MANSFIELD — Barrett Thomas said Tuesday the rezoning of 321 acres near Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport will help open doors to future high-quality, heavy manufacturing jobs in the city.
“This aligns with the city’s goal of creating high-skill, high-wage employment opportunities,” said Thomas, senior director of economic development for Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.
“We’ve already invested in the infrastructure — such as water, sewer and workforce training partnerships — to support this kind of growth,” he said.
The city Planning Commission on Tuesday approved the request to rezone 16 parcels in and around the Airport West Industrial Park, most of which is owned by Adena Development Corp. and the City of Mansfield.
The request, made by Adena and the city, will now to go to Mansfield City Council for consideration, including a public hearing on the proposal.
The area in the proposed rezone is in the same area that would include the site of a new, $13 million, 150,000-square foot industrial spec building planned by Adena Corp. CEO Randy Payne. That structure sits on a 15.8-acre site at 1750 Airport West Parkway.
It’s also near the first $9 million, 160,000-square foot spec building Adena constructed in 2022 at the corner of Airport West and Cairns road. Construction on that structure was completed in 2022 and is now being leased by Hedstrom Ball, Bounce and Sport.
The idea is to create more land zoned I-2 (heavy industrial) rather than the current I-1 and A (airport development), which may entice more manufacturing companies, rather than just logistics, trucking and light assembly.
According to the city’s zoning code, the purpose of an I-2 district “is to create and preserve areas where a full range of industrial uses with moderate to high nuisance characteristics may locate. Typically, these uses would be found at locations where large land acreages are available and where the impacts associated with unsightliness, noise, odor and traffic, and the hazards associated with certain industrial uses would not have an impact on residential or commercial areas.”
“When companies consider locating here, the top factors are speed, risk and cost,” said Thomas, who took over economic development work for the city under a contract with the chamber when long-time economic development director Tim Bowersock retired near the end of 2024.
“By proactively zoning for heavy industry now, the city removes delays and uncertainty from the development process. Companies won’t have to gamble on variances or rezoning. They will know from day one that they’re welcomed and their project fits,” he said.
“When we tell (new prospective) companies not to worry about getting needed changes in zoning … they don’t know us. They have never been here,” he said. “This would remove that concern.”
Part of the land being rezoned includes two closed public landfills that cannot be developed. Thomas said plans are in the works to place solar energy panels on those two locations.
He is confident the city has proper infrastructure to meet needs of prospective industrial companies.
“Every project is different, but I think we have nearly everything in place to meet the needs of any new companies,” Thomas said.
“(The rezoning) sends a strong message that we are a ready, capable and business-friendly community — exactly what today’s manufacturers are looking for,” he said.