New life for Huntington Plaza after downtown Canton property sold for $2.67 million
CANTON − The Huntington Plaza in downtown Canton has a new owner.
Pennmark Management Company purchased the 11-story office building at 220 Market St. S and connecting five-story parking garage for $2.67 million on Dec. 11, according to Stark County property records.
The new owners already are talking to potential tenants and have signed a lease for a new cafe in the former Hazel & Rye location.
"You always hear the news loves to say, 'Office is dead,' but we've been very successful with it," said Chief Financial Officer Bob Sichelstiel, who was on site Friday to meet with a party interested in leasing a full floor.
Canton Huntington Plaza history
The property, which was previously purchased for $8.9 million in 2013 by Amerimar Realty Company, was listed for auction twice this year after foreclosure. Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas filed for foreclosure June 2022 after several missed mortgage payments.
More: Huntington Bank office building in downtown Canton to be auctioned, again
Amerimar partner Stephen Marshall previously told The Canton Repository that it's one of the best office buildings in Canton ― but the company couldn't "profitably manage the property through the disruptions of the pandemic."
The building is named for Huntington Bank, the largest tenant. The property has 132,000 square feet of office space and more than 400 parking spots.
Pennmark, a Philadelphia-area real estate development and management company, has office and retail properties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The company also owns retail space in Ohio but Huntington Plaza is its first office building in the state.
Sichelstiel said the central location and downtown events, such as Light Up Downtown, showcased the city's vibrancy and made the property appealing.
"We're really happy to be a part of Canton, be a proud member of the community," he said. "We want to participate in events. We want to sponsor things."
Justin Bartholomew, Pennmark's leasing manager, said the Huntington plaza is about 30% occupied. Some law and financial offices are also located in the building.
Trio Cafe and a new fitness center coming
Trio Cafe, owned by Melissa Clemens, is expected to open in the near future on the first floor, and a fitness center should open by mid-2024 on the second floor. Bartholomew said Pennmark, which currently operates two Fitlife Fitness centers with a third opening soon, will fill the former Huntington Bank corporate suite with exercise equipment.
Memberships to the fitness center, which is on the same level as the parking garage walkway, will be open to the public. Bartholomew said biweekly and annual membership rates have yet to be determined.
They also are leasing executive offices on the seventh and eight floors. Individuals can rent a single office ― with biweekly rates starting at $149 ― and use common areas managed by Pennmark.
Bartholomew said those were recently listed and "already have a couple of agreements going up."
Cleaning is the main work Pennmark has done in the building along with installing remote locks and LED lighting. Sichelstiel said the parking garage will also receive a cleaning and light upgrades.
Pennmark is discussing walkway upgrades with the neighboring DoubleTree by Hilton and parking spaces for surrounding businesses.
"Neighboring buildings have reached out, they want to rent parking ― the restaurants and things like that," Sichelstiel said. "Usually, what happens when we buy these buildings at auction, there's a lot of tapped-in demand that the old owners just didn't understand."
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comOn X: @kbyerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pennmark Management Company buys Huntington Plaza in downtown Canton
