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3:00 PM
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JANUARY 18-24, 2010
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
27
LARGEST ARCHITECTURAL FIRMS
RANKED BY LOCAL REGISTERED ARCHITECTS
Name of firm
Address
Rank Phone/Web site
Local registered
architects
12-1-2009 12-1-2008
Total
staff
Local office revenue
(millions)
2009
2008
Major current projects
Top local executive
Title
1
Westlake Reed Leskosky
925 Euclid Ave., Suite 1900, Cleveland 44115
(216) 522-1350/www.wrldesign.com
42
40
150
$24.0
$25.7
PlayhouseSquare Theatres; Cleveland Clinic Twinsburg Medical Campus and
Hillcrest Hospital expansion; Oberlin College, Litoff Building; Parker Hannifin,
European Headquarters, Switzerland
Paul E. Westlake Jr.
managing principal
2
Herschman Architects Inc.
25001 Emery Road, Suite 400, Cleveland 44128
(216) 223-3200/www.herschmanarchitects.com
22
20
61
$7.0
$13.0
Retail projects: HH Gregg, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gold's Gym, Best Buy, Fred
Meyer Jewelers. Shopping centers: Odessa, Texas, Hagerstown, Md., Solon.
Shoreway renovation Cleveland; Vieng's Restaurant Westlake
Mike Crislip
president
2
Middough Inc.
1901 E. 13th St., Cleveland 44114
(216) 367-6000/www.middough.com
22
21
725
$95.0
$110.0
The Ohio State University, central power plant water treatment; Wal-Mart Stores
Inc., multi-level store, Grundy, Va.; V & M Star, administrative offices, Girard/
Youngstown; Bridgestone U.S.A., Smyrna, Tenn.
Charles L. Krzysiak
vice president
4
ka
1468 W. Ninth St., Suite 600, Cleveland 44113
(216) 781-9144/www.kainc.com
21
26
55
NA
$18.8
Westfield San Francisco Centre, Calif.; Icon in the Gulch, Tenn.; The Village at
Gulfstream Park, Fla.; Annapolis Towne Centre, Parole, Md.; Avery Dennison
Northeast Ohio facility
James B. Heller
president
5
Bostwick Design Partnership
2729 Prospect Ave., Cleveland 44115
(216) 621-7900/www.bostwickdesign.com
20
18
33
$6.1
$7.3
Marymount Hospital, surgery expansion; Cleveland Clinic Las Vegas,
development plan; The Ohio State University College of Medicine; Cleveland
Public Library, Rice Branch
Robert L. Bostwick
president,
director of design
6
Braun & Steidl Architects Inc.
1041 W. Market St., Akron 44313
(330) 864-7755/www.bsa-net.com
18
21
44
$5.0
$8.4
Cleveland State University, new student center; Cuyahoga Community College,
Career Center; Faith Family Church; Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy; St.
Columba Cathedral, restoration
Chas Schreckenberger
president
6
Dorsky Hodgson Parrish Yue
23240 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 300, Cleveland 44122
(216) 464-8600/www.dorskyhodgson.com
18
31
51
NA
NA
8
Hasenstab Architects Inc.
190 N. Union St., Suite 400, Akron 44304
(330) 434-4464/www.hainc.cc
17
19
30
$5.3
$6.7
9
Richard L. Bowen + Associates Inc.
13000 Shaker Blvd., Cleveland 44120
(216) 491-9300/www.rlba.com
16
17
85
NA
NA
9
URS Corp.(1)
1375 Euclid Ave., Suite 600, Cleveland 44115
(216) 622-2400/www.urscorp.com
16
14
711
$105.4
$39.0
11
Bialosky + Partners Architects LLC
2775 S. Moreland Blvd., Cleveland 44120
(216) 752-8750/www.bialosky.com
14
16
30
NA
NA
12
Domokur Architects
4651 Medina Road, Akron 44321
(330) 666-7878/www.domokur.com
13
9
29
$3.3
$2.2
12
Perspectus Architecture
13212 Shaker Square, Suite 204, Cleveland 44120
(216) 752-1800/www.perspectusarch.com
13
11
22
NA
NA
12
TDA
4135 Erie St., Willoughby 44094
(440) 269-2266/www.thendesign.com
13
13
27
$4.4
15
Burt Hill
3700 Park East Drive, Suite 200, Beachwood 44122
(216) 454-2150/www.burthill.com
12
12
22
16
GPD Group
520 S. Main St., Suite 2531, Akron 44311
(800) 955-4731/www.gpdgroup.com
11
11
16
Vocon
3142 Prospect Ave., Cleveland 44115
(216) 588-0800/www.vocon.com
11
18
Robert P. Madison International Inc.
2930 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115
(216) 861-8195/www.rpmadison.com
19
The Promenade at Coconut Creek, mixed-use, retail, office, Coconut Creek, Fla.; William Dorsky, chairman
The Plaza at Southpark, Strongsville; The Weils Rehab Pavilion, Bainbridge;
Cornelia C. Hodgson,
Overtown Transit Village, office buildings, garage, Miami, Fla.
president
ODMH - Northcoast Behavioral Hospital; The University of Akron, National
Polymer Innovation Center; Akron Public Schools, National Inventor's Hall of
Fame School; Akron Zoo, conservation carousel
Mark A. Ohlinger
president
Mayfield Village, Police Station; CMHA, Outhwaite Building; RTA, Clifton
Boulevard enhancement; Cuyahoga County College, Brunswick campus
Richard L. Bowen
president
Cuyahoga Community College, Health Career and Technology Building, Highland
Hills; Digestive Disease Consultants, medical building, Brunswick; ClevelandCuyahoga County Port Authority, marina/park relocation study
Gary R. Hribar, vice
president, URS division;
William Colt, sr. vice
president
GCRTA, Brookpark Station; Mandel JCC; Tri-C, downtown culinary; Schofield
Building; EnVision Apartments; One of a Kind Pet Rescue
Jack A. Bialosky Jr.
senior principal
JM Smucker Co.; Kent State University; Bowling Green State University;
Cleveland State University; FirstMerit
Michael Domokur
owner
The Ohio State University Medical Center; Veterans Affairs Medical Center; The
James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute; Canterbury Golf Club;
Cuyahoga Community College; John Carroll University
Lawrence Fischer
William Ayars
principals
$4.2
Bailey Building, restoration; Dalton Local School District, GaREAT Sports
Complex phase 3; Garfield Heights City School District; Lake County MR/DD,
renovations; Mayfield City School District; Perry Local School District
Robert A. Fiala
managing partner
$5.1
$4.5
NASA Glenn Research Ctr., centralized office bldg.; Cuyahoga Community
College, Westshore Campus phase 1; Nazareth College, lab building; BaldwinWallace College, Thomas Family Ctr. for Science and Innovation
Michael Reagan
Michael R. Carter
principals
NA
$33.0
$33.0
NA
Dave Granger
president
12
63
$14.0
$15.6
KeyBank, retail branches; Hospice House West; KeyBank, Cleveland Services
Center; Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center; Huntington Bank; Morgan
Stanley; Willis; Cuyahoga Community College; Jones Day
Deborah V. Donley
principal
10
10
21
$2.5
$3.0
Center for Creative Arts; Willson School; Anton Grdina; Mt. Zion Congregational
Church; Kappa II Housing (HUD)
Robert P. Madison
chairman, CEO
ADA Architects Inc.
17710 Detroit Ave., Lakewood 44107
(216) 521-5134/www.adaarchitects.cc
9
7
35
NA
NA
NA
Robert Acciarri
president
19
CBLH Design Inc.
7850 Freeway Circle, Cleveland 44130
(440) 243-2000/www.cblhdesign.com
9
11
21
NA
$3.1
Mercy Medical Center; University of Akron; Ritter Library; Ohio State University
Medical Center; Bowling Green State University; Cuyahoga Falls Library;
Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Cleveland State University
Marc B. Bittinger, Timothy S.
Hunsicker, Michael D. Liezert,
principals
19
HWH Architects Engineers Planners Inc.
1300 E. Ninth St., Suite 900, Cleveland 44114
(216) 875-4000/www.hwhaep.com
9
10
90
NA
NA
General Electric Nela Park; Goodyear, Lawton Okla.; Cleveland MetroParks,
headquarters; City of Cleveland, various projects; General Electric Energy,
Greenville, S.C.
Peter P. Jancar
chairman
22
The Austin Co.
6095 Parkland Blvd., Cleveland 44124
(440) 544-2600/www.theaustin.com
8
7
85
$44.6
$39.0
Hills Pet Nutrition, Emporia Kan.; Mitsubsihi Power, Savannah, Ga.; FedEx
Ground, Kansas City, Mo.; Lance, Ashland; Bimbo Bakeries, Horsham, Pa.;
Pfizer, Portage, Mich.
Patrick B. Flanagan
president
22
Burgess & Niple
1300 E. Ninth St., Suite 612, Cleveland 44114
(216) 241- 9600/www.burgessniple.com
8
7
54
NA
$10.3
General Instructional Building, Ft. Lewis, Washington; Hubbard Schools, K-12
Charles J. Zibbel
campus, Hubbard, Ohio; Company Operations Facilities, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; director,
Child Development Center, Ft. Bliss, Texas
Great Lakes region
22
Harris/Day Architecture
3722 Whipple Road, NW, Canton 44718
(330) 493-3722/www.harrisday.com
8
6
20
$2.5
$2.2
Wayne County Schools Career Center; Bridgestone Technical Center
R. Jeffrey Day
president
22
Herman Gibans Fodor Inc.-Architects
1939 W. 25th St., Suite 300, Cleveland 44113
(216) 696-3460/www.hgfarchitects.com
8
8
18
$2.3
$2.5
Emerald Alliance V, 70-unit supportive housing building, Cleveland; Kendal at
Oberlin, expansion and renovation; Squire Sanders, interior renovation; Mount
Saint Joseph Home, 100-bed skilled nursing home, Euclid
James G. Herman
president
22
Makovich Pusti Architects Inc.
111 Front St., Berea 44017
(440) 891-8910/www.mparc.com
8
8
13
NA
NA
Veterans Administration, surgery, surgical intensive care; Fairview Hospital,
pediatric behaviorial health; Richmond Medical Center, behaviorial health, critical
care, stepdown
Ronald J. Makovich
president
22
Richard Fleischman + Partners Architects Inc.
1020 Huron Road, Suite 101, Cleveland 44115
(216) 771-0090/www.studiorfa.com
8
6
26
$1.7
$2.2
A.J. Celebrezze Federal Building; J.W. Peck Federal Building; MYCAP MahoningYoungstown Community Action Partnership; University Circle Methodist Church
(Oil Can)
Richard Fleischman
president
22
Sandvick Architects Inc.
1265 W. Sixth St., Cleveland 44113
(216) 621-8055/www.sandvickarchitects.com
8
9
17
$1.8
$3.2
Cleveland Institute of Art; Gospel Press
Jonathan Sandvick
president
29
Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions
3201 Enterprise Parkway, Suite 495, Beachwood 44122
(216) 292-7950/www.arrayhfs.com
7
6
14
$2.9
$3.0
Community Health Partners, master plan and implementation, Lorain; UH Case
Medical Center, parking facility, Cleveland; UH Rainbow Babies & Children's
Hospital, master plan, Cleveland
Christopher Trotta
vice president,
managing principal
29
City Architecture Inc.
3634 Euclid Ave., Suite 100, Cleveland 44115
(216) 881-2444/www.cityarch.com
7
8
23
$4.1
$4.4
Collinwood, Recreation Center; Mayfield, RTA Station; University of Akron,
Administrative Services Center; Garden Valley Apartments; Lakefront West
Paul J. Volpe
president
29
Holzheimer Bolek + Meehan Architects
7227 Chagrin Road, Chagrin Falls 44023
(440) 247-9800/www.hbmarchitects.com
7
7
12
NA
NA
Amherst Pubic Library; Roanoke County Library, Va.; Wichita Central Library,
Kan.; Newton Public Library, Kan.; Warren Civic Center & Library, Mich.;
Pickaway County Library
Dan Meehan, David
Holzheimer, Peter Bolek,
partners
29
TC Architects Inc.
755 White Pond Drive, Suite 401, Akron 44320
(330) 867-1093/www.tcarchitects.com
7
9
20
NA
NA
NEOUCOM, campus research and academic expansion; Akron Metropolitan
Housing Authority, Edgewood Homes Hope VI, elderly housing development
corporation, numerous projects
Robert C. Chordar
president
Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee these listings are complete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our
lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues. Individual lists and The Book of Lists are available to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com. (1) URS
acquired Washington Group in 2007. The 2009 local office revenue includes the acquistion, the 2008 revenue is for URS only.
RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer
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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
JANUARY 18-24, 2010
Mobile: Some clients wary of investing in technology
continued from PAGE 1
“There’s a real shakeup in the
industry,” said Mike Strauss, vice
president of interactive at Marcus
Thomas in Warrensville Heights. “I
think in general, 2010 is going to be
considered the year of mobile marketing.”
According to online research
firm eMarketer, U.S. mobile advertising spending — comprising
display ads, search and messagebased advertising — will grow 85%
to $593 million this year from $320
million in 2008, and it’s projected
to hit $1.6 billion by 2013. Advertising
falls under the umbrella of marketing,
along with anything else from
promotions and contests to interactive games. Likewise, the number
of U.S. web visitors using a mobile
device climbed 34% over a oneyear period, to 56.9 million visitors
in July 2009 from 42.5 million in
July 2008, according to The Nielsen
Co.
And those numbers are translating
into more business for marketers
whose clients are eager to ride
the mobile wave. As an example,
thunder::tech is working with the
Winking Lizard restaurant chain,
which is based in Bedford Heights,
to develop an iPhone app that
allows users to rate and review the
200 beers Winking Lizard sells. It’s
the restaurant’s first entry into
mobile marketing.
“If you spend a lot of time at our
14 locations, you’ll see people
playing with their cell phones a
lot,” said Jon Gross, Winking
Lizard’s director of development.
“It’s a way for us to interact with
our customers.”
Mr. Gross said the Winking
Lizard has not advertised through
traditional media, but sees the
potential in expanding its mobile
marketing beyond the app, which
is expected to be rolled out in
March.
Cleveland-based DigiKnow also
expects an influx of business, not
only via smart phone apps but also
from mobile web sites, text messaging
and mobile advertisements, said
Scott Chapin, director of consulting
services. In anticipation of demand
for its expertise, the marketing firm
launched this month a new page on
its web site for information on its
mobile services.
Similarly, thunder::tech this
month is launching a mobile version
of its desktop web site.
Narrowing the target
Ray Davies, managing director
of the Cleveland office of public
relations and marketing agency
j. simms, said mobile marketing is
a valuable investment because it is
measurable and “pennies on the
dollar” compared with marketing
through more traditional media.
The San Diego-based j. simms
works with clients to develop textmessaging campaigns, which are
appealing to marketers because the
recipients actually must sign up to
receive the message.
Mr. Davies estimates the text
read-through rates at about 96%,
while only about 25% to 30% of
their clients read through e-mail.
“Marketing has shifted from mass
media to relevance media,” meaning
the message is more targeted, Mr.
Davies said.
In December, for example, j.
simms helped Painesville-based
RDP Motorsport USA, which restores vehicles and upgrades their
performance, launch a text-messaging campaign that allows RDP
to send to its customers messages
that include discounts, videos or
special event invitations. Clients
signed up for the service through
RDP’s Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn pages.
“We had 300 to 400 people register
to receive our messages,” said RDP
founder Steven Leerentveld. “We
used social media to put out our
message, but we didn’t really know
who or how many people read it.
Now we know exactly who is
receiving our texts.”
Hurdles ahead
Mobile marketing does not come
without its challenges, however.
For one, it can be difficult to
retrofit an app to each smart phone
— whether it’s the Android, iPhone
or Blackberry, said DigiKnow’s Mr.
Chapin.
“I don’t believe marketing will
sustain all these different smart
phones,” he said. “Today, I would
still recommend to clients on
building an app for the iPhone. Six
months from now, that answer may
be different.”
Agencies also say it can be difficult to convince marketers who are
judicious about spending money to
invest in a technology that is undergoing a daily metamorphosis.
“It’s a conversation we have
almost daily with clients,” Mr.
Therrien said. “About half of our
clients are talking mobile, and the
other half, we’re trying to enlighten.
Mobile is becoming a mainstay.”
Marketers also are concerned
about return on investment, which
social media, another marketing
phenomenon, does not always
yield — at least in dollar signs.
“It depends on how the company
measures success,” said Marcus
Thomas’ Mr. Strauss. “Return on
investment is not always revenue.
The return could just mean that the
company now has an app.”
As marketing strategies adapt to
incorporate mobile, and on a
broader scale, digital marketing in
general, investment in more traditional media, such as radio, TV and
print, likely will be scaled back.
Still, industry practitioners
caution against a full-out foray into
mobile at the expense of other
media channels.
“The challenge is making sure
your target audience has the appropriate mobile habits,” Mr. Strauss
said. “Not all folks with mobile
phones use them to their full
capacity. Mobile marketing has value,
but it can’t stand on its own.”
■
Firms: Tax rules may change
continued from PAGE 1
While Mr. Mueller said CapitalWorks likes to do about three deals
a year, it didn’t do any in 2009. Still,
he said he expects CapitalWorks to
close its first deal of 2010 in the next
30 to 45 days, and to hit its goal of
three deals for the year.
No sprinters in the field
Stewart Kohl, co-CEO of The Riverside Co., also expects more companies to put themselves up for sale as
they become confident that they can
fetch a good price. Purchase prices
and multiples will begin to “creep
up,” he said, but not skyrocket.
Likewise, investors are starting to
inch back into the fray. “They’re sure
not sprinting,” Mr. Kohl said.
While Mr. Kohl said Riverside’s 70company portfolio did “surprisingly
well” for the year, down just about 5%
in sales and earnings for 2009, the
firm completed about half as many
deals in 2009 — a total of 14 — as it
had in 2008, when it did 31.
Mr. Kohl said he saw both 2008
and 2010 as bookends, though, and
expects that just as 2008 started the
year strongly then ended in turmoil,
2010 will finish with the year on an
upswing after a slow beginning.
“We went into 2009 with almost
nothing in the pipeline,” he said. “In
the second half, the pipeline began to
rebuild. I think we’re going into 2010
with the world significantly better.”
John Nestor, senior managing
partner of Kirtland Capital Partners,
said he is beginning to field calls from
bankers who once again are interested
in talking about the possibility of
making loans for private equity transactions. Mr. Nestor said bankers
pared down their portfolios to get rid
of poor performers and now are
looking for more opportunities.
Linsalata Capital Partners senior
managing director Eric Bacon said
he’s looking for 2010 to be a “par”
year, with two or three acquisitions,
where 2008 and 2009 were both
sub-par. Mr. Bacon said he expects
2010 to be a good year for private
equity firms to clean up a backlog of
distressed companies.
Cash needs will drive deals
Steven Rosen, co-CEO of Resilience
Capital Partners, said deal flow for
his firm, which deals in turnaround
companies, was up considerably last
year. The pace will be even greater in
2010, Mr. Rosen expects, as companies continue to be interested in reinvesting in their business, but need to
bring in new partners who have the
money to do so.
Mr. Rosen expects refinancing to
drive some deals, but said it is likely
sellers still will want to retain some
stake in their businesses to take
advantage of potential upsides as the
economy improves.
“When the economy recovers is the
most difficult time for companies that
don’t have access to capital,” he said.
Private equity firms also see the
possibility of regulatory and tax
changes on the horizon. Mr. Mueller
said a potential tax change could impact firms’ business models as they
work to keep returns high.
Now, Mr. Given said, general partners’ 20% take of profits in the funds
are taxed as capital gains, at a 15%
rate. A new proposal would tax the
general partners’ share of profits as
earned income, potentially more
than doubling the tax rate for those
earnings.
Mr. Given said he doubted if funds
would try to pass the increase on to
investors, but Mr. Mueller said some
funds might try to cut back in other
ways to keep returns high.
There also are proposed changes
that would call for private equity
funds to register themselves, though
many fund CEOs and managing partners said either that they hadn’t yet
started paying attention to the proposals or that the necessity would
have little impact on them, as either
they have registered voluntarily or
have dealt with increased regulation
for various reasons in the past.
■
20100118-NEWS--29-NAT-CCI-CL_--
1/14/2010
3:03 PM
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20100118-NEWS--30-NAT-CCI-CL_--
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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
JANUARY 18-24, 2010
Kent: Transit center to accommodate expected uptick in downtown traffic
continued from PAGE 3
house art programs also is a high
priority because those programs
currently are spread throughout six
locations on campus.
The Kent State campus also will
receive an updated and friendlier
look by replacing a long corridor of
concrete with grass and trees, Dr.
Lefton said. The transformation
will give students an outdoor place
to relax, interact and study.
campus to its outer ring, and renovation of some old and outdated
buildings, Dr. Lefton said. Space
freed up by administrative offices
will be renovated and used as academic space, he noted.
University leaders have been
meeting with architects and designers
to determine what projects are most
needed and feasible and what will
top the priority list. Remodeling
buildings to be handicap-accessible
and replacing drafty, single-pane
windows is a necessity, Dr. Lefton said.
“We have a lot of buildings that
were built in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s,
when nobody worried about people
in wheelchairs,” Dr. Lefton said.
“We’ve got a lot of buildings that
just haven’t been given the attention
they should have over the years.”
Though a modern, glass-enclosed
building totaling 50,000 square feet
is planned as the new entryway to
the school’s science buildings, Dr.
Lefton said architects have been
told to take a more classical approach
when planning other new buildings.
Among the first projects likely to
be constructed is a new building for
the architecture program, which is
one of Kent State’s centers of excellence, Dr. Lefton said. A building to
Contact:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Throwing a Haymaker
If students and employees want to
leave campus to patronize shops and
services in downtown Kent, they’ll
soon be able to cross the busy Haymaker Parkway on an “esplanade,”
or walkway, that will connect the
campus and the Main Street
business district, Dr. Lefton said.
The multilane Haymaker Parkway now encourages people to
drive the short distance between
the campus and downtown, said
Randy Ruttenberg, a principal at
Cleveland’s Fairmount Properties, a
developer that plans to spend $40
million to redevelop downtown
Kent.
“Given that Haymaker Parkway
was built in a way that really creates
a barrier between downtown and
Kent State, this esplanade will go a
long way,” he said.
Mr. Ruttenberg said three planned
buildings totaling 162,400 square
feet will add new space for retail,
office and residential units to
downtown Kent. He currently is in
talks with tenants to fill each of the
three-story buildings, but he said
seven tenants either have signed
letters of intent or are in advanced
discussions to locate in the refurbished downtown Kent.
Mr. Ruttenberg would not
disclose possible tenants, but he
said he is in talks with four restaurants, a microbrewery, two clothing
shops, a 10,000-square-foot bookstore and a store relating to outdoor sports. His firm also is in the
final negotiating stages with two
office tenants.
A project that is ready to move
forward is a long talked-about
hotel and conference center in
Kent. Its developer is Pizzuti, a
Columbus-based development firm
whose owner, Ron Pizzuti, is a Kent
State graduate.
Expected to cost in the range of
$12 million to $14 million, the
115-room hotel is planned for the
intersection of Haymaker Parkway
and Depeyster Street, said Shannon
Hamons, director of special projects
at Pizzuti. The conference center will
be built across Depeyster Street but
will be connected to the hotel, most
likely via a covered walkway, he
added.
The conference center will
feature 8,000 to 12,000 square feet
of meeting space in the form
of medium-size rooms, which
currently are not offered in Kent,
Mr. Hamons said. The hotel will
provide a place to stay for visitors
such as parents of students and
guest speakers, who currently must
stay as far away as Hudson or Stow.
Kent State has committed to
providing up to $3 million for the
construction of the hotel and conference center, but Dr. Lefton said
those details have not yet been ironed
out.
Noted Mr. Hamons, “The university will be partnering with us in
some fashion, whether that’s as an
investor or as a partner.”
A different downtown
For its part, the city has designed
the $21 million Kent Central Gateway
Transit Center to accommodate the
additional traffic that is expected
downtown when construction
is completed, said Daniel Smith,
economic development director for
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(216) 771-5172
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the city of Kent.
The three-story site will include a
300- to 400-space parking garage, a
bus depot for people taking buses
into Akron and Cleveland, retail
and office space, and a connection
to the bike path, he said.
The city has applied for a $21
million federal grant to fund the
center, and Mr. Smith said the city
should know whether it will receive
the money by Feb. 17. Ground
would be broken in late summer or
early fall, he said. If the federal
money does not come through, the
city would try to fund the project
through other transportation grants,
which would delay the ground
breaking by six to eight months, he
said.
Kent’s downtown area has been
on a slow decline for probably the
last 30 years as shopping habits
changed and mainstays such as
banks and a drugstore closed, Mr.
Smith said. However, university
towns are hot right now, and
they’re faring better than others, he
said.
“We weren’t able to attract a lot
of renovation and new innovation
for probably three decades,” he
said. “But I really think we’re going
to get it done in 2010.”
■
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20100118-NEWS--31-NAT-CCI-CL_--
1/15/2010
3:39 PM
Page 1
JANUARY 18-24, 2010
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
31
THEINSIDER
THEWEEK
JANUARY 11 - 17
The big story: Cleveland public relations firm
Edward Howard & Co. soon will be on its own no
more. Directors of Columbus-based Fahlgren Inc.,
one of the nation’s largest marketing communications companies, and majority shareholders of
Edward Howard announced that Fahlgren plans
to acquire Edward Howard. The acquisition is
expected to close during the first quarter of 2010,
“although integration and coordinated new
business and marketing efforts will begin immediately,” according to a news release issued
jointly by the two companies. Fahlgren operates
Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations, and it’s
those two businesses that will be combined,
though both brand names will remain.
Cap’n pay: The next president of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will
make less money than the last port boss. A Port
Authority committee effectively has pegged the
top salary for the new chief at slightly
less than $220,000. The agency had
been paying Adam Wasserman
$283,000 until his departure last
November. The Port Authority’s
transition committee is recommending to the port board that it
hire Boyden Global Executive
Search of New York to find the best candidate for
the job. Boyden’s fee will be a maximum of
$65,000, based on 30% of the new president’s
first-year salary. That fee was set because the Port
Authority is expecting to pay the new president
no more than $220,000.
Recycler recycled: The sale of compounder
and recycler Michael Day Enterprises Inc. to
Italian plastics maker Radici Group was approved
by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Akron.
Radici was the stalking horse bidder in the deal
and will pay $5.7 million for the assets of
Wadsworth-based Michael Day. Michael Day
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last
Nov. 10, citing assets and liabilities each valued
at between $10 million and $50 million.
To their wealth: Dawson Wealth Management of Rocky River merged with Rehmann, an
integrated accounting, business consulting and
wealth management firm based in Michigan, to
create a company with more than $1.3 billion in
assets under management. The new entity will
remain in Rocky River and operate under the
Rehmann name. Dawson Wealth Management,
formerly a unit of Dawson Cos., has served
clients in Northeast Ohio and across the state for
nearly two decades.
The government, here to help: With the
aid of a federal program created as part of the
government’s stimulus plan, the MetroHealth
System sold $75 million in bonds, the proceeds
of which it will use for capital projects throughout
the system. While MetroHealth will have access to
the $75 million raised through the bond sale, it
also will receive from the U.S. Treasury a portion
of the interest that it pays on the bonds under
the Build America Bond program. Under the
program, state and local government bodies that
issue bonds receive a direct federal subsidy payment for a portion of their borrowing costs equal
to 35% of the total interest paid to investors.
This and that: CBiz Inc. acquired National
Benefit Alliance, an employee benefits firm in
Midvale, Utah. National Benefit has 16 associates and recorded about $2 million in revenue
during the past 12 months. … Ferro Corp. said
its Ferro Electronic Materials unit, a supplier of
materials for producing photovoltaic solar cells,
was awarded $1 million by the Ohio Department
of Development to develop advanced durability
sealing systems for solar cells.
To keep up with local business news as it
happens, visit www.CrainsCleveland.com
REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK
BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS
Fleischman’s firm
gets the point
■ Richard Fleischman + Partners Architects
Inc. recently clicked on the lights at its new
offices in the Osborn Building, the structure
shaped like a slice of pie at the intersection
of Huron Road, Prospect Avenue and East
Ninth Street near Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.
Known for namesake architect Richard
Fleischman’s modernist designs, the firm just
moved into a triangular office at the point of
the building. It occupies space that has
remained dark since the 1898-vintage Osborn
Building became apartments in the mid-2000s.
Mr. Fleischman pooh-poohs the design
contrast between the spaces his firm creates
and the one it now calls home. He said the
European modernist architects he studied
before launching his firm in 1961 often
located in old buildings in Italy and Germany.
“We’re all about openness and light,” Mr.
Fleischman said, and the first-floor former
retail space offers both in abundance.
Still visible from his worktable is the firm’s
former home, a building at 1025 Huron
Road that it converted to a studio in 1988
and sold in 2007. Mr. Fleischman said he
could not come to terms with his buyerturned-landlord, so he found less expensive
space at the Osborn Building. He would not
disclose the rent.
Despite a recession that has been deadly
for architects, the firm remains busy; current
jobs range from a $27 million updating of a
University of Cincinnati dormitory complex
to a redo of the landmark Epworth-Euclid
WHAT’S NEW
STAN BULLARD
Architect Richard Fleischman in his company’s
Osborn building space in downtown Cleveland
United Methodist Church at University Circle.
The firm occupies the same amount of
space as before, about 5,400 square feet, but
has added two registered architects this past
year, giving the firm eight in a staff of 26.
Mr. Fleischman said business cycles are
part of the design life.
“Architects have been at work for thousands of years,” he said. “We’ll be here.”
— Stan Bullard
Mr. Whipple (not that one)
would love to hear from you
■ Cleveland State University students who
are preparing for a research trip to London
next spring are looking for five local businesses to partner with beforehand.
A group of 15 students from CSU’s Nance
College of Business Administration in May
will go to London as part of an international marketing and business research class.
However, they’re hunting for local businesses to begin working with to design research
Where there’s a Will,
there’s an argument
This is not your grandfather’s turntable.
The AT-LP120-USB includes a direct-drive
turntable, PC- and Mac-compatible software, a
USB cable and other accessories. AudioTechnica says it’s “rugged and durable to meet
the demands of professional use, and provides
consumers with the flexibility to enjoy topquality vinyl playback and easily transfer records
to digital media files and CDs.”
“With the continuing popularity of enjoying
records and dubbing them to digital media,
we recognized the time was right to introduce a true high-performance USB turntable
system that combines exceptional record
playback performance and sound quality with
total ease of use,” says Crystal Griffith, AudioTechnica’s consumer marketing manager.
The turntable features a high-torque,
direct-drive motor for quick startups with both
forward and reverse “back-cueing” play
capability, the company says.
It’s available online or through AudioTechnica authorized retailers at a suggested retail price of $429.
For more, visit www.audio-technica.com.
Send new product information to managing
editor Scott Suttell at [email protected].
Circling the carcass
for opportunity
■ Office buildings and parking lots aren’t
the only properties that people watching the
bankruptcy of AmTrust Financial Corp. are
keeping an eye on.
The former holding company of AmTrust
Bank also owns a piece of vacant land in
Arizona, about 50 or 60 miles from Phoenix.
Robert Goldberg, a director of the company,
said in a meeting with creditors that the
company had owned the land for two or
three years with the intent of using it for solar
energy.
The company also owns a Euclid Avenue
parking garage and office buildings on Chagrin Boulevard and in Rocky River. —
Arielle Kass
BEST OF THE BLOGS
Excerpts from blog entries
on CrainsCleveland.com.
COMPANY: Audio-Technica U.S. Inc.,
Stow
PRODUCT: AT-LP120-USB DirectDrive Turntable System
projects based on issues facing Northeast
Ohio companies.
While in London, the students will visit
business libraries, contact businesses and
conduct interviews to gather marketing
information that will benefit those Northeast
Ohio companies.
Last year’s class analyzed the competition
and market for steel tube and bar products
for Timken Steel, assessed the potential for
a new product from Snap-On Business
Solutions, and surveyed the off-site fabrication
business for PCX Corp., which makes prefabricated electrical centers.
Companies interested should contact
Thomas Whipple, chairman and professor
of marketing at the Nance College, at 216687-4770. — Shannon Mortland
■ Forest City Enterprises CEO Charles
Ratner upbraided columnist George F. Will
for a recent Washington Post column that
attacked the company’s
controversial Atlantic
Yards project in Brooklyn, N.Y.
In a Jan. 12 letter to
The Post, Mr. Ratner
complained that Mr.
Will “never contacted
the developer — my
Ratner
company — or supporters
of the project, who include the governor, the
mayor and the Brooklyn borough president,”
and that the columnist misrepresented the
use of eminent domain in the project. (Mr.
Will said eminent domain “has become
elastic in the service of avarice.”)
“At the start of this project, my
company announced that it would
try to avoid the use of eminent
domain,” Mr. Ratner wrote. “To that
end, we bought properties in the
footprint, many of which were abandoned warehouses and empty lots. A
group of holdouts announced early on
that they were opposed to the development and pledged to sue often. They
kept their word — but lost every battle.”
Now Mr. Ratner has something in
common with environmental advocates
who say Mr. Will consistently misrepresents things in columns on climate change.
Greener pastures in reach
for Cleveland initiative
■ The Economist lauded the efforts of the
Evergreen Cooperatives of Cleveland to
“create 10 green, for-profit businesses that
local residents will own and operate.”
The magazine spoke with Mienyon
Smith, a 31-year-old mother of five who
works at Evergreen Cooperative Laundry
and for the first time in her life is making
more than minimum wage. After eight years
with the company, Ms. Smith could own a
stake worth $65,000.
A little bit of this,
A little bit of that
■ Here’s a staggering statistic, according to an
analysis by The Associated Press: Of 128 manufacturing plants in North America closed
since 1980 by the Detroit Three
automakers and their largest suppliers, three
of every five now sit idle. Those 128 plants had
a payroll of 196,000 workers at the time they
closed, the AP reported. “Today, only 36,500
people work at those sites that have been redeveloped, and at only three of the revived
plants does the number of employees match
or exceed the number in their carmaking
past,” according to the AP.
■ The world is getting a little bigger for
Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Co.
The Washington Post reported that a
bar called The Big Hunt has become the
first establishment to offer Great Lakes’
award-winning beers on draft in D.C.
Credit here goes to Big Hunt general
manager Dave Coleman, a Cleveland native. Now you know where to go for a
taste of home the next time you’re in the
nation’s capital.
■ A Wall Street Journal piece on the
history of the “Gatorade shower” called the
Cleveland Browns’ Jan. 3 celebration for
head coach Eric Mangini “one of the most
questionable decisions in dousing history.”
Hey, if fans and players can’t get excited
about four consecutive Browns wins, when
are we ever going to do so?
20100118-NEWS--32-NAT-CCI-CL_--
1/14/2010
3:00 PM
Page 1
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