BrandMuscle’s departure from Beachwood means that 150 employees — and their tax revenue — will go to Cleveland.
The company announced this month that they would move to Cleveland, possibly by November.
The move follows Cleveland venture capital group The Riverside Co.'s acquisition of the marketing software development company.
But the departure also means that the city has lost a young group of employees — the kind that work at the high-tech companies Beachwood and other cities strategize to attract.
“There’s definitely a synergy there,” said the City of Beachwood's Economic Development Director Jim Doutt.
Cities that are attractive to young professionals — places that are walkable, vibrant, have other young professionals — are attractive to the high-tech, rapidly growing companies that employ younger crowds, said Doutt.
“If you’ve got those types of elements there in that community, it’s just another thing you add to the plate,” he added.
BrandMuscle's Reasoning
To be clear, no one is alleging that BrandMuscle, whose employees' ages average 32 years, is leaving because Beachwood is not attractive to its employees.
Beachwood is working to market to companies like BrandMuscle — for one, a brand new, “world-class” website is in the works now, and it’s recently started Facebook and Twitter accounts.
In 2012, the City of Beachwood has approved plans for a luxury apartment complex to be built in Commerce Park — the city’s office hub — and a trendy hotel to be built in the Chagrin Highlands. Both establishments are specifically geared toward young professionals.
And BrandMuscle’s roots are here. CEO Phil Alexander started the company in a business incubator in Boston in 2000, but quickly moved it to Beachwood, where it’s been ever since.
But the growing company needed space. The company’s Director of Marketing Lori Alba said that their 30,000-square-foot space at 3750 Park East Drive is landlocked. The city could not find the company another building that suited their needs.
So BrandMuscle looked in several Northeast Ohio communities and settled on downtown.
In the Diamond Building at 1100 Superior Ave. in Cleveland, BrandMuscle will occupy nearly 42,000 square feet with the option to expand to another 10,000 square feet.
Alba said that a downtown location was attractive to their young employee base, and that, in fact, many employees will be moving to places in or close to downtown after the move.
Beachwood's Future
Doutt is confident that Beachwood will recover the loss.
“Beachwood is a great place to do business,” he said. “I’m very comfortable that we’ll be able to attract business to fill those spots. But when you’re attracting high-tech businesses, it’s not like waving a wand.”
carol schoen
8:58 am on Thursday, May 31, 2012
This is sad that Beachwood lost another tech company. When will the mass exit stop?
Young Professional
8:52 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
As a young professional, I don't want to live in a luxury apartment in the suburbs. It's not near any nightlife and I still have to driver everywhere. If I get a luxury apartment downtown, I can walk to go out or take a short cab ride to Ohio City/Tremont. Plus, I'm paying less downtown than I would in Beachwood.
The generational shift is focusing on urban, walkable, public transit-oriented communities. Unfortunately, the suburbs are going to experience the abandonment that the urban core experienced for the past 40 years. My generation just doesn't find the suburbs appealing.
cwru_2012
10:31 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
Interesting.
I am also in my 20's -- I am also drawn to Downtown and the near westside to work and live. It very well be a generational movement as well.
Jim Doutt
2:09 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
I appreciated the opportunity to be interviewed and quoted in this story, but am concerned that the headline in particular may leave some misimpressions. I would like to add some comments and provide a more complete perspective to Beachwood’s economic development efforts and successes that include many companies that employ many young professionals.
While we regret losing BrandMuscle or any other business, we have experienced a net gain of jobs with significant new projects in Beachwood. Our diverse business core includes Fortune 500 companies, international businesses, many small and medium sized employers and start-ups. Both Eaton Corp and Developers Diversified chose Beachwood for their world headquarters. University Hospital’s Ahuja Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic give Beachwood a world-class health care presence.
Such companies have many younger employees. All employees who work in Beachwood benefit from our business-friendly city that offers excellent municipal services, easy transportation access, superb dining and shopping options and much more. These amenities, with our top-ranked schools, have helped create a strong, sustainable economy that attracts businesses -including their many young professionals- and families.
For decades, Beachwood has been an excellent place to live and raise a family, and an excellent place to run a business. It remains so today and we’re actively working to come up with new ways to position Beachwood for the future.
Nikki Ferrell
2:43 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
Thanks for the comments, Jim!