Mediaboss Marketing

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Local insurance giant Progressive Corp. has put five of its office buildings in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland up for sale as it responds to the new realities of the workplace.

The companys decision comes nearly two-and-a half-years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to large numbers of employees working remotely. After Progressive reopened its offices early this year, the company saw little change, according to Progressive spokesman Jeff Sibel.

Over the last couple of months, we havent had many people onsite, Sibel stated in an email to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. After a lot of analysis of employee trends and financial considerations, weve decided to not renew some of our leases on buildings and put a few of our owned locations up for sale with the intent of giving employees currently working at those sites space at another building in the area, including at one of our nearby state-of-the-art campuses.

He added that Progressive will continue to evaluate how office utilization will impact its real estate footprint.

Progressive placed office buildings at 6055 Parkland Boulevard in Mayfield Heights, 624, 625, and 650 Alpha Drive in Highland Heights and 651 Beta Drive in Mayfield on the market, according to Sibel. The buildings make up about 5% of the companys real estate holdings.

We still know we have a lot to learn about what our long-term plans ultimately will look like and many of our business areas are still in the process of determining optimal work arrangements and locations for our people, Sibel stated.

Terry Coyne, vice chairman of the Cleveland office of the Newmark real estate brokerage firm, said he is not surprised by Progressives decision to selll some of its buildings.

They are shedding the less valuable, less appealing buildings. Its just an example of the hybrid work model, he said.

Mayfield Mayor Brenda Bodnar said she knew about the 651 Beta Drive listing for over a week ago because she is in constant communication with the insurance companys leadership. She said she was reassured that those jobs would remain in Mayfield at another Progressive location. In addition to the listed buildings, Progressive is also selling a vacant lot it owns behind the Mayfield Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library at 500 SOM Center Road. The company had planned turn it into a third campus, she said, but that never came to fruition.

Bodnar said there are two businesses that have showed interest in the vacant lot.

If that land could be put to productive use bringing jobs to village, that would be a positive, she said.

Coyne said the sale of Progressive buildings could not have happened at a worse time in terms of the state of the real estate market, but added that suburban office space is still very appealing to businesses.

People right now, according to the numbers, prefer the suburbs, he said. Its easier to get to, especially single story buildings. Theyre easier to get in and out. So I think between (the suburbs and downtown), its probably better to own in the suburbs, generally speaking, but the hybrid work model is really the message.

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Progressive looking to sell several office buildings as most employees remain offsite - cleveland.com