Plastics additives company A. Schulman plans to move its headquarters to a new building in Fairlawn. The two-mile move will allow the company to move some workers from Akron to the headquarters.
View full sizePlastics company A. Schulman's products got into everything from candy wrappers to shampoo bottles and film for lamination. The company plans to move next year to a new headquarters building in Fairlawn. Its old building will be redeveloped into new office space.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Plastics additives company A. Schulman is moving its headquarters next year but staying in Fairlawn.
The two-mile move, northwest of Akron, will let the company relocate some workers from its Akron technology center to Fairlawn. Other workers from the center will move to Schulman's manufacturing plant, also in Akron. Though some people will move, Summit County does not expect to gain or lose any jobs from the corporate shuffle.
"We have a great relationship with the company, and we're really happy we were able to keep them here," Fairlawn Mayor William Roth said.
Under the deal, Schulman will sell its existing building to Landridge Development, a company established last month by Mike Ritenour, president of Twinsburg-based Lou Ritenour Decorations. Roth said Ritenour has been involved in several development deals in the Fairlawn Corporate Park, a 65-acre business park owned by the city.
Schulman plans to lease the larger new headquarters from Landridge. Roth said the city sold the 4.6-acre parcel to be used for the headquarters to Landridge for $560,000.
"We were able to work with them to offer favorable land costs," Roth said. He added that the city did not offer tax breaks for the project.
Schulman officials did not have a cost estimate for the new project, and Landridge's Roth did not return calls seeking comment.
Schulman spokeswoman Jennifer Beeman said after the new headquarters opens, Schulman will close and sell its Akron product center.
"This is something we've been investigating for quite some time," Beeman said. She added that the company wanted to make it easier for engineers to work with corporate officers by putting them in the same building.
David Browning, managing director of real estate brokerage CBRE's Cleveland office, said Landridge may have to work hard to fill the old Schulman building after it refurbishes it.
Nearly 27 percent of the office space in Fairlawn is vacant, a higher rate than Cleveland's 21 percent vacancy and the greater Akron market's 24 percent.
"Fairlawn is the softest of the suburban markets in the Akron market," Browning said. He said Fairlawn's real estate woes are similar to Rockside Road's vacancies in Cuyahoga County.
Both Rockside Road and Fairlawn cater to corporate office space, and the weak economy over the past five years has forced many companies to cut back on white-collar employment. As the economy improves, Browning said demand for suburban office space should jump.
"We expect positive absorption [of vacant office space] in that market," Browning said. "This is a great project. Anything that keeps a business in Northeast Ohio is a great project."