Notes From My Desk: What’s on My Radar this Month
1. Construction costs. Cushman & Wakefield just released its 2026 Industrial Construction Cost Guide. New industrial runs about $78 a square foot on large projects and climbs up toward $144 on the smaller ones. Copper is up closer to 39% year over year and steel about 17%, both driven by tariffs and data center demand, all while lumber and concrete have barely moved. If you’re building, lock in your lead electrical and steel early while budgeting above last year. Our builder and developer clients in our market can sharpen these numbers anytime. Reach out if we can help you model a construction budget for your next project, and don’t be surprised if we show you a few buildings you can buy at $65 a square foot to achieve a similar outcome as building.
2. A project worth watching. Site prep is underway on East Stokes, the next phase of Circle Square in University Circle, with a 24-story tower going up on Chester near the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Case Western Reserve. Phase 2 brings 281 apartments and about 18,000 square feet of ground floor retail, plus an expansion at the Artisan to nearly 36,000 contiguous square feet of space that our retail team is leasing.
3. News you may have missed. Swagelok is on a hiring and building kick. The Solon company opened a 200,000 square foot distribution center last year and plans to hire about 1,200 people in 2026. Did you know? Fred Lennon founded Swagelok in 1947 with a $500 loan from his wife’s uncle. The company outgrew its Cleveland plant and broke ground in Solon in 1964, and today a third generation of the founding family leads it. Congrats to the whole Swagelok team. Respect.
4. Dinner table talk. Every region spends a lot of time trying to explain what makes it different. Northeast Ohio doesn’t have to try very hard on this one. We make things, and now the federal government is betting on it. The National Science Foundation picked a group of more than 70 partners, led by Case Western Reserve, for one of its Engine awards, worth up to $160 million over 10 years. Only 12 regions won this round out of more than 300 proposals, and this is the only one in Ohio. The goal is to create or keep 20,000 jobs across 18 counties by building on what’s already here: metals, polymers, chemicals and coatings. Consider sharing this at dinner with your family, at the bar with friends, on a hike, on the porch with a neighbor, and/or on the phone with your relative from out of town. Sharing positive news reverberates through our communities.
5. What I’ve been listening to. Jamie Foxx Interview The Tim Ferriss Show. An oldie but a goodie. I come back to it every so often. It’s one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve ever listened to. Jamie Foxx doesn’t just tell stories, he performs them, and a few of them he sings.
6. A quote I’ve been sitting with. “Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists.” Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired.
I would love to hear from you if you have a reaction to this month’s notes, or if you’d like to share the notes from your desk!
Take care!
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