ONTARIO — The owner of the former GM site may be adding a second industrial building to the property.
Chris Salata, Chief Operating Officer for Industrial Commercial Properties LLC, revealed the developer’s plans during an Ontario City Council meeting Wednesday night.
The spec building would be between 250,000 and 300,000 square feet and 32 feet high. It would likely be located on the east side of the Ontario Commerce Park.
ICP has begun the design process and applied for an Ohio Site Inventory Project grant from JobsOhio to help fund the project.
If the company receives the grant, construction could begin in 2023. Salata estimated it would take between 10 and 12 months to construct the facility, provided materials arrive on time.
JobsOhio is expected to announce its OSIP recipients in June or July. Salata said as soon as the grant is confirmed, the company will order steel to begin the project.
OSIP funds are crucial to the project’s future due to the increased costs of construction. Salata reported that costs for a similar ICP project in Warrensville Heights increased by almost 35 percent over the last 18 months.
“As you can imagine, not only has the supply chain slowed down but construction costs have gone up,” he told council members. “That’s why the OSIP grant is super important, because there is going to be a gap that we need to bridge to make this make equity deploy.”
Salata said he’s confident about the developer’s grant application for the GM site. ICP received grants during the last two cycles for other projects around the state.
He also told council the building is “the number one priority project” in the organization’s portfolio.
“We’re finding right now in our industry that if you build it, they will come,” Salata said. “A lot of these users that we’re talking to throughout the state need it, like, tomorrow.”
ICP is currently working to update the former industrial park’s infrastructure to meet future tenants’ electrical needs.
Jeff Martin, ICP’s senior vice president of development, said it would likely cost around $3 million.
Salata said bringing the electrical capacity back up will better position the site for future development.
“You never know when that big fish is going to show up,” he said.
One council member asked Salata if he’s seen much interest in the area from large companies. Salata admitted workforce development continues to be an issue.
“One concern that we continue to hear is workforce availability,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that’s like a deal killer, but it has been a concern has been raised by some of the users we’ve talked to.”
Jodie Perry, president of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce, said workforce development challenges aren’t unique to the area.
“There’s very few communities you can go to right now that are not hearing the same thing — nationwide, worldwide in some cases,” she said.
Perry said the chamber continues to work with high school students and employers to create “home-grown” talent. Future community branding efforts will also emphasize talent attraction and recruitment.
ICP is also moving forward with a 90,000 square foot addition on the Charter Next Generation facility.
The project was delayed due to supply chain shortages, but Salata said materials have arrived and the developer hopes to complete the project by this summer.
