Penthouse Suites Help Grow Small Businesses at Cummings Center Renovation

By Jesse Poole

Gordon College News Service

(This story appeared April 27, 2011, in the business section of The Salem News.)

Beverly—Splitting up has its perks for some. 100 Cummings Center in the popular corporate campus in Beverly, MA, has proven this by transforming part of its top floor, formerly a cafeteria of several thousand square feet into a league of 24 to 25 lease-able, sub-divided offices, which have been dubbed ‘penthouse suites.’

These newly renovated bedroom-sized offices were once one large site for Microsoft Corporation. When Microsoft moved out to a bigger location, Cummings Center property managers shifted their focus from catering to a multi-million dollar corporation to providing local entrepreneurs space.

As of now, five firms have moved into the suits and more are scheduled to move in soon. Some that have relocated there include Daly Insurance, Family Psychiatric Care, Gold Coast Mortgage, The Service Coach, and Scrivener Publishing.

Martin Scrivener, owner of Scrivener Publishing, a technical and scientific publishing company, has moved his office from his home in Salem to a suite.

“The level of work I had indicated that it would be a good idea to set up a business address,” said Scrivener. “Also, here I have a lot less distractions than I did at home and I can get more work done in a timely manor.”

 Steve Drohosky, vice president and Cummings Center general manager, said that business owners like Scrivener reflect a growing trend.

“The market for small businesses is now,” he said. “These spaces are for people starting up their own businesses, for people moving out of basements and living rooms, expanding to small offices. This is their next stepping stone.”

In the current economic climate, said Drohosky, though some have lost their jobs, opportunities open up for people to do what they've always wanted. “Many have become entrepreneurs (as a result),” Drohosky said.

Cummings Center has seen changed in the past five years. More space is now leased and they’ve gone from 325 clients to 513 clients.

One of whom is Kevin Daly of Beverly, owner of Daly Insurance. Daly was the first to sign a lease for a new suite. He’s moved from a business building in Peabody to Cummings for various reasons.

“I was sharing space before, but now I have my own space and a large window. Cummings is an active and vibrant community of hard workers,” said Daly. “I run into people all the time because everyone is out and about. It’s a great way to meet people and potential future clients.”

According to Drohosky, 85 percent of 100 Cummings Center’s space is dedicated to small, local offices.

This isn’t a new idea for Cummings Center. It’s just done differently as time goes on.

“We supply our clients with good incubator space in which they can grow,” said Drohosky. “We’ve been doing this in different ways for decades now. We also may expand on our penthouse suites in the future.”

Which is why Daly came here in the first place. “Cummings’ new space is an impressive place for small businesses,” said Daly.