After 45 years on Talmadge Road, Savage and Associates Inc. has announced it will build a new headquarters in Arrowhead Park to accommodate its growth and give the financial services firm more room to host clients.

“We’ve kind of outgrown our space here. As we’re continuing to grow we’re looking for new state of the art space to accommodate our growth,” J.R. Toland, the company’s president and chief executive officer said Monday.

The new 30,000-square-foot office is to be built be on Beaver Creek Circle in Arrowhead Park in Maumee on 4 acres that were previously owned by ProMedica. Early site work has already begun, with plans to have the new office ready by late next year.

BLADE BRIEFING: Tyrel Linkhorn on Savage and Associates move

Savage and Associates, which was founded in 1957 by John F. Savage, currently has about 105 employees in Toledo, all of whom will make the move. The company will keep its satellite offices in Bowling Green, Findlay, and Upper Sandusky.

Mr. Toland said the Savage had been pondering a new headquarters several years, but the search kicked into high gear in 2015 when it sold its 36,000 square foot building at 4427 Talmadge Rd. to Industrial Developers Ltd. — a precursor to NAI Harmon Group.

NAI Harmon has been working with Savage since then to find the financial services firm a new location.

“That really was the intention in the beginning. There was a clear understanding this was what we were doing and this is why we chose to partner with them,” Mr. Toland said.

Though the new office will be slightly smaller than Savage’s old building, the company will be the sole tenant there. Currently, about 40 percent of the two-story Talmadge Road building is occupied by other tenants. And the layout of that building also makes larger meetings difficult.

“We don’t really have the facilities in this building to even have our own adviser meetings,” Mr. Toland said. “We have one boardroom that only seats about 16 or 18 people.”

In addition to more conference space, Savage also plans to build a large patio on the rear of the building that can be used for client functions. Officials declined to say how much the company expects to spend on the new building.

Dallas Paul, partner and managing broker with NAI Harmon, said the space at Arrowhead proved to be a good fit for Savage, leveraging their image and giving them a high-visibility location that’s convenient for their staff and clients. 

Mr. Paul said NAI Harmon anticipates being able to fill the offices vacated by Savage fairly quickly, though it’s unlikely one single user will take all the available space.

“That’d be a home run if that would happen,” Mr. Paul said. “Realistically, I think the second floor will be made into a suite, part of the first floor will be made into a suite and the rest of the first floor space can be divided up as needed based on the needs of the client.”

For Arrowhead Park, the new Savage headquarters is one of several projects in the works. Brondes Ford Lincoln recently started work on a new 59,000-square foot dealership, while Glass City Federal Credit Union is adding a 7,000 foot addition to its office there.

Maumee City Administrator John Jezak said TDC Companies is also moving forward with plans to build its own 25,000-square-foot addition there.

“Based upon the interest that we’ve seen over here, we expect other projects coming to fruition. We’re not at liberty to talk about all these, but as far as inquires and people looking to do projects over here, it’s about as busy as it’s ever been since 2000,” Mr. Jezak said.

One of the key selling points for Arrowhead is its visibility and access from I-475. Officials from both Brondes and Savage said that was a big reason for their decisions. 

“No doubt downtown is resurgent and we’re actually happy to see that. But it’s not between Arrowhead and downtown. It’s not a zero sum game,” Mr. Jezak said. “I think as time goes on you may see some other companies move from Arrowhead but I think you'll also see other companies move into Arrowhead.”

And while Savage is moving outside the city of Toledo, Mr. Toland said the firm’s commitment to the community will remain.

“That’s not going to change. Our involvement in this area is still going to be what it is and it’s going to continue,” he said. “It’s important to us and it’s who we are.”

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com, 419-724-6134, or on Twitter @TyrelLinkhorn.

First Published September 18, 2017, 4:03 p.m.