Purchasing, Building, Financing and More to Satisfy a Customer

The project was initiated when ABB, a technology leader that has been at the forefront of innovating digitally connected and enabled industrial equipment and systems for over four decades, decided that it needed a new home in Northeast Ohio. The project included identifying the appropriate site and location for ABB to locate its new facility to, negotiating a 15-year lease, purchasing the 16 acres of land located at the corner of Harvard and Green in Highland Hills, Ohio, assisting with negotiating a complete incentive package from all of the participating municipalities, designing, permitting, financing, and constructing the 135,000 square foot facility all needing to be completed within a very tight timeframe.

When it became evident that ABB’s existing facility located in Wickliffe, Ohio was too large and did not support an efficient operating practice, a new ground-up facility was envisioned in Highland Hills, Ohio. The overall concept being that a new facility would lend itself to a more efficient and productive use of space and enable all employees to collaborate in a much more conducive manner.

It was determined after several options were presented that the appropriate location for the new ABB Research and Office Center and its 500 employees would be at the intersection of Harvard and Green Roads in Highland Hills, Ohio on a site that formerly was occupied by a driving range.