ONTARIO – Ontario City officials have announced plans to acquire the former General Motors property in lieu of filing a lawsuit and fighting for $1 million in escrow.
Prior to the Wednesday night council meeting, Mayor Randy Hutchinson read an official statement from the city, outlining a proposed agreement with the Ontario Business Park, which council later voted unanimously to allow the mayor to sign.
“To avoid a costly and lengthy litigation, Ontario Business Park has agreed to transfer all of the property to the City for the release to Ontario Business Park of the $1 million,” Hutchinson read.
In June 2017, city officials sent Ontario Business Park a notice of default of surety guaranty under the development agreement, where the city alleged the owners were in default because they had not created the required 500 jobs on the site within the first 5-year term of that agreement at the 267-acre West Fourth Street property.
The notice informed the owners that their $1 million in escrow must be forfeited to the city because of this.
However, the developers of the property, the Adler Group of Miami, Florida, argued that the notice was untimely and threatened legal action against the city.
A lengthy discussion in November 2017 left the city and the Adler Group at odds.
“That extension specifically talks about if there are stagnant or declining market conditions, which are identified and defined in that increment,” said Adler Group vice president Adam Mait. “And if we can reasonably demonstrate that to you and due to our reasonable efforts and declining or stagnant market conditions, the jobs haven’t been created within the time identified in the development agreement of five years, we should be entitled to an extension.”
Mait did not provide comment Wednesday night, asking for 24 hours to review the information.
“We always look forward to working with them,” he said.
Since that heated November council meeting, Hutchinson said representatives from the city and Ontario Business Park have met numerous times in an effort to settle their differences.
“The city considered every option available to it, including a lawsuit, receiving portions of the property in exchange for a reduction of job creation requirements, to a transfer to the city of the entire property,” Hutchinson said.
The Ontario Business Park will not receive any city funds for the transfer of the property, a press release noted. The $1 million which was put in escrow by the Ontario Business Park will be returned.
In the proposed agreement, Ontario officials agree to not pursue that money.
“The city would like to thank Ontario Business Park for this opportunity to reestablish this property as a foundation of the city. Because General Motors was a cornerstone of Ontario since its founding, we are excited about the potential for the property’s renaissance,” Hutchinson said.
He and others did not provide a timeline or plans for the property. Economic committee chair, Mark Weidemyre announced a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9 to discuss the matter.
“I think we need to formulate a plan and hash it out,” Weidemyre said about the property’s future.
The city may look into money available through organizations like Jobs Ohio to use at the property, according to Hutchinson.
When asked about how he felt about the situation, he said, “We just have to move forward from this point.”
Hutchinson thanked the citizens for their patience.
“It has been a long journey to get to this point, however we are not done,” he said. “Once transferred, the city will work hard to ensure the property is maintained and developed to the high standards set by the citizens of this great city so that the property is reestablished as a key foundation of this city.”
