BentleyForbes Puts $98M Ohio Portfolio up for Sale

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

BentleyForbes, a real estate investment firm based in California, has put three Ohio office buildings up for sale, all leased to Medical Mutual, Ohio’s oldest and largest health insurer. The properties are listed at $98 million and can be purchased separately or as a portfolio. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services is marketing the properties.

One of the properties is the historic Rose Building, one of Cleveland’s landmarks and Medical Mutual of Ohio’s corporate headquarters. It is a 10-story, 381,000-square-foot office building with a six-story annex. The property is located in downtown Cleveland on East Ninth Street and has been occupied by Medical Mutual since 1947.

The Rose building was erected in 1900. Built by Benjamin Rose, it was once the tallest building between Chicago and New York. Meant to house dentists’ offices, the Rose building had almost 100 different dentists by 1902. The property is adjacent to Jacob Field, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum and the Cleveland Browns’ stadium. It has one of the premier locations in Cleveland’s business district.

The other properties BentleyForbes is trying to sell are a Medical Mutual administration building located in Toledo and a data center in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood. The Toledo property is a 160,000-square-foot, three-story general office and administration center with an annex, located on 12.4 acres in an office park. The Beachwood building is a 51,000-square-foot, two-story data center. It occupies four acres and is located at 23700 Commerce Park Road. According to Marcus & Millichap, Medical Mutual has nine years remaining on 20-year leases in all three buildings.