Akron will invest an estimated $3.2 million to spruce up the aging Cascade Plaza and the parking lot below it — a request of FirstMerit Corp., which is keeping its headquarters and expanding in the city.
FirstMerit will add up to 150 new full-time jobs and will lend Akron the money for the improvements to Cascade Plaza. Details of the loan are still being finalized, but it is expected to be at a low interest rate. The bank completed a merger with Citizens Republic Bancorp of Michigan on Friday.
Akron City Council approved legislation Monday for the improvements to Cascade Plaza and the parking deck.
Councilman Mike Freeman said he thinks the city’s getting a good deal for its investment, considering the number of jobs FirstMerit is keeping in town and creating, and compared with the incentives that have been provided to other major employers.
“Do we get a new toaster?” Freeman joked, a reference to the free gifts banks routinely give new customers.
The plaza, several decades old, sits off South Main Street, in front of the downtown office building where FirstMerit’s headquarters is located. It provides the roof to an underground, five-level parking deck.
Mayor Don Plusquellic said the updates to the “outdated and worn” plaza are an incentive to keep FirstMerit, which he said was being wooed by other states, including Michigan. He said the plaza will be transformed into a “useful modern park-like space” that will benefit the employees and customers of FirstMerit.
“They need to feel confident that their front door meets the requirements of today’s standards,” Plusquellic said.
FirstMerit spokesman Rob Townsend said the upgrades to the plaza are sorely needed, not only for FirstMerit employees, but also downtown employees at other nearby buildings.
`Glorifed sidewalk’
“It’s a glorified sidewalk. It could easily be transformed into something really aesthetically pleasing,” said Townsend. “It could be a place to sit and enjoy your lunch versus walking from one place to another.”
“It’s in a great state of disrepair. You can trip over cracks in the sidewalk or rebar sticking out of the sidewalk. It’s definitely not what it could and should be,” he said.
Townsend confirmed that the bank was courted to move outside of Akron.
“Discussions took place,” he said of FirstMerit entering the Michigan and Wisconsin market. “As to those details of those offers, we wouldn’t comment other than pointing out our staying here.”
Townsend said the bank’s Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Greig has often said the bank was committed to Akron.
“We hope this sends a clear signal backing up FirstMerit’s stated commitment to the city of Akron, to its residents, customers and employees,” Townsend said.
The bank employs about 2,000 in its downtown headquarters operations. That includes workers in the FirstMerit Tower on Main Street; Cascade III, an adjacent building; and an operations center near the Akron Innerbelt, said Townsend.
Job details coming
Details on the new, full-time jobs that will be created or the time frame in which the hires will be made are not yet available. Bank officials said the merger just went through and they need more time to assess staffing needs.
Plusquellic said in his travels to different cities he has seen the “positive impact a nice downtown park-like setting can make to an otherwise brick-and-mortar downtown.”
“We want our employees and visitors to use this new space to eat lunch, take a walk, and enjoy their time in our city,” he said.
The city is hoping to get the project under way quickly, with plans to break ground by June and complete the improvements by next June.
“We will all be proud of this public space,” Plusquellic said.
Akron has invested about $23 million in the past 10 years in the Cascade parking deck, including adding new, brighter and more energy-efficient lighting to three of the five levels. The improved lighting will be installed on the other two decks as part of this latest project, along with sealing the deck, said Brad Beckert, Akron’s development engineering manager.
Tax credits
The city also will provide a Job Creation Incentive in the form of income tax credits to FirstMerit. The money will go toward the cost of relocation, expansion and new employee training.
Beckert said details of the incentive are being finalized and will be part of a development agreement still in the works.
Beckert said the state will provide FirstMerit with a $2.1 million Job Creation Tax Credit and a $50,000 Workforce Training Grant. These incentives are based on FirstMerit’s new jobs adding $11.2 million to its annual payroll and the company’s commitment to remain in Akron for at least 12 years.
Stephanie Gostomski, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Development Services Agency, said no state incentives have yet been awarded to FirstMerit. State tax credits must be approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, and the next meeting of this body is April 29. She said the agenda for this meeting hasn’t yet been finalized.
FirstMerit doubled its size with its merger, adding branches in Wisconsin and Michigan to its operations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois. The new FirstMerit has almost $24 billion in assets, 5,000 employees, 415 branches and more than 440 ATM locations.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @swarsmith. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.