CBIZ to build new corporate headquarters in Independence

by Laura Bednar

CBIZ Inc. will keep Independence as its permanent corporate headquarters. 

CBIZ provides financial and employee services, including accounting, tax, financial advisory, government health care consulting, risk advisory, retirement plan consulting, payroll and benefits consulting, according to the company website.

The company is currently housed in Park Center Plaza III in Independence with its lease ending in early 2022. A press release from the city’s communications director stated that, “The CBIZ decision to move from its office… was driven by its desire to keep pace with the future of work.”

A new 125,000-square-foot office building is planned for Rockside Woods Boulevard North with CBIZ occupying 50,000 square feet of it. Economic Development Director Jessica Hyser said she is excited to see the new office building, which will have space available for other companies to grow as well.

According to the press release, this will be a Class A office building, marking the first office space of this caliber in the city in over a decade.

Hyser said not a lot of new office space has been built in the last decade regionally. “[This] stems from the recession of 2008. [Existing] office space is available and it’s more cost-effective to renovate,” she said. A Class A building usually includes amenities such as conference rooms, ample parking and high-quality finishes, making it a premier office environment.

CBIZ CEO Jerry Grisko said in the release, “We’re proud to be part of a new, state-of-the-art building that embodies the core values at the center of our CBIZ culture, embraces the future of work and reaffirms our commitment to Ohio and the region.”

Welty Development Company is the lead developer for the project, and VOCON is leading design of the building. Welty worked with the city and TeamNEO, a local partner of the nonprofit JobsOhio organization. Hyser said TeamNEO helped to leverage an incentive package to keep CBIZ in Ohio instead of relocating to one of their existing offices in Kansas City.

Finance Director Vern Blaze said that there is a general outline of a proposed incentive package for the company to remain in Independence, with the details being disclosed on the legislative agenda for the July 13 Independence City Council meeting. He said that because the new headquarters is not yet built, it’s not currently possible to determine how much it will produce in property taxes.

Blaze did say that the Independence Local School District will be a beneficiary of the taxes, once established, “as it receives over 50% of property taxes paid on a commercial property.”

The future site of the headquarters on Rockside Woods Boulevard North is not a Tax Increment Financing district. However, Blaze said, “Independence will go through the process to designate this specific parcel as its own TIF district.”

“Since this is a new building, it will yield all new property taxes and TIF payments that aren’t in existence now,” he explained.

In the release, Mayor Greg Kurtz said, “CBIZ has been a vital part of the Independence business community for more than 20 years. I believe CBIZ’s significant commitment to our city will accelerate both their company’s and the city’s continued growth.”

The project must still gain approval from city council, boards and commissions and the state of Ohio, including the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. ∞