Northwest Bank is preparing to move its corporate headquarters from Easton to Dublin, placing the company at the center of one of Central Ohio’s most closely watched mixed-use developments. The bank plans to occupy a new 75,000-square-foot building within Bridge North, a campus-style development by the Daimler Group in Dublin’s Bridge Street District. The headquarters is expected to open during the first half of 2029.
The move will give Northwest room to more than double its headquarters workforce to 300 employees by 2034, adding another major corporate presence to Dublin’s growing business community.
A headquarters built for growth
Bridge North is planned as a combination of offices, hospitality, retail businesses and public gathering spaces. Northwest’s purpose-built headquarters will be designed to encourage interaction among employees, customers and community partners. The ground floor is expected to include a dedicated Northwest Bank financial center offering consumer banking and wealth management advisory services.
Northwest anticipates signing an initial 15-year lease for the building.
“This investment represents an important step in Northwest Bank’s continued growth and transformation,” President and CEO Louis J. Torchio said. “Dublin’s collaborative approach to supporting businesses makes it an ideal location for Northwest Bank’s future headquarters.”
Torchio said the move also would support the bank’s efforts to attract employees and position the company for continued expansion.
Dublin backs the move
Dublin City Council approved an economic development agreement with Northwest Bank following a second reading at its Aug. 24 meeting. Under the agreement, the city will provide a performance-based incentive equal to 15% of the net new employee payroll withholdings generated from 2030 through 2034. The incentive is capped at $460,000 over the five-year period. The city also will provide a $50,000 location grant after Northwest executes its 15-year lease and receives an occupancy permit.
Dublin City Manager Megan O’Callaghan described the headquarters announcement as an important step in the continuing development of the Bridge Street District.
“This investment reflects the kind of growth we’ve worked to foster by partnering with developers, investing in infrastructure and creating places where businesses and people can thrive,” O’Callaghan said.
A major addition to Bridge North
The Northwest headquarters will become one of the signature components of Bridge North, extending the commercial development taking shape within Dublin’s broader Bridge Street District.
Paul Ghidotti, president of the Daimler Group, said companies have numerous choices when deciding where to invest in new offices. Northwest’s selection of Bridge North, he said, represents a partnership involving the bank, Daimler and the city.
“We look forward to a long and productive partnership with the Northwest team,” Ghidotti said.
Northwest is working with Columbus-based architectural firm Moody Nolan on the building’s interior and workplace design. JLL Inc. is providing commercial real estate brokerage and project management services.
Central Ohio takes a larger role
Founded in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1896, Northwest Bank moved its corporate headquarters to Columbus in 2021. The relocation gave the company greater access to Central Ohio’s financial services workforce and placed it in one of the Midwest’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions. The planned Dublin headquarters represents a further commitment to that strategy.
Northwest recently opened its first Central Ohio consumer financial center in New Albany. Four additional locations are planned in and around Columbus by the second quarter of 2027.
By the time the Dublin headquarters opens in 2029, Northwest expects to have a much larger customer-facing presence across the region, along with room to substantially expand the corporate workforce supporting it.
The result will be more than a change of address. It will place Northwest Bank’s long-term operations inside a district created specifically around growth, business activity and connections to the surrounding community.
