EI Ceramics is planning to invest several million dollars to remediate and remodel the property to suit its operational needs, the city said. The company’s consolidated workforce estimated annual payroll, once fully operational, is more than $4 million, according to a staff report.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council had a first reading for a job incentive creation grant between the city and El Ceramics to start one year after the job creation period and last for four years. The amount returned to the company annually would be equal to 50 percent of the collected income taxes, according to Acting City Manager Nathan Cahall.
The grant or incentive is performance based and not “upfront assistance to the company,” Cahall said.
The deal is set to be completed by the first two weeks of September and then construction work can begin.
The site also recently received a $3.1 million from the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program to prepare the site for redevelopment, according to the governor’s office.
Built in 1934, the facility has been vacant since 2018 and has suffered vandalism and copper theft. Planned activities include asbestos abatement, removal of universal waste, and interior demolition, preparing the site to be transformed into the EI Ceramics manufacturing site, producing flow control products for the steel industry.
The Curtis Street facility built by Armco Inc. was remodeled in 1961 when the building more than doubled in size. It was vacated when the company, then owned by AK Steel, built a new research facility in Middletown.
El Ceramics has a facility in Sharonville.
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