Welty Unveils New Development Company

Dan Shingler, Crain's

Tom Charek has been named president of Welty Development.

Which might prompt the question: "What's Welty Development?"

Welty Building Co. of Fairlawn quietly formed the company in January and announced it, with Charek at the helm, on Wednesday, June 16.

Welty CEO Donzell Taylor said the new affiliate will handle much of the development work his company already does — such as work on Akron's Bowery District, for example — but with a dedicated leader that Taylor has determined it needs.

"The reality is we've been doing this for a long time, just not officially," Taylor said. "We kind of reached the size where it needed to be professionally run with someone who woke up every day thinking about its success and managing the details. I'm just spread too thin."

Charek brings 20 years of commercial construction and real estate development experience to the table, Welty said in announcing his appointment. That includes, according to Charek's LinkedIn page, a four-year stint as senior vice president of Medina's Pride One Construction that ended last August.

At Welty, Charek will be at the center of the action with broad responsibilities, Taylor said.

"This company really acts as the quarterback for all the other companies that we have. We call it horizontal integration," Taylor said.

For example, Welty has a site-selection unit that helps potential clients find a place to build; a facilities service unit that handles property management; and even a furniture company, all of which run in concert with its main construction unit.

Taylor said Welty is trying to capture as much revenue and to provide clients with as much service as it can, and the new development company will help coordinate its activities.

It also will be the driving force behind new developments and already has several projects in the pipeline, Taylor said.

While he would not give the name of the client yet, Taylor said Welty and Charek have a deal in place to build a 125,000-square-foot headquarters somewhere in Cuyahoga County.

"It's a rather significant project, but I need to get all the paperwork done first," Taylor said.