THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
Global coatings firm The Sherwin-Williams Company recently announced the selection of five minority construction management firms for its Building Our Future project.
The project involves the construction of a new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland and a new global research and development center in Brecksville, Ohio. Additional firms are expected to be added for multiple roles as the project progresses, including design and landscape architects.
“We are excited to welcome these talented firms to the Building Our Future project and work together to create exceptional facilities that will further ignite innovation, creativity and collaboration,” said John G. Morikis, Sherwin-Williams Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We understand the impact these sites will have on our community. Since the beginning of this project, it has been our goal to involve local organizations, especially those that are minority-owned and female-owned, throughout the design and construction processes. We look forward to announcing the involvement of additional minority-owned, female-owned and small businesses as we move forward.”
The Sherwin-Williams Company |
Global coatings firm The Sherwin-Williams Company recently announced the selection of five minority construction management firms for its Building Our Future project. |
The firms are based in Northeast Ohio and are either minority- or female-owned. The companies joining the project are:
The initial set of selected firms will provide construction management services, with four of the five also providing skilled trades employees that are able to perform activities such as carpentry, millwork and painting.
“Being part of the Building Our Future project represents a great opportunity to further develop our firm, while working on this once in a lifetime venture. We commend Sherwin-Williams for engaging with us early in the process and appreciate the deliberate approach used in qualifying and selecting the minority construction management firms,” said Adrian Maldonado, President of Adrian Maldonado and Associates.
Tari Rivera, President of Regency Construction Services, Inc. added, “We couldn't be more excited to be part of this significant and impactful project. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to enhance our firm's experience with a project of this scope, which in turn will expand our firm's resume.”
Sherwin reports that it has collaborated with the City of Cleveland, the City of Brecksville, Cuyahoga County, the State of Ohio and the Port Authority, to establish and publish requirements for inclusion, diversity and equity, community engagement and community participation related to the project.
Throughout the project’s progress, Sherwin adds that it plans to regularly report on construction ongoings and is committed to meeting or exceeding project requirements. Sherwin is inviting firms interested in working on the Building Our Future project to register here.
Ongoing updates on the company’s new global headquarters and new R&D center can be found here.
Project Background
In September 2019, the company announced that it had begun exploring options for a new HQ.
“Given the limitations of our current footprint and driven by the needs of our customers, we are exploring options that will help us to accelerate productivity and efficiency, enhance technology and innovation, enable greater collaboration, support recruitment and retention and reduce maintenance costs over the long term,” said Morikis at the time.
As part of the exploratory process, Sherwin said it was considering multiple potential sites, including locations in Cleveland (where it’s been headquartered since 1930), Northeast Ohio and several other states.
Sherwin currently operates multiple facilities in Northeast Ohio that are home to about 4,400 employees.
In February, the company announced that it decided to continue its relationship with Northeast Ohio, by finalizing plans to build a new global headquarters and research and development center in Cleveland and the surrounding area.
Preliminary plans call for an investment of at least $600 million to build both facilities. The new HQ is set to be located in downtown Cleveland and be about 1 million square feet. The planned new R&D center would be in Brecksville, a suburb of Cleveland, and would serve as the corporate anchor for a new mixed-use development project and would be approximately 500,000 square feet.
The two facilities are slated to house more than 3,500 employees with room for growth, according to the company. The facilities would add a minimum of 400 jobs over time, an 11% increase to the company’s current workforce.
“Sherwin-Williams has been a part of the fabric of our community for 154 years,” said Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “A new global headquarters in Cleveland lays the foundation for the next chapter for both Sherwin-Williams and our city’s history. Cleveland has two of the largest business districts in Ohio, with world-class health care and arts and entertainment options, all connected to our thriving residential neighborhoods.
"The robust and vibrant quality of life here attracts the world’s best and brightest talent, as does our proximity to 25 colleges and universities in Northeast Ohio. Sherwin-Williams recognizes these important strengths of Cleveland.”
In September 2020, Sherwin announced key partners for the project as a whole.
“The key partners we have selected are aligned with our vision of creating a next generation workplace that supports serving our customers at the highest level, retaining and attracting top talent, and igniting creativity, collaboration and industry-leading innovation,” Morikis said in a press release.
“As we move forward with the next phase of this critical project, my deepest appreciation goes to our employees who have adapted quickly and safely throughout the pandemic to meet our customers' needs in new and unique ways. At the same time, we recognize that the development, engagement and sense of community our employees share has been essential to our success for more than 150 years and would be difficult to sustain over the long-term with a remote-based workforce.”
The list of key partners included:
Most recently, in August, Sherwin presented its preliminary plans for its new R&D facility.
The plans call for the 600,000-square-foot campus and will reportedly be responsible for product development, coatings research, color technology and process engineering. The current plan is to break ground no later than the fourth quarter of this year, with an expected transition into the new facilities by 2024.
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