That first $5 million building is about 70 percent leased presently, said Mark Schumacher, vice president of Schumacher Dugan.
Construction started earlier this year on a second building sharing the same parking lot, this time three stories and 48,000-square-feet at 9078 Union Centre Blvd. So-called Union Centre Office Park II, a $5 million to $6 million project, is slated to open in October, Schumacher said.
And the first tenant has been signed.
OfficeKey, which rents office space to executives and corporations, has signed a lease for about 12,000-square-feet on Office Park II’s third floor.
Once construction is completed, OfficeKey will relocate to the new space from its current location in the West Chester Twp. office building Centre Pointe at 9277 Centre Pointe Drive. OfficeKey manages five office spaces in greater Cincinnati, including West Chester.
“OfficeKey provides a way for financial firms, law firms and branch offices to establish an office by subscribing rather than renting,” said founder David Myers.
“The traditional model is to rent space. The new way to do it is to subscribe to an office service,” Myers said. “You can work in any location, invite clients to any location, yet you can have a good location for your business.”
When OfficeKey moves to Union Centre Office Park, about 30 customer companies will relocate with it, Myers said. A bigger floor plan will also give OfficeKey more room to grow its client base, he said.
“We’re relocating to have a better office than our current location,” he said. OfficeKey has had a Butler County presence for approximately five years. “We think West Chester’s a tremendous market. We’re fortunate to be there.”
Expecting Union Centre Office Park II to lease quickly, Schumacher said plans are being drawn up for a third Class A office building on five acres facing Union Centre Boulevard, between U.S. Bank and McDonald’s. This time, the developer will build four stories for 150,000-square-feet, Schumacher said. Early plans call for street-level retail and three stories of office space.
“We’re getting a little more confident,” he said.
Construction on the third building wouldn’t start until Union Centre Office Park II is more fully occupied. “If all goes well, we’d start in the spring,” he said.
All office space in West Chester Twp. was nearly 98 percent occupied as of the end of 2013, according to the local government.
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