July 31, 20186 yr Columbus City Schools approved a tax-sharing deal with CoverMyMeds to build a new HQ in Franklinton on June 30. Columbus City Council approved its part of the overall tax abatement on July 23. Today, the State approved its part of the deal: http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180730/covermymeds-approved-for-ohio-tax-credits-for-new-headquarters The CoverMyMeds HQ project - previously shown in this thread at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,3163.msg921342.html#msg921342 - has a first phase that would include a 200,000 square-foot office building and surface parking that is expected to be finished in 2021. A second phase would build an additional 200,000 square feet of office space and add an 1,150-space parking garage on the site by 2024. CoverMyMeds has promised to retain and relocate 592 existing jobs from its current offices in Miranova Place to the new site just west of Downtown near the recently built Orange Barrel Media office and to create 1,032 jobs with payroll of $75.3 million, according to the Dispatch article.
August 28, 20186 yr Mark Wahlberg's goal: biggest Chevrolet dealer in Ohio By Dan Eaton – Staff Reporter, Columbus Business First Posted: August 13, 2018 - 1:15pm Mark Wahlberg’s presence will be felt at his new Columbus auto dealership even when he isn’t there in person. The Oscar-nominated actor and movie star was in town Monday checking out the former Bobby Layman Chevrolet dealership at 3900 W. Broad Street that he now owns with Michigan-based business partner Jay Feldman. The 15.5-acre dealership was re-branded as Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet last month. “This is not a conspiracy to promote another Transformers movie,” Wahlberg joked with reporters Monday. His message was clear – he has had a lifelong passion for cars and he wanted to be in the auto industry alongside Feldman, an experienced operator who has eight dealerships in Michigan. The pair also are partners in the Cleveland Wahlburgers restaurant, one of the nearly 30 units for the burger chain started by brother Paul Wahlberg. Feldman said the goal is to make their effort the biggest Chevy dealer in Ohio, and Wahlberg said he will be visiting the dealership as much as “his day job” allows. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/13/mark-wahlbergs-goal-biggest-chevrolet-dealer-in.html
August 28, 20186 yr Mark Wahlberg on bringing a Wahlburgers to town and ... the Columbus Crew? By Dan Eaton – Staff reporter, Columbus Business First Updated: August 13, 2018, 1:16pm Mark Wahlberg’s investment in Central Ohio might be in more than just an auto dealership. ... Wahlberg also is scouting potential Columbus sites for his family’s Wahlburger’s restaurant chain, which was started by his brother Paul Wahlberg and also is the subject of an ongoing reality television series on A&E. Mark Wahlberg and Feldman are partners on the chain’s Cleveland restaurant. The almost 30-unit chain also has a Cincinnati restaurant. There aren’t any in Columbus – yet. ( . . . ) Wahlberg also was asked about a different type of business in the media scrum. Is he interested in investing in the Columbus Crew SC? “It’s something I’d need to learn more about, but it’s something I’d be willing to take a look at,” he reiterated to me after telling the group of reporters he’d be willing to discuss it. He cited his friend Robert Kraft who in addition to the owning the New England Patriots also owns Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution franchise and said that he really got into the sport during this most recent World Cup. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/13/mark-wahlberg-on-bringing-a-wahlburgers-totown-and.html
August 28, 20186 yr We've got a 'unicorn' - Data-powered startup Root Insurance valued at $1B in $100M funding round By Carrie Ghose – Staff Reporter, Columbus Business First Updated: August 22, 2018 - 12:05pm Root Insurance Co. has been valued at $1 billion after raising $100 million, the largest funding round for a Central Ohio startup in the 2000s. Tiger Global Management, a New York City firm, led the Series D round on the heels of Root raising $51 million this spring. The digital auto insurer is in 20 states and is aiming to go nationwide by the end of 2019. The financing will help speed hiring of engineers, actuaries, claims adjusters and customer support staff. ... Root expects to surpass 550 employees over the next five years. The company, now at 140 employees, is moving in November to the 80 on the Commons mixed-use building nearing completion alongside downtown's Columbus Commons. ( . . . ) Root joins CoverMyMeds as Central Ohio's billion-dollar "unicorns." The prescription management software company was acquired by McKesson Corp. last year for $1.3 billion. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/22/weve-got-a-unicorn-data-powered-startup-root.html
August 28, 20186 yr I tried Root and got rated really well on their test drive. Then they gave me a quote that's more than my current auto insurance premium for identical coverage. Bizarre. But good for them. Very Stable Genius
September 24, 20186 yr Chipotle is moving a portion of its operations to Columbus, bringing 270 new jobs and estimated investment of $5.5 million. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/chipotle-moving-part-of-corporate-operations-to-franklin-county/1471299134
September 24, 20186 yr Chipotle is moving a portion of its operations to Columbus, bringing 270 new jobs and estimated investment of $5.5 million. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/chipotle-moving-part-of-corporate-operations-to-franklin-county/1471299134 Here is another article from Columbus Biz First: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/09/24/chipotle-investing-millions-hiring-hundreds-for.html According to the article, Chipotle currently leases some office space at 8800 Lyra Dr. in the Polaris area though it will be moving to a new location. The new location has not yet been announced by the company. Given what we heard about Arshot looking for an anchor tenant for Millennial Tower (thanks tlb919), this seems like it could be a good opportunity for Arshot to target.
September 27, 20186 yr Ikea textile supplier to open factory in Groveport employing 80 Spanish textile company Fluvitex will open its first U.S. factory in Groveport on October 3 to make pillows, quilts and other products for Ikea. The 123,588-square-foot facility at 6510 Pontius Road brings about 80 new jobs to the region. “In this factory, we will produce about two-thirds of the quilts, cushions and pillows sold (by Ikea) in North America,” said Nora Zullo, purchasing and logistics area manager of Inter Ikea. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180921/ikea-textile-supplier-to-open-factory-in-groveport-employing-80
September 27, 20186 yr Chase to set up fintech arm at Otterbein in central Ohio Central Ohio’s largest private employer is partnering with Otterbein University to set up a financial technology research and development arm on campus. JPMorgan Chase & Co. will create 75 to 100 jobs as part of a partnership with Otterbein that is meant to bring in students from a variety of disciplines to collaborate on financial technology research and development at the Point, a science and technology innovation center on campus. Projects will include robotics, engineering and software development. Chase said the teams will be working on services that include ATMs, credit and debit cards, block chain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cryptocurrencies. ... The Point on the Otterbein University campus is already home to five tenants that include Nikola Labs and Nestle. The City of Westerville and JobsOhio are also are part of the partnership. ... The location makes sense for Chase. Chase is Westerville’s largest employer and Chase’s massive McCoy Center is nearby in Polaris. Chase has about 20,000 employees in Central Ohio. Chase’s partnership with Otterbein comes as banks and insurers are committing more resources to financial technology in an era of rapid technological change that threatens to upend everything from routine banking services to real-estate closings. Last year, Fintech71 was launched to help nurture the growth of young finance and insurance companies such as Nationwide and State Auto have made investments in startups. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180921/chase-to-set-up-fintech-arm-at-otterbein-in-central-ohio
November 1, 20186 yr Walmart buys Eloquii, Columbus-based clothing company Walmart is bolstering its e-commerce business by buying Columbus-based plus-size retailer Eloquii. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close later this quarter. The technology news website Recode estimated the deal at $100 million. The move is part of Walmart’s strategy of adding new brands and developing exclusive products, said Andy Dunn, Walmart’s senior vice president of digital consumer brands, in a statement. ( . . . ) Mariah Chase, CEO of Eloquii, her executive team and the majority of the company’s more than 100 employees are based in Columbus, where they will remain. They will join Walmart’s portfolio of similar companies that started as online retailers, including ModCloth, Bonobos and Allswell. Eloquii was founded in 2011 as part of The Limited. It was shut down in 2013, then brought back as an online-only, standalone company in 2014 when former Limited employees saw potential in the plus-size sector and branched out on their own. After growing quickly as an online retailer, Eloquii began opening brick-and-mortar stores last year and currently has five locations including one at Easton Town Center in a space once occupied by its former parent. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181002/walmart-buys-eloquii-columbus-based-clothing-company
November 14, 20186 yr ICYMI: Columbus didn't get Amazon's HQ2 - they ended up splitting it between NYC and DC/Northern Virginia https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/11/13/its-official-amazon-splits-hq2-between-northern.html
November 19, 20186 yr JPMorgan Chase CEO Dimon emphasizes workforce in Columbus visit "Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO, pushes workforce skills on trip to Columbus to mark the bank’s 150th anniversary of its Columbus ties. The CEO of Columbus’ largest private employer wants to make sure his company has the workforce it will need in the future. And he’s counting on local colleges and universities to continue to help. Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., visited Columbus Thursday as part of the bank’s celebration of its 150th anniversary of its ties to Columbus, where the bank employs 20,000 workers." https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181115/jpmorgan-chase-ceo-dimon-emphasizes-workforce-in-columbus-visit
November 19, 20186 yr Tech-driven mortgage firm Upstart to open local office "Columbus may have lost the contest to get Amazon’s HQ2, but another West Coast tech company will open its second headquarters in central Ohio early next year. Upstart, which launched in 2012 in the San Francisco Bay area, will bring about 100 employees in its first year and expects to grow to 400 or 500 within a few years with a plan to overhaul the mortgage lending industry, said Dave Girouard, founder and CEO. Girouard founded Upstart after working for Google, and has hired some staff away from the search engine giant. It was while working at Google that he became interested in applying technology to other industries." https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181118/tech-driven-mortgage-firm-upstart-to-open-local-office Sounds like Upstart and CoverMyMeds could be the next "big things" in Columbus. Growing organically from the start instead of landing Amazon, Google, and Apple et al. I like it!
November 20, 20186 yr Office Revolution Expands into Columbus, Ohio Largest Teknion Dealer in Midwest to Expand into Columbus Market Chicago, IL (October 29, 2018) – Office Revolution, a leading contract furniture dealer for commercial environments, today announced its expansion into Columbus, Ohio. With locations in both downtown and suburban Chicago, Office Revolution is the largest Teknion dealer in the Midwest and the second largest in the United States.
November 29, 20186 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/11/13/nationwide-cutting-1-100-jobs-in-columbusacross.html Nationwide announced it will reduce its workforce by 1,100 people company-wide - including cutting 350 jobs in Columbus. Although, it seems like a corporate restructuring as well. The Business First article notes that the Columbus-based insurance and financial services giant has about 770 open jobs company-wide - including 320 in Columbus - and that company officials are encouraging employees facing layoffs to apply for those open jobs.
February 15, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190213/google-to-go-ahead-with-600-million-data-center-in-new-albany Google to go ahead with $600 million data center in New Albany Google confirmed Wednesday that it plans to develop a $600-million data center in New Albany this year. The project is among $13 billion in investments in data centers and offices that Google plans this year, the company said. Last December, Google affiliate Montauk Innovations said it was considering New Albany for the project in the New Albany International Business Park. Property records show the company has bought 447 acres in Franklin and Licking counties for $54.5 million.
February 17, 20196 yr ^ More about this from This Week News: https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190213/new-albany-lands-600-million-google-data-center The article link includes a site development plan for the new Amazon project. Amazon has built similar data centers in New Albany, Dublin and Hilliard in recent years. Facebook is also building a data center in New Albany (and is shown on the site development plan in the article).
February 17, 20196 yr it One more post about the passing of the Kroger Bakery at 457 Cleveland Avenue. Below is a Columbus Monthly article that gives some historic information about it (it wasn't built as a bakery - it originally was a Ford Motor Co. assembly plant from 1910 to 1925 - then it operated as a Kroger bakery from 1925 until 2019): https://www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20140820/city-quotient-i-often-smell-something-like-vanilla-cookies-or-cake-when-walking-downtown-am-i-just-hungry-or-is-that-for-real And two articles about the passing of the "Kroger bakery smell": https://www.columbusmonthly.com/news/20190212/ode-to-best-smell-in-city https://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20190217/joe-blundo-closing-of-aromatic-kroger-bakery-inspires-trip-down-olfactory-lane
February 21, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190210/qampa-with-megan-kvamme-factgem-helps-mine-data-for-insights Q&A with Megan Kvamme, co-founder of FactGem - a software company focused on helping clients analyze data from disparate sources to expose business insights. Megan Kvamme, who is a Columbus native, is married to Drive Capital founder and former JobsOhio director Mark Kvamme. I found this relationship interesting because I previously thought of Mark Kvamme as a "California Carpetbagger" who then-Gov. Kasich recruited to led his then-new JobsOhio department in 2011. At the time, Mark Kvamme said he wanted to put down roots in Central Ohio, and I thought "right, sure you do". But it turns out that he actually did make Central Ohio his new home. He started Drive Capital after leaving JobsOhio. Drive Capital (which is located in the Short North) is a VC investment company that funds local startups. Now his wife is involved in her own startup tech company. Good story.
February 25, 20196 yr Some news about an expansion of Abbott Labs at 585 Cleveland Avenue, which is located just north of the now-closed Kroger Bakery at 457 Cleveland Avenue that was previously mentioned upthread: Abbott Labs plans $62 million investment in Columbus Abbott Laboratories plans to expand its manufacturing operations at the north end of Downtown with a $62 million investment in buildings, machinery and equipment. ... According to a filing on the city of Columbus website, Abbott expects to add 38 new full-time employees and retain 428 jobs with the project. Abbott plans to build a new 25,000-square foot plant at 585 Cleveland Avenue to bottle 2-ounce bottles of products such as Similac infant formula. ... It plans to start work on the new facility as soon as April, according to the filing, and complete the project by December, contingent on the tax incentive from the city. The incentive proposal is on the agenda for a first reading at the Columbus City Council meeting on Monday. It would likely come up for a vote at the meeting scheduled for March 11. Abbott Nutrition’s roots go back to the 1920s when the Moores & Ross Milk Co. in Columbus began producing milk-based infant formula. That business became Ross Laboratories in 1956, and was bought by Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories in 1964. In addition to its Downtown-area manufacturing operations, the company also has offices near Easton Town Center. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190222/abbott-labs-plans-62-million-investment-in-columbus
February 25, 20196 yr Another article about this $62 million Abbott Labs expansion at 585 Cleveland Avenue - this one from Business First - and an aerial of the Abbott Labs location just north of downtown, The main Abbott Labs complex is located within the "670 pocket" formed by two sections of I-670. Within the 670 pocket is the Fort Hayes Education Center owned by Columbus City Schools, Abbott Labs, and the now-closed Kroger bakery in two older brick buildings to the south of Abbott along Cleveland Avenue: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/22/abbott-planning-62m-expansion-in-columbus-adding.html
February 27, 20196 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/25/state-approves-estimated-2-7-million-incentive-for.html https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190225/gap-upstart-expansions-could-net-1000-new-jobs-in-central-ohio https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190225/columbus-to-gain-1000-new-jobs-as-part-of-expansions-by-gap-and-consumer-lender-upstart Information from the above links reporting on this week's Ohio Tax Credit Authority meeting: The Gap plans to add 420,000 square feet of space to its existing one-million-square-foot warehouse in Groveport to serve the retailer’s growing online business. The company plans to add 600 jobs. Upstart, a consumer lender which launched in the San Francisco area in 2012, plans to create 257 jobs in Columbus as it expands east. CrossChx, a Columbus-based medical tech company plans to create 100 jobs as part of its expansion in Columbus. Radiology Partners Management plans to add 60 new jobs as part of an expansion in Columbus.
March 5, 20196 yr Another big revenue Central Ohio company most people have never heard of (well, I hadn't until this article). I was familiar with the downtown HQ of Installed Building Products (pictured below from the article). The IBP HQ is at 495 S. High Street, located just south of I-70/71 and the Franklin County Gov't Center (pictured in the background). 495 S. High is a real nice infill building built in the early 2000's. I can't say I care for the new IBP sign they put on the front, but I guess you get some design privileges if you're a billion-dollar company(!) Installed Building Products says string of acquisitions is boosting bottom line By Tristan Navera – Staff Reporter, Columbus Business First Feb 28, 2019, 2:30pm EST Central Ohio’s newest billion-dollar public company will keep its buying frenzy going in 2019. Despite higher building costs and a temperate housing market, net revenue for Installed Building Products jumped 18 percent to $1.33 billion in 2018, with more than half of that following the purchase of a dozen companies in 2018. Those purchases added $83 million in revenues to its bottom line, the company said in a quarterly earnings call Thursday morning. ( . . . ) Bucyrus, Ohio-based Advanced Fiber Technology, which makes cellulose insulation and industrial fibers, was its largest acquisition of the last quarter, that company has $18 million in revenue. Companies in Wisconsin and North Carolina rounded out the buys in the year. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/28/installed-building-products-says-string-of.html
March 25, 20196 yr Central Ohio to gain 890 jobs from 4 projects, including Quantum Health expansion in Columbus "Central Ohio stands to gain 890 jobs from four projects that received approval Monday for state tax incentives, including an expansion by health-care company Quantum Health that will bring 350 jobs to Columbus. Also receiving approval from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority are plans by automotive systems company Magna Seating of America to create 300 jobs in Lancaster from a new operation that the company plans to establish there. Software company Nexient plans to add 200 jobs in Dublin and automotive manufacturing machinery company ATS Ohio plans an expansion of its operations in Orange Township in Delaware County that will add 40 jobs." https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190325/central-ohio-to-gain-890-jobs-from-4-projects-including-quantum-health-expansion-in-columbus
April 5, 20196 yr Facebook's New Albany data center will be much bigger than originally planned Facebook is adding a third building to its massive Central Ohio facility. The company's New Albany data center now under construction is going to be bigger than originally planned, the company announced, appropriately, via the center's Facebook page (at https://www.facebook.com/notes/new-albany-data-center/facebook-is-adding-a-third-building-to-the-new-albany-data-center/2045682082224614/ ). An updated cost wasn't published – the initial 970,000-square-foot development plan was $750 million, making it the largest commercial construction project in the city, and already four times larger than any other data center in the city. The first building (in the Facebook complex) will be complete this year. ... The development will be in good company – across the street, Google is planning its own $600 million, 275,000-square-foot data center. But it bought over 440 acres of land in the city's business park, setting up the potential for future expansion as well. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/03/facebooks-new-albany-data-center-will-be-much.html
May 10, 20196 yr Drive Capital doubles in size, surpasses $1B under management Drive Capital LLC has raised a combined $558 million so far in two new venture funds, regulatory filings show, doubling in size to more than $1.1 billion under management. And it's still raising. The Columbus venture capital firm is launching its first new investment funds in three years. Drive started raising its first $250 million fund in 2013, and re-loaded with $300 million in 2016. ( . . . ) The estimated market value of investments from the original 2013 fund is $650 million, 2.6 times the outlay, putting Drive in the top quartile for performance, according to a presentation to the Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association. The California pension fund in March approved investing $15 million, split between the two new funds. ... Drive lists 32 portfolio companies on its website, including Columbus unicorn Root Inc., fellow digital insurer Beam Dental, and healthcare administrative bot Olive. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/29/drive-capital-doubles-in-size-surpasses-1b-under.html
May 10, 20196 yr Auto-insurer Root taking over office space at Easton Root, the auto insurer which just moved into new Downtown offices last November, is planning to take over more office space near Easton because of its rapid growth. The company, founded in 2015 with a valuation of $1 billion, plans to begin moving into 65,000 square feet of office space at 3435 Stelzer Road next month, said Kumi Walker, the company’s chief corporate development and strategy officer. The company has gone from about 70 employees to 550 in less than two years, and plans to grow to 863 in coming years, it told the city in a request for tax incentives. ... Walker said the offices at Easton will become home to the company’s claims and customer-service workers. The Downtown offices will house the company’s engineering, data, developer and actuary positions. Root is trying to upset the traditional $250 billion auto-insurance business by using smartphone technology to assess individuals’ driving behavior. Drivers obtain a personalized quote after a two- or three-week test drive. The company says it sells policies only to good drivers and that those drivers can save as much as 50% compared with coverage from a traditional company. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190506/auto-insurer-root-taking-over-office-space-at-easton
May 13, 20196 yr Out of floor space at its Short North home, Klarna seeks larger Columbus office Klarna Bank AB is scouting larger office space in Columbus four years after the Swedish e-payments company established its North American headquarters in the Short North. With 118 of its 150 U.S. employees here, Klarna is outgrowing the 11,000-square-foot third floor of Offices at the Joseph, 629 N. High Street, said Michael Rouse, chief commercial officer. The rest of the building is fully leased. "We’d love to stay in this building, but there’s no floor space left,” Rouse said. Central Ohio operations – including administration, product design, software engineering, sales and customer service – could grow to about 140 workers, Rouse said during one of his frequent stops in town. He's based in London, England. Klarna soon will move the customer service division to a temporary space, freeing room at the Joseph while hunting for a larger office to reunite all departments, he said. It wasn't immediately clear how much additional square footage the company is seeking. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/05/10/out-of-floor-space-at-its-short-north-home-klarna.html
May 13, 20196 yr 19 minutes ago, Columbo said: Out of floor space at its Short North home, Klarna seeks larger Columbus office Klarna Bank AB is scouting larger office space in Columbus four years after the Swedish e-payments company established its North American headquarters in the Short North. With 118 of its 150 U.S. employees here, Klarna is outgrowing the 11,000-square-foot third floor of Offices at the Joseph, 629 N. High Street, said Michael Rouse, chief commercial officer. The rest of the building is fully leased. "We’d love to stay in this building, but there’s no floor space left,” Rouse said. Central Ohio operations – including administration, product design, software engineering, sales and customer service – could grow to about 140 workers, Rouse said during one of his frequent stops in town. He's based in London, England. Klarna soon will move the customer service division to a temporary space, freeing room at the Joseph while hunting for a larger office to reunite all departments, he said. It wasn't immediately clear how much additional square footage the company is seeking. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/05/10/out-of-floor-space-at-its-short-north-home-klarna.html Millennial Tower. Millennial Tower. Millennial Tower. I can wish right?
May 16, 20196 yr Another insurance startup company with big growth plans: Bold Penguin Bold Penguin is a startup digitizing the complex paper process of generating quotes for commercial lines of insurance. It began with 18 employees at the beginning of 2017: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/04/04/columbus-startup-aims-to-empower-insurance-agents.html Moved to bigger offices at the 15th floor of the Chase Bank tower downtown and grew to 60 employees in 2018: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/05/22/march-of-the-penguins-insuretech-startup-bold.html And is now up to 80 employees at the start of 2019, with plans to double its work force: https://www.columbusceo.com/business/20190401/anti-disruptor-bold-penguin-supports-insurance-agents-it-doesnt-replace-them
May 16, 20196 yr Meanwhile, Grange Insurance sold off its life insurance operations to Kansas City Life Insurance Co. for $77.2 million last year. Nearly all Grange life employees are expected to become Kansas City life employees, but they will continue to work in the Grange headquarters building located on South High Street in the Brewery District. Overall, life insurance makes up about 3 percent of Grange’s business, according to the below linked articles: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20180605/grange-sells-life-insurance-operations https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/06/05/grange-mutual-selling-life-insurance-business-for.html
May 21, 20196 yr Easton getting a new coworking space Easton will house the newest location of the fast-growing COhatch coworking chain. COhatch has signed a lease for 7,500 square feet in the former Charming Charlie’s space at 4182 Worth Avenue in Easton Gateway, across the street from the main town center. The new location will open in January 2020. ( . . . ) COhatch recently opened a new location at Polaris Fashion Place, in the space formerly occupied by a British tavern-themed restaurant chain. The coworking company also has locations in Worthington and Delaware, with a new location in Upper Arlington set to open around August. And earlier this month, COhatch reached an agreement to renovate the existing office space behind the Brazenhead pub in downtown Dublin and build a 10,000-square-foot location there. ( . . . ) COhatch has a plan to open a dozen locations around Central Ohio. Through licensing, it hopes to expand to 20 locations throughout the Midwest over the next five years. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/05/20/easton-will-get-a-new-coworking-space.html
May 21, 20196 yr ^ Despite COhatch's aggressive growth plans - they're not the only coworking option available in Central Ohio. Columbus Navigator lists nine other coworking options in and around the Cap City: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/coworking-spaces-columbus-ohio/
June 6, 20196 yr These are some older articles - but it is fairly noteworthy - plus I saved them but I'm just getting around to posting them: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20180608/area-analytics-initiative-columbus-collaboratory-gets-new-financing https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/05/31/columbus-collaboratory-backers-investing-another.html Columbus Collaboratory has secured $14 million in renewed financial support from its founding member companies, helping it continuing its work in performing advanced analytics and improving cybersecurity. The company is the result of Columbus 2020′s efforts to bring together seven entities — American Electric Power, Battelle, Cardinal Health, L Brands, Huntington National Bank, Nationwide and OhioHealth — to share research and find ways to be more competitive by improving efficiency, security and customer focus. The additional commitment of approximately $14 million by the seven founders marks the beginning of a new commercialization phase for the Collaboratory, said Matt Wald, Columbus Collaboratory’s president and CEO. “In the first phase, we proved we could build a technology company based on collaboration,” Wald said. “The long-term vision was to build a sustainable company, not just a short-term project, but an asset for our region. “Our founders took a risk that they could do that. Now, we’re in the second phase.” In this new phase, which has already begun, the Collaboratory has added four companies to the seven that are sharing technology. The group declined to name the new companies but did say they are all located in central Ohio.
June 6, 20196 yr Fortune 500 real estate company buys Columbus software firm in $290M deal Real estate giant CBRE has purchased a fast-growing Columbus-based tech company with 550 employees. CBRE Group announced Tuesday that it has acquired FacilitySource LLC from private equity firm Warburg Pincus in a $290 million cash deal. FacilitySource develops software that helps large landlords with procurement and facilities management services. FacilitySource will operate as a business offering within CBRE’s own facilities management organization. It's going to be called CBRE | FacilitySource. The current leadership structure there will remain the same, CBRE said in a statement. ( . . . ) FacilitySource was founded in 2005 and Warburg Pincus invested in the Columbus-based company in 2012. The company announced last year plans to expand at 200 E. Campus View Blvd. in the Crosswoods area and add 272 jobs and $13.5 million in payroll in Central Ohio. It already has 323 jobs on the North Side of the city. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/06/12/fortune-500-real-estate-company-buys-columbus.html
June 6, 20196 yr New to downtown: Kansas City development company plans to grow to 200 Burns & McDonnell has opened its 9,000-square-foot office at 530 W. Spring St. in the Arena District, which is the company's first presence in the city. The company specializes in work for energy companies and has helped American Electric Power, Marathon Petroleum Co., FirstEnergy Corp. and Ohio State University with infrastructure projects. The company has also said it is targeting the local data center market. The 119-year-old firm has 5,700 employees globally and has been growing its business in the state — since 2015 it has managed $200 million in projects in Ohio, having done so from its Kansas City office and other satellites. The company hopes to be at 50 employees in the next year and 200 employees by 2022. ... While its current space in 530 W. Spring building has room for about 50, it has first right of refusal on more office space around it as it decides whether to expand within the building or relocate to a new home. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/06/14/new-to-downtown-kansas-city-development-company.html
June 10, 20196 yr Columbus gains a Fortune 500 headquarters (#390)...from Texas. Publicly traded Alliance Data Systems brings its HQ to Columbus, names new CEO Alliance Data Systems Corp. has switched its headquarters to Columbus and promoted Melisa Miller to CEO after eight years as CEO of its credit card services business based here. Tim King also was promoted last week to CFO after seven years running finances for card services in Columbus. Operations continue at the former base in Plano, Texas, but the head office change reflects both executive leadership and the greater importance of the credit division after the sale of an email marketing arm. "Because of its unique industry position, card services has historically experienced high growth rates and significant returns on equity," Chairman Rob Minicucci said in a statement. "The company's increased focus on this attractive segment will position Alliance Data to excel during the next decade, as it has in the past. Elevating these (Columbus) leaders to run the Alliance Data enterprise makes perfect sense." More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/06/10/publicly-traded-alliance-data-systems-brings-its.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 13, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190605/turner-construction-to-host-signing-day-to-attract-workers-to-industry Often the discussion over in the Columbus construction threads involves some variation of the question "Why is (project name) taking so long to build?" Although its not always for this reason, frequently it is because there are not enough workers to fill all the construction jobs available in Central Ohio. Because of this construction worker shortage, Turner Construction held a “signing day” last week to recruit workers and encourage more people to commit to working in the construction industry. As the Turner rep said in the article, "There’s a building boom in Central Ohio, but people are struggling to fill jobs".
June 18, 20195 yr With tasks mostly complete, Columbus economic development group looks ahead With its goals basically complete, Columbus 2020 is determining what’s next for the economic development group, including a name change. When Columbus 2020 launched in 2010 to lead economic development throughout 11 central Ohio counties, the region was hemorrhaging jobs and people were losing their homes to foreclosure during the worst recession since the Great Depression. The group set seemingly ambitious goals back then: 150,000 new jobs, $8 billion in new capital investment and a 30% increase in per-person income by 2020. The jobs and capital investment goals already have been hit, and per-person income is up 28.5% through 2017, the most recent data available. For the past year, 2020 executives have been meeting with hundreds of interested parties, including CEOs, chambers of commerce and other leaders about the direction of the group going forward. The group likely will release its next set of goals this summer. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190603/with-tasks-mostly-complete-columbus-economic-development-group-looks-ahead
June 19, 20195 yr Silicon Valley CEO sees big growth in firm's 'second home' in Columbus "Columbus' newest Silicon Valley employer is ahead of schedule on hiring for its new Short North office. Upstart Network Inc. will be at 50 employees this month, and its "second home" at 711 N. High St. could add 75 by the end of the year as it builds out a new 15,000-square-foot R&D center and staffs up for operations, engineering and data science. And that's just the start. "I fully expect we'll be at many hundreds, maybe thousands, here and in the Bay Area," CEO Dave Girouard said. "We thought we'd grow into that space over time, but we're going to be pretty quickly filling it out." Girouard was in Central Ohio for only the third time ever this week, and the first time since the company announced plans to expand here, and he took the time to take employees to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Some of the company's Bay Area employees have been curious to give Columbus a try, he said, motivated by the lower cost of living. "The Short North feels really unique," he said. 'I can see why we have so many people (in California) curious about this town.'" https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/06/19/silicon-valley-ceo-sees-big-growth-in-firms-second.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline
June 24, 20195 yr https://themetropreneur.com/columbus/4-new-coworking-spaces-opening-in-columbus/ Co-working spaces are still hot in C-BUS. The Metropreneur has four more that offer a bit of twist to previous co-working locations that have already opened in Central Ohio: COhatch -- This local concept is branching into suburban lifestyle mall locations. “The Pub” recently opened at a former restaurant space in Polaris, and an Easton location is scheduled to open by January 2020. This would be Cohatch's sixth Central Ohio location. Elevate Westerville -- Located in a custom-built two-story, 36,000 square feet building at 670 Meridian Way - just south of Polaris Parkway and about 1.5 miles east of the Polaris Mall. Kiddie Academy -- Educational childcare franchise Kiddie Academy is heading to Downtown Columbus with a first for the company. The slated location at 37 N. High St. will include co-working space for families that are enrolled at the preschool. WeWork -- The largest co-working operator in the U.S. - with 674 open and coming soon locations in 117 cities across the world - looks like it will be coming to Columbus. The company has a "coming soon" website up at https://www.wework.com/l/columbus. However, no location or timetable has been announced yet.
July 12, 20195 yr With OhioHealth moving from two downtown office locations into its newly completed office campus near Riverside Hospital, a large chunk of office space is now coming back onto the downtown office market. Whenever that occurs, new deals and moves start happening that see spin-off effects to other downtown office locations. Existing tenants in other buildings can pressure for better deals and/or amenities in their existing buildings or move into this newly vacated office space. This is one reason why there is a renovation push in multiple older Capitol Square office towers in particular. In the next two posts are recent articles (one from the Dispatch and the other from Business First) about the changing downtown office market. This graph from the Business First article shows that downtown is seeing a 10-year high in Class A office space rent and a 10-year low in Class A office space vacancy. So it looks like these departures, like Ohio Health, are coming at a good time for the downtown office market to react and adjust to this space becoming available again:
July 12, 20195 yr OhioHealth move creates another Downtown office vacancy By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch Posted: June 2, 2019 at 5:46 AM OhioHealth is moving close to 800 employees out of Downtown to its new headquarters at Route 315 and West North Broadway, leaving a lot of vacant space and questions about when it might be filled. OhioHealth is vacating six floors — about 113,000 square feet of space — of the 34-story Continental Realty building at 180 E. Broad St., moving about 600 people from that space. And it is vacating three floors of the 24-story PNC building at 20 S. 3rd St. — 36,000 square feet — moving 175 employees. Any time a lot of space comes back on the market, as with the OhioHealth space, it raises concerns. But it also offers opportunities - such as for naming rights to that building. For instance, CoverMyMeds has its very visible name on the top of the 12-story 2 Miranova Place building. CoverMyMeds plans to move 595 employees from four floors in the building into a new Franklinton headquarters in 2021-22. Chris Potts, a senior vice president for Colliers International, is marketing the space in 2 Miranova Place and said he is concerned about the time it might take to lease so much space. The building is now 91% occupied, including the CoverMyMeds space. But he is offering building signage again, along with freeway visibility, plus attached parking, a workout facility and a Downtown shuttle. Michael Copella, managing director in the Columbus office of commercial real estate firm CBRE, said he is seeing tenants interested in suburban locations such as Dublin’s Bridge Park, which offers not only new office space but also residences, bars and restaurants. Those amenities are reasons the Arena District and Grandview Yard are so popular, too, he said. “Most of the tenants would say they wish for more newer and exciting options for Downtown offices,” Copella said. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190602/ohiohealth-move-creates-another-downtown-office-vacancy
July 12, 20195 yr North Market tower comes at critical time for downtown office market By Tristan Navera – Staff reporter, Columbus Business First July 11, 2019 - 8:17am EDT A new tower by the North Market comes at a critical juncture for downtown Columbus as it competes with development in the suburbs. Wood Cos., Schiff Capital Group and Rockbridge now plan to develop a $175 million mixed-use project on the 2.1-acre parking lot next to the North Market at 59 Spruce St. Plans for the project include 90,000 square feet of Class A office space. That's significant because downtown Columbus has been competing with nearly a dozen mixed-use developments underway in the suburbs promising new high-quality Class A space. Existing vacant space in the city is largely older, prompting a rise in downtown tower vacancies and a renovation push along Capitol Square in particular. Despite some losses, the city's central business district has had a strong year so far. In its second-quarter office outlook, JLL noted 165,000 square feet of new office space opening in the market, including the 711 N. High St. building in the Short North, which opened almost fully leased. Meanwhile, several projects are under construction – including Gravity in Franklinton, new phases at Easton and Polaris, and Hamilton Quarter in the far northeast corner of the city. And downtown has scored a number of office wins recently, too. Root Insurance expanded its office space to 19,000 square feet at 80 on the Commons, while Candid Care signed on as an anchor tenant leasing 33,300 square feet at the former Columbus Dispatch building. Orix Real Estate Holdings, which cemented plans to expand, is consolidating at 10 W. Broad St., adding 34,000 square feet to bring it to 69,000 square feet in that newly renovated tower. But Collin Wheeler, a JLL broker specializing in office real estate, said the downtown market has seen a clear trend – Class A space is almost fully leased out while older properties languish. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/07/11/north-market-tower-comes-at-critical-time-for.html
July 13, 20195 yr https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190712/motorists-no-more-insurer-changes-its-name-to-encova At the risk of sounding like "old man yelling at cloud" - I couldn't be less happy with this news that Motorists Insurance is changing its name to Encova. Motorists Insurance has been a Columbus-founded institution since seems-like-forever. Motorists is a dignified name that sounds like "this is a safe solid insurance company that hopefully won't rip me off". The Motorists name is at the top of their black monolith tower on E. Broad Street built in 1973. But now Motorists will become Encova. According to the above linked Dispatch article, the Columbus-based Motorists Insurance Group and WV-based affiliate BrickStreet Mutual Insurance - who apparently formed a joint venture in 2017 -- https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2017/04/24/448826.htm - are rebranding as Encova Mutual Insurance Group. The company’s new website, Encova.com, will launch Monday. Company CEO Dave Kaufman says in the Dispatch article that this new name is part of an effort to integrate all of the company’s operations and names under one brand. He cheerily adds that “One name gets clarity with our associates and clarity in the market with our agents. That’s what kind of drove it.” And further adds that "Encova is a made-up word that stands for “encircling our agents with coverage.” Sorry CEO Dave, Encova sounds like a new ED drug.
July 14, 20195 yr ^Is there a “shrug” emoji? I don’t see the big deal in a name change. Rebranding happens all the time.
July 14, 20195 yr I can see where they're coming from. These days to a lot of people "Motorist" sounds like someone driving on an open car while wearing leather gloves, glass goggles, a long scarf and a pudding bowl helmet.
July 15, 20195 yr On 7/13/2019 at 11:15 PM, jeremyck01 said: ^Is there a “shrug” emoji? I don’t see the big deal in a name change. Rebranding happens all the time. Motorists rebranding isn't a big deal. I just think its a dumb dopey exercise. Particularly when its surrounded by Dilbert-level corporate-speak like "Encova is a made-up word that stands for “encircling our agents with coverage.” No, it doesn't stand for "encircling your agents with coverage" (and shouldn't it be encircling your customers with coverage?). GCrites80's got it right with this assessment: On 7/14/2019 at 12:53 AM, GCrites80s said: I can see where they're coming from. These days to a lot of people "Motorist" sounds like someone driving on an open car while wearing leather gloves, glass goggles, a long scarf and a pudding bowl helmet. The new management just thought their company name sounded a bit old-fashioned. So they changed it to a made-up word that means nothing to nobody. Awesome. I don't care what they call the company, I just hope they don't bankrupt it - for the sake of their employees and customers.
July 15, 20195 yr On 7/14/2019 at 12:53 AM, GCrites80s said: I can see where they're coming from. These days to a lot of people "Motorist" sounds like someone driving on an open car while wearing leather gloves, glass goggles, a long scarf and a pudding bowl helmet. That reminds me of the time they put the "Motorists" signs at the top of their downtown tower. Almost everyone called the company "Motorist" like you just did. And then the signs go up as "Motorists". And everyone was like "there's an "s" at the end of Motorist?"
July 15, 20195 yr On 7/13/2019 at 12:13 PM, Columbo said: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190712/motorists-no-more-insurer-changes-its-name-to-encova At the risk of sounding like "old man yelling at cloud" - I couldn't be less happy with this news that Motorists Insurance is changing its name to Encova. Motorists Insurance has been a Columbus-founded institution since seems-like-forever. Motorists is a dignified name that sounds like "this is a safe solid insurance company that hopefully won't rip me off". The Motorists name is at the top of their black monolith tower on E. Broad Street built in 1973. But now Motorists will become Encova. According to the above linked Dispatch article, the Columbus-based Motorists Insurance Group and WV-based affiliate BrickStreet Mutual Insurance - who apparently formed a joint venture in 2017 -- https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2017/04/24/448826.htm - are rebranding as Encova Mutual Insurance Group. The company’s new website, Encova.com, will launch Monday. Company CEO Dave Kaufman says in the Dispatch article that this new name is part of an effort to integrate all of the company’s operations and names under one brand. He cheerily adds that “One name gets clarity with our associates and clarity in the market with our agents. That’s what kind of drove it.” And further adds that "Encova is a made-up word that stands for “encircling our agents with coverage.” Sorry CEO Dave, Encova sounds like a new ED drug. I agree with you, I much prefer the slightly old-timey name. That works especially in an industry like insurance where people want long-standing, established companies. And coming into downtown on 71, that sign was the first thing you saw.
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