HBK Celebrates Opening of Its New Headquarters
CANFIELD, Ohio -- It’s official. HBK CPAs and Consultants has combined its offices in Boardman, downtown Youngstown and Howland and moved them to a three-story colonial-style building at 6603 Summit Drive here, marking the unification with a ribbon cutting and open house Wednesday afternoon.
In the lobby of HBK, formerly Hill Barth & King LLC, to cut the red ribbon 3 inches wide with eight pairs of scissors were Jim Fahey, Phil Carlon, Chuck Whitman, Chris Allegretti, Dave Blasko, Phil Wilson, Kelly Bianco, Rich Morrow and Linda Evans.
Fahey is HBK project manager; Carlon a principal; Whitman, CEO of CTW, which oversaw construction of the 35,000-square-foot building that his company, CTW Development Corp., owns; Chris Allegretti, HBK managing principal and CEO; Blasko, HBK principal and manager of the Canfield office; Wilson, HBK principal and chief operating officer; Bianco, principal-in-charge of the HBK valuation group; Morrow, principal with HBKS Wealth Advisors; and Evans, HBK human resources director.
The unification of the offices in the Mahoning Valley was eight years in the making, HBK spokeswoman Patty Kimerer said, beginning with discussions among the principals on the benefits of combining the offices and Allegretti leading the push to execute such a step.
Steve Berry is the architect who designed the building that has more floor space than the accountants and support staff had in their old offices, Kimerer said. CTW began construction a year ago and the building was complete June 1. The contents of the old offices were moved to the new headquarters over four successive weekends.
In the basement is a training room that can seat 85, a break area and an exercise room with free weights, a treadmill, Stairmaster, stationary bicycle, weight machine – and a pingpong table Evans said has proved “very popular,” especially with two of accountants.
Combining the staff and functions in one building, she said, “has been a long process but well worth it.”
The firm has 53 principals, 16 of whom work here. The others work at HBK offices in northwestern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.
In an age when technology – especially email and teleconferencing – allows professionals to work closely together while physically apart, “to have everyone under one roof is important,” said Jim Rosa, the principal who oversees the firm’s tax practice. “The team aspect, the ability to meet face-to-face, is so much more valuable,” he said. Equally important, he continued, “The ability to mentor young people -- a crucial aspect of professional development -- it’s hard to do from afar.”
In the offices and cubicles a visitor can see the interests of the staff. The usual photos of spouses, children and grandchildren are hung on walls and set on desks. But the passions of others are just as visible, such as the framed hockey jersey once worn by the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins that hangs on a wall of principal Ben DiGirolamo’s office.
“These people spend a lot of time in their offices,” Evans explained. “It’s important that they be as comfortable as possible.”
The building houses members of the HBK valuation group, HBK Energy and its wealth management group as well as the majority of its accounting practice.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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