Corporex Cos. has made a $17 million bet that the Northern Kentucky office market is on the mend.

        As other developers scale back or delay plans for new projects, Corporex is completing an overhaul of a former warehouse at the CirclePort business park in Erlanger.

        The Dolwick Business Center will offer 230,000 square feet of Class A office space when completed this fall.

        Corporex built the warehouse in 1983, later sold the building to Stewart Decatur and repurchased the building three years ago.

        With the state's plans to extend Dolwick Drive from Mineola Pike to Buttermilk Pike, the area became more attractive for office tenants, said Tom Banta, executive vice president of Corporex.

        No businesses have agreed yet to move to the remodeled building, which will have a new exterior and atrium when complete.

        Corporex isn't worried about the slow pace of office leasing over the last nine months.

        “Northern Kentucky has significantly outpaced Greater Cincinnati for positive office absorption,” Mr. Banta said.

        Yet Corporex already has plenty of space available at Circleport. Corporex completed the 86,000-square-foot Reflections II last October and more than half of the five-story Olympic Corporate Center is available for lease.

Kadant Black Clawson moving to Mason

        Kadant Black Clawson will relocate its corporate headquarters from Middletown to Mason.

        Kadant signed a 24,000-square-foot lease at Neyer Prop erties' Fountains of Mason.

        The supplier of paper products will be the first company moving to the 60,000-square-foot office recently completed off Mason-Montgomery Road.

        Neyer plans a second single-story office building at the site. Bob Ryan and Mike Hartmann of Colliers represented Kadant.

Paul Hemmer Cos. builds next to NKU

        Paul Hemmer Cos. will start construction this spring on a 41,000-square-foot office next to Northern Kentucky University.

        The idea is to create a string of office buildings near the campus catering to high-tech users. General Cable Co. and Medical Research Laboratories are located nearby.

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