FAIRLAWN: They say that in the real estate business location is everything. That may explain the current expansion going on at Embassy Corporate Park, which sits along Interstate 77 in Fairlawn.
It was a banner year in 2013 for the location with many major companies in the financial services sector choosing to locate in the park, located between Akron and suburbs south of Cleveland.
Tom Karcher of real estate developer John Dellagnese & Associates says that the location is perfect for companies that want to draw on the talent pool from the Rockside Road area in Cuyahoga County and other communities heading north toward Cleveland, as well as from the Akron area.
“Now that the economy is looking stronger, a lot of people are thinking now might be the time to move,” said Karcher. “So you’ve got pent up demand, plus Embassy Park is solidifying its position as the leading location for financial services companies in Northeast Ohio.”
The park now has 16 financial services companies, with several other significant companies joining the hub of regional business activity, Karcher said.
“Financial companies, like most companies, like to stay close to where their competitors are. So they tend to cluster in a particular location. For the financial services sector, this is the location,” he said.
The park’s building known as “3800” just added an important new tenant. On Monday, Fairlawn Mayor Bill Roth announced at the State of the City address to the Fairlawn Chamber of Commerce that University Hospitals will be moving in and opening a new facility.
It will include a primary-care facility, urgent care, radiology services, labs, specialty rotations, dermatology and pediatrics, said Mikel Duffy of University Hospitals.
“This was our best year since 2008. We’re almost all filled up,” said Karcher. “We’ve still got some lots. Enough for maybe 6,000 to 8,000 square feet. All the financial services companies have been migrating here and now I think we’ll see some more medical companies.”
Mark Munsell of Munsell Realty Advisors, one of the park’s largest landlords, says Embassy Parkway has become the premier office location in Northeast Ohio for a number of reasons.
“Look at what Embassy Parkway has to offer,” said Munsell. “You’ve got unique accessibility for employees coming from anywhere around Northeast Ohio. You can get there in half an hour from anywhere.
“Then you’ve got shopping, you’ve got all kinds of restaurants. If visitors come out, you’ve got all the hotels, all the amenities on West Market. You’ve got affordable housing if people want to move nearby. It’s just a wonderful place to conduct commerce.”
Karcher notes that Embassy Park has developed a reputation for high quality property management. “We’ve made significant capital improvements and everything has been brought current for a ‘Class A’ facility,” he said.
Among the new or expanding tenants in the park is Merrill Lynch, which recently expanded its office space from 6,000 square feet to 16,000. The number of employees working in that office has grown from 25 to 65 people.
University Hospital Systems signed a lease for 35,000 square feet in the 3800 Embassy building.
Confirming Munsell’s theory about location, the Centene Co., a health-care services firm, consolidated its offices here from previous locations in Akron and Rockside Road.
Jentner Wealth Management joined the Embassy Parkway community in 2013, buying a complete building in the park.
Symphony Financial Services bought the 4100 building in the park with a footprint of nearly 10,000 square feet.
JBL Fairlawn purchased 30,000 square feet in the 3500 building, which will now house offices of Sequoia Financial Group/Cohen & Co.
Virtual Hold, a company that provides solutions for corporate phone and audio communications, has taken space in the park alongside the financial services businesses.
Also, Akrochem, the large chemical company that has been a fixture in Akron since the 1930s, has located its headquarters to the park.
Another Embassy Parkway tenant, the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center, recently added a walk-in clinic and invested in digitized health records.
Rounding out the development, construction for a new hotel broke ground in September. The new Marriott Residence Inn, situated on the Crystal Lake Drive entrance to Embassy Parkway, is being built by Radius Hospitality, John Dellagnese and Mann Architecture and is scheduled to open in the fall.