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Historic Bennett Road site revitalized with restoration

Posted By: Toledo Blade on June 19, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

The historic site of the old Spicer Manufacturing Corp. on Bennett Road in Toledo will soon once again hum with the sound of industrial activity.

The interior of the 400,000-square-foot facility has been largely restored and revamped to accommodate industrial, light assembly, manufacturing and warehousing functions.

“The project is done,” said Chris Miller, vice president and CFO of IBC Properties, which owns the Spicer site. “The only thing remaining to be done is some pavement updates, and that won’t happen ’til next month.”

Mr. Miller said when the building opens, it will be used by tenants including a supplier to Amazon that services and sells all the racking and internal mechanical conveyors for Amazon’s Rossford facility. Another part of the building will be occupied by a contractor that installs solar arrays in various parts of the country. That company will use the building as a staging area for First Solar arrays.

“This is an important project right in the heart of the city,” said Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. “We’re excited to see this dilapidated building come back into use.”

Mr. Kapszukiewicz believes the Spicer site will be the largest available industrial building in northwest Ohio.

“Even before those 400,000 square feet of industrial space hit the market, the building had tenants,” he said. “That speaks to the need for industrial space in the community. This has proven to be a winning formula for northwest Ohio. Like they say, if you build it, they will come.”

The building was constructed in 1928. Its original occupant, Spicer Manufacturing Co.,  manufactured the universal joints, which significantly improved automobile drive trains. Spicer was acquired by Dana Corp. in 1946. The facility played a significant role during World War II, producing wartime necessities such as Jeep axles and tank transmissions.

The building eventually fell into disrepair. Its roof collapsed and the building was condemned by the city of Toledo.

Rescuing it from the wrecking ball involved many public and private entities, including IBC Properties, the Regional Growth Partnership, the National Park Service, JobsOhio, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority, and the state of Ohio.

“This project upgrades the existing building’s aging infrastructure to provide another 30-plus years of productivity,” Mr. Miller said. “Through this investment, IBC is preserving Toledo’s automotive history and supporting the next generation of Toledo businesses and job creation.”

Some of the financing for the project was procured through the Regional Growth Partnership’s association with the JobsOhio site inventory program.

“We’re the bridge,” said Matt Davis, the partnership’s vice president for real estate. “JobsOhio has the money and we’ve got the people. There is a lot of process and paperwork involved in projects like these, and that is all coordinated through our office. We’ve been involved in many projects and can advise people how to get funding.”

The Port Authority helped procure funding for the project from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Property Assessed Clean Energy program that covered part of the cost of the building’s new roof.

Dana Clark, business development and PACE administrator for the Port Authority, said when she first saw the building, it was in such disrepair that it looked like a haunted house. But now she sees its value.

“It’s a neat building,” she said. “They preserved some of the original Spicer-Dana office spaces and the mezzanine tiling from the original building.”

The investment marks both a of history, said Brandon Sehlhorst, the city’s director of economic development.

“The City of Toledo is proud to have partnered with IBC to save and repurpose this long-vacant historic building,” he said. “This investment not only restores an important piece of Toledo’s industrial legacy but also brings over 400,000 square feet of industrial space back to the market, strengthening our ability to attract new jobs and investment.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine believes that preserving the old Spicer building preserves an important part of Toledo’s rich manufacturing legacy.

“The state of Ohio is pleased to support the revitalization of the site,” he said. “The refurbished facility will establish an upgraded space for future investment, opening the next chapter of production at the site.”