SummaCare moving from downtown Akron to East End development

March 06--SummaCare is returning to its roots.

The Akron-based health plan, originally created to provide managed care for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., is moving its headquarters and more than 300 employees starting this summer from downtown Akron to the former Goodyear campus now known as the East End.

SummaCare has been in its present home, a five-story building put up on 6.9 acres that previously was the site of the former Portage Hotel, since December 2002. Developer Signet Enterprises broke ground on that building at 10 N. Main St. in February 2001; the estimated construction cost was $12.5 million.

City officials said Monday no new tenants have been found yet for the soon-to-be vacated building at Main and Market streets. Portage Center LLC, 75 E. Market St., is listed in county records as the building owner.

City officials said they first learned last week about the insurer's upcoming move.

All SummaCare employees are expected to move into the new site at the former Goodyear headquarters in November. SummaCare declined to say exactly how many employees will move other than it will be more than 300.

SummaCare said its current headquarters is now too large. The health insurer said it signed a three-year lease for 65,000 square feet of space at the East End that will put all of its employees on one floor.

SummaCare had the option after 15 years to acquire a 25 percent ownership stake in the Main and Market street building.

But that option "had no bearing whatsoever on our decision to move to the East End," said Anne Armao, SummaCare vice president of marketing and consumer engagement. The lease agreement at the current location did not have a mandatory ownership clause, she said.

This will be the first significant business tenant in the East End complex off East Market Street, according to owner and developer Industrial Realty Group, also known as IRG. IRG, which specializes in redeveloping aging industrial properties, purchased the former Goodyear campus and built Goodyear's new headquarters just a short distance away in East Akron on Innovation Way.

SummaCare's move also will create a "medical corridor" along Market Street, according to Summa Health, the insurer's parent company.

SummaCare's move to the East End coincides with Summa Health's plans for a new 300,000-square-foot patient tower and a medical office building on its Akron City Hospital campus. The Market Street medical corridor will include Summa Health's Akron campus, Summa Rehab Hospital and, later this year, SummaCare.

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan on Monday said the city has not yet heard from any prospective new tenants for the Main and Market street building that SummaCare is leaving.

"I look forward to working with Signet to find a new tenant for that prime downtown space and am hopeful it will be reoccupied in short order," Horrigan said.

In a separate prepared statement, the mayor said "SummaCare is clearly demonstrating its commitment to Akron by keeping its headquarters in the city."

"The East End neighborhood, with its blend of residences and new companies moving in, is a perfect example of the progress we are making throughout our city," he said. "I commend SummaCare for becoming the first tenant."

Kathy Geier, chairwoman of SummaCare's board of directors, expressed how important it is for SummaCare to become more efficient in its operations while maintaining its commitment to Akron.

"Our current home on North Main is simply too large for our operations today," Geier said in a news release.

"Our employees have enjoyed being in that great location for nearly 20 years but the time is right to move," she said. "Our new East End building will offer even more amenities for our employees and is located in another area of the city that is truly on an upswing."

Bob Paskowski, SummaCare's interim president, said the new location will allow all employees to gather in one place.

"In our current location, it was a challenge to all meet together as a team. In the East End complex, we will have access to a large, 300-seat community room as well as the Goodyear Theater," he said in a release.

The restored Goodyear Theater in the former Goodyear Hall building can seat more than 1,500 people. There is also a large gymnasium in the building. The building's top floors have been converted into apartments, with street-level space available for retailers, including restaurants.

The move by SummaCare as its first major office tenant is a key to future development at the East End, said Carol Smith, IRG vice president. The former Goodyear headquarters also is home to a charter school.

Monday's announcement has already resulted in inquiries from food-related retailers about available space, Smith said.

"We expect other businesses to follow SummaCare's lead," Smith said in a prepared statement. "We expect to have additional exciting developments to announce over the next few weeks and months."

Smith declined to name prospective tenants.

She did say that IRG did not pursue SummaCare but instead was approached via a broker. The insurer apparently was looking at options that included staying put, Smith said.

Staff writer Doug Livingston contributed to this report. Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or [email protected]. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ

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