A Mount Carmel developer wants to pump up the Interstate 71 office market with a new, speculative 125,000-square-foot office tower in Norwood.

Ackermann Group plans an Oct. 9 groundbreaking of its $30 million Cornerstone office complex across from the Rookwood Commons shopping and office development.

Building a new office tower as developers from Northern Kentucky to Mason scramble to fill empty buildings is an aggressive move, and Ackermann declined to discuss its construction timeline before bulldozers begin flattening the four-acre site wedged between Smith Road, Williams Avenue and the interstate.

Lexington-based Global Fitness Holdings plans a 30,000-square-foot Gold's Gym with an indoor track, squash courts and fitness equipment. "It will be our highest-end club in Greater Cincinnati," said Bill Robinson, Global's vice president of sales and marketing.

Ackermann Group, too, will relocate to Cornerstone from Mount Carmel.

"We're very glad to see this groundbreaking," Norwood Mayor Victor Schneider said. "It's absolute progress."

Ackermann has tried to launch the project over the past two years after buying and demolishing 17 homes and four apartment complexes, but office tenants have been hard to find. The firm plans a second, identical office tower and a restaurant at the site. Also, Norwood approved the use of property tax dollars from the project to pay for a parking garage.

Ken Alltucker