CLEVELAND — Sherwin-Williams Co., global paint company headquartered in Cleveland for more than 150 years, is expected to announced Thursday that it will remain in the region, sources have told 3News.
The company’s plans will include building a new research and development center in Brecksville and a new headquarters near Public Square.
The company, which employs about 4,400 people in Northeast Ohio, announced in September it was looking for larger and more updated facilities. The company said at the time that its search was not limited to the Cleveland area.
The announcement fueled speculation about a possible move outside of Ohio but more recent reports have said the company settled on Northeast Ohio, pending incentive packages from the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio. The Greater Cleveland Partnership and economic development agencies Team NEO and JobsOhio have all been working on incentive packages. They have not disclosed any details of the deal.
Sherwin-Williams would not comment on a pending announcement Thursday.
"We have nothing new to report. When we have an update, we’ll issue an official announcement," said Julie S. Young, vice president of communications.
Sherwin-Williams headquarters is on Prospect Avenue, near the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Its research and development office, the Breen Technology Center, is behind Tower City on the Cuyahoga River.
The company has 3,300 employees in these facilities. The company has said it pays about $15 million in taxes to Cleveland each year and has a total payroll of $500 million in Cuyahoga County.
Sources tell 3News that the likely location of the new research and development center is the former site of the old Brecksville Veterans Affairs Hospital on the northwest corner of Brecksville and Miller Roads, just east of I-77. The 103-acre site is already zoned for office/labs and is being transitioned into a mixed-use development, called Valor Acres, which could include retail and residential space in the future.
"I think it's going to be great," said Michael Quay, owner of Courtyard Cafe in downtown Brecksville, where he would welcome any new business from relocated Sherwin-Williams employees. Quay, who has a 5-year-old son about to enter Brecksville-Broadview Heights schools, is excited about the potential of hundreds of new jobs that would bring in new tax revenue for the city's schools. "That's huge," he said. "Because the schools always can use stuff like that."
The economic boost for Brecksville would be especially good news, after the city lost about 1,000 jobs and $2-million in tax revenue when the VA Hospital closed in 2011.
Brecksville Mayor Jerry Hruby declined to comment on Sherwin-Williams' plans, and city council members also declined, or could not be reached for comment.