The company, founded 11 years ago, is based in Indianapolis and highlights 19 development projects on its website.
MORE: Large employer sells Fairfield site for nearly $17.3M, plans to relocate
Fairfield City Manager Mark Wendling said the city knew an action by Liberty Mutual was coming because of a drop in income tax receipts from the company in recent years.
“We knew some of their employees were already working from home, and they let us know last summer they were going to put the property on the market for sale,” Wendling said. “The sale didn’t come as a complete surprise to us.”
Wendling said the city is working with the new owner to provide help in transition and planning. Wendling said the city is also working with the new owner and Liberty Mutual to determine if the insurance company could lease a smaller space in the building.
“There really aren’t that many facilities in the region in the 150,000-square-foot space needs,” Wendling said.
Wendling won’t count Liberty Mutual as a loss for the city just yet.
“Liberty Mutual has not really said what their plans are,” he said. “They want to reduce their square footage, I think, which can be accomplished on-site. I think a lot will have to do with the new owner and Liberty Mutual, and they’ll have to work something out.”
Wendling said he doubts Liberty Mutual would build a new facility.
“That’s not my sense,” he said. “My sense is that a lot of their employees are working from home so they’re not in the office all the time, so they don’t necessarily want to own (property).”
Hamilton is hoping to attract Liberty Mutual “back” to Third + Dayton, the former Ohio Casualty building, or possibly even elsewhere in the city. Ohio Casualty was purchased by Liberty Mutual Group in 2007 for $2.7 billion and operates as a company of the Boston, Mass.-based insurance business. Ohio Casualty got its start in Hamilton in 1919.
“We would not try to recruit another city’s business unless they formally open it up through a regional agency” such as REDI Cincinnati or another similar organization, said Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith.
Justin Lichter, vice president of IRG, which owns the Third + Dayton complex said IRG reached out to Liberty Mutual.
“We knew they were in the market, and I think, unfortunately, they don’t want to turn back the clock a little bit,” Lichter said. “They want to move forward, maybe possibly be closer to downtown (Cincinnati), whatever it may be, but unfortunately, they’re not interested” in the Third + Dayton location. But we think we have a lot going on, so we are excited for the future anyway.”
Third + Dayton, which already is housing international students who attend Miami University’s Hamilton campus, soon will open about 60 upscale apartments on the building’s sixth and eighth floors that look out onto Hamilton’s downtown and German Village.
