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Warehouse project moves ahead in Perrysburg Township

Posted By: Toledo Blade on May 13, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

There were lots of questions about a warehouse site plan at a Perrysburg Township Zoning Commission meeting Monday, and just enough answers to get approval.

Dan Tamanko, associate market officer with Ambrose Property Group’s build-to-suit group, said there is no owner yet for the warehouse, but it will look similar to the Amazon warehouse currently under construction on Fremont Pike, he said.

“This site plan is really designed for ultimate future flexibility,” he said. “We’re building a blank canvas so someone can put their business in there.”

Ambrose presented a site plan review for the proposed construction of a 204,540-square-foot warehouse. The 36.57 acres are located on the west side of Oregon Road north of State Rt. 795. The land is zoned I-2, general industrial.

Fred Dannhauser, zoning commission member, asked about some details of the project, and how it could move forward without an official owner or renter.

“You know who the tenant is, you can’t tell us — I get that,” he said.

“We’ve been talking about a handful of several tenants,” Mr. Tamanko clarified.

Mr. Dannhauser asked how the warehouse space can be specific already, if the tenant is unknown.

“If you don’t know who the tenant is, you don’t really know how big the building’s going to be, you don’t know how many trucks are going to be in and out of there,” he said. “There are a lot of unknowns here.”

Mr. Tamanko said this is a “spec” facility that will definitely be 204,540 square feet.

“Speculative, or ‘spec’ buildings, are built by developers with the goal of attracting tenants during or shortly after construction,” according to the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, a Virginia-based industry group.

Clay Smith, senior development manager with Ambrose, said if there were any major site plan changes, they would be submitted to the township’s zoning inspector.

Mr. Smith also said a groundbreaking is planned soon, even if there is no tenant on board.

“We want this building to start in June, if we can,” he said.

Ambrose is developing the Amazon warehouse on Fremont Pike. It is expected to open at the end of the year. Ambrose also developed the 145,000-square-foot Amazon delivery site at the former Southwyck Mall on South Reynolds Road in Toledo.

According to the Wood County auditor’s website, the property is owned by Paul Swartz. The site is currently leased out by existing ownership to local farmers.

Several of the site neighbors are large industrial operations, including Ampoint Industrial Park, First Solar, and the Walgreens Distribution Center.

All proposed uses for the new warehouse are considered to be conforming with existing zoning with no need for variances.

Mr. Dannhauser, Rob Black, Brett Calvert, and Ed Fisher voted in favor of the site plan.

Jeff Schaller abstained. After the meeting, he said his employer is Rudolph Libbe Inc., Walbridge, and he wanted to avoid a conflict in the future, in case his company ends up working on the site.

After the meeting, Mr. Dannhauser said all of his questions were answered and he is confident in the project.

According to documents attached to the zoning commission agenda, township officials inquired about 500 employees being listed on an initial application. The response from the Ambrose Property Group was that the current application is for a speculative warehouse and the employee count is unknown.

The new warehouse would be about one-third the size of the facility being constructed for Amazon at 9240 Fremont Pike, which is 600,000 square feet on 162 acres. Amazon’s Crossroads warehouse in Rossford, which opened in 2020, is 640,000-square-feet.

Rossford Schools has received significant money from the Amazon projects, which funded the R, the district’s 73,600-square-foot multipurpose building. The $17.5 million complex opened in August, 2023, and has an indoor running track, golf simulator, and a tennis and esports areas.

School officials are also planning to build a new $35 million middle school, without tax money.

Rossford voters on May 6 renewed an operating levy — with a reduction, from 5.9 mills to 4.9 mills. Two other operating levies for Rossford schools were reduced in 2022. Both 7.9-mill levies were taken down to 6.9 mills.

The school district’s 10-year tax abatement agreement with Amazon’s Perrysburg Township facility begins Jan. 31, 2026, and will pay the district $641,600 per year over 10 years. The warehouse is expected to employ 500.

The larger Amazon fulfillment center opened in Rossford employs 1,000. That enterprise zone agreement gives the school district approximately $579,000 a year for 15 years.

Also Monday, the zoning commission approved a site plan for Redwood-Lime City Road for construction of a multifamily residential project that includes 136-single story units across 26 buildings. The 24 acres are located on the west side of Lime City Road, north of Route 795.

Mr. Dannhauser and zoning commission member Brett Calvert said they live near another Redwood development in the township, and it is very well maintained.

“Redwood takes lot of pride in their maintenance,” said Patricia Rakoci, vice president of acquisitions with Redwood. “We want our residents to have a safe, good, clean neighborhood, and our rents aren’t low.”

Construction is expected to start in August.