Fortune 500 company coming to spec building near Toledo Express
Developer Ed Harmon, whose gamble on an industrial spec building at the old Willys Jeep plant site morphed into a bustling industrial park with three auto suppliers and 600 workers, has purchased a vacant spec building near Toledo Express Airport to be used by a Fortune 500 company that plans to hire between 50 and 60 workers.
Mr. Harmon, owner of NAI Harmon Group, of Toledo, bought the 102,000-square foot spec building in the Land-Air Industrial Park, located at on Airport Highway in Swanton Township across from the airport, about two weeks ago.
The sellers were Land-Air partners Brian McMahon, Brent Gerken, and George Oravecz. The sale price was undisclosed and the transaction was handled by Mr. McMahon and his daughter, Brittany Craig, of commercial real estate firm Danberry National Ltd.
Mr. Harmon declined to identify the tenant who will use the building, but he said the company intends to start up operations soon and is in the process of remaking the building to suit its needs. The developer added that he had been working to bring the tenant to Toledo for the last six months.
“I can tell you that it’s a Fortune 500 company. These are good-paying jobs with benefits,” Mr. Harmon said. “It’s a good project and the building is good quality and we are glad we could bring this company in.”
The spec building sale was financed by $1 million in transitional financing from Lucas County Builds, a job creation and investment fund started in 2016 by the Lucas County commissioners, Northwest Ohio Building Trades, Carpenter’s Council, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, and Regional Growth Partnership.
County Commissioner Pete Gerken said the Land-Air partners were ready to sell, NAI Harmon had the tenant lined up, but a financial gap put the deal in jeopardy.
“There was about a million dollar gap that both parties had to overcome because they couldn’t get there through traditional financing,” Mr. Gerken said.
“When we found out that Ed Harmon’s project would be dead because of this financing gap, Lucas County Builds was ready to step in,” the commissioner said. “We did it before with Dana and DMS [Detroit Manufacturing Systems] at the Overland Industrial Park.”
The Lucas County Builds financing provides funding at a 2 percent rate, which is to be repaid through rent by the tenant.
“They’re using it not only for the building purchase, but to outfit it with capital equipment,” Mr. Gerken said. “It’s what we created Lucas County Builds is for.”
Mr. McMahon said the sale of the spec building to Mr. Harmon provides the Land-Air partners with capital they need to build a second spec building at the 250-acre industrial park. The developer said the industrial park recently completed its infrastructure and is ready for additional tenants.
Posted By: The Toledo Blade on October 30, 2019. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
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