A fast-growing Cincinnati consulting firm is packing up its Pendleton offices for a 15-story tower in the heart of downtown, tripling its office footprint as it chases an ambitious hiring push over the next several years. Amend currently employs 103 people and plans to lease nearly a full floor at 312 Plum St., a move that will keep its headquarters firmly within the city's urban basin.
The company has been based in Pendleton for five years, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier, which reports Amend plans to nearly double in size as part of the relocation. As reported by Local 12 News, Amend was founded roughly two decades ago and is departing its longtime home in Pendleton for the 15-story building at 312 Plum Street in downtown Cincinnati.
Local 12's report, written by reporter Brian Planalp, headlines the move as bringing 180 jobs to downtown. Separately, city records reviewed by The Cincinnati Exchange identify 312 Plum Street as the location tied to the planned creation of at least 80 new jobs, and that outlet reports the underlying agreement calls for 80 full-time-equivalent positions to be created by December 31, 2029 — the same 80-job figure Local 12 cites in forecasting Amend's hiring by the end of 2029. The dossier of available records does not explain the gap between the 180-job figure in Local 12's headline and the 80-job figure documented elsewhere, so both numbers are presented here as reported rather than reconciled.
A Much Bigger Footprint Downtown
The scale of the physical move is dramatic regardless of which jobs number ends up accurate. Amend currently occupies the top two floors of a four-story building at 538 Reading Road in Pendleton, per the same Cincinnati Exchange report, and is set to triple its overall office space once it settles into its new Plum Street address. The building itself is a 231,000-square-foot Class-A office tower, according to REJournals, which notes the property was purchased by Rubenstein Partners and Strategic Capital Partners back in 2015 alongside the neighboring 312 Elm Street building.
Amend won't be the only recent tenant drawn to the tower. REJournals reports that 312 Plum Street has also landed a five-year, 11,902-square-foot lease from Halo Communications and a ten-year, 12,837-square-foot lease from KnowledgeWorks Foundation, with the two deals together totaling nearly 25,000 square feet of new leasing activity at the building.
Hiring Plans and Incentives
Most of Amend's new hires are expected to be recruited to Cincinnati from outside the region, the Local 12 report notes, a detail that underscores how much of the firm's growth hinges on relocating talent rather than drawing from the local labor pool alone. The Cincinnati Exchange reports the proposed expansion includes roughly $6.8 million in projected annual payroll tied to the new positions.
State incentives have also been attached to the project. The Cincinnati Exchange reports that Ohio approved a job creation tax credit for Amend equal to 1.454% of eligible payroll for eight years, with the incentive reportedly valued at $775,000 through 2034. A proposed city incentive would provide a tax credit equal to 45% of the city income-tax revenue generated by the new positions.
Amend describes itself on its careers page as a consulting firm whose hiring process centers on getting to know candidates and finding roles where they can thrive, according to the company's job listings, which currently include a Quality Assurance Analyst co-op and internship position. For a firm aiming to roughly double its headcount by the end of the decade, that recruiting pipeline — and the downtown address meant to help sell it — will be central to whether Amend's growth plans play out as described.
