Dwellworks Plans Downtown Move of Headquarters
October 13, 2011
Dwellworks, LLC is slated to move 30-40 employees into new office space in the PlayhouseSquare District in March 2012. Dwellworks is leasing 15,000 square feet of space in the historic F. W. Woolworth building, located at 1317 Euclid Avenue, from PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services.
“Being long-time Clevelander’s, we’re excited about the revitalization and rejuvenation of downtown Cleveland and the PlayhouseSquare area and thrilled to be a part of it, “stated Gene Novak, CFO and executive vice president of Dwellworks. “We’re very supportive of county-wide development and thrilled to bring jobs to the area with our corporate headquarters move to downtown Cleveland.”
“Dwellworks’ decision to locate their business in Downtown Cleveland proves that Cleveland is a great place to do business and shows the value of the urban core,” said Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “I’d like to thank Dwellworks for coming to Cleveland and wish them continued success.”
“This is a real victory for PlayhouseSquare and the city of Cleveland,” noted Art J. Falco, president and CEO of PlayhouseSquare. “Dwellworks originally was considering only suburban options for their relocation, but we were able to show that the economics of moving to PlayhouseSquare made sense.”
When the theaters were saved from demolition and redeveloped, it was the hope of PlayhouseSquare that private developers would rally around the effort and improve the district’s real estate. Unfortunately, those developers never really materialized and PlayhouseSquare began the work of redeveloping the neighborhood.
“We never intended to become developers,” explained Falco, “but the reluctance of other developers left us with no choice but to take it on. And now we have a highly skilled and creative team that is having great success in developing our neighborhood into a highly desirable location for business, housing and entertainment.”
Allen K. Wiant of PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services reached out to Director of Economic Development for the City of Cleveland, Tracey Nichols, and her Executive of Small Business Development, Kevin Schmotzer, who structured a financial incentive package to offset costs to allow for the relocation and expansion of Dwellworks LLC to Downtown Cleveland. The financial package consisted of a forgivable loan under the Vacant Property Initiative Program and a grant based on new jobs to the City of Cleveland under the Citywide Business Grant Program. The City’s financial package made it feasible for Dwellworks to consider moving their operations to Downtown Cleveland.
“The city’s economic development team is incredible,” said Wiant. “If you do your research, you can work with them to make downtown a very attractive location for doing business.”
Along with the incentives provided by the city of Cleveland, PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services obtained federal and state historic tax credits that lowered the cost of renovating the office space by one-third.
Making it a true collaborative effort to bring Dwellworks into the city, Downtown Cleveland Alliance helped coordinate the economic development efforts and joined a presentation to the entire Dwellworks organization, addressing staff concerns about moving downtown. Wiant recruited FIT Technologies and WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN ideastream to participate as well.
"Helping to bring Dwellworks to Downtown Cleveland is a great example of how our Business Development Center can work with private and public partners to attract more businesses to Downtown," said Joe Marinucci, president and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance. "Dan Walsh of Huntington Bank, Chandler Converse at CB Richard Ellis, and Mayor Jackson's team were especially important partners."
Dwellworks journey downtown began with a conversation between Bob Rosing, CEO and president of Dwellworks and Valarie J. McCall, chief of government affairs for Mayor Frank Jackson. When McCall heard that Dwellworks was looking to expand, she quickly spread the word to Nichols, Wiant and Downtown Cleveland Alliance and remained involved each step of the way.
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About PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services
Founded in 1999 to manage and develop PlayhouseSquare’s mix of historic and commercial real estate properties, PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services has grown to become a full service, well-respected, deeply experienced regional entity known for breadth of experience with a highly-developed skill set; creativity in launching and successfully completing projects; leadership, longevity and stability; and ability to present flexibility, agility and adaptability in long-term strategic planning. PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services also boasts a proven and award-winning leadership team with more than 80 years of combined expertise in Northeast Ohio’s commercial real estate markets. PlayhouseSquare Real Estate Services manages more than 1.9 million square feet of office space and retail space in the region.
About Downtown
Downtown Cleveland Alliance is the not-for-profit organization dedicated to building a dynamic downtown. It is committed to making downtown
Downtown Cleveland Alliance, working hand in hand with downtown property owners, creates forums for communication and involvement by a diverse group of downtown stakeholders, including local development corporations, city and county governments, civic and arts organizations, residents, young professionals and business stakeholders. By facilitating the collaboration of these groups, DCA strives to enhance the quality of life in the urban core by implementing initiatives like the Clean & Safe Program, economic development assistance, marketing & special events, advocacy and strategic projects.
Funding is provided by Downtown Cleveland property owners who have jointly agreed to a special assessment to be used to augment services. This is not a tax, and the funding does not take the place of tax-funded initiatives. It's an investment made by members to enhance the growth, improvement and development of Downtown Cleveland.
