By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

There is a ripple effect following Tower Group Inc.'s acquisition of a division of OneBeacon Insurance Group.

Because of the deal, which saw Tower acquire the Personal Lines Division, the former OneBeacon unit will move to a larger Amherst office and may hire more workers.

It will move this winter from the current location in Sheridan Meadows North office park in Amherst to Centerpointe Corporate Park. It will take more than 18,000 square feet of a 23,000-square-foot building at 550 Essjay Road. The building neighbors Tower Group's area headquarters, a 19,000-square-foot building at 600 Essjay Road.

The deal means Tower Group will have 190 local employees, said Catherine Wragg, managing vice president for human resources and administration in the New York headquarters. The acquisition virtually doubles the number of workers Tower has in Western New York.

"We will certainly look at other opportunities in the marketplace," Wragg said. "There (are) always some inherent job growth opportunities."

All of the OneBeacon employees were re-hired in Amherst.

Tower considered a number of real estate options before opting for Centerpointe, she said. That it directly neighbors Tower's local offices was a big plus, she added.

"Logistically, it allows our employees the chance to work together," Wragg said. "To me, it made a lot of sense to have them walk 35 feet between offices instead of getting in a car and driving between offices."

The Tower/OneBeacon deal was been in the works for months. It gives Tower, an insurance industry giant, a major gain in the lucrative personal lines.

"Beginning in the third quarter, with the added business from the OneBeacon transaction, we anticipate that we will be able to achieve greater scale and efficiency, as well as generate a significant amount of fee income from managing reciprocal insurance companies associated with this transaction," Tower Group President and CEO Michael Lee said in a news release announcing second-quarter results.

Several developers and suburban landlords made pitches to the company.

"We knew there were a lot of intangibles," said Robert McDonnell, Ciminelli Real Estate Corp. vice president. Centerpointe is owned by a Ciminelli affiliate.

There were some concerns that the jobs might have been shifted away from the region. Tower Group and OneBeacon both have offices across the country.

"The bigger picture is that this bodes well for Amherst and the entire region to be able to retain these workers," said David Mingoia, Amherst Industrial Development Agency deputy director. "This is another example of the blend and diversity we have in Amherst when it comes to back-office operations."

The deal came just days after Ciminelli landed another high-profile tenant for Centerpointe.

Jacobs Neurological Institute confirmed that it signed a lease to occupy 7,100 square feet in Centerpointe, taking space in the 300 Essjay Road building. It will move into Centerpointe next month.

The institute conducts activities at five area hospitals and both University at Buffalo campuses. It treats more than 25,000 patients annually.

"They are a critical component of the medical community in Western New York, and they will be a tremendous addition to the park," McDonnell said.

In addition, AXA Advisors recently expanded its Centerpointe office by 5,000 square feet.

Centerpointe has 13 buildings totaling 450,000 square feet and is approximately 95 percent leased.