BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A California-based retailer has signed to take 146,000 square feet in Paul Hemmer Construction Co.'s Airpark International in Northern Kentucky.
Hemmer has broken ground on the $6 million office and distribution building in Boone County. The company will lease the building to Leslie's Pool Mart Inc., a swimming pool supplies company with 370 company-owned stores. Leslie's will put office and distribution operations into the structure.
John F. Curtin III and Jon J. Hemmer, both Hemmer vice presidents, represented the company in the negotiations.
Fred Macke, senior sales vice president for West Shell Commercial Oncor International, represented Leslie, which signed a 12-year lease for the building. Construction of the building is expected to be finished in December.
The Leslie deal is the latest of several projects at the 362-acre Airpark International, across Interstate 275 from the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport. Since 1994, Hemmer has developed or sold land for almost 2 million square feet of office and industrial construction.
Other distribution tenants at the park include United Parcel Service, the Gap and Federal Express, which plans to move into a 100,000-square-foot building in September.
Hemmer has about 100 acres of developable land at the business park and about 35,000 square feet of existing building space available.
Two Coldwell Banker West Shell offices will merge this fall, likely completing the agent office consolidations sparked by the October merger of Cincinnati's Coldwell Banker and West Shell.
The company will move 48 agents from the former Coldwell Banker office at 10040 Montgomery Road. Those agents will join 18 agents at the former West Shell office at the Montgomery Village Square office at 9600 Montgomery Road.
The consolidation marks the 11th agent-office merger since October. It's the sixth former Coldwell Banker office to close. Five West Shell offices have closed during the same period.
Coldwell Banker West Shell's Montgomery Cross County office, at 9122 Montgomery Road, will remain open.
"It makes sense to consolidate two of our three Montgomery Road offices," said Bob Stanley, president of Coldwell Banker West Shell. "It enables us to serve the market better, and our agents can be more comfortable and productive in the state-of-the-art setting that Montgomery Village Square provides."
Montgomery Village Square manager Charlie Dean, a longtime West Shell employee, told the company that he will resign after the merger takes place. He turned down a branch management job the company offered.
Bob Neal, who managed the 10040 Montgomery Road, office, will serve as the Village Square office manager.
Statewide Realtors group to meet here
Cincinnati will host the Ohio Association of Realtors annual convention in September. Cincinnati's Otis Williams, a motivational speaker, will be the opening speaker for the three-day event at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center.
More than a dozen real estate experts will speak at the convention. For information, contact the Ohio Association of Realtors in Columbus at (614) 228-6675, or visit its Web site at www.ohiorealtors.com.
George Welding wins Cornerstone contract
Lebanon's George Welding & Fabricating Inc. has landed the structural steel contract for Cornerstone Services Co. Inc.'s 863,000-square-foot building in Union Township, Butler County.
The Union Centre project is the largest single contract for George Welding & Fabricating. It will supply 1,270 tons of steel to general contractor Schumacher Dugan Construction Co.
Portland, Maine-based Cornerstone earlier this year said it planned to consolidate several catalog companies -- including Frontgate and TravelSmith Outfitters -- at the Union Centre Tristate location.
The building will cover about 19.7 acres, about 15 football fields. Future expansion plans for the location include about 70,000 square feet of office space and a 50,000-square-foot retail center for Cornerstone's catalog products.
