Convergys Opens Up Top Space for $25 Per SF

Mike Hartmann with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, who is marketing the two floors totaling about 40,000 sf, tells GlobeSt.com that the firm isn't getting rid of anyone. "This doesn't affect the number of jobs," Hartmann says. "This was simply to make their functions more efficient." Apparently, the opulent top floors, featuring balconies overlooking the river, large floor plates and high-ceiling boardrooms were just not needed by Convergys executives.

He says the company plans to ask $25 per sf, including operating expenses for the space. There will only be one new tenant to a floor at the most, Hartmann says. The company already leases out one other floor to Accenture, for "significantly less" than $25 per sf, he says. The average lease rate for class A space is $22.60 per sf, according to a second quarter Grubb & Ellis report.

Hartmann says there's been several lookers, but no leases yet. "The Cincinnati office market is okay, but not great. It's steady. This is some of the nicest space in the city," he says.

Convergys bought the property, at 201 E. 4th St., from ING Clarion Partners for $64 million. As part of its incentive deal, it promised to add 225 jobs by 2006, and another 1,225 jobs by 2018.