Plans for to construct a new headquarters in Downtown Cleveland are one step closer to approval following a joint meeting with multiple city stakeholders Tuesday.
But the company has been asked to consider pedestrian experience, parking availability and traffic patterns, as well as how the design would integrate with what鈥檚 already present in Public Square and the Warehouse District.
The meeting was the first in a series where members of multiple city design commissions and committees will hear details and provide design feedback. The headquarters concept pitch was first heard by the Downtown Flats Design Review Committee and Historic Downtown Cleveland Design Review Committee, followed by the Landmarks Commission and Cleveland City Planning Commission.
The global paint giant has outgrown its current facilities, said Sherwin-Williams Director of Corporate Real Estate Tim Muckley, and is raring to begin work on its new home downtown.
鈥淲e鈥檙e ready to get started. We鈥檙e ready to fill in the missing puzzle piece, and we鈥檙e ready to do something that鈥檚 transformational,鈥� he said.
The review committees approved the conceptual plans for the headquarters tower and pavilion, with a few conditions. The approval requires Sherwin-Williams to complete a traffic study, consider increasing the height of the pavilion to visually match the rest of the area, and also consider ways to allow public access to the roof.
And though the group added design caveats, pedestrian sky bridges over West 3rd Street and Frankfort Avenue also were approved by the joint committees.
The combined committees did not approve the proposal for the complex鈥檚 garage and retail space, arguing changes are needed to allow for future expansion.
鈥淚 think the tower itself is a substantial investment, and it sits well on the site. The direction you鈥檙e going, in our mind, is pretty impressive with respect to the dynamic nature of the building,鈥� City Planning Director Freddy Collier said. 鈥淢ost of the commentary was around that integration into the urban context, which is the sweet spot for everybody here.鈥�
Two more joint meetings are planned to discuss the development, with the next set for September.
鈥淲hen you do come back, we really want to see renderings of the street-level pedestrian experience,鈥� Jack Bialosky, chairman of the joint committee and a member of the Downtown Flats Design Review Committee.
The Sherwin-Williams headquarters proposal would replace five downtown parking lots near Public Square, which currently offer about 1,000 spaces. Proposed construction includes a two-story pavilion, a 36-story headquarters tower and a parking garage.
The headquarters, if approved as designed, would be the fourth-tallest building in Cleveland.
鈥淲e want to make sure that we can continue to stay in this location, and we anticipate that it鈥檚 going to be our home for the next 150 years,鈥� Muckley said.
City and Sherwin-Williams officials had gathered about 40 questions and comments from the public online, many expressing a desire to 鈥渃omplete鈥� Public Square by filling in the empty space currently created by parking lots. The pavilion, in particular, was criticized for being small in comparison to the other buildings in the area, missing an opportunity to fill in the space.
鈥淭he model really kind of hurts this thing. There鈥檚 no visual unification around Public Square, and we miss that opportunity forever,鈥� said Alan O鈥機onnell, a Historic Downtown Cleveland Design Review Committee member. 鈥淭his is the most important property, possibly in the United States, to fill in a missing tooth, and I鈥檓 disappointed that it鈥檚 a two-story, semi-public but mostly not, pavilion.鈥�
Project managers said Sherwin-Williams and the designers considered views of the iconic Terminal Tower when working out how the pavilion and headquarters would fit into Public Square.
The pavilion would house the company鈥檚 learning and development centers, while the headquarters would serve as a workspace for about 3,100 employees. The tower also would include conference and dining spaces, and the 920-space parking garage proposal includes street-level retail space facing West 3rd Street. Current plans would link the buildings using sky bridges.
Downtown Flats Design Review Committee member Thom Geist said the design needs to either blend the bridges in to be unnoticeable or make them into a focal point.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know which is the right way to do this one, but to me it鈥檚 one extreme or the other, not a mishmash,鈥� Geist said.
That鈥檚 if the sky bridges are included at all. Resident questions and comments included pushback and criticism of that part of the plan, though Sherwin-Williams officials argue the sky bridges help connect the buildings and bring the entire complex together for employees and visitors.
鈥淚t's critical that those two buildings function as one organism,鈥� Muckley said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that the primary workplace is connected to our cultural hub, and it鈥檚 important that our visiting employees can easily interact and collaborate with our leadership.鈥�
Additional committee and resident concerns focused on plans for employee parking.
The parking plan would only accommodate about a quarter of Sherwin-Williams employees, said Matt Heisley with architectural firm Vocon. The lion鈥檚 share of workers would be expected to park in other areas of downtown or use alternative transit options.
鈥淭hat was done because we know employees come from different places, and employees live downtown,鈥� Heisley said. 鈥淓mployees use mass transit and the 920-car parking garage will handle that.鈥�
But Bialosky expressed concern with the current plans for parking, as well as the lack of options for expansion in the future. The garage鈥檚 current design would make growth difficult, he said.
鈥�I don't agree that you won鈥檛 need to provide additional parking at some point,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here has been discussion about the low density of the parking garage, that it has a very big floor plate.鈥�
Bialosky wanted more information on the complex鈥檚 potential impact on traffic, particularly on and around Frankfort Avenue.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important that a traffic engineer study this and, in conjunction with the city, come back with a report that says that these streets aren鈥檛 going to be in failure based on the plan that you have,鈥� Bialosky said.
Muckley said a portion of Frankfort Avenue would limit vehicular traffic to prioritize pedestrians and passenger loading or unloading. Residents, who see Frankfort as an important connection between Public Square and the Warehouse District, were critical of the prospect.
And Sherwin-Williams hasn鈥檛 conducted a traffic study yet, Muckley said, in part because the pandemic made it difficult to accurately measure traffic patterns. Plans are in the works to conduct a study as traffic returns to normal downtown, he said.
鈥淲e acknowledge that that鈥檚 something we need to do,鈥� Muckley said. 鈥淚f we would have done one, we don鈥檛 think the data would have been accurate. I think now that people are coming back, traffic patterns are getting closer to normal.鈥�
Surface parking lots also would be constructed around the tower and garage, according to current plans. Those could be used for future developments as needed, Muckley said.
City officials, however, worried such development would not end up coming to pass.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot that we can do in addition to this project of making people feel as though they鈥檙e coming into the urban core, and not coming into something that feels uninhabited,鈥� said Cleveland City Councilman Charles Slife. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to predict when Sherwin-Williams would have the demand or need to construct a second tower, but I think more in the near term, it鈥檚 possible to put it on a timeline.鈥�
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