Utility can keep charging for cleanups
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that Duke Energy can keep $55.5 million it is charging customers to clean up two long-closed plants. The decision has implications for utility customers around the state.
In a 4-3 ruling Thursday, the court said the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio properly found that Duke is entitled to the money.
The case deals with socalled manufactured-gas plants, which are industrial sites that once burned coal and other fuels to make natural gas. There were plants all across the state; many were owned by companies that
Express wasn’t the first company to be offered the chance to lease the space, said Capitol Equities partner J.R. Kern.
“We bought the building and didn’t have a deal,” Kern said during a tour of the newly renovated building this week.
“Our bankers were nervous, but we were pretty confident. We actually passed on a couple deals prior to Express. We had a tenant who said they’d take a floor and cut it up into offices. And we said, ‘No, that wouldn’t do justice to the building. You’re not the right fit.’”
The renovation project opened up long-closed windows, allowing natural light to flood the original brick walls, wood beams and floors.
That was attractive to Express, which has its headquarters on the Morse Road campus of former owner L Brands. The company didn’t elaborate much on why it is making the move, but the building’s design and location is typical of companies looking to attract and keep younger workers.
“We looked at many spaces but felt this one in particular reflected our brand and gives us an opportunity to also work in a space that we can use in a variety of ways to best show Express,” said David Kornberg, president and CEO of Express.
The building’s location on the North 4th Street corridor sometimes referred to as Brewers Row — next to Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Elevator Brewing Tap Room and Pins Mechanical — was an important factor in attracting Express to the project. So was the 18-space parking lot adjacent to the building.
Much effort went into bringing the building back to close to its original condition, but each floor has a character of its own, Kern said.
“There are three different flavors in the same building.”
On the first floor, the renovation included installing garage doors in the front of the building in addition to the many windows, all to allow cross-ventilation. Workers took down three drop ceilings that had been hung in the first floor over the decades, revealing the original tin ceiling.
On the second floor, “we’ve got a whitewashed look to the ceiling,” Kern said. There also is a small kitchen.
On the third floor, one wall is whitewashed brick, another has rough brick and a third is clean brick. The ceiling slants down from front to back.
The floor is a story in itself.
“We busted through a 2-inch concrete floor that had been put on top of a wood floor,” Kern said. “I think a freight elevator brought cars up here when it was a car dealership.”
Pointing to a large pulley hanging on metal tracks from the ceiling, Kern grinned. “We’ve kept some of the old hardware in the building.”
Eventually, Capitol Equities plans to create a rooftop event space on the building.
“This roof, because it has such a dramatic slope, we’ll probably build a two-tier deck,” he said.
Kern swept his hand toward the Downtown skyline visible from the roof.
“Express is probably going to use this as a backdrop.”
That probably will happen soon.
“We’ll look to incorporate some elements of the space periodically in our content as it is designed to fit the expression of our brand,” Kornberg said.