Sherwin-Williams Breaks Ground on Brecksville Research and Development Facility

Sherwin-Williams officially broke ground on its new research and development facility in Brecksville Friday. The facility, which is slated to house as many as 900 employees upon completion in 2024, is part of the the global paint corporation's so-called "Building our Future" project, which includes the new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland.

The City of Cleveland is providing nearly $100 million in incentives to Sherwin-Williams as part of the project. 

Sherwin-Williams presented plans for the Brecksville facility to the southern suburb's planning commission this summer. The facility will be 600,000 square feet and three stories tall. Site plans call for roughly 20 acres of conservation area.

At a groundbreaking ceremony Friday, state and local elected officials praised the construction project in familiar terms.

“We appreciate the investment made by Sherwin-Williams in creating world-class facilities for research and development in Brecksville and a new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland,” said State of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, for example. “Combined, these new facilities will generate positive economic impact as well as serve as a catalyst for future development throughout the region.”

Sherwin-Williams said the project would provide 3,000 temporary construction jobs and would, once complete, convene "chemists, engineers, technicians and support teams together into a state-of-the-art hub for innovation and development." 

“This is a monumental day for our organization,” said John G. Morikis, Sherwin-Williams Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a press release. “This new R&D Center will be the global innovation epicenter for creating solutions that solve our customers’ problems, as well as a key to us to retaining and attracting top talent."

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