“Anytime anyone chooses to stay here and also expand, it just boosts that confidence that West Chester is one of the best communities to do business because obviously they’re doing well, or they wouldn’t continue to expand here,” Kanelopoulos said. “It’s basically proof in the pudding when someone expands that what we say is true: That we are the best place to do business.”
Berkley Aspire, one of the many ventures of Fortune 500 company W.R. Berkley Insurance Group, specializes in surplus lines insurance. The company estimates that it will add just over $3 million to its existing $2.4 million annual payroll, with new positions as tax support specialists, underwriters and managers.
The location’s Director of Small Business Kristy James told the Journal-News that the office began with just 10 employees almost four years ago.
“It was a pretty small space because we were still a pretty small company, and we didn’t know how much we could grow, but we’ve grown a ton,” James said. Berkley Aspire will expand its office space this summer to accommodate a projected staff of over 50 employees.
Department of Development spokesperson Dan Bowerman told the Journal-News that the total estimated value of the tax credit is $305,000. An official project scope from the department noted that Ohio was in competition with Arizona and Virginia for the expansion project.
“We support Berkley being here; they’re going to be good partners to us,” Kanelopoulos said.
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