Valor Acres Office Tower Financed, Cementing Brecksville's New Hub

BRECKSVILLE, OH – December 18, 2025 – The final major piece of the current development phase at Valor Acres has clicked into place with the successful financial closing for a new, five-story Class A office building. The transaction, announced by investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), marks a pivotal milestone for the sprawling mixed-use destination and concludes a six-year capital advisory relationship between BGL and lead developer DiGeronimo Companies.

Civista Bank and Westfield Bank provided the development financing for the new office structure, which already boasts significant leasing momentum. This closing caps a multi-year, multi-phase development effort that has transformed a nearly 200-acre former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital site into a vibrant economic center positioned strategically between Cleveland and Akron.

A Regional Destination Takes Shape

Valor Acres has rapidly evolved from a long-dormant property into a benchmark for modern mixed-use development. The project's success is anchored by the monumental 600,000-square-foot Sherwin-Williams Global Research and Development Center, which opened in mid-2024. This state-of-the-art facility, home to approximately 900 scientists, engineers, and support staff, provides a powerful economic and tenancy anchor for the entire development.

Following the lead of its major corporate neighbor, DiGeronimo Companies has also relocated its own corporate headquarters to Valor Acres, occupying the top two floors of a new office building. This move consolidates the firm's various construction and development arms under one roof, further validating the site's appeal as a premier business location.

The 'live-work-play' concept is fully realized across the site's various components. Residential offerings have seen strong demand, with the Canvas at Valor Acres luxury apartment complex reaching 98% occupancy. This residential phase, which opened in late 2023, includes 157 upscale apartments and 11 for-rent townhomes featuring resort-style amenities. It was followed by a phase of 25 for-sale homes, a memorial park, and a resident clubhouse.

A more recent phase, closed in December 2024, significantly expanded the development's scope, adding 221 more luxury apartments, a 700-space parking garage, and 70,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. This includes The Post, an expansive indoor-outdoor bar and event concept designed to be a central social hub for residents and visitors.

Defying Office Market Headwinds

The successful financing of the new office building is particularly noteworthy given the broader trends in the regional commercial real estate market. While the greater Cleveland office market has grappled with vacancy rates hovering above 23%, Valor Acres is demonstrating a powerful counter-narrative. Approximately 50% of the new office building was pre-leased to an institutional tenant before completion, a testament to the powerful draw of high-quality, well-located, and amenitized commercial space.

This 'flight to quality' is a defining trend, as companies increasingly favor modern buildings in dynamic, mixed-use environments over older properties in traditional business districts. The ability to attract and retain talent is a key driver, and developments like Valor Acres—with on-site housing, dining, retail, and recreation—offer a compelling competitive advantage. The reported lease rates for office space at Valor Acres, approaching a premium of $40 per square foot, are significantly higher than the regional average and signal a new benchmark for Class A suburban office space.

The Complex Financial Architecture of a Megaproject

Bringing a project of Valor Acres' scale to life required a sophisticated and multi-layered financial strategy executed over many years. BGL's role as the exclusive financial advisor to DiGeronimo Companies spanned six years and encompassed the capital structuring for every major phase of the development.

This long-term engagement highlights the complexity of financing such a large-scale project. The capital stack involved a syndicate of financial institutions, including Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Commonwealth Bank, Civista Bank, and Westfield Bank, which provided development financing across the various residential, retail, and office phases.

Beyond traditional bank debt, the project was made viable through a robust public-private partnership. DiGeronimo Companies secured over $12 million in state funding, including a crucial $10 million Transformational Mixed-Use Development (TMUD) tax credit. The City of Brecksville further supported the project with a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program, where new property tax revenues generated by the development are used to fund public infrastructure improvements. The Port of Cleveland also played a key role, approving over $150 million in taxable lease revenue bonds to finance residential, retail, office, and parking components, which provided significant savings on construction material sales tax. This intricate blend of public incentives and private capital was essential for de-risking the massive undertaking and attracting a diverse group of equity investors, including The OHIO Fund, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

The Future is Under Construction

With the financing secured for the latest office building, development at Valor Acres shows no signs of slowing down. Plans are already moving forward for the next wave of expansion. Construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2025 on a 136-room AC Hotel by Marriott, a six-story upscale hotel expected to open in early 2027. This project also received bond financing approval from the Port of Cleveland.

Brecksville's City Council has also approved plans for five additional mixed-use buildings and an outdoor recreation area named Valor Square, which will feature a pavilion, stage, and children's play area. These future phases are expected to house more office space, high-end restaurants, and retail tenants, including a planned sushi restaurant by renowned local chef Dante Boccuzzi. This continued expansion solidifies Valor Acres' position as a transformative economic engine for Northeast Ohio for years to come.