The former Jefferson Center, which has long sat vacant, is seeing some life.
On Thursday, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz joined Lucas County Commissioners Lisa Sobecki and Pete Gerken, as well as representatives from four companies that will soon inhabit the building, to cut a ceremonial ribbon on what will now be called the Innovation Post.
Northwest Ohio-based companies Wurtec, WorkSpring, and Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio are three of the inaugural tenants of the building, with SEGULA Technologies USA becoming the fourth. SEGULA Technologies USA is headquartered in Troy, Mich.
The four companies put the building at 60 percent occupancy. Mr. Kapszukiewicz said 170 jobs will come to Toledo. At the mayor’s 2024 State of the City address, he said he hoped to be at 50 percent occupancy within a year.
“I want to celebrate our hard work and good fortune,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “Sixty percent occupied within a year of making the promise, and we believe that by the end of this year, we will be at 100 percent occupancy.”
The Innovation Post is just one building in what will be a hub of a larger innovation district.
The building has sat empty since the early 2000s. It recently underwent a $38 million renovation that was completed in 2023. California-based tech company Bitwise was supposed to occupy part of the building, serving as a magnet to draw other businesses.
On the eve of opening the center, the company announced it was laying off its employees as a result of dried up funds. It then liquidated under Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Bitwise’s two founders received prison terms for wire fraud.
ProMedica owns the building, and as a result, had to pay off the debt. Operations and leasing of the Jefferson Center also became ProMedica’s responsibility.
ProMedica’s Chief Administrative Officer Angela Brandt said ProMedica partnered with SVN Ascension Commercial Realty to oversee the leasing and management of the building.
Vijay Soni, the CEO and managing director of SEGULA Technologies USA, said the Innovation Post will be the company’s second largest engineering center in the United States. The company used to have a location in Toledo on Executive Parkway, but it closed after the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s like coming home for us,” Mr. Soni said.
The company has provided services to Dana Inc., Stellantis, Palmer Associated Inc., and Pilkington North America Inc.
Blake Pilgrim, the president of manufacturing company Wurtec, said the business would be moving its office personnel to the Innovation Post. The company is keeping its main manufacturing hub in Point Place as well as the two other Toledo offices.
“We will have all the leadership team here,” Mr. Pilgrim said. “The engineering team, our purchasing team, finance and HR, and sales and customer service. All the functions other than the manufacturing.”
WorkSpring, which was formerly the Employers Association, will move from its office space in Maumee to Toledo. The human resource management company was once located in the Produce Exchange Building at Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street, and Megan Vahey Casiere, the CEO and president of WorkSpring, said the company is excited to be back.
“We’re really excited to be part of the downtown revitalization here,” Ms. Vahey Casiere said. “The building is one of a kind and is so well done. To be amongst the tenants and in this neighborhood, we just couldn’t be happier.”
Bill Bisset, the president of Lourdes University, was at the ceremony representing Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio, which will operate its 5th Year program out of the Innovation Post. The 5th Year program is in collaboration with Lourdes University to help graduating high school seniors explore professional opportunities before committing to a career path.
Mr. Bisset said last year, which was the first of year program, they helped 26 students in the community. Mr. Bisset said he believes that number will grow to 60 in the next year.
“I think that this is a perfect location for Junior Achievement,” Mr. Bisset said. “It will lend itself to more opportunities for collaboration and partnership with the corporate and nonprofit entities that make up the city of Toledo and northwest Ohio.”
Although three of the companies already have northwest Ohio roots, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said the inaugural tenants will attract more out-of-state businesses like SEGULA Technologies USA.
“Things like this have a way of creating momentum and then building upon it,” the mayor said. “So when businesses throughout the region or throughout the country see what’s happening here, they will want to be a part of it.”
Despite the building’s rocky history with the tenants, the mayor said the city never compromised on the purpose of the building.
“We wanted high technology jobs, and ... we held out,” he said. “We didn’t lower our standards. We held out for the right kind of employers, and I think that increases the likelihood of more of those jobs.”
First Published February 20, 2025, 7:35 p.m.
