Leaders from the State of Ohio, City of Cincinnati, 3CDC, Paychex, and other project partners and key stakeholders celebrated the grand opening of Paycor’s new Downtown office with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The $36 million transformation included the conversion of the former Saks Fifth Avenue department store into 40,000 square feet of Class A office space, featuring Paycor, a Paychex company, as the anchor tenant on the second floor of the building, along with 40,000 square feet of street-level commercial space. Two of the street-level spaces are now occupied by Salazar and Flight Club.
Located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, the Paycor Headquarters project involves the conversion of the former Saks Fifth Avenue department store located at 101 W 5th St. into a mixed-use building with office, restaurant and retail space. An important development effort, it will help connect Fountain Square and the Convention District.
Upon completion, the reactivated Paycor Headquarters building, which has been vacant since Saks’ departure in 2022, will feature an open concept with a glass façade that allows for a great deal of natural light in the building, a new roof and upgraded interior building systems including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection.
The streetscape will also undergo significant improvements including sidewalk enhancement and expansion on Fifth Street including development of outdoor dining space, and fresh landscaping.
The skywalk over Race Street will be demolished during the project. The completed 80,000-square-foot property will be home to Paycor, a Paychex Company, Headquarters occupying the nearly 40,000-SF second-floor office space, along with a mix of restaurant, retail, and office space on the first floor.
This development plan is the result of significant predevelopment work to strategize around the building’s several physical challenges including the Hyatt Regency’s ballroom location on the roof, the Hyatt Regency loading dock in the basement, and a boxy floorplate that is not suited to residential conversion and limits natural light.
Construction began in April 2024 and was completed in December 2025.