PRESS
Woolpert Opens Office in Historic Over-the-Rhine Neighborhood
January 20, 2017
CINCINNATI (Jan. 20, 2017) — Woolpert—a national architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm and the largest AEG firm headquartered in Ohio—has opened a new Cincinnati office in Over-the-Rhine (OTR).
The office will be home to 20-plus full-time architects, engineers, surveyors and support staff, who will work in concert with the firm’s 700 networked employees in 23 offices across the country.
OTR reflects the Cincinnati office’s intended focus of multidisciplinary projects and adaptive re-use, or bringing new life to once vacant or neglected buildings. The historic district has been undergoing a business and cultural renaissance over the last 15 years and has attracted many design and high-tech startup firms.
“With Woolpert being a full-service architecture, MEP, structural, civil (engineering) and geospatial company, we excel at multidisciplinary, adaptive re-use projects,” Woolpert Vice President Mike Battles said. “We also are able to leverage these comprehensive services in-house, and back them up with the efficiency of our extensive geospatial/technology side. That combination of assets sets us apart, even in this dynamic setting.”
Woolpert architect James Dobrozsi added that the firm’s “single source” and “single point of accessibility” for all site development and building projects enables the firm to respond to client needs from feasibility to completion.
“Woolpert has been part of the development of Southwest Ohio for over 100 years,” Dobrozsi said. “To continue to be a viable force in the design community, it is critical for us to be in the heart of the revitalization in Cincinnati and the OTR community, which is one of the greatest collections of 19th– and early 20th-century architecture in the country.”
Woolpert was founded in 1911 in Dayton, where its headquarters remain. The Greater Cincinnati Area was home to the firm’s first regional office branch, which opened in 1972.
The firm continues to grow in the Cincinnati region and across the country. In the last two years, Woolpert experienced a 47 percent growth in sales and 12 percent rise in its workforce.
In 2016, it was designated as a Great Place to Work, a national program that polls employees based on trust in company leadership, pride in what they do and enjoyment in the company of their co-workers.
Woolpert’s new Cincinnati office, which was funded by the city of Cincinnati through the Job Creation Tax Credit, will extend its commercial renovation and housing development, higher education, energy, government and aviation services.
It also will build on long-standing relationships with local firms. Current Cincinnati clients, owners and business partners include the University of Cincinnati, Anderson Birkla, CVG, the city of Cincinnati, Koch Development, Procter & Gamble, Towne Properties, General Electric and Duke Energy.
“We’ve always been in the business of new and adaptive re-use development in this region, and our brand has been in client development,” Battles said. “The (Jack) Cincinnati Casino is a perfect example of re-use, as is our Riverfront Commons development, work with Newport on the Levee, our conceptual design work with projects like AT580 and the Second National Bank Building in historic districts, stadiums, parking garages, U Square @ the Loop, CVG, Lunken Airport, (etc.)”
Woolpert President and CEO Scott Cattran added that this move to a new Cincinnati location is in line the company’s mission to help employees and clients progress, and to move forward through forward thinking.
“Our new Over-the-Rhine location reflects our progressive and innovative approach to architecture, engineering and geospatial services, and provides a hip new location for our talented employees who live in and around the Cincinnati community,” he said.
Battles wanted to thank the city for bringing the firm downtown, and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) for its assistance in this relocation to OTR.
Anthony Palazzolo, 3CDC commercial leasing officer, said 3CDC is happy to have an engineering, architecture and design firm like Woolpert not only move to OTR, but also share its address. Woolpert is on the second floor at 1203 Walnut St., while 3CDC is on the third and fourth floors.
“With projects like 1201 Walnut and our upcoming 15th & Vine office building, we are starting to attract larger office tenants to the area, which continues to fuel the growth of Cincinnati’s urban core,” Palazzolo said. “We’re excited to welcome Woolpert to Over-the-Rhine.”
Woolpert’s new Cincinnati office is now open for business.
About Woolpert
Woolpert is a national architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm that delivers value to clients by strategically blending engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial applications. With a dynamic R&D department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners like Google; operates a fleet of planes, sensors and unmanned aerial systems (UAS); and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and sustainable design. Woolpert’s mission is to help its clients progress—and become more progressive. For over 100 years and with 23 offices across the United States, Woolpert serves the needs of federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the United States Armed Forces. The firm currently is doing business in all 50 states and in five foreign countries. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258.