Covington residents may be familiar with architecture firm Hub + Weber through their design work on iconic buildings like Hotel Covington, Hellman Creative Center and The Hannaford building.
The firm has played a key role in revitalizing buildings in Covington.
Now, Hub + Weber has headed north across the Ohio River to Cincinnati with hopes of expanding the scope of their architectural services in a larger market. In July, the firm signed a lease in the Sawyer Point Building at 720 E. Pete Rose Way, according to their website.
After 50 years in Covington, the firm felt like it was the right time to make a move, Senior Architect Michael Wolff said to LINK nky.
“It seemed like a nice first check first 50 years — the first chapter in Covington,” Wolff said. “This was a clean way to start the next chapter and look to grow a little bit in the coming years.”
After working on an increasing number of projects in Cincinnati over the past few years, Wolff said firm leadership felt like moving into the Cincinnati market would be more conducive to growth.
“We could expand that reach a little bit better if we moved over to this side of the river,” Wolff said. “We felt like being at the Covington address or limited our access to that market, somewhat.”
He also said the prevalence of remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed employees more flexibility on where they could work, aiding the firm’s decision to move.
In late June, LINK nky reported that Hub + Weber planned to exit their office inside Covington Station on Aug. 1 once their lease expired. Real estate firm Comey & Shepard advertised the building for sale, listing it online for $1.35 million.
Covington Station housed Hub + Weber for nearly 20 years. The firm moved into the building in 2002. Their new Cincinnati office is 3,845 square feet, much larger than their former office in Covington Station.
This is the first time Hub + Weber’s office will not be in Covington. Founded in 1973 by William Hub on Pike Street, the firm has called Covington home for its entire existence. In 1983, they relocated to Greenup Street. Gene Weber, the other half of the firm’s namesake, joined the firm and was named partner in 1995.
Even with the move, Wolff said he felt the firm could maintain its work presence within Covington.
Going forward, Hub + Weber plans to hire more employees to fill out their new office. Currently, the firm employs ten people, according to LinkedIn.
“We have some some extra desks with the goal of growing the office in the next kind of near term,” Wolff said.
