Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the Cummins building adjacent to the Irwin Conference Center in Columbus, Ind., Monday, February. 26, 2024.
Cummins Inc. is selling two office buildings in downtown Columbus that have remained vacant since the pandemic struck.
The Columbus-based company said Monday that it has decided to sell the Irwin Office Building and Conference Center and the Cummins Sears office building, “to offer the ideal work environment for our employees and align with the workspace needed.”
The buildings have been vacant since the pandemic struck, with no employees working in either building since October 2022, company officials said. Real estate listings state that the properties have a combined 182,174 square feet of office space.
“After careful consideration, Cummins has made the decision to sell the Cummins Sears office building and Irwin Office which will enable us to offer the ideal work environment for our employees and align with the workspace needed,” said company spokeswoman Lauren Daniel. “Cummins is dedicated to Indiana and specifically Columbus, our global headquarters. The rich history of Columbus is important to us, and we will continue to do our part to make this a more economically and socially vibrant city.”
Currently, it is unclear who would be interested in buying the properties. Last week, Columbus Redevelopment Director Heather Pope said city officials had learned that an undisclosed property downtown may be placed on the market in the coming weeks that could be a better location for a proposed hotel conference center that has faced a series of setbacks since the pandemic struck.
Pope did not respond to a phone or email on Monday seeking comment on the two properties.
Cummins acquired the Irwin Office Building and Conference Center at the corner of Fifth and Washington streets from First Financial Bank in 2010, announcing plans to employ 350 people at the location, The Republic reported previously. At the time, the company said it planned to invest $5.25 million to purchase and equip the 90,794-square-foot building.
The building, which was initially owned by Irwin Union Bank and Trust Co., was designed by famed Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1954, and features “nine opaque domes” that “act as giant lamp shades” and flooring in some areas with “1-inch thick glazed, split paving brick in a rustic buff color,” according to the Columbus-Area Visitors Center. The three-story glass arcade was designed by Kevin Roche and added in 1973.
While Cummins converted much of the building into office space, the former bank lobby was used by Cummins as a conference and hospitality center, as well as flexible workspace, until the pandemic struck. The company strived to maintain as much as possible of the original architecture and left many remnants of the former banking facility in place, according to the Columbus-Area Visitors Center.
First Financial Bank acquired the property after the demise of Irwin-Union Bank during the Great Recession.
In 2015, Cummins initially planned to enter into a five-year agreement with the Columbus Capital Foundation to lease 91,380-square-foot former Sears property, 323 Brown St., that had been the anchor of The Commons since the mall opened in 1973, The Republic reported previously. However, Cummins purchased the building for $3 million later that year, county records show.
Company officials at the time said they were hoping to locate up to 400 workers at the former department store.
The large office buildings are the latest downtown properties owned by Cummins to hit the market in recent months.
In November, Cummins sold a historic downtown office building at 301 Washington St. that included the former office of the late J. Irwin Miller to Columbus-based Johnson Ventures for $767,700.
