Park Place Technologies plans to renovate the former Progressive Direct Insurance’s Alpha Campus for its own headquarters needs. This is what the renovated east entrance to the new Park Place headquarters could look like (Park Place). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Former Progressive Alpha Campus to be renovated
After a year-long search for a new headquarters, Park Place Technologies has closed on its deal to acquire Progressive Direct Insurance’s Alpha Campus in Highland Heights. Consummation of the purchase agreement sets the stage for renovating the multi-building campus and ultimately relocating to it 500 headquarters employees from neighboring Mayfield Heights. Warehouse operations in Solon will also be consolidated on the new site.
The global data center and networking optimization firm paid $17 million for the 23-acre, six-structure Alpha Campus located at 747-755 Alpha Dr., Cuyahoga County property records show. The structures range in age from four to 51 years and will be renovated immediately so employees can move into them by year’s end. Cost of the renovations was not publicly available. As a privately held company, Park Place does not comment on financial specifics, a company spokesman said.
The deed transfer was signed March 28 by Progressive Insurance Vice President and Director of Real Estate Adam Bradford, according to public records. The deal closed on April 5 and it was publicly recorded April 15, available soon thereafter at the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer’s Web site. Park Place officials confirmed in November 2023 that they had reached a purchase agreement for the Alpha Campus.
Park Place Technologies has been located at its Mayfield Heights location at 5910 Landerbrook Dr. for more than a decade. The search for a new global headquarters was driven by the need for current and future expansion, and a desire to elevate the employee experience by continuously enhancing office amenities, company officials said.
“We wanted to remain close to our current Mayfield Heights HQ location, to reduce disruptions for our employees,” said Park Place President & CEO, Chris Adams in a written statement. “We also wanted to consolidate our Cleveland locations, including a warehouse in Solon, Ohio, and have confidence we can accommodate the needs of our growing employee family in the new Highland Heights facility.”
An aerial rendering of the Alpha Campus as seen from the east, above Interstate 271. These structures are the two newest buildings on the campus — a parking garage and a 95,000-square-foot office building, both built in 2020 (Park Place).
Adams said the new flagship campus, which is targeted for occupation by the fourth quarter of 2024, will reflect Park Place’s global status as an industry leader and destination employer and will include office, warehouse and test lab space.
It may also feature enhanced amenities such as an expanded fitness center, an on-site daycare space, a larger café with recreational space, and future outdoor amenities including basketball and pickle ball courts, exercise spaces and team-building activity spaces. Such amenities are becoming more common to encourage workers to come to the office rather than work from home.
“We would like to thank all those who worked to make our search and decision so thorough and efficient,” Adams said, adding that many local communities and entities assisted with Park Place’s search.
Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity noted the company initially looked at expanding next door in January 2023, into another Landerbrook building that was leased by Progressive. Since the insurance giant has its own real estate brokers, they reportedly offered Progressive’s Alpha Campus which fit Park Place’s space needs like a glove.
Progressive Insurance is in the midst of slashing its office assets in favor of remote working, a story broken by NEOtrans. At the Alpha campus are three two-story office buildings and one single-level office building dating from 1968 to 2020 and totaling 230,000 square feet, according to Cuyahoga County property records. The largest of those offices is the newest — a 95,197-square-foot, two story building facing Interstate 271.
Park Place Technologies currently leases Building No. 2, at lower left, in the Landerbrook Corporate Center in Mayfield Heights. It initially considered expanding into the neighboring Building No. 3 at lower right, leased by Progressive Insurance but soon opened up its options (Shelbourne).
There is also a 34,000-square-foot warehouse dating from 1973 and a three level, 164,160-square-foot parking garage built in 2020. A large parking lot around the northern perimeter of the property offers more than 1,000 spaces while a 228-space parking lot fronts the warehouse, according to its listing on LoopNet.
The 33-year-old company issued a request for proposals last year that it was seeking 150,000 to 250,000 square feet of offices and a 10,000-square-foot data center. It also was looking to relocate up to 30,000 square feet of warehouse space from its current location in Solon to the same site as its offices and data center.
Park Place official said it preferred an existing building but also was willing to make modifications to its final landing spot. One of those spots it reportedly considered was the former Plain Dealer building, 1801 Superior Ave., on the east side of Downtown Cleveland. But it was also in preliminary discussions with Bedrock Real Estate officials for the construction of a new high-rise in Bedrock’s planned Downtown Cleveland riverfront development, two sources said.
Company officials offered no direct comment on the proposed high-rise headquarters downtown. But last November, they did say “Park Place Technologies wants to thank the city of Cleveland and Mayor Justin Bibb, and members of his administration, for their genuine efforts to secure a suitable site for our global headquarters within the city of Cleveland.”
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