United Way buys property

Move-in at 642 Broadway scheduled by August

United Way of Lorain County has become the newest property owner in downtown Lorain.

On Jan. 26, the agency announced it officially acquired 642 Broadway, the 8,064-square-foot building that will become its new headquarters.

United Way paid $125,000 to the city of Lorain for the space. The move was approved by United Way’s board of directors and Lorain City Council in 2016, and the sale became official on Jan. 26.

“We’re excited about the move to downtown Lorain for many reasons,” said United Way of

Greater Lorain County Executive Director Bill Harper. “It makes us more accessible and visible; it’s a smart, responsible financial decision that saves us money and makes us more stable, and it gives us an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing revitalization of Broadway Avenue.”

The agency has 10 full time employees and two seasonal interns who will relocate to the new downtown office. The office also will have Lorain County Volunteer Connection staff through a partnership with HandsOn Northeast Ohio.

Once the deal was final, they did not waste time getting into the space to run vacuum cleaners, rinse the front windows and hang banners calling for the community to “Live United.”

“We are very excited to be in this building,” said Alyssa Thompson, director of programs for the Lorain County Volunteer Connection, the volunteer arm of United Way.

“Right now, we’ve really outgrown the space that we’re in, so our conference room has cubicles within it, which is not ideal for meetings, board meetings, things like that,” Thompson said.

The agency has its board meetings offsite, so owning space will save money on renting conference rooms and generally save money in the long run, she said.

The 642 Broadway building is more than double the square footage of the current North Ridge Road office, according to United Way.

Research of current occupancy costs shows that buying and renovating the 642 Broadway building will have an up-front cost comparable to United Way continuing to rent its current location for an additional 10 years, officials said.

When compared to renting a space of similar size to 642 Broadway over the same 10-year timeframe, United Way will save $300,000, they said.

The current layout of 642 Broadway includes two large open spaces separated by a non load bearing wall; it is a finished space in the front with functioning bathrooms and a warehouse space in the back.

United Way will build out the front space to include offices and a large meeting room. Much of the warehouse space will be kept as-is to be used for storage of volunteer supplies and for staging volunteer projects, according to plans of the agency.

“We envision a space that is a hub of activity, and we believe we’re uniquely positioned to help create more foot traffic in the area,” Harper said. “Our focus remains on serving low-income working families in Greater Lorain County.

“And now we can be a host for community meetings — including our board of directors and community collaboratives. And we’ll plan special events and volunteer projects that will bring our donors and partners to downtown.

“We’re looking forward to becoming a neighbor and partner to the existing businesses that are already doing great work on Broadway and we hope to add to the positive energy.”