A new owner has taken over Downtown’s KeyBank building, and he plans to return the troubled office tower to its former status as “premium space.”
John Kalogerou, the owner of a Cleveland-based powersports vehicle dealership and some other real estate holdings across the state, purchased the 21-story building at an April auction for $5.1 million – less than half what it sold for four years ago. The KeyBank building is Kalgerou’s first property in Columbus.
Located across from the Ohio Statehouse at 88 E. Broad St., the building suffered a years-long period of low occupancy, maintenance issues and a lack of buyer interest.
“I walked through the building, and it has amazing bones and structure,” Kalogerou said. “I think it just got a bad reputation over the last few years.”
Built in 1964 and renovated in 1986, the KeyBank building spans nearly 257,000 square feet. At the time of the auction a couple months ago, it was 30% occupied, with the Cleveland-based national bank holding a lease through March 2028 with additional renewal options.
The goal is to return the building’s occupancy to the mid-to-high-80% range, according to broker Andrew Jameson with commercial real estate firm Colliers. Kalogerou said he’s prepared to invest in the building, adding that one of the first steps will involve completing a lot of maintenance “that’s been lacking over the years.”
“I’m really excited about this property,” he said, “and I think it’s going to be a huge success for the city and for us.”
The tower is zoned to allow for commercial or multi-unit residential redevelopment, according to the auction listing. Kalogerou said his current plan is to keep the space an office building.
Kalogerou’s purchase marks the building’s first recorded transfer since 2022, when local developer Schottenstein Property Group sold it for more than $12 million to Baruch Broad Street LLC, a branch of New York investment firm Zamir Equities.
In May 2024, a Franklin County judge appointed a receiver to oversee in the building because Zamir Equities failed to repay its loan to Atlanta-based real estate firm The Ardent Cos., which said it lent $11.8 million to Zamir to buy the building in January 2022. The Ardent Cos. filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Zamir Equities in April 2024, claiming Zamir hadn’t repaid the millions it borrowed and that it owed $9.3 million on the loan.
The Ardent Cos. managing director Michelle Fowler previously characterized the property as being in “an abysmal state,” according to a court document from 2024. Many tenants, including some KeyBank employees and the Ohio Auditor’s Office, moved out that year after expressing issues with inconsistent heating and cooling, water leaks and spotty janitorial services.
At one point, the city of Columbus threatened to turn off water to the building because bills hadn’t been paid, with Fowler having reported to the court that checks to vendors from Zamir often bounced.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cleveland-area owner takes over troubled KeyBank tower, seeks revival
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
