Why TriVersity’s New Headquarters is More Than Just an Office Move

Why TriVersity’s new headquarters is more than just an office move bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/03/04/why-triversitys-new-headquarters-is-more.html

A rendering of TriVersity's headquarters in Walnut Hills.

Elevar Design Group

By Tom Demeropolis – Senior staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mar 4, 2022 When Mel Gravely started looking at options for a new headquarters for his construction company, TriVersity Construction Co., he had a broad idea of what he wanted.

Over time, the focus became clearer and clearer what Gravely wanted to accomplish with this move.

“We wanted to be in a place where we could make an impact,” Gravely told me. “We wanted to be in a place that improved our efficiency and effectiveness and made a statement about who we are, what we stand for and what we believe in.”

It didn’t take long for Gravely to determine that being one tenant in a multi-story office building was not what he was looking for.

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TriVersity will move into a two-level building at 921 Curtis St., just south of Peebles Corner.

The construction company will be the sole tenant of the 21,000-square-foot space. It started rehabilitating the formerly vacant building and converting it to office space in July 2021.

While Gravely was looking for a solution, he connected with Robert Sanders, principal of Sanders Development Group. Gravely knew Sanders from his time with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and called him to consult on figuring out the Walnut Hills office. The two worked together for months, and finally, when Gravely asked Sanders to send him an invoice for his consulting, Sanders said no. Instead, Sanders wanted to be the developer to help make the project come together.

“I said, 'That makes my life a whole lot easier,'” Gravely told me.

Sanders brought in Terrex Development and Construction to be part of the development team on the 1.4-acre property.

Moving the 105-employee company into what had been a long-vacant building will help feed the burgeoning retail in the area, as well as potentially fill some of the apartments and other new housing coming online in the neighborhood.

“It felt good because of the place Walnut Hills is in with its redevelopment,” Gravely said.

Walnut Hills has seen tens of millions of dollars in redevelopment in recent years, and more redevelopment is on the way. But the neighborhood has not added a large employer like TriVersity that will bring its employees, as well as its partners, to the neighborhood on a daily basis.

The move to Walnut Hills also helps TriVersity. It gives the construction company a space where all its employees can be together. It’s also close to downtown and Uptown, providing good proximity to a number of its customers.

TriVersity has managed its own construction and buildout of the space. Jim Watkins, president of TriVersity, said they achieved 53% inclusion with minority business enterprise and women’s business enterprise subcontractors on the project. Both Sanders Development Group and design partner, Elevar Design Group, are minority-owned businesses. RCF Group, one of the region’s largest minority-owned companies, is providing furniture and interior fixtures.

Gravely said how it spent its dollars on the $4 million project was important.

“This is a site that was inactive and blighted before we acquired it,” Sanders said. “The icing on the cake is TriVersity understands how to be a good neighbor and improve the community through deep involvement.”

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A rendering of the interior of TriVersity's new headquarters.

Elevar Design Group Gravely said he and his team continue to listen to the Walnut Hills community and are ready and willing to engage and be good neighbors. “Over time it will be more specific and clear, but right now it’s a lot of listening and learning.”

Even before moving into the space, TriVersity employees created an uptick in business for Caffe Vivace. And nine TriVersity employees participated in the Peebles 5K. “We know our presence can complement the character and vibrancy of the neighborhood,” Gravely said.

The Curtis Street headquarters also is an example of public/private partnership, as the city of Cincinnati approved a commercial Community Reinvestment Act tax abatement for the project, while the Port positioned the site for redevelopment.

TriVersity’s total revenue for 2021 hit $97 million. That’s an increase of 13.5% from 2020, when the company’s total revenue was $85.5 million.

Current projects include construction of Bethany House’s new residential shelter in Bond Hill, Urban League’s Center for Social Justice, and ongoing work with clients such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, UC Health, Fifth Third Bank and the University of Cincinnati, as well as a variety of projects in partnership with Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.

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Watkins said TriVersity’s experience with 3CDC helped prepare it to tackle its headquarters renovation.

“We set out to create a space with the ability to do three things: create a place of space where we can all be together to service internal needs and support external systems to engage with our customers; provide an opportunity to support our growing Craft Force business unit; and lay the groundwork for the future.”

Gravely said he remains cautiously optimistic about 2022.

“I can’t help but feel good about where we’re sitting,” he said.

TriVersity expects to complete its new headquarters in Walnut Hills this spring and plans move its employees in phases by April 25.

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