The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Companies from Euclid, Willoughby head to city
Grants making relocations possible
Two more companies are headed to Mentor with assistance from the city.
Sunset Industries of Euclid and Platinum Real Estate of Willoughby seek to move to town, to Tyler Boulevard and Center Street, respectively.
City Council on Feb. 4 approved grants for each project.
The owners of Platinum Real Estate previously owned and operated two of the largest real estate franchises in the world and have more than 30 years of experience in the business, according to their website.
Platinum will invest $2 million in the purchase and renovation of
the property at 7200 Center St. The company is relocating its headquarters from 10 E. Spaulding St. to what is known as the Polo building, near Yours Truly. The Willoughby branch will remain open.
Platinum is expected to maintain a total annual payroll of $3.7 million and create at least 106 new fulltime jobs — two full-time employees and 104 independent realtors.
Based on the guidelines of the Mentor Economic Development Grant program, Platinum was approved for a one-time grant of $10,000 to help offset costs associated with the move and renovations.
“We are excited to be expanding Platinum Real Estate and Platinum Insurance to Mentor,” CEO and Co-founder Mark C. Zervos said.
“The opportunity to bring a Mentor landmark back to life and expand our services to another great Northeast Ohio city is the reason we pursued this project.”
The company has 10 offices in Northeast Ohio, six in Columbus and nine throughout Southern Florida. Platinum Insurance offers more than 30 different carriers, he said. Mentor Economic Development Director Kevin Malecek called the move significant, not only “because of the quality of their business and listings, but also because they will renovate and revitalize the former Polo building on Center Street into a sleek, aesthetically pleasing, professional center for the 2020s.” Meanwhile, council awarded a Mentor Incentive Grant to Sunset, moving from 1272 E. 286th St. to 7567 Tyler to “meet future needs,” according to Malecek.
The precision machining business has proposed an investment of $3.4 million in personal property and capital. The project will relocate 26 employees to the city and create 14 more jobs over the nineyear course of the grant.
More than $2.7 million of new payroll is projected over the grant term. Based on the MIG guidelines, Sunset qualifies for a 30 percent grant on new payroll in 2020 and a 40 percent grant in years 20212029.
“Sunset Industries’ relocation to Mentor is yet another example of the success of our robust manufacturing sector, ranked fifth in the state of Ohio,” Malecek said.
“Programs and support from the city of Mentor provide attractive, growthoriented solutions for businesses like Sunset that choose Mentor for their base of operations.”
Sunset has been manufacturing parts for more than 50 years and is a supplier to the aerospace and industrial markets.
The grants are funded by nontax revenue sources in the general fund, such as charges for services at the Mentor Lagoons Marina, Black Brook Golf Course, Mentor Civic Arena and registration fees.