Developers Diversified Realty Headquarters, Beachwood, Ohio

Developer’s Diversified Realty Corporation — known to many by its stock ticker identity of DDR — in 2009 expanded its headquarters operations in Beachwood, Ohio, just east of Cleveland, near the burgeoning I-271 corridor near Chagrin Boulevard.

Designed by the local architectural firm of Richard L. Bowen & Associates, the 177,000 square foot, four-story structure was erected along Richmond Road in Beachwood’s vibrant corporate office corridor. Linked to two of DDR’s existing office buildings fronting on Enterprise Parkway, the new office block contains an amphitheater, large café and fitness center. Both surface and structured parking serve the newly enlarged headquarters facility.

Developer and general contractor for the headquarters facility was Premier Development Partners, with close ongoing collaboration among Bowen's architectural office, interior designer Spectrum Design Services, and DDR’s own construction and project management staff.

The long rectilinear structure employs an exterior wall grid of pale precast concrete inset with tinted glass. The central entry bay of the building — clad in slate gray granite — bows outward to meet visitors. The slightly recessed top floor loses the precast grid to become a strong and colorful linear element capping the structure. End corner bays are also finessed, with spandrel panels supplanting precast bands. At completion, the total cost of the expansion and consolidation of the DDR headquarters operation exceeded $30 million.

Throughout Northeastern Ohio, DDR had employed fewer than about 500 people at the start of design and construction construction of this headquarters facility. The eventual occupancy of the facility can now grow to about 1,300 employees. Until staffing reaches that level, DDR has filled any space not yet needed by the company by leasing space to other office tenants seeking Class A digs in the popular eastside corporate office district.

DDR remains one of the nation’s largest owners and managers of retail centers throughout the United States. The company, originally founded as Developers Diversified in 1965 by Bart Wolstein of Cleveland, has traditionally specialized in big-box retail centers — those anchored and/or occupied primarily by such ‘big-box’ retailers as Walmart, Target, Kmart, Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Sears, and so on. But, as the fortunes and mix of those important big-box tenants have shifted, so too has the style and mix of DDR projects. Bart’s son, Scott Wolstein, served for many years as Chairman of the NYSE-traded real estate investment trust (REIT), and remains influential in commercial real estate development.