Health and wellness supplement company Piping Rock is on a rapid expansion path in Northeast Ohio. The company found the perfect space in the brand-new Turnpike Commerce Center in Shalersville, Ohio.
Geis Cos. and Stonemont Financial built the largest speculative building in Northeast Ohio's history when they developed the industrial Turnpike Commerce Center on 75 acres adjacent to the Ohio Turnpike.
Piping Rock's lease for 408,000 square feet of space will support the company's national distribution network.
The project has earned a 2026 CoStar Impact Award for Lease of the Year for Cleveland, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The state-of-the-art facility is part of a master-planned commerce park that is supported by 900 car and 330 trailer parking spots. Buildings have a 40-foot clearance height, ESFR sprinklers, ample power and 56-foot-by-52-foot column spacing.
About the deal: Geis Cos. acquired the farmland the center sits on in 2021, and it remained vacant because of a lack of infrastructure. Through public-private partnerships, including an Ohio Site Inventory Program grant from JobsOhio, the developers completed infrastructure upgrades that allowed for construction of a state-of-the-art industrial space. In order for supplements-manufacturing company Piping Rock to take the space, the building underwent an extensive HVAC upgrade.
What the judges said: "I believe the economic ramification of development of a massive warehouse location should highlight the area along with creating more local employment. This investment should have a multifaceted impact on the local population as well as stimulating recognition causing additional development in the area. The state of Ohio is considered one of the most attractive states in the USA for business, and this transaction will reinforce the national statistics," said Rich Kassouf, owner of New Hope Realty.
They made it happen: The leasing brokers were JLL's Joe Messina, executive managing director; and David Stecker, managing director. The tenant representative's brokers were CBRE's Fred Ragsdale, senior vice president; and associates Fred Herrera and Nick Smith.