Homeworks Inc., which does business as Arhaus, operates 46 stores in 18 states, including eight in Ohio, and has spent years searching for a new home because it can't expand any more at its current location in the Village of Walton Hills.
Company executives considered moving some of its operations to North Carolina or South Carolina, before local and state officials offered incentives to convince it to stay and expand in Ohio.
Under the terms of its Community Reinvestment Area Agreement with Boston Heights, the company will receive an 85-percent break on its property taxes for 15 years for keeping 230 jobs in Ohio and adding another 163 at its corporate offices by 2019. Its annual payroll in Boston Heights will increase from an estimated $16.2 million in 2015 to $26.2 million in 2019.
Boston Heights Mayor Bill Goncy said: "As I understand it, they were looking at several other sites in the state, but because of our accessibility to both Route 8 and [Interstate] 271, we were one of their top choices."
Arhaus will be the first major corporate headquarters in the 6.9-square-mile village, with a population of 1,300.
The Village plans to show residents the proposal at a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at the Fire Station.
"We've been growing quite a bit," said John Reed, Arhaus' co-founder and chief executive. "We're the fastest-growing furniture retailer in the country, according to Furniture Today.
"Next year, we'll have well over 50 stores. We've expanded into Texas, we'll have our first store in Connecticut, and we're adding stores in Chicago and Kansas City. We're looking up and down the East Coast for a couple more stores."
Arhaus has built a reputation for handcrafted, one-of-a-kind furniture for the home or office made by artisans all over the world. Its designers travel the world for inspiration, bringing back raw materials, fabrics, textures and designs that are unique to its stores, including reclaimed and recycled materials from sustainable sources.
"People are getting to know our brand, and as folks in those stores find us, they're responding extremely well," he added.
Arhaus Furniture
Founded: 1986, in the Flats. by John Reed and his father, Jack Reed
Headquarters and distribution center: Walton Hills, Ohio
Employees: about 1,000 nationwide, including 345 in Ohio (230 at headquarters)
Stores: 46 stores, including eight in Ohio.
2012 Revenues: Estimated at $215 million
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