet growing community’s emergency needs

Cover photo: Cleveland Foundation Headquarters, by Doug Bardwell

60 The Thomas Brick Company Celebrates 90th Anniversary: After nearly a century, the brick, tile and stone supplier continues to lead the field 64 Smart Strategies for Soft Surfaces: 5 steps to maximize your carpet maintenance program 68 Legal Perspectives: How Can We Overcome Material Procurement & Delivery Risks? 70 Vantage Point: Are Robots and AI the Future of Construction?

Properties (ISSN 033-1287) is published monthly for architects, engineers, building owners and managers, general contractors, home builders, mortgage bankers, savings and loans, real estate agents, appraisers, servicers and suppliers in Northern Ohio by Properties, Inc., 8305 Chesterfield Ave., Parma, OH 44129-1813. Copyright © 2023 by Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or pictorial content is strictly prohibited. Periodicals postage paid in Cleveland, Ohio and additional offices. Subscription rates: one year $30, single copy $9, back issues $12 when available. Postmaster: send change of address notices to Properties, 8305 Chesterfield Ave., Parma, OH 44129-1813.

DEPARTMENTS 6 40 44 46 50 68 70 74

PROPERTIES PEOPLE FINANCIAL STRATEGIES ACAR CORNER BILLBOARD NAIOP NEWS LEGAL PERSPECTIVES VANTAGE POINT CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS REPORT www.propertiesmag.com 5

PROPERTIES PEOPLE Highlighting notable industry events

ABC Fall Clay Shoot

Photos provided by Marcum LLP

ABC Northern Ohio recently held its annual Fall Sporting Clay Shoot Classic and Networking Event at Hill ‘n Dale Club in Medina. Following the competition, the 100 shooters were treated to a steak dinner and open bar. Several local politicians and candidates attended the festivities to greet participants.

Photos courtesy of ABC of Northern Ohio

1 Dave Phillips, John Hall, Gary Latteman and Jim Mashen (Hall Insulation) 2 Mike Shoup, Zoltan Kovacs, Dale Perram and Rick Carlson (Perram Electric) 3 Kyle Rohrig (Marcum LLP), Jack Tramonte (StraitLine Construction, Inc.) and Joe Burgoon (Lewis Land Professionals) 4 Ruben Kent, Keith Ortman, Mark Wroblewski and Chuck Oeder (Great Lakes Electric) 5 Dennis MsEndree, Ryan Gochnauer, Billy Szabo and Zach Noble (Heart Of Ohio HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical) 6 Tom Rice, Pete Manns, Greg Nenadal and Rich Siwinski (North Bay Construction)

Marcum Ohio Construction Summit Marcum LLP recently hosted its Ohio Construction Summit at Cleveland Marriott East in Warrensville Heights, drawing attendees from throughout Ohio for a day focused on updating construction industry professionals on the state of the industry. The event featured informational presentations on topics including the impact of national policy/politics on construction; workplace safety; as well as a forecast for 2024, including analysis of the major factors shaping economic outcomes. The evening culminated in a lively networking and cocktail reception. 6

BOMA Annual Meeting BOMA Greater Cleveland held its 109th Annual Business Meeting at the Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland recently. Members came together both to celebrate member association achievements throughout the year and to discuss plans for 2024. The event concluded with a cocktail reception.

1 Kevin Ballish (NAI Pleasant Valley), Brad Butler (KeyBank), Michael Lathrop (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse), John Brezine (ServiceMaster CDR) and Natalie Nemanic (BOMA Greater Cleveland) 2 Tom Kroth (Millennia Commercial Group) and Bill McCarthy (5-4 Real Estate Services LLC) 3 Kevin Ballish (NAI Pleasant Valley), Will Wachs (RWK Services) and Oliver Mahnke (RWK Services) 4 Shaina Fragapane and Shonna White (The Sherwin-Williams Company) 5 Rebecca McCleery (Lewis Construction), Adam Miller (NorthEast Energy Advisors), Chris White (Boak & Sons) and David Tucker (Kimberly Clark) 6 Tony Asher and Sam Cooper (Weston) Properties | December 2023

Photos courtesy of BOMA Greater Cleveland

1 Anirban Basu (Marcum LLP) 2 Heidi Hoyt Williams (Marcum Search LLC) and Carly Roberts (Marcum LLP) 3 James Young (Associated General Contractors)

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AIA Akron Recognizes Design Excellence Awards program honors architectural achievements in the region Story + photos provided by AIA Akron

very two years, members and guests of the Akron chapter of American Institute of Architects (AIA Akron) convene to recognize and celebrate excellence in design throughout the region. This year’s Design Awards Celebration and Annual Meeting took place on a Friday evening in late October at the Akron Art Museum, with 13 awards presented in six categories. The jury consisted of Adam Montalbano, AIA, of Moto Designshop; Steve Kordalski, FAIA, of Kordalski Architects Inc.; Derek Kuryla, PLA, ASLA, of KGK and Company; Joseph Walton, of Akron Art Museum; and Tye Allison, NOMAS officer and Kent State University graduate student. Winning submissions for the AIA Akron Design Awards included:

Bell Tower Brewing Company Lakewood Fire Station #2

CITATION AWARD EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS

Lakewood Fire Station #2 DS Architecture

JURY COMMENTS: “While the addition is respectful, restrained and pays deference to the original structure, the use of building envelope detailing as an opportunity to generate a unique design effect moves the project outside of the mundane and into the exceptional.”

CITATION AWARD HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Lichtenwalter Schoolhouse

Indian Creek High School

today. The jury recognizes that it is a respectful partial reconstruction that give this historic structure a second (or third) life.”

high school. One juror said the project (in Wintersville) made them want to go back to high school (and that was saying a lot!).”

CITATION AWARD - INTERIORS

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PRIME AE Group

Indian Creek High School

Bell Tower Brewing Company

JURY COMMENTS: “Prime AE’s design team restored the schoolhouse (in Green), honoring its 1885 heritage, while updating the building to make it safe, accessible and comfortable for children and community members

JURY COMMENTS: “The integration activities and interior space, including wall graphics, conjure a sense of esprit décor that defines a sense of attachment many people develop toward their

JURY COMMENTS: “The designer inherited a beautiful space (in Kent) and they didn’t mess it up by doing too much or being overly clever, which is applaudable. It demonstrates that a space, revived

SoL Harris/Day Architecture

Point B Studio / Paino & Associates

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Michael Angelo’s Winery Expansion

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JURY COMMENTS: “Good design does not need to be elaborate. The jurors found the general approach of taking two masses – the dual tasting and toasting rooms – and creating a central courtyard, combined with the use of very simple materials was effective and well done. The project (in Richfield) balances simplicity with refinement.”

Contact your rep or email info@propertiesmag.com and a team member will be in touch!

Jackson Township Amphitheater

HONOR AWARD - NEWLY COMPLETED BUILDING

Jackson Township Amphitheater SoL Harris/Day Architecture

JURY COMMENTS: “The project is innovative structurally; the four stemmed columns offer the illusion that the roof hovers. The dark brick wall slides beneath the roof, leaving a gap between the roof and wall’s cap, offering a magical feeling of defying gravity from the vantage point of the maximum 3,500-seat audience.”

The Gauntlet

CITATION AWARD NEWLY COMPLETED BUILDING

The Gauntlet

Peninsula Architects

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JURY COMMENTS: “The arrival sequence leading from the motorcourt to the front door is nicely modulated, formal and ceremonial (at this private residence). The flow between rooms and the outdoors is commendable, and the separation of spaces, including attention to a sense of scale and right-sizing rooms, was appreciated.”

Cleveland School of Media Arts: Phototropics

CITATION AWARD - STUDENT WORK

Cleveland School of Media Arts: Phototropics Student: Gwendolyn Darling

Completed under the studio direction of Robert Kobet at Kent State University Properties | December 2023

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Photographer: Eric Pros, AIA P For more details about AIA Akron’s Design Awards Celebration, visit www.aia.org/akron.

Cleveland Foundation

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Properties | December 2023

Community Building

Cleveland Foundation enhances philanthropic mission with new headquarters in MidTown Story + photos by Doug Bardwell

ne of the newest buildings in Cleveland’s MidTown neighborhood is the striking new headquarters for the Cleveland Foundation, the world’s first community foundation and one of the largest today with assets of $2.8 billion and annual grants of more than $138 million. Formerly located in the Hanna Building, hidden away on the 12th and 13th floors, the Foundation is making a bold statement with this new facility.

Located at 6601 Euclid Ave., this $28 million, LEED Gold project has three floors of community and office space with a garage below. The 80,600-square-foot building is a hybrid, blending steel frame construction with glulam columns and beams typically found in mass timber construction.

Time to reimagine the office

from a company named Dumont Jenks in Boston, who’ve had some very pronounced projects throughout the country,” recalls Potter, “and realized that we needed to have the density, which we do have here, of having at least more than one million square feet of office and building capacity. Also, we had to have two sides of the street to create a destination area where people feel like they’ve arrived and that they’re a part of something unique and special.” After looking at many sites Lilian Kuri and analyzing community needs, Cleveland Foundation it became clear that they needed to relocate to MidTown to help 40 locations. The more they looked, the catalyze that area. “We looked at buying more they became convinced that they property, and this is the heart of it,” needed somewhere with a streetfront explains Potter. “We have about 11 acres presence for their front door. between East 63rd and 66th.” “We did a lot of visioning. We got The Foundation found itself in the some expert master planning advice enviable position of being able to finance First came a site selection process. The Foundation searched a wide swath across the city for the perfect location. The search included slightly more than

“This is a manifestation of what the Foundation wanted to think about ourselves, being open and welcoming and accessible and transparent in a building that would represent the community foundation.”

“I joined the Foundation in 2016,” says Rosanne Potter, chief growth officer and CFO, “and the first week I was here, Ronn Richard [former CEO] said, ‘You’re going to be working on an office space project, and you’re going to be looking for a new headquarters.’” Having been located in the Hanna Building for decades, they realized the space neither met the needs of the community nor the Foundation’s staff. They also wanted a first-floor presence.

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GRAND RECEPTION A key element of the new, $28 million, 60,800-square-foot Cleveland Foundation headquarters is its dramatic and spacious three-story atrium, featuring warm and inviting wood tones.

the project itself. Approximately a third of the cost had been saved over the past 10 years, with relocation as a future goal. The Foundation then borrowed from its $3 billion endowment fund, amortized with interest over 20 years. “The best part,” says Potter, smiling, “we are paying ourselves back in a mission-related investment. This is

a fixed asset investment over 20 years, and paying ourselves the interest makes good sense.” “This is a manifestation of what the Foundation wanted to think about ourselves,” adds Lilian Kuri, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, “being open and welcoming and accessible and transparent in

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a building that would represent the community foundation.”

Assembling the team

Vocon’s strategy team joined the project in 2017, doing space analysis while the Foundation was still in the Hanna. They revealed to the Foundation that they didn’t need the large offices they rented there but would benefit from collaboration space where people could get out from behind their desks. Regency Construction joined the team in 2019 as the owner’s representative. Both Tari Rivera, president, and Janelle Hinkle, vice president of construction, made up the owner’s rep team. “We knew we didn’t know what we didn’t know, so it was important for us to have a quarterback, and we knew Regency would guide us through the process,” quips Potter. “S9 joined us as lead architect and developed the concept of the building’s exterior, one of the few rare Northeast Ohio mass timber builds,” states Potter. “So actually, we were very fortunate. At the same time, Panzica Construction was building one of the other few mass timber projects in the area. We wanted their mass timber expertise, not to menProperties | December 2023

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to the

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OPEN + IMPACTFUL A 30-foot-wide community stair connects the second and third floors. The space includes an art installation comprised of 100 awardwinning books individually suspended from the ceiling of the soaring atrium.

tion their reputation within the city as master builders.” With S9 as the design architect, the Cleveland Foundation returned to Vocon in January 2020 as the architect of record. “Our interiors team started at the beginning with S9 during schematic design,” explains Laura Rees, project manager with Vocon. “In addition to that, as architect of record, Vocon was part of the entire project, monitoring the development of the design and the budget so that we could be prepared to execute construction documents. We were involved in discussions about systems and details throughout the entire design process.” “Panzica joined the project midway through design as construction manager,” mentions Hinkle, “and was instrumental with Victor [Barbalato, project architect with Vocon], trying to sort through a lot of the exterior design details of how everything was going to go together as the mass timber was getting designed and integrated with the rest of the facade.” “As we were talking about ways to save cost, even during [design development drawings],” Barbalato adds, “Panzica proposed several options, like switching to closed cell spray foam, which were really helpful and influenced a lot of our detailing.” “We worked closely with Structure Craft, the designated designer of the wood framing, and Osborn Engineering, the structural engineers,” says Mark Panzica, president of Panzica Construction.” “Then, together, we worked with our MEP subcontractors, Geauga Mechanical, Ullman Electric, Neptune Plumbing and SA Comunale, (using 3D modeling) to resolve conflicts between structural members and MEP systems,” adds Dave Panzica, senior project manager for Panzica.

Tavern was taken into account in the design of the building. So, the building steps down to the Dunham Tavern. There’s green on the roof, there’s greenery

Younsung Chung, partner with S9, concurs. “The building’s expression draws from its industrial context, with the landscape of the adjacent Dunham Park climbing up the building creating terraces and eventually continuing inside to a grand community stair,” he explains. “The [Euclid Avenue] façade is a cantilevered curtain wall that projects the Foundation’s optimism, heroism and transparency.” “The industrial grid building, common to the neighborhood,” continues Chung, “is reimagined Younsung Chung as a warm, welcoming wood façade S9 Architecture with large, porous storefronts which open to the community and in the building, and it was designed from showcase the Foundation’s purpose a concept standpoint by S9 to be a transi- and work, while certain industrial tion from their park development into the metal expression is intended to inteCleveland Foundation headquarters.” grate the industrial background of

“The stair is designed as an extension of the landscape... eventually ‘entering’ the building to create a multi-level space, merging public and private realms, not just in terms of design but in use as well.”

Getting the exterior just right

“Another major concern,” adds Hinkle, “was making sure that the Dunham

www.propertiesmag.com 17

GATHERING ATTENTION A large café seating area and small kitchen are located immediately east of the community stairs, with access to a long exterior terrace overlooking the lawn.

the neighborhood. As described earlier, the south façade [Euclid Avenue side] is where the building meets the city, and it was designed as a projected curtain wall to express the Foundation’s vision and transparency. Integration of two different materials shows the intention to respect and merge different aspects of the context by responding to both the industrial background of the neighborhood and the park adjoining the site.” “When people ask why we went with a wood exterior,” explains Kuri, “when you think of the Dunham Tavern as the oldest structure on a foundation in Cleveland, it would have been inappropriate to imagine a brick building of

this size, and how imposing it would have seemed next to this historic structure.”

Integrating the interior

Rees explains that Vocon needed to relate very carefully to the structure as well as to the exterior world. It was crucial to S9 that the exterior be brought into the building based on the relationship to the park and that the interiors were reflective of that design so it would become an integrated whole. “One concept is how the community stair spanning from second to third floors is designed,” explains Chung. “While the client requested a certain version of a multi-purpose room, we envisioned this space as a fundamental element to break

the borders between those differences. The stair is designed as an extension of the landscape starting from Dunham Park, spilling into the building, creating steps and eventually ‘entering’ the building to create a multi-level space, merging the public and private realms, not just in terms of design but also in use as well.” Barbalato picks it up from there. “Remember, [during COVID] we have two different design teams in two different cities [Cleveland and New York], and we are trying to coordinate everything to match the colors S9 had picked for the mass timber. I remember some really latenight conversations on Zoom with the vendors in Austria because S9 had picked the color for all the mass timber, and we

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OUTDOOR ACCESS A series of terraces along the exterior offer gathering areas with open views of the surrounding neighborhood.

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were trying to match all the interior wood to that. There was a lot of really, really great cross-discipline collaboration.” In Vocon’s final presentation, “Living with Spirit,” a collection of inspiration images would be used to develop all the interior selections for the remainder of the project.

Digging in

Early on, as construction began, it became decidedly evident that construction might be as challenging as the design. Joe Sprinzl, superintendent for Panzica Construction, takes it from here. “We dug down about 16 feet for the basement level, but as we dug down further for the elevator shafts and sump pumps, we hit water. Checking each corner of the project, same results: water. It wasn’t just a pocket here or there. It was groundwater.” This required a series of perforated 1-1/2” pipes, four feet apart, drilled vertically down 20 feet to the water level. A header pipe was then connected horizontally and attached to a vacuum pump to pull out the water while excavation continued. At the same time, Mark Panzica recalls another immediate impediment with utility lines that needed relocation. “There were overhead utility lines that needed to be relocated underground, but they also had to get relocated outside of the footprint of the building itself because of the basement and the earth retention system,” he says. “So, we had to move the utility duct bank and a gas line to the same location. All these things added two

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Properties | December 2023

MEETING NEEDS Situated throughout the facility are conference spaces that neighborhood nonprofits can utilize for free.

to three months before we could start the basement.” Concrete was then poured for basement foundations, floor, walls and columns – a virtual concrete bathtub that was completely waterproofed. Glulam wood timber columns and beams then start on the first floor through the third floor. Where typical mass timber buildings use CLT (crosslaminated timber) floors, the hybrid construction used here utilizes all metal pan decking and poured concrete floors. That did create an additional challenge – keeping the glulam clean, explains Mark Panzica. “We had to seal up every joint so that the concrete wouldn’t drip through the pinholes, nooks and crannies and ruin the finish of the glulam beams. That took some time, and it was pretty tedious getting that done before each pour, so we didn’t have any staining on the wood. We also had to pour a floor at a time. The building needed the rigidity of the concrete poured on the slab to secure the diaphragm of the building.” The exterior of the building is a combination of rich cedar wood siding and a 22-foot-high, super-low-iron glass curtain wall on the Euclid elevation for transparency. The balance of the building uses storefront glass for wonderfully large windows. The roof is metal decking with ISO insulation and a TPO membrane. Much

of the roof on the second and third floor levels is covered with light gray roof pavers with roof planters so the area can be used for event space. In the basement, there are 52 car parking spaces, in addition to a bike storage corner. At the north end of the block, across the street, there is a surface parking lot for an additional 99 cars. A solar canopy covers 33 spaces and is designed to provide 30% of the power for the new headquarters. “One month this summer,” says Potter, “we actually got almost 70%, but that was a sunny month, and we don’t expect that year-round. Eventually, we hope not to have any surface parking along either Euclid or Chester, so we plan to add a parking garage at some point, and we’ll relocate the solar panels to that building.”

Panzica completed the building in phases, with the first phase in January 2023, and Foundation staff move-ins taking place in groups through March. The grand opening festivities occurred in mid-July 2023.

Taking a tour

There are multiple entrances to the building from every compass direction. Security has been thoroughly integrated into the design so that each public-facing tenant on the first floor can have guests arrive whenever they are open without needing access to the offices of the Foundation or vice-versa. Starting on the northeast corner of the building, Neighborhood Connections is a division of the Foundation that specializes in making

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LETTING THE LIGHT IN The north and east walls of the second floor are used for staff cubicles and are flooded with natural light. Private offices are in the center of the floor with glass doors and walls to allow sight lines to the exterior windows.

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grants up to $5,000 each to local rollout reversible vinyl floor is available Indelible Stories of Coming Home,” is to protect the dance floor for other types on display presently. entrepreneurs and artists. In the southeast corner, with streetNext to that space are a series of of events. To its south is the entrance and recep- front access to Euclid Avenue, is conference spaces, from a 10- by 12-foot Foundation. Café byand HELPcontent. Harvest. The huddle room to a large 16- by 32-foot con- tion area for the Cleveland Please check it Susanna’s for accuracy By approving this proof,café you offers are approving the content for for placement in warm a stepping-stone individu- in Sabre Publis ference room looking across the street A large three-story atrium or InScope) only. The payment you have agreed to is for “space only”. — Thank you to the coming MidTown Collaboration wood tones sets a welcoming vibe with als with disabilities ready to graduate products & services! Center. Rooms are available for free for upholstered furniture and a long high- into community employment. Serving top table for workspace or gathering. coffee, tea and specialty drinks, along neighborhood non-profits. A central north-south corridor, more with breakfast, lunch and snacks, the The KeyBank Studio for Arts & Community is next along East 66th than 120 feet long, is home to the café has indoor and outdoor seating. By approving thistoproof, you events, are approving the Ruth content forExhibition placement To inFBE Sabre Publishing, theCity north, facing the Group DunhamInc., publi Fred & Laura Bidwell and is dedicated community of Cleveland SBE Cuyahoga County Tavern, is the Minter Conference Space, which showcases the work of classes, performances and other activior InScope) only. The payment you have agreed to is for “space only”. — Thank you for choosing Sabre Publishin ties. A 38- by 42-foot Harlequin Flexity local artists and is curated by the com- Room(s). This 2,800-square-foot conproducts & services! Commercial, Institutional, can be dividedand into two sprung dance floor occupies the center munity. A remarkable collection of ference space by lowering a Skyfold Zenith 55 vertical of the room, with a polished concrete photography, poems and neighbors’ life Industrial Painting Contractor floor surrounding it for spectators. A stories, entitled “Complex Structures: folding partition. This accordion fold-

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Properties | December 2023

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PARKING SPOTS The below-ground garage includes a bike storage corner, in addition to 52 car parking spaces.

ing partition folds its way up into the plenum instead of folding back into a wall storage closet. Both exterior window walls fold back to open the room onto the grassy area extending east to the Tavern. This will allow open-air events to have a covered extension or, conversely, events in the room to access the Tavern’s gardens and green spaces. The last of the community spaces is the Center for Philanthropy, where young community leaders meet with mentors who explain the world of philanthropy, how to evaluate giving opportunities, and how to leverage time, talent and treasure into meaningful impact. The balance of the first-floor space in the northeast corner accommodates the parking garage entrance and a shipping/ receiving area.

Second + third floors

Exiting the elevator on the second floor, one can’t miss the beginning of the approximately 30-foot-wide Barbara Haas Rawson Community Stair extending to the third floor. “The entire stair area was constructed as a cold-form frame structure with finished wood surfaces,” relates Mark Panzica. “So, we had to build everything up high first, get all the lighting done, get all the sprinkler work done, and then work our way down. Once you were done up top, you weren’t going back up there.” “Then, we were finishing all the adjacent spaces around it with wood and glass separating the third and second floors. And all that was finished car-

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SUPPORT SPACES From a first-floor café (top) and nearby exhibition space (middle) to the third-floor executive board room (bottom), the new headquarters is designed to support Cleveland Foundation’s mission and needs.

pentry that our guys self-performed,” explains Mark Panzica. “I think that having the ability for Panzica to selfperform the interior carpentry on the job was a real benefit because we could coordinate a lot of the details internally instead of having subs try to do coordination amongst themselves.” There are five levels on the stair with tables and chairs, and multiple other levels suitable for sitting. The entire area can be used for gatherings, presentations or movies. If needed, blackout shades roll down along the exterior glass windows, and audio-

“Everybody saw the importance of an institution with the history of the Cleveland Foundation... taking what was, for decades, an otherwise redlined, underserved, underdeveloped, blighted neighborhood and [making] something truly transformational and unique.” Rosanne Potter Cleveland Foundation

Photo by Kamron Khan

visual connections are already in place for impromptu meetings. In fact, the entire building is equipped with enough A/V capabilities to handle multiple events at the same time. Soaring above the stairway east wall is an art installation highlighting past winners of the 88-year-old AnisfieldWolf Book Awards, the only national juried prize for literature confronting racism and exploring human diversity. One hundred winning books are individually suspended from the ceiling and fly from the atrium to the third-floor level. Skylights above the stairs allow vision to soar upward as well as outward. A large café seating area and small kitchen are immediately east of the stairs, with access to a long exterior www.propertiesmag.com 25

ENVISIONING PROGRESS Situated next door to the 19-century Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens along Euclid Avenue, the new Cleveland Foundation Headquarters is a decidedly forward-looking facility, from its cantilevered entry and multi-tiered exterior to the solar canopy-covered surface parking lot along the north side of the property.

terrace overlooking the lawn leading to the Tavern. Another interior space is lined with booths for eating or working. Conference rooms and focus rooms are scattered throughout the floor. The north and east walls of the second floor are used for staff cubicles and are flooded with natural light. Private offices are in the center of the floor with glass doors and walls to allow sight lines to the exterior windows. All Foundation departments are grouped on this floor. As a testament to superior space planning skills, all the former offices in the Hanna Building now fit into 50% less space in this new building, while letting everyone enjoy natural daylight. Executive offices and a conference room are located in the southwest corner, close to the elevator. The Foundation’s Board Room is in the southwest corner of the third floor. A lounge area separates the board room from the café area with catering kitchen. Extending north and east from the café doors is another outdoor gathering/meeting space with high-top and standard patio tables and a perimeter of planters.

Mission accomplished

“The project team, as a whole, was a great team,” says Mark Panzica. “Even 26

when we had challenging conversations, everyone was professional. They listened. And at the end of the day, we came up with a fair solution that was respectful of everyone. We had direct weekly conversations with Lillian and Roseanne, and they were an active part of the process.” “The client had a strong vision, such as transparency and integration with

expression of vision can contribute to changing the community in the future.” “This was really a labor of true passion amongst all of us because I would say that the entity that won in all of the efforts of this build was the community,” remarks Potter. “I think everybody saw the importance of an institution with the history of the Cleveland Foundation going into the neighborhood, being proximate to the grantees, taking what was, for decades, an otherwise redlined, underserved, underdeveloped, blighted neighborhood and coming in to make something truly transformational and unique. And quite frankly, we are the only community foundation in the United States that has undertaken a project specifically like this.” “This was part of us asking ourselves who we want to be as an institution Younsung Chung for the next 100 years,” adds Kuri, S9 Architecture “and then bringing that to life in the architecture and how we use the buildthe community,” recalls Chung, “and ing. In addition, it has changed us as an the site had a certain specific condition institution and how we operate. It’s also facing different contextual features. We put us on a journey to ask even more, think it is interesting that we generated so when people come into the building, some visualized forms of these differ- we like to say it doesn’t matter if you’re a ent conditions rather than designing resident, a grantee, or a leader in the coman object that can be transplanted any- munity; you feel like there’s something where. It’ll be interesting to see how this here for you.”

“The industrial grid building, common to the neighborhood, is reimagined as a warm, welcoming wood façade with large, porous storefronts which open to the community and showcase the Foundation’s purpose and work.”

Properties | December 2023

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Properties | December 2023

Photo provided by Welty Development

CBIZ Headquarters Redefines Rockside Corridor

Independence’s first Class A office building in decades rises near I-77, I-480 interchange Story & photos by Scott Esterly

n November 1, 2023, employees walked into the new national headquarters of CBIZ for the first time. Located at 5959 Rockside Woods Blvd. N. in Independence, the six-story, 150,000-square-foot building rises above nearby attractions like Top Golf to redefine the land abutting dense woods and can be seen from the I-77 and I-480 interchange. CBIZ, which employs more than 270 local employees and has over 120 locations across the country, will occupy around 58,000 square feet in the building. “CBIZ found themselves looking for a new home, which gave them the opportunity to create something from scratch – not only a building that bears their name, but a high-performance workspace that is the office of the future,” says Don Taylor, CEO of Welty Building Company. After acquisition of the 9.8 acres of land by the Welty Development team, CBIZ and Welty embarked on a collaboration that would ultimately keep a major local employer not only in Ohio, but in the same city that it had been in for decades. CBIZ has committed to a 20-year lease in the new headquarters. “We’ve called Independence home for that past 25 years and wanted to maintain our presence here,” says Brian Antonius, director of real estate for CBIZ. “Being

able to partner with Welty and Vocon on a completely new space from the ground up gave us the opportunity to be creative and have a lot of input on the final product based on how we work as a team”

Welty’s horizontal integration

Welty ultimately touched all aspects of the development, construction and design of the building, employing its horizontal integration structure to take the project from concept to completion. Welty’s economic development unit, InSITE Advisory Group, secured helpful financial incentives while Welty Building Company provided project management and was the construction manager at risk. Additionally, Welty’s Environments for Business (e4b) provided interior design services and furniture, and Welty

Facilities Services Group will handle property management going forward.

Bringing people together

“We were looking for a space that would pull our people back into the office versus push them back in,” says Amy McGahan, director of corporate & strategic communications for CBIZ. “That gave CBIZ an opportunity to create a space that would invite people to come back and work as a team, which is what most businesses, whether they want to say it or not, are very interested in doing because we’re better together than we are when we’re not,” says Taylor. As the commercial sector continues to evolve in a post-pandemic world, businesses are weighing the needs of their employees and their own needs. CBIZ www.propertiesmag.com 29

CORPORATE HOME Located along Rockside Woods Boulevard North in Independence, the six-story, 150,000-square-foot building serves as the national headquarters for CBIZ Inc., in addition to offering leasable office space for other commercial tenants.

decided to focus their design wishes on catering to features that would be appealing to their employees: something new with modern amenities that invite collaboration rather than simply providing a desk and a chair. “We believe there will be a flight-toquality – companies leaving existing spaces and upgrading, much like what CBIZ is doing,” Taylor says. “They will

want fresh space that encourages their teams to come back to work, space that is exciting and that supports work the way it’s happening now, not the way it was happening 20 years ago.”

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ident of Welty Development. “We also have to thank JobsOhio and Team NEO for helping keep this development and CBIZ in Northeast Ohio.” Against the backdrop of creating incentives to keep CBIZ local, finding the perfect location was key. Rockside Woods Boulevard was an intriguing choice that was identified early in the process. It connects Rockside Road to Brecksville Road and is already home to established properties like Top Golf, Embassy Suites and Kent State University’s College of Podiatric Medicine. Ultimately, the site that was selected comprises two parcels. “There were two parcels, both owned by the Viny brothers. One was owned by Neil and Joseph and the other by Steve. I knew them from growing up in the business and we had a relationship from our broker. I called Steve and said, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity. I’ll pay a fair price,’” says Charek. Having that relationship with the Viny family proved serendipitous, because Charek worked with them to create a robust partnership with the city. “I worked with all three of the brothers to work out a collaborative private-public partnership with the City of Independence, entering into a long-term lease to create a new parking area near Properties | December 2023

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GATHERING SPACE Located on the sixth floor is a 4,000-square-foot, multi-functional lounge area used by CBIZ for casual lunches, meetings, team-building gatherings, private events and more.

Top Golf which will be able to host community events on weekends,” says Charek. “The majority of the tenants are only on site Monday through Friday, so this new private-public partnership gives the City of Independence and Welty Development the ability to create community events – food trucks on weekends, car shows, any community events that help bring the whole place together.” Along with establishing the best location possible for the new CBIZ headquarters was putting the financing structure together, which is also a source of pride for Welty. “This was a conventional deal, conventional financing that is based on a best-inclass building looking for the best tenants and will be held locally for a lifetime,” says Charek.

Team + construction

Welty Building Company already had a long history of working with CBIZ throughout the country. Similarly, Vocon had worked with both CBIZ and Welty extensively in the past. Groundbreaking took place in August 2021 with construction beginning towards the end of the year. “We started at the end of 2021, really started cranking in early 2022, and a little more than 24 months from groundbreaking, the 32

trying to understand where exactly the supply-chain shortages are coming from. But they are very real and they are across a large part of the businesses.” Welty Building Company overcame labor shortages by utilizing the leverConstruction “If you ask if there were any chal- age that both Welty and Vocon enjoy lenges, I would have to answer that with, through their work on other large projects in the Cleveland area. The sup‘daily,’” says Taylor. ply-chain issues primarily impacted work on the core and shell of the building and on CBIZ’s space. By leaning into the partnership formed between Welty, Vocon and CBIZ, those supply-chain issues could be handled without losing momentum. “This was a challenging site because a lot of this area is formerly industrial. There were significant ground issues that we had to overcome, and we are completing construction on the Don Taylor still north parking lot,” says Becks. “If you Welty Building Company look at it a different way, it’s an amazing site and has benefits that many “Everybody knows what’s been going sites don’t have.” “One of the challenges that construcon in construction the last couple years. We are labor-constrained, and we were tion had was how to get the building still feeling significant impacts from dried in,” says Taylor. “When we started the supply-chain disruption caused by the building, we were told that it could the global pandemic,” adds Paul Becks, take six months to get the insulation to Welty senior vice president, “We worked allow us to drain the water on the roof. through a concrete shortage in early The construction team secured a con2022 and as an industry, we are all still tractor that had the insulation needed

building is now open. CBIZ is moved in with furniture and productively working. It’s pretty exciting for CBIZ, us and the community,” says Charek.

“CBIZ found themselves looking for a new home, which gave them the opportunity to create something from scratch – not only a building that bears their name, but a high-performance workspace that is the office of the future.”

Properties | December 2023

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CAPACITY FOR CONFERENCING There are a bevy of meeting and huddle rooms throughout CBIZ’s space, totaling 4,500 square feet. This includes an 800-square-foot training room that can accommodate more than 30 people.

to allow us to put the roof on in the timeframe that we needed.” The building itself is traditional steel framing with some unique elements, including concrete cores for the elevator shafts and stair towers. The concrete helps with the bracing of the structure. Because concrete was used in that manner, the building could accommodate the column spacing specified in the design plans. Fireproofing was sprayed on the decks and steel itself, and the roof is made of

TPO. A curtain wall system and cold form steel framing were used along both north and south building entrances to the building.

Design

“We started out with a five-story building,” says Taylor. “We looked at the land and we had space for another 25,000 to 30,000 square feet to balance green space, parking and the land. We decided to put a sixth floor on the building so that we maxed everything out, making

it even more dramatic and visible from the freeway.” After deciding on exactly how many floors, it came time to really put the design teams to work. Designing a corporate headquarters presents one set of challenges, but this building will also be home to additional tenants. “At its heart, this is a corporate headquarters and it’s a speculative office building,” says Denver Brooker, principal with Vocon. “We had two clients. For CBIZ, this is their headquarters, and for

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Properties | December 2023

LIGHT + OPEN From the floor-to-ceiling windows used throughout (top) to a spacious and open lobby (bottom), the building is designed to allow as much natural light inside as possible.

other tenants, the image that this building presents is what everyone must adopt.” Brooker and his Vocon team asked themselves some philosophical questions to help define what the design would ultimately become. “What does this building want to say? Should it be more traditional? Should it be more contemporary? Should it be somewhere in-between? CBIZ used words like ‘classic,’ ‘timeless’ and ‘contemporary.’ Those were our three guiding factors,” says Brooker. How the building sat on the site itself became a debate amongst the design team. “The orientation of this building on the site was a very long debate because initially, people thought the building should face the street,” says Brooker. Traditionally, this is how most buildings are situated on property. The debate eventually turned to maximizing the

“CBIZ used words like ‘classic,’ ‘timeless’ and ‘contemporary.’ Those were our three guiding factors [for the design].” Denver Brooker Vocon vistas in either direction, the Cleveland skyline to the north and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the south. As a result, the building does not have entrances that directly face Rockside Woods Boulevard. The bowtie lobby, which has entrances on both the north and south sides of the building, faces those vistas and the longest sides of the building also have unobstructed views facing those directions. The payoff of having concrete elevator shafts for structural bracing was being able to fulfill the building design that called for fewer internal columns. “We arranged the columns in a way that there are very few of them in the interior of the building. Some builders would build to the efficiency and cost of the structure so it’s less expensive,” says Taylor. “We took the opposite approach. Let’s put the cost into the building to www.propertiesmag.com 35

FRESH LOOK CBIZ’s offices include a variety of eye-catching elements, such as a glass-encased game room with a Clevelandcentric mural (top), 11 soundproofed phone rooms (middle) and a slatted wood feature with inlaid LED lighting that frames an open staircase (bottom).

make the space more flexible for our tenants, so they’ve got fewer columns to work around and more open space so they can create the office design they’re looking for.” “There is a lot of brick on the exterior, which is traditional, but the way it is expressed here is contemporary,” Becks notes. “The intention with brick was to combine traditional and modern to create a sense of stability and permanence,” says Brooker.

Democratization of light

“Many of us in Northeast Ohio are Vitamin D deficient because we don’t get enough sunlight,” says Taylor. “I’m hypersensitive to that. When you walk through the building, you’ll notice that the windows are nearly floor-to-ceiling in all spaces. It’s called ‘democratization of light.’ The idea is that we get as much light into the space as possible. There are studies that show how light affects mood, how mood affects engagement and productivity. It’s a good thing for people to be able to see and to have natural light in their workspace.”

Features

“An exterior terrace with views to the city was always going to be part of the design,” says Brooker. “Our interiors team always knew there would be some kind of conferencing or café space associated with it.” CBIZ, which takes up all the fifth and sixth floors and a portion of the fourth floor, refers to the sixth-floor lounge area as a Working Café. It is 4,000 square feet and includes the outdoor, covered terrace with views of the Cleveland skyline. The floor-to-ceiling windows are 12 feet tall. In the short amount of time that CBIZ has inhabited the space, the café has been used for casual lunches, spontaneous and formal meetings, public and private events, plus team-building events like catered luncheons and even a celebratory happy hour. A design showstopper is the open staircase in the CBIZ space, which goes 36

Properties | December 2023

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VIEW FROM THE TOP The Working Café opens to an outdoor, covered terrace with views of the Cleveland skyline to the north.

from the fourth to the sixth floor. It covers 1,800 square feet and is adjacent to north-facing windows. “It’s a slatted wood feature with active LED lighting inlaid,” says Becks. “We had a lighting feature allowance, and we all thought it would be a single light. It ended up being a beautiful piece of art.” The staircase lighting can also be synced with the prominent exterior lighting that changes colors to reflect special or notable events. For instance, the lighting was pink in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. Another example could be wine and gold colors to celebrate the Cleveland Cavaliers. On the fifth floor, there is a lobby and game room covering 1,100 square feet. It is adjacent to the staircase and features a custom Cleveland-centric mural by local artist Lisa Quine. Also on the fifth floor is an 800-squarefoot training room with capacity for more than 30 people. The furniture is completely flexible and can easily be moved. For example, CBIZ recently hosted a yoga class in this space. There are a bevy of conference and huddle rooms throughout CBIZ’s space, totaling 4,500 square feet. Many of these rooms are located on exterior walls to capitalize on the views and natural light. The huddle rooms range

in size from being able to accommodate up to four people or larger rooms, which can comfortably seat more than 10. There are 11 soundproof phone rooms, which are designed to look like a contemporary version of a classic phone booth. There is even a media studio on the sixth floor, which will be used to shoot internal videos and conduct remote media interviews. On the building’s east side is an indoor 31-space parking garage – a feature rarely seen in suburban buildings. CBIZ has

rooms and showers. Next to the fitness center is a self-pay grab-and-go style marketplace with snacks and refreshments.

Future tenants

“We are in negotiations with three additional tenants. That would take the building up to 90% occupancy,” says Charek. “We also will have a state-of-the-art executive conference space available for tenants in the building to use,” says Taylor. “Instead of having to build a large conference room or training center in their own space that might only be used a few times a year, it will be a building amenity and tenants can reserve and use it as they need it. Now the entire building is supporting it rather than just one tenant bearing all that cost.” “I think we ended up with a spectacular building,” Taylor adds. Don Taylor “It really is unique. It’s just not Welty Building Company an ordinary suburban brick building. I think it incorporates a lot 14 of the 31 spaces, leaving 17 for other of unique features that you normally tenants. There is free bike storage for only see in high-rise construction in a employees and an electric vehicle charg- downtown market.” Charek concurs. “It’s the first Class-A ing station. Conduit has already been run for a second charging station if needed office building to open in Independence and the north parking lot will have more in almost 25 years and this is the culmination of bringing and keeping many charging stations once completed. On the ground floor is a 24/7 fitness jobs in Northeast Ohio,” he says. “We’re center for tenants, which includes locker open for business.”

“I think we ended up with a spectacular building. It really is unique.... I think it incorporates a lot of unique features that you normally only see in high-rise construction in a downtown market.”

Properties | December 2023

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’ve always been a fan of listening to music and some of this is the result of a famous promotion in the 1970s through 1990s by a mail-order music distribution powerhouse known as the Columbia House Record Club. And who could forget their offer – becoming a new member would allow you to order 12 cassettes (or, depending on your vintage, albums, 8-tracks or CDs) of your choice for a mere penny. That’s right, just one cent. But of course, there was a hook. Over the next year, you were obligated to buy a dozen more titles, but this time at retail-plus pricing.

To me, the recent increase in mortgage interest rates reflects a similar scenario – borrowers flocked as rates plummeted to record lows hovering around 3% the last few years. We all knew there would be a hook, in this instance, the very real risk of future increases in interest rates. But the more that banks lowered mortgage interest rates, the more that borrowers would refinance existing loans. Some of these were likely good decisions while others may not work out so well. This month, we are going to discuss a process to analyze the decision to refinance. And while it seems that the horse named “refinancing” has officially left the barn, understanding this process may bring to light some other considerations. Historically, borrowers have followed a rule of thumb based on the spread between their existing contract interest rate as compared to the interest rate cur-

rently available. The typically go/no-go decision has historically ranged from 1.5% to 2%. However, this approach has several pitfalls. It ignores the costs associated with refinancing. It also fails to discount any future benefit of refinancing, as well as recognizing the impact of the borrower’s anticipated holding period. Finally, it ignores any reinvestment of equity taken out as a result of the refinancing. The concept of net present value (NPV) helps to overcome these pitfalls. The following example will illustrate. Ten years ago, a borrower secured a $300,000 mortgage to finance the purchase of a small real estate investment. The contract interest rate was 6.5%, and it was amortized over 30 years with an associated monthly payment of $1,896. The current loan balance, now 10 years later, is $254,329. However,

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interest rates have fallen, Month and the borrower has found a lender that will refinance 0 the existing loan balance at a rate of 5%. The new 1 thru 48 monthly payment, assum48 ing the amortization period is reset for a new 30-year Table 1 period, would be $1,365 and total upfront costs, including Month fees, would be $8,550. Finally, assume the borrower could 0 invest any cash flows because of the savings in monthly 1 thru 48 loan payments at 5%. Based 48 on this outline, should the borrower refinance? Table 2 Part of the answer is “it depends.” In this instance, a primary consideration is length of time the new loan is expected to be outstanding. Refinancing will lower the borrower’s monthly loan payment by $531 ($1,896 originally as compared to $1,365 if refinanced). If the new loan is anticipated to be held for four years, the remaining balance at that time would be $238,128, whereas the remaining balance on the old loan four years later would be $225,988. We now have all of the necessary information to analyze this decision, as summarized in Table 1. The cost to refinance ($8,550) will occur upon refinancing, considered month 0. The savings in monthly payment ($531) will occur each month for 48 months. Discounting these amounts at the expected 5% reinvestment rate results in $23,058, which is the present value of this savings. Finally, the difference in loan balances at the end of four years is $12,140. Again, discounting this amount at 5% results in $9,943, which is the present value of this difference. The net result (or NPV) of $4,565 indicates that, under this set of circumstances, the borrower should refinance. Digging a little deeper, the refinancing decision is sensitive to several things. An obvious one is the upfront costs associated with refinancing. In the example above, the borrower could absorb an additional $4,565 in costs (or $13,115 in total upfront costs) and still be financially better off by refinancing. Another consideration is the amount of time the refinanced loan will be outstanding.

ways. Let’s now consider what we have seen over the last 10 years. Suppose that the $0 ($8,550) ($8,550) ($8,550) $300,000 loan that I put into service in late 2013 carried ($1,896) ($1,365) $531 $23,058 a rate of 4.5%. It’s now 10 ($225,988) ($238,128) ($12,140) ($9,943) years down the road and I’m $4,565 considering refinancing, but facing a rate of 7.5%. All of the other assumptions are the Cash Flows if Cash Flows Difference Present Value same as the previous example; No Refinance if Refinance of Difference the old loan was amortized $0 ($8,550) ($8,550) ($8,550) over 30 years, the new loan will have upfront loan costs of ($1,520) ($1,680) ($160) ($6,617) $8,550 and also be amortized ($207,777) ($230,322) ($16,717) ($26,717) over 30 years and either loan is expected to be held for four ($41,884) more years. Table 2 represents the revised analysis. In this scenario, the NPV will increase Common sense tells us that no one the longer the new loan is held. For in their right mind would willfully example, if the new loan is expected to choose to refinance an existing loan be outstanding for 10 years instead of carrying a 4.5% with a new loan carrying a 7.5% interest rate. And this analysis brings the cold, hard economic facts, as a refinancing event will result in a NPV of $41,884. And this brings me back to Columbia House Record Club. Accepting that one cent deal initially resulted in four years, the NPV, or economic benefit a dozen new records in your collection, of a refinance, would increase to $17,299. but it came with a risk. You also entered However, just like that one cent offer into a contract that obligated you to buy from Columbia House, the proverbial a dozen more titles over the next year, sword we call interest rates cuts both often with a narrower selection that Cash Flows if No Refinance

Cash Flows if Refinance

Difference

Present Value of Difference

Historically, borrowers have followed a rule of thumb based on the spread between their existing contract interest rate as compared to the interest rate currently available. However, this approach has several pitfalls.

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What I C @ PVC ANY TAKERS? The appetite for investment in Cleveland’s downtown office market will be put to the test over the next six months. 200 Public Square was put on the market last month and is rumored to be joined by 1100 Superior Avenue in early 2024. Other office towers with ownership in flux include IMG Center, Fifth Third Center and Ohio Savings Plaza. –AP

now required “retail plus” pricing. My loan examples omitted a very common nuance in commercial mortgages – a mandatory payoff event commonly called a balloon or call. While no one in their right mind would choose to replace a lower interest rate loan with a higher interest rate loan, the presence of

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While no one in their right mind would choose to replace a lower interest rate loan with a higher interest rate loan, the presence of a balloon [could change] this from a choice to an obligation. And the current environment offers limited choices with “retail plus” pricing. a balloon changes this from a choice to an obligation. And the current environment offers limited choices with “retail plus” pricing. After peaking in the early 1980s, poor audio quality, a sketchy business model and artist backlash associated with little to no royalty payments resulted a slow but steady decline in popularity for Columbia House. The final blow was the arrival of streaming services starting with Napster in the early 1990s. And while the foundation of the mortgage industry is significantly broader and more secure, borrowers need to keep in mind that all of those terrific offers of yesterday can come at a terrific cost tomorrow. Alec Pacella, CCIM, president at NAI Pleasant Valley, can be reached by phone at 216-4550925 or by email at apacella@naipvc.com. You can connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/ alecpacellaccim or subscribe to his youtube channel; What I C at PVC.

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www.propertiesmag.com 43

ACAR CORNER Issues in the real estate industry

Use a Quiet Winter to Prep for Spring Sales

t’s that time of year again when most real estate professionals are bracing for a dip in sales in the cold winter months and many property buyers and sellers go into hibernation. For those in the field – even if you don’t have a lot of active clients during this time – there’s plenty you can do to keep your business from freezing while you wait for consumers to return to the market in spring.

AKIL HAMEED

1. Clean up your contact list.

You’ve built a healthy list of contacts who you sincerely believe will be interested in your newsletter, blog and social media content. But it takes hard work to keep the list as clean and up-to-date as possible. Look at the bounce rates of recent messages you’ve sent to your customer base and, when possible, track down a new email address for contacts whose information is outdated. You’ll

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be surprised what you can learn about a client when you follow up to find out why their email address changed. You might discover, for example, that they have a new job that requires a move in the near future. Keep in mind, though, that when it comes to keeping your contact list tidy, if people unsubscribe, you should honor their request immediately.

2. Test email marketing services.

There are many options out there, but a lot of practitioners still rely on their personal email addresses to send bulk messages. What you might not realize is that when you send bulk email from your personal account, those messages are more likely to get caught in spam filters. But even if your message does reach your customers, you won’t get insights into what they do once they receive it. Email

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marketing providers can keep track of your contact list, let you know which emails were opened and when, and tell you which articles were clicked on and shared. So use this time to check out different services and take advantage of a free trial. Find what works for you now, and by the time spring comes, you’ll be engaging customers and driving referrals through your newsletters.

3. Curate informational content.

Creating newsletters becomes more difficult than it needs to be when you think you need to produce all the content yourself. That’s why many real estate professionals end up just featuring listings in their newsletters, which doesn’t offer customers anything they can’t easily look up online for themselves. Instead, spend some time this winter researching relevant blogs and collecting trend pieces and

The winter downtime is perfect for taking stock of your marketing techniques and assessing what you can do differently for your overall business. By the time you’ve identified and incorporated some changes, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running when the busy spring selling season emerges again. news stories your clients will find interesting. Then make them your own by adding your views on the topic as the lead to the story. (Just be sure to give credit to the original source.) You’ll learn that this will save you time and boost your credibility as a trustworthy and knowledgeable resource. By spring, you’ll have collected enough perennial content to launch your reimagined newsletter.

4. Review your performance.

Winter is the best time to look back on your year and compare your performance with the past three years to spot patterns. Also, take a closer look at the source of your sales, and break it down by referral, direct mail, email, open house, advertising and other criteria. This insight is critical to knowing which avenues deliver

the strongest return on investment. You’ll be armed with knowledge and know where to focus your efforts come spring.

5. Prepare for tax season.

This is about your overall business. Don’t wait until the last minute to find a great accountant with terrific bookkeeping skills. Use the winter to find the right accountant for you and to find those missing receipts for postage, gas and marketing materials. Also, don’t forget to dig into your files to prepare your tax documents, including bills, medical costs and donations. Depending on your relation-

ships with your accountant, you might want to give them relevant files every two weeks so that you always know where you stand with sales, estimated taxes, budget and savings. Use the winter to pick up this habit. Once it becomes part of your routine, it’s a huge relief when April rolls around, and it’ll allow you to focus on what you do best at a critical time in the year: sell property! Akil Hameed (FASS Management & Real Estate Svc.) is 2023 president of Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors (ACAR). This article was reprinted from NAR’s REALTOR Magazine.

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BILLBOARD News about people, products, places & plans

Air Control Products Hosts ‘Labaganza’ Educational Event

Photo courtesy of ACP

ir Control Products recently hosted the second annual Labaganza educational event, working in collaboration with Antec Controls, Antrum and Greenheck to showcase the latest advancements in laboratory ventilation systems. More than 50 individuals participated in the event, which spanned three days (October 11-13) and reached audiences in three cities (Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo). The design training session not Presenters for ACP’s ‘Labaganza’ educational event only offered in-depth knowledge but also included Misilyna Wu (Antec Controls), Jordan Cummings provided attendees with the opportunity (Antrum) and Justin Zahn (Greenheck) to earn four OCILB (Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board) credits and four PDH (Professional Development Hour) credits.

NAIOP Announces Awards of Excellence Call for Entries The Northern Ohio chapter of NAIOP recently announced a call for entries for its Annual Awards of Excellence. To submit a nomination, complete the Intent to Enter form online at www.naiopnorthernohio.com. Links to the official entry forms will be sent to primary contacts in January.

The awards recognize outstanding achievements in commercial real estate within 16 categories, including Broker; Construction, Exterior or Interior Renovation; Construction, New Ground-Up; Design, Architectural; Design, Interior; Design of Renovation, Exterior; Design of Renovation, Interior; Developer; Development; Innovation in CRE;

Landscape Architecture & Infrastructure, Land Development; Placemaking; Public Art; Rising Star; Transaction; and Transaction, Investment. For additional info, contact naiop@wherryassoc.com or 440.899.0010.

Tec Inc. Engineering & Design CEO Announces Retirement Eastlake-based engineering and design firm Tec Inc.

Terry Kilbourne

recently announced that Terry Kilbourne is retiring from his position as chief executive officer after 40 years of service. Kilbourne’s accomplishments include growing the firm’s three locations and serving several industry markets, while acting as president and CEO since the company’s founding in 1983. While exiting the firm’s daily activities, Kilbourne continues to serve as chairman emeritus, offering guidance to the firm’s board of directors. He also continues to commit to community outreach, serv-

Properties | December 2023

BILLBOARD News about people, products, places & plans ing in leadership at several community organizations.

Hahn Loeser & Parks Welcomes Two Associates Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP officially welcomed two new associate attorneys to its Litigation and Construction Practice Areas. Alexa R. Civittolo joined the Cleveland office and Samantha L. Shamhart joined the Columbus office following The Ohio Supreme Court’s swearing-in ceremony on November 13, admitting them to the Ohio Bar. Both served as summer associates at Hahn Loeser in 2022. Graduating cum laude from The Ohio State University Mortiz College of Law,

Alexa Civittolo

Samantha Shamhart

Civittolo served as a judicial extern with the Honorable Judge Kimberly Jolson of the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio. She was a legal extern for CareSource Office of the General Counsel and served as an intern at the Office of the

Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Ohio. Prior to becoming a summer associate, Shamhart worked as a paralegal and law clerk at multiple firms in Columbus. She was exposed to a wide variety of practice areas including business

litigation and planning, real estate and development, bankruptcy, domestic relations, probate, government relations, and criminal defense. As an associate, she now handles cases at all stages of litigation including managing discovery, drafting pleadings, researching and drafting dispositive motions and briefs, and state appellate work. Shamhart earned her J.D. from Capital University Law School, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Middough Welcomes New President/CEO Middough Inc. recently announced Samuel R. Barnes, PE as its new president and CEO. As part of this

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BILLBOARD News about people, products, places & plans

Samuel Barnes

organizational change, Ron Ledin, PE will become the company’s executive chairman and Carl Wendell will become executive vice president and COO. In his new role, Barnes will provide leadership working with Middough’s executive

team and have responsibility for the functional and financial performance of the company. He will also be responsible for executing the company’s business strategy as well as its cultural, safety, quality and talent initiatives. He earned his BSME and MBA from the University of Michigan and is a registered professional engineer in multiple states. As a professional mechanical engineer, Barnes brings more than 30 years of experience in the power industry with large and small EPC/EPCM firms.

Beacon Marshall Founder Charles Marshall Dies at 71 Beacon Marshall recently shared that Charles Marshall

Charles Marshall

passed away on September 7, 2023. A developer, designbuild general contractor and entrepreneur, Marshall started the company in 1996. He developed many industrial parks, including Seville, Beacon Westlake and Richfield, as well as built

many manufacturing, industrial and warehouse buildings in Ohio and across the United States. He also had a passion for old buildings and took on the historical renovation of the Farmer’s Exchange building in Medina, where he converted the former agriculture building into 16 high-end apartments, with first floor retail and a garden level microbrewery. It was the first project in Medina City and Medina County to receive State and Federal Historic Tax Credits. WHAT’S NEW? For complimentary coverage in Billboard, send company news & project information to billboard@propertiesmag.com.

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NAIOP NEWS Commercial real estate happenings

A Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

ERIN BLASKOVIC

s we reflect on the past year at NAIOP Northern Ohio, the organization stands at the forefront of a transformative journey within the commercial real estate industry. In an unwavering commitment to diversify and elevate programming, NAIOP Northern Ohio is thrilled to announce the receipt of a $50,000 grant from NAIOP Corporate through their Chapter Support Fund. This significant financial support is a testament to our dedication to making a meaningful impact on the industry and fostering inclusivity. Rather than competing with or duplicating existing diversity programs, NAIOP Northern Ohio took a deliberate and thoughtful approach in allocating the grant. The organization forged a partnership with the Cleveland Equitable Development Initiative (CEDI) program, focusing on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the commercial real estate sector. The partnership aims to address systemic disparities within the industry by providing tangible opportunities and resources to underrepresented professionals. Spearheaded by a dedicated steering committee, including Amber Koriath, William Willis and board members, the initiative was carefully crafted to ensure a sustainable and evolving impact.

Here are some key components of the initiative:

Free one-year membership

NAIOP Northern Ohio is offering a complimentary one-year membership to its chapter for participants in the CEDI program. This membership opens the door to a wealth of resources, networking opportunities and educational materials, empowering individuals to navigate the complexities of the commercial real estate landscape.

One-on-one mentorship with developer/owner members

Recognizing the value of mentorship, NAIOP Northern Ohio is facilitating one-on-one mentorship opportunities

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with seasoned developer/owner members. This personalized guidance is designed to accelerate the professional growth and development of CEDI participants, fostering a supportive environment for their success.

Equitable chapter programming

The initiative includes a commitment to equitable chapter programming, ensuring that events, seminars and networking opportunities are inclusive and accessible to all members. This approach aims to create a more level playing field, providing a platform for diverse voices and perspectives to be heard within the commercial real estate community. The NAIOP Northern Ohio and CEDI partnership is not a one-time endeavor but a dynamic, evolving initiative. The steering committee has laid the groundwork for continuous improvement, anticipating the shifting needs of the industry, and staying ahead of the curve in promoting diversity and inclusion. As NAIOP Northern Ohio looks to the future, the organization stands on a foundation fortified by legislation, charitable giving, networking and education. The commitment to diversity programming is seamlessly integrated into each pillar, creating a comprehensive approach to industry leadership. NAIOP Northern Ohio’s vision is unified — to navigate the evolving landscape of the commercial real estate industry with resilience, innovation and an unwavering dedication to its members, the community and the region at large. In conclusion, the past year at NAIOP Northern Ohio reflects not only a commitment to diversify programming but a dedication to comprehensive industry leadership. The organization stands as a beacon of strength, driving positive change through legislative advocacy, charitable giving, networking and education. As the commercial real estate industry continues to evolve, NAIOP Northern Ohio remains at the forefront, shaping a future that is not only inclusive but also strategically impactful for the region. Erin Blaskovic, business development leader at DLR Group, is 2023 president of NAIOP Northern Ohio. For more information, visit www.naiopnorthernohio.com.

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Congratulations to ConCord township and the ConCord township Fire department!

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Ready to Serve

Concord Township opens fire station to meet growing community’s emergency needs By Dan Holland | Photos by Mark Watt

At a public open house and grand opening of the new Concord Township Fire Station #1 last month, it was clear those goals have been met. Designed by FGM Architects and built by Pinnacle Construction, the new $9.8 million, 22,700-square-foot headquarters at 11599 Concord Hambden Rd. provides a modern, right-sized station to serve the community’s emergency needs. The new facility replaces the township’s original 6,400-square-foot Fire Station #1, which opened in 1966 just across the street.

New station in sight

The project began six years ago when the fire chief began attending national fire station design conferences to look into the possibility of constructing a new headquarters. A plan to engage with the

Ohio Fire Chiefs Association to develop a feasibility study was approved by township trustees in 2017. “First, we needed to determine whether we needed a new fire station, or if we could make the current one work,” Sabo explains. “Second, if it was decided that the current fire station wasn’t going to work, are we considering building a new fire station in a strategically located place in the township?” The study concluded that a renovation of the old fire station would be cost prohibitive and recommended building a new facility. FGM Architects, out of their Reston, Virginia office, began working with the township in fall 2018 to develop simultaneous designs for a new Fire Station #1 as well as a replacement for its existing

Fire Station #2 (10154 Prouty Rd.), also built in 1966. “We were asked to design two new stations for the township, as their existing stations had outlived their useful life and were not in accordance with current best practices of fire station design,” explains Katie Atwater, senior associate for FGM. “The fire department was looking for the new station to aesthetically fit into its surrounding context while providing a facility that enhances the health and wellness of the firefighters and is fully accessible, gender-neutral and sized to meet both the current and future needs.” “We originally went to the voters for a $10 million bond issue in November 2019, which failed,” Sabo explains. “We knew we had to go back to the voters, and at the same time, we had www.propertiesmag.com 53

Photo by V1 DroneMedia

irefighters spend approximately one-third of their lives in a fire station, notes Concord Township Fire Chief Matt Sabo. So when the Lake County township began planning for a new fire headquarters to serve its community, the health and safety of its first-responders was a driving force, as was the ability to provide on-site training, provide efficiencies to operations and improve response times.

NATURAL ADVANTAGE Native plants were used around the fire station to create an attractive, drought-tolerant landscape that complements the building architecture, notes Matt Busa, landscape architect with AECOM.

a new board of trustees. When the new board came, they introduced a new proposal to the township. As we were presenting a decrease in funding, COVID hit and we saw the cost of everything rising exponentially. The township had to make up for a bigger gap and look at alternative funding.” A 26-year, $8 million bond issue for the Fire Station #1 project was approved by voters in November 2020. The township brought in Pinnacle Construction, of Willoughby Hills, for the designbid-build project situated on an open three-acre site located directly across the street from the original fire station. Groundbreaking commenced in January 2022, with substantial completion and full occupancy reached in October 2023.

Structure + exteriors

The roof in the apparatus bay and bay support areas are supported by light gauge pre-engineered metal trusses on masonry bearing walls with steel beams supporting the mezzanine area. The administrative and residential section features light gauge metal trusses supported by structural steel columns. Exterior finishes include stone, ground face masonry units and Hardie Plank fiber-cement board siding. An insulated double-sheath R-38 panel architectural 54

shingle system covers much of the roof, with a flat EPDM membrane roofing system installed over a mechanical unit area and atop the facility’s training tower. A covered outdoor patio extends out from the day room area on the main level, while an open concrete patio wraps around the exterior of the fitness and training rooms on the lower level.

“Chief Sabo’s passion was something that I wanted to emulate. We both had passion for this job, and part of it is to do it right and to make sure that it is a sustainable project that will stand the test of time.” Scott Minerd Pinnacle Construction Concrete stairs provide an exterior connection between the two features, while precast concrete retaining walls were utilized to overcome the steep grade change. Extensive landscaping surrounds the perimeter of the building and the lighted, 42-space asphalt parking lot. “The landscape architecture design utilized gently sloping topography and

a native plant palette to help ground the fire station in its setting adjacent to Jordan Creek Metropark, an expansive wooded area with rolling terrain,” explains Matt Busa, landscape architect with AECOM, which provided civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, fire protection and technology engineering on the project, as well as cost estimating services. “Native meadow areas were planted along the park boundary and around the stormwater detention basin, serving to provide wildlife habitat, reduce the amount of mowing and maintenance, and filter stormwater runoff. Native plants were also used throughout the parking lot and around the building to create a beautiful and drought-tolerant landscape that complements the building architecture.”

Interior Layout

From the main vestibule, visitors enter the administrative wing, which contains a conference room, study and six private offices, including two fire prevention offices, which were moved from an offsite location. Behind administration sits the living spaces with a large, open day room/ dining room/kitchen/pantry area. Directly adjacent is the bunk area, which features a uniform laundry room, Properties | December 2023

Concord Township Fire Station #1 (Concord Township, OH)

SKILL BUILDING A training tower connected to the station’s apparatus bay allows firefighters to practice and conduct fire and rescue drills.

restrooms, six bunk rooms and a seventh bunk for the shift officer. Four rows of full-size lockers provide personal storage space for the entire staff. The administrative and living spaces connect to the apparatus bay area via a decontamination corridor. The 5,300-square-foot apparatus bay features four overhead doors each at the front and rear. The space is currently home to three fire engines, two ambulances, one command vehicle, an equipment trailer and Gator ATV. Nestled between the apparatus bay and the day room sits the gear locker room, decontamination/gear laundry room, and decontamination restrooms with showers. Firefighters pass through the decontamination corridor before reentering the living quarters. The decontamination room and restroom corridor doubles as a storm shelter for the firefighters and fire station occupants. Along the west wall of the apparatus bay are support rooms for EMS storage, SCBA and equipment maintenance, training props and hose storage, plus a sprinkler room, electrical room and communications closet. The bay also provides access to the three-story training tower attached to the northwest corner of the building. A mezzanine area along the west wall contains an open training area and boiler room. The lower level, with exterior doors along the north and east sides, contains a fitness room, training room, restrooms,

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TAKING SHAPE Groundbreaking commenced in January 2022, with substantial completion and full occupancy reached in October 2023.

mechanical/electrical room, telecommunications room and storage spaces. Access is via a stairwell or elevator from the living area above.

Design considerations + needs

A number of design elements incorporated into the project provide for a safer

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and more efficient mode of operation all contained under one roof. The station can also serve as an emergency operations command center. “Firefighter safety is foremost,” says Sabo. “When we talk about deploying apparatus for emergencies, we needed adequate space to safely deploy. The

other issue in terms of firefighter safety is ventilation and make-up air. One of the first grants I worked on with our fire leadership was bringing in a vehicle exhaust capture system, which we brought over from the old station.” “Numerous design features within the station were incorporated with a goal

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ACCOMMODATING NEEDS The facility includes a public-facing administrative area (top), as well as residential space for firefighters with a kitchen, day room (middle), lockers (bottom), sleeping quarters, a workout area and more.

to improve mental health of the firefighters,” says Atwater. “These include increased daylighting in all occupied, interior spaces; providing individual and group spaces for personnel to recover as they prefer; an outdoor patio area for those who prefer to recover in fresh air; and the use of biophilic materials throughout the station.” A number of response vehicles did not fit in the bays of the old station, with certain vehicles remaining out in the elements year-round. Much equipment had to be stored offsite. “We had to store response apparatus in the service department, which delayed our response time,” says Sabo. “We also had equipment stored in the red barn behind the new station, which also caused delays.” With ample storage space in the new apparatus bay, those previous challenges have been eliminated.

Wish list

New technologies and in-house training facilities were two “wish list” items integrated into the new station design. “It was important to keep our firefighter training in-house as much as possible, and we can do a lot in the training tower,” says Sabo. “We’re very active in technical rescues, such as rope rescues, and we have firefighters who are part of the Lake County Hazardous Intervention Team. We’ve helped with trench rescues and rope rescues. So, the training tower was a critical piece to this project.” Alert systems in each room allow the staff to be aware of calls in real time. Establishing a physically separate living/office area from the apparatus bay was a feature not available in the original station, Sabo notes. “It was important for us to keep that zoned atmosphere to keep the contaminants in the bay. We have a transition zone before we come into the house and business side.” Firefighter input was sought throughout the project. “It was important right from the beginning to bring our firefighters together to form a committee,” says Sabo. “I go home every night, but www.propertiesmag.com 57

BACK INTO ACTION Built into a hillside at the property’s rear, the lower level (top) includes a fitness center and a meeting/training room (middle). Immediately northwest is a sizeable apparatus bay, where fire engines and other vehicles are stored (bottom).

these guys who live in it, I wanted to make sure that they had the elements they needed to be successful in doing their job and be comfortable doing it.”

Building systems

Boilers provide radiant floor heating in the apparatus bay, which is augmented with radiant tube heating and hot water unit heaters. High-power fans set in the open metal truss ceiling support system help direct heat downward. A rooftop unit with VAV boxes, supplemented with radiant heat panels in the ceiling, serves the administrative/living wing. Two industrial-quality water heaters provide hot water. Flooring throughout includes porcelain tile, vinyl composite tile, carpet tile, polished concrete and sealed concrete. The apparatus bay also has epoxy quartz flooring for durability and longevity. Windows consist of insulated storefront and curtain wall systems. Radiant heat in the slabs extend out 20 feet from the bay doors to melt snow that accumulates on the front and rear aprons.

Overcoming construction challenges

The site most recently served as township athletic fields, notes Scott Minerd, principal with Pinnacle Construction. “In the ‘70s and ‘80s, the site was a collective dumping ground of various materials, organics, discarded tree trunks and slight refuse that was ultimately capped and made into a soccer field,” he says. “At the rear of the building, we had to dig down for the lower level. All of the slab on grade called for 18-inch-thick concrete with structural reinforcement double-mat #6 bar 12 inches each way over two feet of #57 stone base on top of the subgrade.” The scenario posed additional challenges for plumbing work, Minerd adds. “When we started doing rough-in plumbing work, in order to get our undergrounds in, the stub up plumbing needed to be almost four feet out of the ground,” he explains. “The challenge was how to keep that steady while bringing in two feet of stone and then pouring 18 inches of 58

Properties | December 2023

FIREHOUSE FLEET The 5,300-square-foot apparatus bay features four overhead doors each at the front and rear. The space is currently home to three fire engines, two ambulances, one command vehicle, an equipment trailer and Gator ATV.

concrete. Not only that, but the perimeter footers were monolithically poured down to 42 inches while pouring the SOG.” Maintaining access to service department equipment stored in the red barn and allowing for fire operations presented logistical challenges throughout construction. “At the end of the property by the apparatus bay, we ended up bringing up the site about 12 feet,” says Minerd. “So, as we were bringing up the road, we had to create access, and none of that would have been possible without close communication between Chief Sabo and the Pinnacle staff, making sure that we were sensitive to what they had coming up in the weekly needs of the service department.” “Then we had to be sensitive to the fact that they are first responders,” Minerd continues. “They work 24/7 – 365, and no matter what we’re doing, those fire trucks needed to be able to get to Route 608 to service the community.” Use of a jack-and-bore method beneath the road had to be changed due to unforeseen, differing site conditions, according to Minerd. “That would have been great had we not encountered shale,” he explains. “We had to revise to an open-cut excava-

tion method to get through the shale to put in the six-inch sanitary and eight-inch water lines. Then we had to resubmit the permit and get ODOT approval, including MOT detour traffic plans while respecting the access needs of the fire department. Chief

able to take advantage of technology in occupancy sensors for rooms for daylight harvesting. As the sun shines through our windows, the lights dim.”

A winning team

In the end, a dedicated team delivered the desired product. “Chief Sabo’s passion was something that I wanted to emulate,” says Minerd. “We both had passion for this job, and part of it is to do it right and to make sure that it is a sustainable project that will stand the test of time.” “We are very happy for the fire department and the township,” Atwater says. “They had been working to make this project a realChief Matt Sabo ity for many years before FGM was Concord Township Fire Department brought onto the team, and seeing how excited they were to be able Sabo was instrumental to the success to move in and enjoy the new space has of that changed condition.” been amazing.” “I had no idea what to expect coming into this project, and working alongside Clean + green Although the project did not seek Pinnacle has been a great experience LEED certification, certain green ele- in helping me to understand the process,” says Sabo. “Working with FGM, ments were integrated into the design. “I made it clear when we began the [owner’s rep] RFC Contracting and all project that I did not seek to be LEED the partners that put their heart and certified, but if there were ways to incor- soul into this really put my mind at ease porate those elements, then it makes that we would have a good project at sense,” says Sabo. “For example, we were the end.”

“It was important right from the beginning to bring our firefighters together to form a committee.... I wanted to make sure that they had the elements they needed to be successful in doing their job and be comfortable doing it.”

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BUILDING PRODUCTS + MAINTENANCE

The Thomas Brick Company Celebrates 90th Anniversary After nearly a century, the brick, tile and stone supplier continues to lead the field Story + photos By Scott Esterly

lot transpires over the course of 90 years, but there are always some constants. One constant is The Thomas Brick Company. “We started in 1933. William Alcorn was the founder and president, who happens to be my wife’s grandfather. It started down in Akron and then moved up to Cleveland,” says Scott Meneely, the CEO of The Thomas Brick Company.

The Thomas Brick Company’s main office and showroom moved from Akron to Beachwood on Chagrin Boulevard in 1962. To put that in perspective, the building predates I-271, the outerbelt, which opened in 1964. A showroom in Westlake, at Crocker Road and Koyo Drive, opened approximately 20 years ago. Staff are often asked if someone named Thomas Brick ever owned or worked at the company. “William Alcorn worked for The Thomas Brick & Tile Company in Detroit, and he came over here and opened The Thomas Brick Company in Akron in 1933,” says Meneely. The Detroit-based business is no longer around, and nobody named Thomas Brick ever worked at either company. “We started out in the brick business with maybe four or five people and have 60

grown over the years,” says Meneely. Now, The Thomas Brick Company supplies bricks, tiles and numerous other architectural products from more than 60 different vendors with countless prod-

“We’re able to offer more options to the architects and developers here. That’s been our claim to fame.” Scott Meneely The Thomas Brick Company uct offerings. Their website boasts that the Beachwood showroom has over 600 samples of brick, stone and pavers on display. They now employ 22 people, which includes sales staff and designers, and are proud to be a family-oriented business nearly a century later.

A rough delineation of their product offering are architectural products, which includes brick, stone veneer, pavers and more, as well as tiles, including ceramic, glass, hand-painted, porcelain, metallic, terracotta and more.

Bricks

“Back in 1933, Glen-Gery, which is still our major brick line, was a lot smaller. We had a great relationship with them, and another plant called Hanley. Eventually, Glen-Gery bought the Hanley plant,” says Meneely “It was the same back then as it is now, where manufacturers aligned with different distributors. That model hasn’t changed much.” “We’re able to offer more options to the architects and developers here. That’s been our claim to fame. We’ve Properties | December 2023

STRONG CONNECTIONS A point of pride for The Thomas Brick Company is its close-knit staff, including (top) Chagrin Boulevard Showroom Tile Designers Bailie St. Clair, Shannon Bradick, Ann Cohen, Joan Hanslik and Helen Foy, (middle) executives Brian Williams, Scott Meneely and Bailie St. Clair, and (bottom) siblings Molly Mains and Andy Bell, the company’s longest tenured employees.

brought brick in from Washington state before because they had the whitest color brick in the United States at one time,” he adds. The numbers fluctuate year to year, but brick generally accounts for approximately 60% to 65% of their business, while the balance is mostly tile. Also fluctuating within those percentages is the breakdown of commercial versus residential work. The Thomas Brick Company is heavily involved in both areas. Generally, they take on many more residential projects than commercial, but it balances out financially.

Tiles = growth

“1972 is when we picked up our first tile line, which was Country Floors. Over the years we grew the tile business while the brick business also grew. When I came on board in 1987, my push was to grow the tile side of the business,” says Meneely. “We are not a run-of-the-mill tile place,” he adds. “With tile, we can go anywhere, and we ship all over the nation. Brick has more of a designated area, which is mainly Northeast Ohio.” The tile industry is extremely diverse, and The Thomas Brick Company works with over 60 different manufacturers, both domestically and abroad. “We deal with very large factories, like mega companies, and also small companies that might only have five employees,” says Meneely.

Major projects

The Thomas Brick Company has had their hand in virtually every major project in Northeast Ohio over the past 90 years, including transformative ones like Progressive Field. They supplied the bricks when it was first built 30 years ago www.propertiesmag.com 61

BUILDING PRODUCTS + MAINTENANCE

DESIGNERS’ CHOICE The company’s Chagrin Boulevard showroom allows clients to get a first-hand look at available products.

and, for the current renovations underway, they are in the process of matching those original bricks. Another major project that came online around the same time

as Progressive Field was SouthPark Mall in Strongsville. Crocker Park in Westlake is also a standout project and is emblematic of the long-term relationship The Thomas Brick Company

DISTINGUISHED DESIGNS DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

has had with real estate developer Bob Stark and Stark Enterprises for so many years. At Case Western Reserve University, they were the major suppliers for both the North Residential Village and South Residential Village. The Cleveland Clinic is also one of their greatest partners. The Clinic has consistently sought out the whitest brick possible and The Thomas Brick Company has been able to source it for them.

EBRATIN EL

Challenges

YEARS

Celebrating 90 years as Northeast Ohio’s premier distributor of:

B RI C K

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“Even when times got tough, like during recessions, we didn’t lay off anyone. It was one of those situations where we all worked together,” says Meneely. While the global COVID-19 pandemic offered many challenges, like the public having limited access to their showrooms, business kept steady as many people opted to use that time to renovate their homes. Of course, they have dealt with the same recent struggles that the entire construction industry continues to face, like container and labor shortages, and economic challenges like new tariffs that have at times limited availability of products.

Local designers

Much of The Thomas Brick Company’s success is attributed to culProperties | December 2023

MIX + MATCH (From left) Brian Williams, Kevin Perciak and Charlie Gould are key specialists in the company’s brick products and services.

tivating close relationships with local architects and designers over the years. “Because we have great relationships with our design community locally, we are able to have projects all over the country,” says Bailie St. Clair, the VP of tile sales. “We’re going to their offices and they’re coming to our showroom to see product and then they put it on their projects across the country.” They also attribute social media to helping inspire those local designers. “We do social media in-house,” she says. “A lot of times we’ll post a picture of a new product and then the next day we get an email from a designer who’s been inspired to use it in a new project. We also give shout-outs to the designers that are tagging us in their social media posts. Having an avenue to show people these products really drives business and gets people excited.”

Employee + customer satisfaction

“We’ve been very fortunate over the years; we’ve had people here for decades. Our turnover is very low,” says Meneely. “That experience gives customers a lot of comfort because we’ve been through it all and we know how to navigate waters on these custom projects our customers want. If they’re going to spend top dollar on tile, they want to be treated and taken care of the right way,” says Brian Williams, the president of The Thomas Brick Company. “From start to finish, the customer is often working with one person that makes the experience seamless. There’s a lot of trust that’s built into that relationship,” adds St. Clair.

All in the family

Familial connections are easy to spot at The Thomas Brick Company. For instance, Williams’s grandfather, uncle and even one of his daughters have worked there over the years. Art Bell was a prior president of the company,

and his son Andy and daughter Molly have both worked there for decades. “We try to keep a family feel here, we look at everyone as family, we treat everyone as family. Most associates here have even had their kids work here at some point,” says Meneely.

Always looking ahead

Aside from growing their tile presence, another period of growth for the company was getting into stone in the mid- to late-1990s. “We were trendsetters getting Arriscraft into the market,” says Williams. Arriscraft is a renowned maker of manufactured stone. “We try to pick out products that nobody else has, and spend a lot of time promoting them,” adds Meneely One area that is not new to construction, but newer to The Thomas Brick

Company, is cladding. While they aren’t trendsetters in the space, they are finding new ways to help define it. They are looking towards alternate cladding products like MAC Metals and Titantek to help define themselves in the cladding space. “MAC Metals has some unique wood grain finishes, and Titantek is a competitively priced metal siding that is going to put us in the game on some projects we wouldn’t previously have gone after,” says Williams. “We’ve seen a trend in building construction where masonry has dwindled a bit due to a number of reasons, like cost and number of contractors,” he adds. “We’ve gotten a little out of our comfort zone, which has been masonry, but it’s going well, and we’ve built a great relationship with architects over the years. They trust the Thomas Brick name.” P www.propertiesmag.com 63

BUILDING PRODUCTS + MAINTENANCE

Smart Strategies for Soft Surfaces

5 steps to maximize your carpet maintenance program Provided by Fiber-Seal of Northern Ohio

reventative maintenance is a proven strategy to keep carpeting and other office soft surfaces looking great, but there’s more beneath the surface. It also helps facilities and property managers to achieve several key functionality goals. A planned maintenance program protects one of a building’s largest investments in terms of square footage; it can extend carpet lifecycles twofold and reduce long-term replacement costs; and it promotes a healthy workplace by improving indoor air quality (IAQ). It also allows property owners/ managers to redirect opportunity costs on other priorities. Here are five simple steps to implementing a carpet maintenance program that is both cost effective and results-driven.

1. Embrace a preventative mindset

An effective strategy begins with adopting the proper perspective – specifically, maintenance is not cleaning. Cleaning is an act, whereas maintenance is a strategy. Cleaning is reactive, whereas maintenance is proactive. More than just semantics, a proper perspective helps change the way we think about maintenance. The result is that we can properly prioritize functional objectives and health benefits.

2. Use walk-off mats

From the strategic to the tactical, the next step is right at the doorstep (pun intended). There are steps to take near entry doors – namely, the proper use of walk-off mats. These unassuming mats are often overlooked, but their importance should not be. It has been estimated that up to 75% of the soil in any office building is tracked in. It is easier and less expensive to keep soil from entering a building than it is to remove it. When possible, try to implement the 20-foot rule to any walk-off area. That is because it takes roughly 20 linear feet 64

of matting to remove 86% of tracked in soil.

3. Plan for proactive spot cleaning

Step three is a product feature that is often overlooked: fabric protection treatments. That’s because, unlike entry mats, it’s effectively invisible. We cannot see fabric protection because it does not change the look, color or feel of the carpet or upholstery. But we can see its value, especially from a preventative maintenance perspective. Fabric protection makes routine spot cleaning easier in the event of accidents or emergencies. By increasing the safe time to address spots (a substance added) before they become stains (color added), fabric protection buys facilities and property managers time. Plus, in the event of staining, fabric protection gives a professional cleaner a better chance at stain removal. Essentially, fabric protection gives facilities and property managers a proactive response to a reactive situation. Having a plan in place when accidents happen fos-

ters quick, appropriate action. Responding appropriately, often with the help of on-call professionals, is critical because incorrect spot removal techniques and products can set a stain permanently.

4. Vacuum

By now you may have realized a trend in these steps. It is the simple, often overlooked measures that add up to make a big difference. No cleaning method is perhaps more important to maximize your carpet maintenance program than vacuuming. Yet all too often, its impact is curtailed by shortcuts or cost cuts. Vacuuming removes a majority of contaminants from carpets and other soft textile goods in the office. These soft surfaces act as filters for IAQ. The largest air filter in any commercial office or building is the carpet. Unlike hard surfaces that just re-circulate these contaminants and allergens back into the air, a properly maintained carpet traps them like a filter. Vacuuming removes nearly three quarters of soiling in commercial carpet, ensuring this Properties | December 2023

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filter operates efficiently. Health benefits aside, proper vacuuming extends the life cycle of carpet too. Walking on soiled carpet permits the soil particles to scratch and abrade their way down into the pile like sandpaper. This abrasion causes the dull appearance typically found in those gray traffic patterns in hallways. Frequent vacuuming removes soiling from the surface, thereby minimizing this premature wear.

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5. Commit to regular ‘deep cleaning’

Last, but not least, is the role that scheduled restorative cleaning plays in an effective carpet maintenance program. This is often referred to as “deep cleaning.” Generally speaking, cleaning is the technique used to break down and remove

Health benefits aside, proper vacuuming extends the life cycle of carpet too. Walking on soiled carpet permits the soil particles to scratch and abrade their way down into the pile like sandpaper. This abrasion causes the dull appearance typically found in those gray traffic patterns in hallways. soils, contaminants and allergens from the carpet. The manufacturer’s specifications for maintenance will instruct both the frequency (based on traffic patterns) and the manner for regular restorative cleaning. A vast majority of manufacturers will stipulate using a low-moisture, hot water extraction cleaning method.

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Final

Following these five steps to preventative maintenance for office carpet is simple, yet effective. Each office space is unique and no two programs are alike. But the best preventative maintenance programs share these five key features. Does yours? Fiber-Seal of Northern Ohio is a IICRC Certified firm for over 40 years.

For information, contact Mussun Sales at 216.431.5088 www.mussun.com www.propertiesmag.com 67

BUILDING PRODUCTS + MAINTENANCE

LEGAL PERSPECTIVES Navigating property laws & regulations

How Can We Overcome Material Procurement & Delivery Risks? By Colten Siedlarczyk, Chad Van Arnam & David Elsey Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP

t the most basic level, contracts serve to assign, allocate and mitigate risk. Parties – unsurprisingly – are typically unwilling to adopt greater risk than required, and often look to assign most of the risk to the other contracting party. While understandable, this approach may have unintended costs. For the most part, the general risks associated with a construction project are commonly understood and accounted for in broad form provisions. Such provisions alone, however, may not effectively address the unique risks associated with the rise in material escalation, volatile supply chains, increased labor demand and skilled labor shortages. In turn, disputes related to the foregoing procurement and delivery issues are on the rise. Even when resolved, contractors and owners alike have been equally dissatisfied. It is unreasonable to believe that all risk can be identified and assigned from the outset. However, including provisions that require proactive planning, early procurement meetings and early deliverables may mitigate the chances of procurement issues, and certainly reduce the negative impact should they arise. The risk of the unknown does not have to be solely allocated to one party or another. Encouraging a project-centric approach, obligating all parties to engage and share risk, will benefit all parties who choose to adopt such a perspective. Following are some early planning and procurement procedures/concepts that can easily be incorporated into

contract terms and/or early engagement project activities.

What can owners and their design teams/consultants consider doing? Foster early engagement Find a way to create a true collaborative partnership between all members of the team as early as possible. This could

the process. Establish an environment with open communication being a critical focus piece. Avoid playing the “blame game” and be understanding when difficult news is communicated to encourage continued open and transparent flow of information in real time from all parties. When soliciting for proposal requests or bids, encourage real-time feedback from contractors, subcontractors and their material vendors.

For the most part, the general risks associated with a construction project are commonly understood and accounted for in broad form provisions. Such provisions alone, however, may not effectively address the unique risks associated with the rise in material escalation, volatile supply chains, increased labor demand and skilled labor shortages.

be driven by the type of project, but it’s important to have all team members involved as early as possible, including the construction team. For scenarios or projects where the owner is hesitant to engage team members too early for potentially losing pricing competitiveness, there are various ways for an owner to maintain cost confidence from the whole team throughout the entire process. Understand the environment Look for multiple options and rely on input from all team members throughout

Be flexible and understanding Be ready for and open to potential alternative options for final product selections. Encourage a streamlined substitution process – perhaps even cater to the project and work ahead with the design team/consultants so decisions can move efficiently and effectively. Wherever possible, avoid sole-source manufacturers or closed-spec materials; limiting available options in current market conditions can be a recipe for disaster. If a change is necessary, seek diligent back-up documentation so that decisions can be made quickly with reliable and appropriate information.

What can contractors consider doing? • Encourage open and often communication from the outset, and continue through the entire project; Properties | December 2023

• Offer current-trending material procurement information during the bidding process; • Create options for team members to evaluate – both time driven and product driven; • Provide potential temporary solutions that offer workarounds to achieve substantial completion with minimal, non-intrusive come-back work; • Include detailed assumptions and clarifications – part of winning the work is showing the commitment of your team upfront, so be sure to include information to help the owner make a selection, knowing you are the right add to the team; and • Evaluate if and potentially recommend that a project would benefit

Wherever possible, avoid solesource manufacturers or closed-spec materials. Limiting available options in current market conditions can be a recipe for disaster.

ties, it is important to memorialize the outcome of those sessions. For instance, consider incorporating agreed upon strategies with an amendment to the contract or a no-cost change order. The real key is nothing new. It goes back to what is at the core – teamwork, communication, planning and execution. Encouraging this throughout the

entire project will create and foster an environment for overall project success with the entire team. Colten Siedlarczyk is associate attorney; Chad Van Arnam is director of construction services; and David Elsey is senior manager of construction services with Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. For more information, visit www.hahnlaw.com.

YOUR INDUSTRY IS OUR BUSINESS. At Hahn Loeser, our Construction Team was listed for the third year in a row in Construction Executive Magazine’s Top 50 Construction Law Firms. Further, we are ranked as a National Tier 1 practice for Litigation – Construction in the 2024 “Best Law Firms” report by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® and our attorneys are recognized as industry leaders by Chambers USA®, Best Lawyers® and Super Lawyers®. We offer our clients exceptional strength, leadership and industry knowledge. Our responsive team of hardworking

from lower-tier design-assist involvement for an even stronger finger on the pulse of the current market. Working collaboratively across all disciplines from the early project development phases all the way through substantial completion will help to flush out issues driven by product availability. It will also help to encourage alternative solutions, whether it’s flexibility in various materials, multiple design options for specific elements, or temporary construction solutions until those selected materials are available for final installation. Many organizations and projects have already adopted early strategy sessions to overcome these and other types of project issues. With the ultimate goal in mind of mitigating risk across all interested par-

professionals is committed to seeking outstanding results for our clients around the corner and across the country. For the latest legal developments impacting your business, subscribe to our blog at constructionlawinsights.com.

HAHN LOESER & PARKS LLP | hahnlaw.com | 216.621.0150 200 Public Square | Suite 2800 | Cleveland, OH 44114

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BUILDING PRODUCTS + MAINTENANCE

VANTAGE POINT Experts weigh in on industry issues

Are Robots and AI the Future of Construction? By Shane Zysk BuildingPoint Ohio Valley

Take for instance the invention human jobs; they’re modern conof the internal combustion engine struction instruments, and in that in the late 1800s. There were previsense aren’t simply the stuff of scious mechanical innovations, like the ence fiction either. These tools are steam engine, while the use of liquid an interface – the vehicle that fossil fuel had also been explored, moves the project ahead, but and the necessary manufacturing one that still needs human drivcapabilities of the industrial revoluers. The construction industry is tion were already in place. But it indeed changing, and there’s no still took until the end of the 19th arguing that. Tomorrow’s skilled century for the pieces to be put workers will inevitably have more together in just the right way to in common with their peers in achieve the birth of the automobile the fields of engineering than the as we know it. calloused laborers of the past. New In the world of construction, one “layout robots” coming onboard pivotal 20th-century innovation COMMAND + CONTROL Modern layout robots can assist have the ability to understand and was computer-aided design (CAD). construction operations like never before, by literally work directly from the BIM (buildIts arrival ushered in a new way of translating digital plans to the physical world through ing information modeling) and thinking about the built environ- software-guided machine printing. VDC (virtual design construction) ment, of a world where machines plans being used to synchronize played an important role in the other efforts on the construction Yet a major obstacle to the industry development and maintenance of new fully embracing the technological revo- jobsite. This has the potential to tie all and existing infrastructure. There have lutions of this age has often centered on machines, material and teams together, been a flurry of inventions since then one missing piece – the actual deliv- as I’ve discussed in previous issues of that have increased the digital world’s ery of information between those two Properties. However, innovations within role in physical construction, such as realms. Up until now, the link between the past few years take things a step robotic total stations, 3D scanners and design plans and constructed reality has further, in that they can actually assist, even mixed reality headsets, all operat- remained dependent on humans. physically, with the layout work. Through ing off of linked, field-to-office software That now, it seems, is about to change. sophisticated sensors and tailor-made on rugged mobile devices. We have tools Yes, I’m talking about robots. Through the components, on-site robots can perform that can scan and capture the physi- inherent promise of modern construction actual stakeout and layout routines, cal reality just as it lays and transmit layout robots, the industry finally has the marking measurements directly. Such a that data back to the design room, and true means of bridging the gap between concept coming to life has innumerable the augmented devices available now the physical and digital worlds, allowing benefits only hinted at during the early can translate that information to allow the industry to be more precise, productive days of CAD. the digital to be overlaid with the real and profitable than ever before. The human oversees the machine world and provide context to plans never It’s important to note these “robots” through constant communication via before possible. aren’t synthetic humanoids here to take radio and internet, operating off of intui70

Properties | December 2023

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he evolution of technology, much like infrastructure, begin as an idea. The components needed to shape these advancements may already exist, yet realizing the vision conjures up obstacles that have to be navigated and requires steps arranged in a specific sequence in order to make the desired progress occur.

tive, real-time, field-to-office software on a smart device and tied into more traditional layout instruments, such as a total station locked onto a prism mounted on the robot. Then, it’s simply point-and-go, as guided workflows move the machine and it literally marks out everything, from intricate lines at exacting, precise measurements that would be excruciating for a human to plot to smooth arcs, anchor bolts, MEP and HVAC components and more, on a variety of surfaces, seamlessly. While the human remains in charge, the robot removes the threats of fatigue, oversight and general error, and provides instant, repeatable results that can be verified via continuous sync with digital plans. Layouts are completed faster and more efficiently, as either one or a

The construction industry is indeed changing, and there’s no arguing that. Tomorrow’s skilled workers will inevitably have more in common with their peers in the fields of engineering than the calloused laborers of the past. team of such robots operates in tandem, measuring and marking even difficult-toreach or hazardous places exactly. When physical construction is set to begin, the crew working will then be able to see and know just what and where everything needs to go, to levels never before possible. Want to visualize both sides and the true thickness of the walls, ductwork and/or electrical systems being put in place right where they need to be? Just print them on the floor! This kind of precise pre-construction – machine-guided as it transfers information from office-to-field, digital to physical – has never been possible before, and has wide-reaching effects. With the peace of mind that these accuracy-driven machines afford, builders can build better, produce more compelling work, and do so more competitively.

Material costs are reduced due to an exact knowledge of what is needed, which also impacts bidding. Additionally, there’s another means of attracting and retaining more business. You may have heard about the ever-growing use of mixed reality to provide virtual “walkthroughs” of building plans on-site for stakeholders. Imagine now being able to also have

those individuals literally walk atop the precisely printed blueprints of the structure right on the floor! Just like any new technology, the layout robots available today ought to be properly researched and vetted before a company opts to jump on the bandwagon, but the path they’re paving forward is truly the future. Will robots

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GUIDING THE WAY With sophisticated sensors and tailor-made components, on-site robots can perform stakeout and layout routines, marking measurements directly.

someday actually build entire structures? They probably will. We’re already seeing exosuits to augment human strength and machines such as cranes have been at it for decades. Is artificial Intelligence (AI) set to get involved as well? Again, it most likely will, in the form of more intuitive, real-time, problem-solving workflows for construction machines. Are all of these inventions going to replace the need for humans in construction? Not anytime soon. The need for planners, designers, operators, site managers and so on won’t be going anywhere for a long time to come. What these innovations are going to change is the nature of the modern construction professional’s daily work. There will be less focus on physical labor and more on technical know-how, as the contractor of tomorrow has more in common with those in the engineering fields than ever before. This is where the next generation is heading, and where regulations are heading as governments, safety organizations and climate efforts demand ever more rigorous procedures and results. It’s for these reasons, as well as the potential offered in terms of accuracy, productivity and long-term profitability, that construction layout robots, along with a host of other precision instruments, are the future of the modern construction industry. Shane Zysk is marketing coordinator with BuildingPoint Ohio Valley. For more information, visit www.buildingpointohiovalley.com. Properties | December 2023

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CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS REPORT Updated info on important projects in the region, provided courtesy of ConstructionWire (www.constructionwire.com) Project: #3232439 WARNER AND SWASEY II REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (56 units) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: Renovation ESTIMATED VALUE: $19.6 million SECTOR: Private, Public LOCATION: 5701 Carnegie Ave. Cleveland, OH 44103 DETAILS: Plans call for renovations and the conversion of the existing Warner & Swasey manufacturing facility into an affordable apartment complex with 56 units. The units will include studios, one- and two-bedrooms. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/7/2023) STAGE: Planning CONSTRUCTION END: N/A BID DUE DATE: N/A ARCHITECT: Moody-Nolan, Inc. 300 Spruce St., Ste. 300 Columbus, OH 43215 Headquarters P: 614-461-4664 DEVELOPER, PROPERTY MANAGER: Pennrose Contact: Jonah Fay, Project Manager jfay@pennrose.com 1301 N. 31st St. Philadelphia, PA 19121 P: 267-386-8600 Project: #3314659 THE 70 APARTMENTS PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (64 units) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $9 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 2024 E. 70th St.

Cleveland, OH 44103 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of a 5-story, 64-unit apartment building measuring 72,000 square feet. The unit mix will include 16 two-bedroom units, 28 onebedroom units and 20 studio apartments. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/7/2023) STAGE: Construction CONSTRUCTION START: 7/2023 CONSTRUCTION END: Q3/2024 BID DUE DATE: N/A DEVELOPER: Sabor Group USA 3800 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115 P: 440-999-9787 ARCHITECT: Grassroots Architecture 143 Kenilworth Dr. Akron, OH 44313 P: 330-618-9190 CM: JCI Contractors 529 W. Prospect Rd. Ashtabula, OH 44004 P: 440-998-0609 Project: #3388528 RIDGEVILLE FARMS PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (52 units), Social (< 10,000 sq-ft), Athletic Facilities (< 10,000 sq-ft), Office (< 10,000 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $13.5 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 7691 Avon Belden Rd. North Ridgeville, OH 44039 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of 26 duplex cottages for seniors, with a total

of 52 units. There will be 30 one-bedroom units and 22 two-bedroom units. There will also be a community building with a fitness facility, laundry and offices. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/10/2023) STAGE: Planning CONSTRUCTION END: N/A BID DUE DATE: N/A ARCHITECT: RDL Architects, Inc. 16102 Chagrin Blvd. 200 Shaker Heights, OH 44120 P: 216-752-4300 DEVELOPER, OWNER: SLK Capital Holdings, LLC Contact: Ryan Kozak, Principal 28400 Hilliard Blvd. Westlake, OH 44145 P: 206-883-4028 ryan@slk-capital.com Project: #3388480 NOBLE STATION PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (52 units), Office (< 10,000 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $14.7 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 2222 Noble Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44112 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of a four-story mixed-use building with 52 residential units and an office space. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/10/2023) STAGE: Planning CONSTRUCTION END: N/A BID DUE DATE: N/A ARCHITECT, DEVELOPER, GC & OWNER: TWG Development, LLC

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Contact: Alex Frazier, Project Manager 1301 E. Washington St., Ste. 100 Indianapolis, IN 46202 P: 317-264-1833 DEVELOPER: Start Right Community Development Corp. 977 Caledonia Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44112 P: 216-832-6508 Project: #3175377 MORELAND COMMONS PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (18 units), Residential - Single Family (50,00099,999 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $5-$25 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 33305 Chagrin Blvd. Moreland Hills, OH 44022 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of a residential development with 41 singlefamily homes and 18 townhome villas on 21.3 acres of land. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/15/2023) STAGE: Starts in 1-3 months CONSTRUCTION START: 2/2024 CONSTRUCTION END: Q1/2025 BID DUE DATE: N/A DEVELOPER: Axiom Development Group Contact: Bryan Stone, Project Manager bryan@axiomdev.com 23424 Commerce Park Rd. Beachwood, OH P: 216-831-4710 ARCHITECT, GC: Payne & Payne Builders Contact: Mike Caito, Project Manager 10750 Mayfield Rd. Chardon, OH 44024 P: 440-286-9758 caito@payne-payne.com BUILDER: Rodrock Homes Contact: Michele Davis, Sales Agent 9550 Dice Ln. Lenexa, KS 66215 P: 913-449-3593 MicheleD@reecenichols.com BUILDER: Roeser Homes Contact: Roberta Beringer, Sales Agent 11415 Strang Line Rd. Lenexa, KS 66215 P: 914-424-3002 MapleRidge@TerrybrookFarms.com Project: #3388470 GRACELAND VILLAGE PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (42 units), Athletic Facilities (< 10,000 sq-ft), Libraries (< 10,000 sq-ft), Social (< 10,000 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $11.1 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: Youngstown Warren Rd. (US 422) & Wabash Ave.

Niles, OH 44446 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of a twostory senior housing apartment building with 42 units on 3 acres. There will be 42 affordable one-bedroom units for seniors age 55 and older. Amenities include a community room with kitchenette, laundry facilities, a fitness room, and a library. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/15/2023) STAGE: Starts in 4-12 months CONSTRUCTION START: 5/2024 CONSTRUCTION END: Q3/2025 BID DUE DATE: N/A DEVELOPER: Neighborhood Development Services Contact: Stacy Brown, Director of Asset/ Development 120 E. Main St. Ravenna, OH 44266-2714 P: 330-968-8286 sbrown@NDSOhio.org ARCHITECT: Four Points Architectural Services, Inc. 2850 S. Arlington Rd., Ste. 200 Akron, OH 44312 P: 330-753-9710

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Project: #3362015 FOUNDRY LOFTS PHASE 2 PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (82 units) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $15 million SECTOR: Private Location: 7220 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44103 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of a twobuilding, 82-unit, 48,700-square-foot apartment complex consisting of 30 one-bedroom apartment units and 52 studio apartments. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/7/2023) STAGE: Early Construction CONSTRUCTION START: 9/2023 CONSTRUCTION END: Q3/2024 BID DUE DATE: N/A ARCHITECT: City Architecture Inc.

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Contact: John Wagner, Project Architect 12205 Larchmere Blvd. Cleveland, OH 44120 P: 216-881-2444 john@cityarch.com DEVELOPER: Signet Real Estate Group Contact: Kevin Belt, Senior Vice President and Managing Director 19 N. High St. Akron, OH 44308 P: 330-762-9102 Project: #3384698 EMPIRE SCHOOL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (65 units) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: Renovation ESTIMATED VALUE: $27 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 9113 Parmelee Ave. Cleveland, OH 44108 DETAILS: Plans call for the redevelopment of former Empire School into 65 affordable senior homes. There will be 1 studio and 64 one-bedroom units. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/8/2023) STAGE: Planning CONSTRUCTION END: N/A BID DUE DATE: N/A DEVELOPER: Beacon Communities LLC 2 Center Plaza, Ste. 700 Boston, MA 02108 P: 617-574-1100 Project: #3414689 FOSTER SENIOR LOFTS PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (46 units), Office/ Athletic Facilities/Social (< 10,000 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $14.1 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: 615 Foster Ave. Elyria, OH 44035 DETAILS: Plans call for the construction of an affordable 46-unit senior independent housing development. Units will consist of 24 one-bedroom and 22 two-bedroom apartments. Amenities include a fitness center, business center, on-site management and extensive accessibility features. The project will have a total footprint of 45,957-square-foot space and 48 parking spaces. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/8/2023) STAGE: Planning CONSTRUCTION END: N/A BID DUE DATE: N/A ARCHITECT: BDCL Architects 9100 Centre Pointe Dr., Ste. 210 West Chester Township, OH 45069 P: 513-964-1154 GC: Ruscilli Construction Company 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., Ste. 300 Columbus, OH 43220 P: 614-876-9484 DEVELOPER: Pivotal Housing Partners

9100 Centre Pointe Dr. 210 West Chester, OH 45069 P: 513-964-1152 Project: #3253162 FAIRFAX MARKET MIXED-USE PROJECT TYPE/SIZE: Multifamily (196 units), Retail/Grocery (40,000 sq-ft) CONSTRUCTION TYPE: New ESTIMATED VALUE: $52.8 million SECTOR: Private LOCATION: SWC of Cedar Ave. & E. 105th St. Cleveland, OH 44106 DETAILS: Plans call for a new mixed-use building with a 40,000-square-foot Meijer grocery store on the ground floor with 196 apartments above it. 100 parking spaces are planned for the apartments with an additional 105 for the Meijer grocery store. Estimated Schedule (as of 11/7/2023) STAGE: Topping Out CONSTRUCTION START: 2/2022 CONSTRUCTION END: Q4/2023 BID DUE DATE: N/A DEVELOPER, OWNER: Fairmount Properties Contact: Adam Fishman, Principal afishman@fairmountproperties.com 200 Park Avenue 200 Orange Village, OH 44122 P: 216-514-8700 TENANT: Meijer Stores

2929 Walker Ave. N Grand Rapids, MI 49544 P: 616-453-6711 ARCHITECT: Bialosky Cleveland 6555 Carnegie Ave. Cleveland, OH 44103 P: 216-752-8750 GC: John G. Johnson Construction Co. 1284 Riverbed St. Cleveland, OH 44113 P: 216-938-5050 DEVELOPER: Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation Contact: Denise VanLeer, Exec. Director 8111 Quincy Ave., Ste. 100 Cleveland, OH 44104 P: 216-361-8400 Dvanleer@fairfaxdev.org Construction project reports are provided with permission through ConstructionWire, courtesy of BuildCentral (www.buildcentral.com). BuildCentral specializes in planned construction project leads and location analytics for CRE, hotel, multi-family/single-family, medical, mining & energy, and retail construction spaces. Properties Magazine makes no warranty of any kind for this information, express or implied, and is not responsible for any omissions or inaccuracies. To notify Properties of any reporting errors, we encourage you to email cpr@propertiesmag.com.

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