THE SCHUELER GROUP OF COMPANIES
Lebanon-based company has more than 3,000 acres of land under management in 19 business parks. The company consists of:
Henkle Schueler CORFAC International, a commercial real estate firm established in 1935;
Henkle Schueler Realtors, providing residential real estate services;
Bunnell Hill Development Co. Inc., started in 1975;
Bunnell Hill Construction Company Inc., started in 1994; and
Big Mike’s Gas n Go, launched in 2008, a chain of convenience stores with gas stations.
Warren County developer The Schueler Group of Companies follows this format: attract different groups of investors to buy different parcels of land, and then manage the land for the investors. The Schueler Group also manages land for other companies.
Land is a long-term investment and they’re not making any more of it, says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike Schueler. And by approaching development this way, Schueler Group doesn’t risk everything on one project. It’s why the commercial real estate arm Henkle Schueler has survived nearly 80 years of growth and down cycles, and how, Schueler hopes, the company will survive 80 more.
“There are projects here that are not jobs, they’re careers,” Schueler said.
“You’ve got to be able to hold the land safely and securely, financially, because you can’t sell it when there’s a downturn,” he said.
The Schueler Group of Companies, headquartered in Lebanon, traces its history to George Henkle. During the Great Depression, Henkle worked for a bank and his job was to make loans to farmers. Henkle later established a farm and real estate brokerage in 1935.
Among Henkle’s most notable deals was the sale of 1,500 acres of farmland in Mason to Taft Broadcasting where amusement park Kings Island was built.
Following 17 years in the oil industry, Mike Schueler joined the business in 1974, and was named president in 1976.
Over the years, the commercial real estate firm now known as Henkle Schueler CORFAC International grew to add construction, development and residential real estate services.
In 2012, the umbrella corporation The Schueler Group was formed and encompasses Henkle Schueler’s commercial and residential real estate businesses; Bunnell Hill Development Co. Inc., started in 1975; and Bunnell Hill Construction Company Inc., started in 1994.
Altogether, Schueler Group employs 42 real estate agents, construction supervisors and other employees.
Henkle, who died in 2009, founded the company on the principle that land surrounding interstates is the most valuable. Now that development activity is rising again, Schueler Group is in prime position, managing more than 3,000 acres including greenspace. The land is located in 19 business parks along the Cincinnati-Dayton Interstate 75 corridor, as well as in view of Interstate 71.
“Our grasp was really initially land around the interstate interchanges because that was more valuable than the farmland that wasn’t,” Schueler said.
“We have been the raw land experts and have been perceived to be that,” he said.
Now, Henkle Schueler CORFAC is one of the largest commercial real estate firms in greater Cincinnati.
For example, Henkle Schueler is developing Everybody’s Farm in Mason at Tylersville and Snider roads, a total 40-acre property. Schueler Group sold property in the first phase of development to Marion’s Piazza and Dermatologists of Southwest Ohio. Thirty acres of land remain available for development and Schueler Group says it’s negotiating a deal with an organic grocer to anchor a proposed retail center at the site.
“I think we’re in the early stages of a good growth cycle,” Schueler said.
The newest Schueler Group business is Big Mike’s Gas n Go, launched in 2008. It’s a chain of four convenience stores with gas stations. Plans are to open a fifth location next year in Mason at the intersection of Bethany and Mason-Montgomery roads.
“One of the key things we’re going through right now is the evolution of leadership of this organization,” Schueler said. “We’re determined that this organization stay here in place.”
When asked if he was retiring soon, Schueler said, “certainly I don’t have a definition for soon and I’m absolutely determined that this company is going to survive, prosper and grow.”
“I’m delegating more and more responsibility to other people,” he said.
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