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Ad Man Rick Krochka is Looking Forward to Completing a $1.3 Million Rehabilitation of 1928 Foundry
Aug 18, 2014
Ad man Rick Krochka is looking forward to completing a $1.3 million rehabilitation of a 1928 foundry to provide a new home for his employees who are currently split between two locations.
Krochka is the president of TRIAD Communications and Next Level Interactive, a full-service marketing and advertising agency also known as TRIAD/Next Level. Since January 2012, Krochka's firm has been operating from two locations: their headquarters at 2006 Fourth St. in Cuyahoga Falls and a satellite office in downtown Akron.
"I think now it's really exciting because now the real work will begin and we'll start moving ahead," Krochka said recently.
"Having employees in two locations is not a good thing," he said. "Not in a creative environment. Not in the work that we do. If we were just pushing papers or doing individual sales where you could work autonomously, that would be fine. But we're very collaborative. We're a team of creatives, and you can't collaborate when some people are downtown and some people are here."
Having two locations was a temporary solution as the company experienced slow and steady growth over the last several years, Krochka said. It also provided time to look for the perfect place to house a permanent headquarters that would bring Krochka's entire staff together under one roof.
Krochka is going to transform the vacant industrial structure known as Falls Stamping and Welding at 1701 S. Front St. into commercial office space where he and his employees can continue their award-winning work designing print and online ads and websites. In June, his project was awarded a $241,261 Ohio Historic Preservation tax credit by the Ohio Development Services Agency.
The Falls Stamping and Welding project is the first project in the city of Cuyahoga Falls to use the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.
This was one of $37.7 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits awarded by the Ohio Development Services Agency on June 24 to rehabilitate 35 historic buildings in 13 communities across the state, according to an agency news release. The projects are expected to leverage nearly $250 million in private investments.
Krochka said there are 13 employees at the Fourth Street location and one employee in downtown Akron. Once the project is complete, the site at 1701 Front St. will have 15 employees with the ability to expand to 25 to 30 workers.
In March, both the Cuyahoga Falls Planning Commission and City Council voted in favor of creating an individual historic overlay landmark at 1701 Front St. The historic designation allowed Triad to compete for the state historic preservation tax credit, according to Fred Guerra, the city's planning director.
Krochka said his criteria for the new office space was not typical for most companies. The space needed to have an ample supply of natural light, open areas and the flexibility to grow staff in the coming years, he said. After months of searching, Krochka found what he called the "perfect location" only a half-mile from his current location in Cuyahoga Falls.
The building at 1701 Front St. was an old foundry known as Falls Stamping and Welding, more recently used as an auto parts warehouse. Located at the intersection of Chestnut Boulevard in the Glen Terrace neighborhood, this property is part of an economic development district on South Front Street.
"The brick and glass building with center clerestory architecture will provide plenty of natural light, open work areas and be an inspired environment for TRIAD/Next Level's creative team," Krochka said.
Demolition work on the building "will begin in the next week or two," said Krochka, who added the renovation work will take approximately six to eight months.
"Upholding the original purpose and design integrity of an industrial space, the original steel sash windows will be restored and all steel structural components will be repaired as needed," Krochka said. "The bay doors will also be repaired and restored to full capacity."
Within the open first floor space, new offices, a media production studio and conference rooms will be constructed. The partial basement will include a break room/kitchen for staff and a walk-out deck area overlooking the river. The interior design will feature an open floor plan with lots of natural light and polished cement floors. The historic exterior of the building will be preserved with the exterior brickwork being cleaned and repaired.
Original Article | Falls News Press