BoatPhoto_2014.jpg
About 55 people report to work each day to the floating offices of LeanDog and Arras-Keithley, moored near the USS Cod submarine off downtown Cleveland.
(courtesy of Arras-Keathley)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On a bright afternoon on the Cleveland waterfront, Jon Stahl strolled down the gangplank leading from his office to the floating Jet Dock, jumped aboard the 28-foot Jolly Otis -- the company power boat -- and sailed off on workday errands.
Seals and Crofts' Summer Breeze fired from speakers as he cut an easy wake across the Lake Erie shoreline.
"I try to get out on the lake at least once a day," Stahl yelled above the wind, as downtown skyscrapers shimmered in the near distance. "It's great we live in a place where you can do this."
Like many visionaries, Stahl often finds himself blazing a lonely trail. Nearly five years ago, he began moving the staff of his fast-growing software company, LeanDog, from dry land to offices on a barge moored in Cleveland Harbor.
The view from Jon Stahl's work station on a late summer afternoon.
Jim Hickey and the staff of his marketing firm, Arras Keathley, joined him on a boat that once housed a restaurant called Hornblowers. The CEOs floated the idea of a European-style "office harbor" off the coast of downtown and got the concept included in the city's waterfront master plan.
While neighbors have yet to drop anchor, Stahl and Hickey are forging ahead.
Aided by a $95,000 low-interest loan from the city and a $180,000 vacant property grant, they bought the 19th century steamship and commenced a $1.5 million renovation. The rooftop concert stage remains to be added, but the skippers recently judged their craft, outfitted with high-tech offices and panoramic views, ready for showing.
At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Mayor Frank Jackson, singer-songwriter Alex Bevan and other dignitaries will help christen Cleveland's first floating office, one that its owners say heralds "a one-of-a-kind office harbor."
The champagne christening will unfold near the USS Cod World War II submarine off Marginal Road. Free parking is available next to Burke Lakefront Airport.
Boaters are welcome, too.