The firm bought the property from the city last year for $300,000. It plans to spend about $1.5 upgrading the site and return the 350,000-square-foot former printing facility to productive use.
If the right manufacturing tenant is secured, the site could support 100 or more jobs, said Patrick Dedering, vice president of acquisitions and leasing with Phoenix Investors, a Wisconsin-based firm that is behind the project.
“One of the primary goals of the McCall Street project is to bring well-paying jobs and an improved economic environment to the surrounding community,” Dedering said.
Dayton commissioners have approved giving Phoenix JCR Dayton Industrial Investors a $750,000 Ohio Job Ready site grant to help renovate the former McCall’s printing building, which has sat vacant since 2010.
The company has agreed to invest at least $1.8 million into the project, which includes real estate acquisition costs. The firm agreed to buy the property from the city last year.
The city obtained the state grant to renovate the roof of the deteriorating facility in 2012, when it still owned the property.
The project was cancelled because of rising costs, but the grant remained available to help incentivize new investment, city documents state.
The facility has rapidly deteriorated because of neglect and damage caused by vandals and metal thieves.
The goal of the project is to make the building more marketable to end users by creating a ‘job ready site’ for a large manufacturing or distribution company, city documents state.
“This is a really good news from the standpoint that this is a speculative investment by an outside firm that sees strength in the Dayton economy,” said Ford Weber, Dayton’s director of economic development. “It’s very good for West Dayton — it takes a blighted property and puts it back to good use.”
The renovation of the property will take place in phases and includes roof work and upgrading the building’s lighting, mechanical systems and exterior, Dedering said.
Phoenix is in discussions with multiple prospective tenants for the site, and new uses could include manufacturing and warehousing, Dedering said.
The grant will help lower the cost of renovation, which should help reduce leasing prices to help make the space more financially attractive to potential tenants, officials said.
With the right manufacturing tenant, the property potentially could support upwards of 100 or more jobs, Dedering said.
“Large scale revitalization projects such as this one require significant amounts of capital to bring these blighted properties back online,” Dedering said.
Ford said Dayton is an attractive location for any company that is part of the manufacturing supply chain. He said the McCall property “was in bad shape” and needs a lot of reinvestment, but when that happens, it will have significant potential for job creation.
CONTINUING COVERAGE
West Dayton has struggled with disinvestment and blight, but this newspaper has covered some of the projects and plans in works to improve job opportunities and remake some languishing neighborhoods. We’ve brought you unmatched coverage of the federal grants and outside investment that could help transform the area near and around the DeSoto Bass housing project.
About the Author
