Office Space

A Hagerstown redevelopment initiative that began a few years ago as a way to help revamp the city's struggling downtown is paying dividends for some property owners and developers, and tenants also can reap benefits by moving into their newly renovated buildings, a city official said. Started in 2009, the Partners in Economic Progress, or PEP, program was established to support private-sector investments that contribute to the revitalization of downtown Hagerstown, said Christy Blake, the city's downtown business recruitment and retention manager.

The University System of Maryland at Hagerstown will expand operations into an adjacent city-owned building downtown, city and university officials said Tuesday. With the city council's approval of the lease agreement expected next week, USMH will move into 60 W. Washington St. as the rear anchor tenant of the city's small business incubator, adding space for three new classrooms, office space for faculty members and a new common area. The initial lease is for five years, which began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017, at an annual rent of $27,000 for the use of 2,700 square feet in the rear of the former CVS building, according to Christy Blake, the city's Downtown Business Recruitment and Retention Manager.

It's often said that if you really want to find ways to improve your business, ask an employee. At its Hagerstown plant, Volvo did ask - and the result is “significant savings,” according to company representatives. At the recommendation of a team of employees, Volvo has stopped leasing its half of a big warehouse near Maugansville and has made space for the parts storage inside its existing plant north of Hagerstown. The savings on the lease, as well as “all the little components (of expenses)

Office space used by the Franklin County Commissioners in downtown Chambersburg was damaged by fire Thursday afternoon. Fire crews responded to a building fire in downtown Chambersburg that closed the first block of North Main Street to traffic from the square to King Street. The fire started shortly after 1 p.m. on the roof of the two-story addition to the commissioners' office at 14 N. Main St., when sparks from demolition of the former Harmon's Building ignited hay on the roof of the addition, according to a news release from the commissioners' office.

The Jefferson County Commission Thursday agreed to help two agencies make needed upgrades to their office space. John Reisenweber, executive director of the Jefferson County Development Authority, asked the commissioners for $17,000 toward a $48,000 renovation of the authority's offices at 1948 Wiltshire Road in Kearneysville, W.Va. “We don't need additional space,” Reisenweber told the commissioners. “What we have needs to be upgraded.” The building houses three authority employees, including Reisenweber.

A 55,555 square-foot, three-story office building under construction at Fountainhead Plaza near Hagerstown is expected to be completed by December, developer Asad Ghattas said Tuesday after a groundbreaking ceremony. At the ceremony, Washington County officials recognized the Fountainhead One Professional Offices project as one of the first to take advantage of two county incentive programs, a “pad-ready” stimulus program and a “green building” tax credit for high-performance commercial buildings.

In keeping with the area's new Strategic Community Impact Plan, the American Red Cross of Washington County has donated office space at its Conrad Court location to Volunteer Washington County. The Red Cross heeded the call issued in the plan to work collaboratively, announcing the donation on Nov. 16, only two days after community leaders launched the SCIP, according to a news release from the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The American Red Cross is all about volunteers," Executive-Director Julie Barr-Strasburg said in the release.

As the holidays approach, we are always thinking of ways to give back to the community. With this economy, however, some might find that a monetary donation isn't as easy to do as in past years. But nonprofits still need help from the community. That's why we're publishing a Nonprofit Holiday Wish List. The way it works is simple: Nonprofit officials ask for anything they need - from copier paper to office space - and it's up to the community to help fill in these needs. Nonprofits can submit the lists online only at http://forms.herald-mail.com/npwl.

Name of business: Parkview Business Center LLC Owners: Michael Cermak Jr. and Mike Cermak Sr. Address: 201 Prospect Ave., Hagerstown Opening date: Sept. 1, 2011 Products and services: Full-service office space that includes receptionist, conference and meeting rooms, free off-street parking, phones, Internet, electricity and all utilities. Target market: Small businesses, home businesses, entrepreneurs and remote workers. How did you get into your business, and what motivated you to start it?

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. --The ear-splitting, rock-smashing sounds that are shattering the quiet of downtown Shepherdstown this week mean heavy equipment is crunching into the old Town Hall building at 104 N. King St. and the limestone foundation under it. Early next spring, a new two-story brick building will stand in its place as the seat of town government and municipal police department, said Shepherdstown Mayor Jim Auxer. The replacement building will cost about $1 million, Auxer said, paid for with the town's share of video lottery funds.