TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - ProMedica broke ground Wednesday on their new headquarters in downtown Toledo.
But while the weather may have prevented the ground breaking outside, ProMedica brought the excitement and the dirt inside.
"I think there's a lot of energy about everybody coming downtown," said ProMedica Senior VP Robin Whitney.
Whitney has managed this project from the start and says Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of the next year and half construction period, bringing jobs to downtown.
But it's not just ProMedica jobs that will be seen.
"Close to five hundred thousand man hours happening on this site over the next 18 months. That's a real number that means a lot to the workers in NW Ohio," said Whitney.
She says the project will cost $60 million to complete and will consolidate 17 locations down to just two.
But the project hasn't been without its share of issues.
"You know there are some challenges with these buildings. You know you've got a building that's well over thirty years old that's been empty for thirty years," said ProMedica CEO Randy Oostra.
The building he's referring to is of course the old steam plant, which will be renovated along with the old Key Bank building. But Oostra says it will all be worth it for his employees and the community.
"We fully intend for this to be sort of a Millennium Park feel for those who've gone to Chicago. We fully intend for it to be a site people want to come to downtown," said Oostra.
Mayor Paul Hicks-Hudson was also part of the ground-breaking ceremony and says she's optimistic about how having ProMedica headquarters along the riverfront will help revitalize downtown.
"This is gonna be a catalyst for other secondary businesses to come, such as more restaurants… other service type of businesses we need in the downtown area," said Hicks-Hudson.
ProMedica says that stimulus was the driving force behind its new downtown location.
"We want to be a part of revitalizing our downtown... that's important from an economic development perspective. We think it helps the community and that's really the driver behind it," said Whitney.
