A more than century-old building at the gateway to the Brewery District soon will house one of Central Ohio's fastest growing tech startups.
Aware, with plans to surpass 200 employees this year, is outgrowing its space at 111 Liberty St. even though it has a flexible model of hybrid in-office or remote work. This week, it hit 115 employees.
In the fall, the 5-year-old big data company will move a few blocks north to the historic Hoster Brewing Co. Ice House at 455 S. Ludlow Alley.
"Our goal is to have this be the absolute best office and startup environment in the entire Midwest," CEO Jeff Schumann said. "It is going to be a tremendous addition to our culture."
Related story: Biggest brands 'on the planet' using Aware, the first Columbus Inno Madness champ
Related story: Fast-growing Columbus startup hires first chief people officer from Sonos
Columbus-based Arshot Development Corp. owns the 33,600-square-foot property that was built in 1900, according to county records. Representatives for the Columbus office of Newmark, the leasing agent for the property, were not immediately available.
"The DNA of the building is really exciting," Schumann said.
Aware is renovating about 30,000 square feet at a cost of "millions," he said. Besides collaborative workspace, the project will create a briefing center to demonstrate its technology that helps employers manage regulatory compliance and cybersecurity while analyzing employee engagement through collaboration platforms such as Slack and Facebook Workplace.
"We'll fly in prospects and the top CEOs for the world's best companies here to Columbus, to showcase what it would be like to use or have Aware's technology," he said. "It'll become a really, really powerful tool for us in recruiting, but also in selling and building our business long term."
Mode Architects is designing Aware's headquarters. The Groveport firm has had another historic project in the Brewery District, rehabbing the former Maennerchor building, and other tech clients such as Root Insurance, according to its website. Columbus-based Dupler Office is the interior designer.
The Ice House previously was the longtime home to design firm Chute Gerdeman, which moved to Westerville some time after its 2017 acquisition.
Across the alley is Front and Fulton, the mixed-use redevelopment of rest of the massive former Hoster complex built in the 1800s. Developers Stage Capital Partners and McCabe Companies have said the project could welcome its first tenants this year.
Aware is aggressively aiming for a six-month buildout, Schumann said.
"Worldwide distribution is a problem; getting access to supplies and goods is hard, and it can take some time," he said. "So we will see."
