By Tristan Navera  – Staff reporter, Columbus Business First

Jul 22, 2020, 6:50am EDT

When one of downtown's largest employers eventually brings its employees back into the office, it will do so in renovated space.

Hexion Inc.'s (OTCMKTS: HXOH) bright logo is being prepared to go up on the Continental Plaza tower at 180 E. Broad St. – where the chemical company's headquarters takes seven floors and 120,000 square feet of space. The $5 million in upgrades will take place over a few years.

Central to this renovation is the Catalyst Hub, a 4,500-square-foot common area intended to be a central gathering place for employees.

The company said the renovation created a chance to update its technology, too. In all, 275 employees work at Hexion's headquarters and the rest of its 4,000 employees are around the world, said John Kompa, vice president of investor relations.

"With people spread across space, there are times when we don't have teams interacting with each other and we want this to be a place where they can bump into one another, meet in small groups and share ideas," said John Garner, indirects procurement director for Hexion.

The Catalyst Hub has a number of meeting spaces and gathering areas, a cafeteria, multimedia center and stunning views of downtown Columbus.

"It's going to be a while before everyone's back in the office – a hybrid model is likely in the medium-term, and so it's even more important we find ways for our people to mingle across departments," said spokesman John Branham.

Design Collective is the architect for the build-out, with Dupler Office providing furnishings and Brexton LLC as contractor.

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/07/22/hexion-upgrading-hq.html