Very disappointing. Shows to me the execs either don’t understand how site location relates to “keeping and attracting talent” or the CEO was full of it.

The excitement and joy we should have over the death of the Parking Sea can not possibly be overstated. I think the possibility of keeping everything downtown and developing TWO key sites got everyone on this board incredibly ...and maybe a little overly-excited. 
 

...to me this is good news that could’ve been great news. But good news nonetheless. 
 

Well see what additional information comes with the announcement. 

Edited February 5, 20205 yr by mrclifton88

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2020

SHW: HQ lands west of Public Square, R&D to Brecksville

 

Tomorrow, as has been reported on this blog many times in recent months, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) will announce that its new, consolidated headquarters facility will be built on parking lots owned by the Jacobs and Weston groups west of Public Square, according to several sources.

A press release will be issued tomorrow by SHW. It is doubtful that any site plans or renderings of the new HQ facilities will be included. The current headquarters with about 3,150 jobs is located in the Landmark Building, 101 Prospect Ave., with other SHW offices in the neighboring Skylight Office Tower.

The fact that SHW is not only staying but will relocate and add to downtown as many as 1,800 office jobs, company-wide training facilities and development of nearly 7 acres of windswept parking lots in the central business district is a tremendous victory for downtown Cleveland. SHW's HQ will reportedly measure 1.45 million square feet and represent a $1 billion investment.

 

MORE

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/02/shw-hq-lands-west-of-public-square-r-to.html

 

Thanks for all of the solid reporting along the way @KJP.

 

As much as it has been exciting watching every twist and turn up until this point, we have an official announcement, renderings, spinoff development, and many more concrete aspects of the project to look forward to after months of conjecture and uncertainty, even if we have to wait another year for construction to start.

DiGeronimo/Brecksville are the villains here and should be treated as such. 

The R&D decision is going to turn out to be a huge mistake. But SHW will learn that at their leisure. At least it all stays in Cuyahoga. 

Welp now WE HAVE to take that headquarters from them we need those 650 jobs. ???

I am just so glad everything stayed in the county. Of course Brecksville is somewhat disappointing, but the regional and city economies are so intertwined. There will still be R&D employees who live downtown (yes, you can live downtown and commute to the suburbs; I know people who do it). There will still be R&D employees patronizing downtown businesses. Several hundred out-of-state jobs coming to a suburb is a victory for the region, even if some jobs are being moved out of the urban core.

It just could’ve been so great. Now it’s just, meh. Brecksville? Did Digeronimo send Morikis his horse’s head last night? This is so stupid. 

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by marty15

9 hours ago, eyehrtfood said:

DiGeronimo/Brecksville are the villains here and should be treated as such. 

 

Ridiculous.   They are going to look out for their own community, and should.

 

Who was the "villain" when the VA jobs went to Wade Park?

^there are too many to name...that was a dirty project. But yeah nobody will complain about the end result

13 hours ago, simplythis said:

How in the world did channel 3 get the story before we did here at Urban Ohio.

 

We've been talking about it for a long time.   We were talking about the Valor Acres push before anyone in the local media had any idea.

 

My guess based on other company's histories is there was an internal tug of war.  The mid level headquarters types wanted easier access to the facility for "oversight" purposes.  The tech people wanted some space to minimize exactly that.   

1 minute ago, BelievelandD1 said:

^there are too many to name...that was a dirty project. But yeah nobody will complain about the end result

 

Jobswise, it's a wash.  

14 hours ago, KJP said:

And there's a chance they may have the story right. I heard from one source over the weekend but the R&D was going to Brecksville. But since it was only one source and that SHW was engaging in a disinformation campaign, I chose not to report.  Even my source thought it was a bit out there....

 

I was skeptical of the channel 3 report until I read this myself. 

My information was that the property owner on Scranton Peninsula screwed itself. The city and state offered to clean up the property. 

 

And I have one source saying the R&D site isn't a done deal. Just one, though. 

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by KJP

30 minutes ago, KJP said:

My information was that the property owner on Scranton Peninsula screwed itself. The city and state offered to clean up the property. 

 

And I have one source saying the R&D site isn't a done deal. Just one, though. 

 

I don't doubt the property owner did that, but the state can't be trusted.   Ask Taylor Chair.  But *someone* sold SW on it, making its issue very public.

 

Definitely sounds like there's an internal struggle going on.   It could have been the Brecksville side that leaked to WKYC.   It won't be any kind of done deal until it is formally announced and perhaps not entirely so even then.

my 2 cents, it feels like this suburban location was probably always the favored outcome, but SW had to go through the process, evaluate other options and of course create competition to extract maximum incentives.

 

It's also somewhat remarkable how far this misinformation/leak campaign seems to have gone.  With leaks to Ken, Stan Bullard and finally another to Michelle Jarboe (which by the way is this her first story since returning back from maternity?)...  

 

Finally, tying all these points together, the VA site offers a lot to SW - centrally located at 77 & Turnpike for logistics/employee base....  low rise suburban tech center campus....  will be surrounded by brand new amenities (parking structure, retail & hotel/conf center)...  and probably the shortest time to complete.  Not to mention freeway access right outside the entry once the other ramps at Miller are complete.

 

Hopefully Cleveland has a newly focused incentive package ready from this that they can use to lure in other firms.  I wonder how much we'll learn about what Brecksville actually offered to SW in terms of incentives....

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by gottaplan

 

Q2. Why won’t both facilities be located together in the city of Cleveland? Won’t this impact your ability to collaborate?

 

Due to current building codes, safety requirements, transportation needs and other Company requirements, the Company could not find a suitable location to co-locate the R&D center and the global headquarters downtown. The Brecksville site will provide a large R&D footprint with flexibility for future expansion and will be only a 20-minute drive to our new global headquarters building. Collaboration will not be an issue given today’s communication technology.

Brecksville it is: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/buildingourfuture/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SHW_HQ_and_RD_Press_Release.pdf

Multimedia presentation, press release, facts & figures, updates, etc. about HQ+R&D 

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/buildingourfuture/

 

I'm told some contractors are expecting five years worth of work with this project. They may not build everything all at once, at the outset.

A strong and prosperous Brecksville does little to raise the tide of urban Cleveland. Don't we just love that infrastructure spend by ODOT on making freaking Miller Road a Destination.

Email sent to all corporate employees at about 8 a.m. Feb. 6. It was not edited in any way...

 

Dear Fellow Employees,

 

I am writing to share an exciting update with you regarding the planned locations for our new global headquarters and new R&D center.  

 

After many months exploring multiple sites nationally, I’m pleased to share with you that we are finalizing plans to build a new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland and a new R&D center in the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville. The plans are contingent upon completion of standard due diligence, approvals of incentives and other matters at state, county and city levels, and resolution of business and legal matters that accompany such major real estate investment projects.

 

The planned new global headquarters would be in downtown Cleveland just west of Public Square between Saint Clair Avenue and Superior Avenue and is expected to be approximately 1,000,000 square-feet in size. The planned new R&D center would be located in Brecksville, just off I-77 at Miller Road and Brecksville Road. The R&D center would serve as the corporate anchor for a new mixed-use development project and is expected to be approximately 500,000-square-feet in size.   

 

With these new facilities, we plan to create a next generation workplace environment that attracts and retains top talent and further ignites the creativity, collaboration and industry-leading innovation that our customers have relied on throughout our long history. The plan to stay in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio builds on the 154-year legacy of Sherwin-Williams as one of the region’s top employers and drivers of economic activity. This major planned investment in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio reflects our confidence in the continued strength of the region and its people and our project partners’ ability to deliver on their commitments.

 

Preliminary plans call for Sherwin-Williams to invest a minimum of $600 million to build both facilities. Combined, the two facilities would house more than 3,500 employees with room to accommodate significant future growth. We estimate adding a minimum of 400 jobs at these facilities over time, an increase of 11 percent to the Company’s current local workforce. Many of these jobs will be professional staff, engineers and chemists. 

 

Current plans will have R&D roles transfer from the Breen Technology Center and Warrensville Heights, Ohio locations to the planned new R&D center in Brecksville. Employees located at Landmark Office Towers and Skylight Office Tower in Cleveland will transfer to the planned new global headquarters along with non-R&D professional roles currently located at Breen Technology Center and Warrensville Heights. The Company has no plans to move other facilities to the new R&D center or the new global headquarters at this time.

 

I want to emphasize that this process will extend over several years. As previously announced, any transition to the new facilities is not expected to occur until 2023 at the earliest. During this time we will continue to update employees as new information becomes available.

 

Later today we will issue a press release announcing our plans. This release and additional materials will be available on buildingourfuture.com. Please visit mySherwin to view additional employee-specific materials, including FAQs. 

 

Today’s press release will likely generate considerable media coverage on a wide variety of channels, including social media. Only the Sherwin-Williams Corporate Communications Department is authorized to speak publicly or communicate externally on behalf of the Company. If you receive any inquiries from the media or other third parties, please politely explain that you are not able to comment on behalf of the Company, gather their contact information and let them know a Company representative will get back to them. It’s also important to remember that any mention of Sherwin-Williams on social media could be quoted by the press. Please be thoughtful if you engage in social media, express only your personal opinions and do not identify yourself as a representative of the Company.

 

Forward all media and public inquiries as well as any media activity outside of a Sherwin-Williams store, office or facility to:

 

Julie Young, Vice President, Global Corporate Communications

[email protected]

216-515-8849 

 

Thank you for your hard work, dedication and patience as we work through this important process. This is exciting news that will shape our Company’s future success. In the meantime, let’s continue to focus our efforts on the service, quality and innovations that fuel our commitment to help customers around the world succeed.

 

Sincerely,

 

John G. Morikis

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

The Sherwin-Williams Company

12 minutes ago, PittsburgoDelendaEst said:

A strong and prosperous Brecksville does little to raise the tide of urban Cleveland. Don't we just love that infrastructure spend by ODOT on making freaking Miller Road a Destination.

Exactly!  They can't wait to spend that gas tax money on new infrastructure.  And a struggling inner ring suburb takes a huge financial hit.  

Note that SHW says in its company e-mail that it doesn't plan to move the Hinckley flex space (about 250 jobs and 130,000 sf) to downtown nor any Minneapolis staff to downtown or the R&D. I find that very curious...

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by KJP

2 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Ridiculous.   They are going to look out for their own community, and should.

 

Who was the "villain" when the VA jobs went to Wade Park?

The main Cleveland VA facility has been on Wade Park for many decades.  Brecksville was more of a satellite facility.

2 minutes ago, KJP said:

Note that SHW says in its company e-mail that it doesn't plan to move the Hinckley flex space (about 250 jobs and 130,000 sf) to downtown nor any Minneapolis staff to downtown or the R&D. I find that very curious...

He does mention that the moves will happen over time. I suspect that they will continue to consolidate operations once the facilities are complete.

13 minutes ago, mack34 said:

Exactly!  They can't wait to spend that gas tax money on new infrastructure.  And a struggling inner ring suburb takes a huge financial hit.  

ODOT will begin building highways to nowhere. They are so freeway/highway focused, it makes me sick to my stomach.

One would assume that going from 150k sq ft to 500k implies that they eventually plan on consolidating the Valspar R&D. On their end it may make more sense to slowly bring them over then cause alarm by letting them all know that starting in two years they may be all moving.

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by cle_guy90

I guess we can change the thread title now ? 

 

While it's very disappointing to see the sprawl continue, it could have been much worse

13 minutes ago, KJP said:

Note that SHW says in its company e-mail that it doesn't plan to move the Hinckley flex space (about 250 jobs and 130,000 sf) to downtown nor any Minneapolis staff to downtown or the R&D. I find that very curious...

They are probably just not ready to announce it yet. This is what corporations always say when they merge/buyout. Remember Untied said they were not closing the hub at CLE after the merger? We all know how that turned out.

50 minutes ago, PittsburgoDelendaEst said:

A strong and prosperous Brecksville does little to raise the tide of urban Cleveland. Don't we just love that infrastructure spend by ODOT on making freaking Miller Road a Destination.

From what I know, ODOT will not be spending their "own" money to add ramps at Miller.  It needs to be funded some other way, probably locally, most likely through a TIF on the Valor Acres project....

 

18 minutes ago, Florida Guy said:

They are probably just not ready to announce it yet.

 

Yep.

It's unfortunate and only time will tell, but also being along the river, the Bedrock site may have posed similar challenges to Scranton. I have to think that a century of heavy manufacturing and runoff has resulted in inorganic pollutants leaching into the soil all along the river and its banks.

Edited February 6, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder

Hey, at least its not Atlanta!! Congrats NEO, it's a well deserved overall win for your region.

Let's hope the City of Cleveland did everything possible to keep the R&D center in Cleveland and it was just a matter of SHW not able to find a suitable location for the low-rise campus style facility they wanted.  

Anyone check on that Boyd guy? 

13 minutes ago, skiwest said:

Let's hope the City of Cleveland did everything possible to keep the R&D center in Cleveland and it was just a matter of SHW not able to find a suitable location for the low-rise campus style facility they wanted.  

I would have thought that OC would have been a perfect alternative location, within the city limits. It may have also helped to jumpstart other development with CPD also going in there.

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020

An analysis of Sherwin-Williams' HQ news: it's just the beginning

 

Up in the 90-year-old Landmark Building, where Sherwin-Williams' (SHW) headquarters has been growing and expanding for the duration of that Art Deco beauty's lifetime, the employees' response to The Big News appeared to be less than big.

"There seems to be little to no reaction here today," said an employee in SHW's Performance Coatings Group (PCG). "I can tell you one thing, no one is throwing a party or jumping for joy."

And that seems to be the same reaction to SHW's HQ announcement today across social media or among the urbanistas on the forum at UrbanOhio. It was also my reaction -- at first.

To some, SHW's proposal appears timid. To me, it is intentionally incomplete.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/02/an-analysis-of-sherwin-williams-hq-news.html 

Could we take the word Brecksville out of the title of this thread,  it's annoying as hell...#toosoon

3 hours ago, Frmr CLEder said:

The main Cleveland VA facility has been on Wade Park for many decades.  Brecksville was more of a satellite facility.

 

It employed about 1,000 people.   The same number R&D does.

Here's hoping they find some endangered species of some sort during the Brecksville site due diligence. 

 

Where the hell is the spotted owl when you need one?

 

2 hours ago, Frmr CLEder said:

I would have thought that OC would have been a perfect alternative location, within the city limits. It may have also helped to jumpstart other development with CPD also going in there.

Or maybe Highland Hills.  Even though not in the city limits, they do have a tax sharing agreement with the City of Cleveland.

Thank you KJP for all of your efforts on keeping us informed! This is from yesterday but I do not see it posted on here.

 

Sherwin-Williams Will Reportedly Announce Cleveland HQ, Validating Local Blogger

 

WKYC Channel 3 is reporting that Sherwin-Williams intends to announce Thursday that it will build its new corporate headquarters in downtown Cleveland, "near Public Square," and that it will build a new research and development facility in Brecksville.

If true, the news follows months of speculation and anxiety from regional leaders. It also validates the reporting of local transit and infrastructure blogger Ken Prendergrast, who broke every major development on the story of Sherwin's search and has provided depth and nuance as he pieced together  evidence that Sherwin was indeed staying put.

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/02/05/sherwin-williams-will-reportedly-announce-cleveland-hq-validating-local-blogger

 

Thanks. Spelled my last name wrong, though. ?‍♂️

22 minutes ago, surfohio said:

Here's hoping they find some endangered species of some sort during the Brecksville site due dilligence.

Oh do you mean someone of color? Yeah cuz that's not going to happen...?

22 hours ago, CleveFan said:

Good thing the mayor of Brecksville had just  recently confirmed that “there were no talks going on with SW”.  Yeah okay. 

He was probably told to say nothing.

DiGeronino Companies

 

Feb. 6, 2020

 

Media Contact: Stacey Kirth

216‐446‐3522

[email protected]

 

Media Statement

 

CLEVELAND, OHIO (February 6, 2020) – DiGeronimo Companies is aware of the recent announcement by Sherwin‐Williams and we are thrilled for the entire Northeast Ohio Community, the City of Cleveland, and our partners at the City of Brecksville. This news is the culmination of significant efforts by many and is validation of our philosophy of treating our business partners as family; and building trust with stakeholders before building the real estate. While it is far too early in the process to comment on the project specifics, we look forward to sharing our enhanced vision for Valor Acres and the surrounding area when it is appropriate to do so.  

 

About DiGeronimo Companies

 

By definition, a partner is an ally, a teammate, someone to be treated as family. We’ve been the trusted development and construction partner for hundreds of companies, offering solutions for every project from the ground up. For over 60 years, we’ve combined integrity with unrivaled standards through a diverse portfolio of services. DiGeronimo Companies is not just a choice, we’re an integrated partner for all your project needs.

 

About Valor Acres 

 

In the heart of Northeast Ohio, located off I‐77 in Brecksville, Ohio, Valor Acres is the soon‐to‐ be home of Sherwin‐Williams employees and the premier mixed‐use Live‐Work‐Play real estate development in the Cleveland‐Akron corridor.

 

###

I’ll be satisfied if Cross Country Mortgage releases a PR tomorrow announcing their move to downtown. 

Moved from the Superior Arts District thread...

 

32 minutes ago, marty15 said:

That’s pretty much the reality of the situation down there, no?

 

There's still lots of land remaining at Valor Acres, but it's disappearing quickly according to MJ....