1. Knowledge That Sells
March 2012
General News
provide a combination of uses in the tower, which is about 40 percent
vacant. The investment group bought the struggling building at 50 West
Broad Street a year ago for a bargain, $4.04 million. The price was
lower than what it cost to build the iconic structure in 1927.
• A Brookings Institution analysis of government labor statistics shows that
employees who have gone back to work after losing their jobs between
• The Huntington Center at 41 North High Street was refinanced in
October 2008 and April 2009 are making 17 percent less than they did in
March. The 37-story, 1.1-million-square-foot joint venture between
2007.
Hines, STRS Ohio, Huntington National Bank, and Porter Wright
refinanced with PB Capital for $115 million. OHSTRS owns 60 percent
• Foreclosures fell 16 percent in Ohio in 2011, as about 71,500 commercial and
and Hines owns a small percent, and also manages the property.
residential cases went through the state’s common pleas courts, the lowest
total since 2005. The 16 percent drop in 2011 was about 13,900 fewer
• Boy Scouts of America has purchased a building near Lennox Town
foreclosures than in 2010.
Center for relocation. The new location at 807 Kinnear Road will house
the expanding group, as they have outgrown the 10,300-square-foot
• Ohio led the nation in attracting new companies, as well as expanding
1901 East Dublin-Granville Road. The Boy Scouts of America
current firms in 2011. The report by Site Selection magazine showed Ohio
purchased the two-story, 28,000-square-foot property for $1.7 million
with 498 new or expanded operations, ahead of runner-up Texas, which had
and plans to lease about 8,000 square feet of the property to other
464.
tenants.
• The Licking County Chamber of Commerce has hired an economic develop-
ment professional, Dan Evers.
• The unemployment rate in Columbus rose to 7.3 percent in January from Industrial
6.4 percent in December. 878,700 workers were employed with 68,900
unemployed. There were 6,600 more employed in December 2011 with • Glassmaker AGC Flat Glass North America is studying a $28 million
8,000 fewer unemployed. Holiday season hiring explains the difference. The expansion plan for Bellefontaine. A tax credit worth $819,000 has been
situation is much better than a year ago as only government and manufac- offered for the company to bring 500 full-time employees to the city.
turing employment was lower in January 2012 than in January 2011 - down
3.7 percent and 0.3 respectively. • Manifold & Phalor received state approval for a plan to help the
machine shop and fabricating company to add 30 jobs to a payroll of
• For the 10th year in a row, union membership in Ohio fell. Union members $1.1 million in Canal Winchester. The state awarded the firm a five-year
accounted for 13.4 percent of the state’s work force in 2011. A decade ago, Job Creation Tax Credit for $87,416. The firm currently employs 36.
17.6 percent of Ohio workers were in unions. Manifold & Phalor will invest $6 million to add more than 60,000
square feet to the company’s existing facility.
• Consumer confidence, as measured by The Conference Board’s Consumer
Confidence Index, rose in February dramatically from 61.5 to 70.8. The jump • B. Hubbard Enterprises plans to create 40 jobs in Lancaster as part of
marked the highest the index has been since February 2011, when it was a plan to move the company from Oklahoma to Ohio. The firm builds
72.0. A score higher than 90.0 indicates a healthy economy. heavy-duty workover rigs and portable drilling rigs for the oil and gas
industry. It was offered a 40 percent, seven-year job creation credit.
They plan to hire 40 employees which will generate $1.7 million in
Office payroll over the next three years. They are planning on leasing the
former Pugh building on Quarry Road.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital has opened its Dublin Sports Medicine and • A $4.6 million grant from the Department of Labor helped launch a
Orthopedic Center, the second facility of its kind that the hospital has built in logistics training program at The Center for Workforce Development
the area. The $6.3 million, 25,000-square-foot facility at 5680 Venture Drive at Columbus State Community College in July 2010. The program is
joins the hospital’s 23,000-square-foot sports medicine clinic in Westerville, training 1,082 unemployed workers over three years for the warehous-
which opened in 2007. Children’s said in a press release that it is the only ing and distribution sector. An additional 150 incumbent workers will
pediatric hospital in the U.S. to have two sports medicine and orthopedic receive training. So far, 506 people have graduated with a 76 percent
care facilities. placement rate. Employment in this industry in Central Ohio is expected
to grow 20 percent by 2016, up from 40,900 workers in 2009.
• The owners of the LeVeque Tower are looking to the building’s 85-year
history to inspire a multimillion-dollar renovation, that aims to put a hotel and • Target Corporation Distribution Center purchased a development site at
apartments into the landmark skyscraper. Real estate investors, Bob Meyers, Route 40 and Route 29 in West Jefferson. West Jeff Partners LLC sold
Don Casto, Michael Schiff and their partners could spend up to $22 million to
the 2.05-million-square-foot site (438,200 buildable square footage)
for $1.8 million ($1 per square foot, $4 per buildable square foot).

2. Development
33.5 percent of VLT revenue and $200 million, including a $50
million license fee for the VLTs, to move Grove City’s Beulah Park to
Austin-town and Toledo’s Raceway Park to Dayton. Penn National
would have to make two $75 million relocation payments to the state
• Halliburton purchased roughly 178 acres in Zanesville, Ohio in Muskingum
within 180 days of opening the new tracks.
County for an undisclosed amount. The firm plans to use the space for work
related to shale mining.
• Sears Holding Corp. plans to close 63 stores in the first half of 2012,
which includes some it had already announced. No word yet if any of
• Pizzuti Co. has been given a key zoning approval for The Joseph, a hotel
the 25 Hometown Stores locations in Ohio will be closed.
and office project in the Short North. It expects to begin construction this
summer on the 11-story hotel, a six-story office building and five-story parking
• The Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern will open a 4,535-square-foot
garage. The sites are on North High Street and sit across Russel Street from
restaurant at the Commons at Clark Hall in the fall, the company said
each other. The developer also needs to complete a deal with Columbus to
in a press release. It will be part of a retail strip that measures more
purchase or lease a municipal parking lot at 616 N. High St., where the hotel
than 23,000 square feet on North Hamilton Road next to Gahanna-
will be built. The hotel would include about 135 rooms on 11 floors. The office
Jefferson high school’s new Clark Hall annex.
building, featuring street-level retail space, will have 55,000 square feet over
six stories, while the four-level garage will include 313 vehicle slots.
Sources: Ohio Department of Development, Business First, The Columbus
Dispatch, The Daily Reporter, Middletown Journal, This Week Daily
• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said the state would receive
Newspapers, Wall Street Journal, ColumbusUnderground.com and Costar.
more than $12 million in federal grants for job training and employment
initiatives, with $5 million designated for on-the-job training in IT industries.
The Center for Workforce Development at Columbus State Community College
is using an initial round of $200,000 from that program to help Central Ohio
companies train 83 dislocated workers for employment in the IT field. Other
initial recipients include Stark State College, University of Akron, Wayne
College and Washington County Career Center. The center is a partner with
NEW HIRES IN RETAIL BROKERAGE
BioOhio and its effort to develop a bioscience work force. BioOhio received a
$5 million grant from the Department of Labor in 2010 for the effort. Colliers International in
the Greater Columbus
Retail Region has announced that
brokerage associates Kevin
• Farallon Capital Partners sold their 25 percent stake in a 26 property portfolio James, CCIM and Micha
to Simon Property Group. The 1.1-million-square-foot Mall at Tuttle Crossing is Bitton have joined their Retail
a part of the portfolio. No word on the transaction specifics.
Services Group as Senior Vice Presidents. “Colliers in Ohio is always
• Three Discount Drugmart-anchored strip properties were sold in Columbus looking to strengthen its team with the best talent,” said Richard Schuen,
as part of a 13 property portfolio sale. The Polaris Discount Drug Mart Plaza CEO | Principal of Colliers International | Columbus. “Kevin and Micha
at 8909 South Old State Road (50,011 square feet) sold for $4.4 million; The
embody the type of enterprising professional that Colliers is looking for.
Hilliard Discount Drug Mart (40,988 square feet) sold for $1.4 million; The
Pickerington Discount Drug Mart Plaza (47,540 square feet) sold for $4.1 Their dedication to the highest level of service as well as their deep
million. Nickleplate Realty Trust LLC purchased the portfolio from Cedar Realty expertise in the industry is what our clients need to accelerate their
Trust. In total, 11 Discount Drug Mart plazas and two smaller bank locations
success.”
were transferred. All of the properties in the portfolio are in Ohio.
• The Gallo family of restaurants is expanding into their third area dining spot
with Gallo’s Pit BBQ at 2224 West Dublin-Granville Road. The store plans to
open in early April in the former home of the original Hoggy’s Restaurant &
“Knowledge That Sells” is a monthly publication compiled and
Catering restaurant. Hoggy’s closed in January when the seven-restaurant
chain went into receivership, shuttering all but its Gahanna operation and its researched by the marketing and research team at Colliers
catering business. International in Ohio. For more information, or to be added to the
• Cajun restaurant Da Levee in the Short North has opened its back door as subscriber list, please contact Leslie Hobbs, Director of Marketing
Backdoor Burritos for Friday and Saturday nights. The dual-purposed 765 | Ohio, at leslie.hobbs@colliers.com.
North High Street is the brainchild of Justin Boehme who wanted to bring a
bigger city feel to dining downtown.
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. is testing a smaller design on the Ohio State
University campus. The Colorado-based chain expects to open the fast-casual
Burger Works at 1708 North High Street.
• The new $125 million video lottery terminal building at Scioto Downs is
underway. Construction of the 130,000-square-foot building began in
December and is on track to be completed in the second quarter. In addition to COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
2,100 VLTs, the complex will include a 300-seat buffet area, 100-seat casual Greater Columbus Region
dining restaurant and 82-seat sports bar and lounge. 8800 Lyra Drive, Suite 150
Columbus, OH 43240
• Penn National Gaming Inc. has struck a deal with Gov. John Kasich’s office
to move horse racing tracks in Toledo and Columbus to sites in Dayton and phone 614 410 5600
the Youngstown area. The Wyomissing, Pa.-based company agreed to pay fax 614 436 9700
www.colliers.com