As published in Toledo Business Journal - September 1, 2019
Croak Asset Management located on the corner of Superior and Jackson Streets in downtown Toledo
An area wealth management firm is investing approximately $700,000 in downtown Toledo. An entity, Croak Real Estate Development, LLC, whose principal is Tim Croak, purchased a three-story building on the corner of Superior and Jackson Streets in close proximity to the Valentine Theatre, Georgio’s Café International, and Coney Island Hot Dog. The business is completing a restoration project involving interior and exterior work.
In April, Croak Real Estate Development, LLC purchased the building for $530,000 from the Fair Housing Center and then structured a lease arrangement so that the non-profit organization could continue its operations at this location. The Fair Housing Center’s office will remain on the first floor and Croak’s wealth management firm, Croak Asset Management, will be located on the top floor. Tenants on the second floor are Creative Financial Planners, LLC; Kowalski Tax and Business Consulting Services; and The Bankers Guarantee Title & Trust Mortgage Services.
The building, constructed in 1897 as an open air fruit market to serve travelers using the original Toledo train depot located where Imagination Station is today, has undergone a number of renovations over the years.
The building now has a center atrium and 7,500 square feet of space on three floors, as well as its own courtyard and rear parking lot for tenants. It is fully handicap accessible with an elevator and full-use kitchen.
Croak Asset Management lobby entrance
Croak has also invested approximately $170,000 on renovations. Recent restoration work on the building included 32 new windows, new LED lighting inside and out, new drainage and electrical systems, a completely new roof, paint on the outside trim and parking lot, repainting the inside walls, redoing the basement walls and floor, and completely redoing the lobby and all four bathrooms.
“Our goal in the process is to bring the building back to its original brick colonial splendor to take its place as a showpiece of Toledo’s downtown renaissance,” stated Croak.
In 2015, Croak’s son Eric, a St. Johns Jesuit High School and a University of Toledo graduate, joined the wealth management business. Tim Croak had been a founder of Perrysburg-based Creative Financial Partners and was its president. He stepped down from this position and sold out his ownership interest in Creative Financial Partners to other principals in the firm.
“We decided that moving to downtown Toledo would be the best option for our practice, our clients, and our community and started looking for the right space and opportunity,” explained Croak. As of August 1, the wealth management practice became located in this restored office building in downtown Toledo. Tim and Eric Croak, along with other employees, are now focused on building the Croak Asset Management practice.