Wisconsin-based Phoenix Investors has closed on the sale of the McCall property and plans a major overhaul.
“We’re glad to see this synergy or catalytic redevelopment going on in that area of West Dayton,” said Ford Weber, Dayton’s economic development director.
Other recent developments in that area include plans to build the new West Dayton library at the nearby Wright Co. Factory site and two federal funding awards to help reimagine public housing in the neighborhood and assist residents with finding better jobs.
On Wednesday, city commissioners approved selling land in the Westview Industrial Park, located between McCall Street and U.S. 35, west of James H. McGee Boulevard.
Detroit Salt Co. purchased the land for about $90,000. The company was drawn to the property because it has rail access and is located near Interstate-75, officials said. Detroit Salt also has constructed another salt facility at 405 N. Findlay St.
The new project is expected to create about five new jobs.
The property is adjacent to the massive McCall printing building, which has been vacant since 2010 and has deteriorated due to vandalism, metal theft and neglect.
But in late August, Dayton commissioners approved selling the 24-acre property for $300,000 to Phoenix Investors, which specializes in reviving distressed and underutilized commercial properties.
The Westview Industrial Park now has about 20 acres of available land remaining, which is concentrated south of McCall Street, said Keith Klein, senior development specialist with the city of Dayton.
These sales represent steps in the right direction to revitalizing the area and sparking new investment, Klein said.
“All of this is about setting the stage for future redevelopment,” Klein said.
The city’s original redevelopment planning process for the Westview Industrial Park dates back to around 1999.
Most of the McCall printing campus was demolished many years ago, and the former Nibco Foundry, which closed in 1989, was demolished beginning in the mid-2000s.
Nearby, the Dayton Metro Library also expects to spend about $10 million to build a 24,000-square-foot library near U.S. 35 and Abbey St., which would replace the Westwood and Madden Hills branches.
The library plans to buy about seven acres of land for the building, parking and grounds, said Tim Kambitsch, executive director of the Dayton Metro Library.
The library hopes to sign a contract to purchase the land by the end of this year, early next year, with the goal of completing construction in late 2018, early 2019, he said.
“Outside of the VA Center, this library project is the most significant new investment in West Dayton in a long time,” Kambitsch said. “We want it to make a big impact and are confident it will.”
Additionally, the National Aviation Heritage Alliance has raised $2 million of its $4 million goal to restore the historic Wright brothers’ airplane factory buildings.
The group hopes to lure new businesses to 37 acres of shovel-ready land nearby, said Timothy Gaffney, communications director with the alliance.
The Wright factory site has two and a half buildings, offering 63,000 square feet of industrial space, that are available for new commercial uses, Gaffney said.
The property has been remediated, and the asbestos has been removed, and the property should be attractive to companies that want an active rail line and to be near U.S. 35, he said.
Also, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made awards of $1.5 million in June and $2.7 million in September targeting the Desoto Bass public housing project, which is located just south of the Westview park.
One award will pay for a comprehensive plan to reinvent the configuration of public housing in the area and create a more economically diverse, safe and thriving neighborhood. The planning grant makes the area eligible for as much as $30 million in federal funding to bring the vision to life.
The other award will pay for services and programs to help public housing residents increase their earnings, such as job training, financial counseling and rental-subsidy incentives.
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