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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Joint Venture Redevelops Former Ohio GM Plant Into Corporate Park, Potentially Creating 1,100 Jobs

08/23/2012
A joint venture proposes redeveloping the former GM Mansfield-Ontario Stamping Plant in Ontario, Ohio, into an industrial corporate park, that could someday create approximately 1,100 jobs.

The Brownfield Communities Development Company, a joint venture between Northbrook, Illinois-based Hilco Trading LLC, and Miami-based The Adler Group, entered into an agreement with the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust, or RACER Trust, to demolish GM plant buildings closed two years ago, and redevelop the property with a variety of manufacturing businesses.

RACER Trust was created to clean up and redevelop properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors before its 2009 bankruptcy, using US Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield funding. Firms that relocate in Brownfield cleanup and revitalization program districts are eligible for a variety of tax credits.

The GM facility served as an economic engine for the community for 55 years. Its former 3 million-square-foot building will be demolished as part of the cleanup. As part if its EPA Brownfield agreement, the Joint venture will apply for Ohio EPA Voluntary Action Program and Cleanup Ohio funds to assist with the revitalization effort.

Jeffery B. Hecktman, CEO of Hilco Trading, LLC said: "Hilco is proud to be a partner in this deal and we're delighted to serve as a catalyst for an economic revitalization of the entire region. The Brownfield Communities Development Company group plans to redevelop the historic single purpose facility into a modern, accessible, multi-tenant corporate park. We believe that this redevelopment will meet the needs of businesses so they can compete in today's global market place."

The RACER Trust said that Brownfield Communities Development Company has already identified two tenants interested in occupying much of the 2.5-million-square-foot building that sits on 266 acres, just west of Mansfield in Richland County, Ohio. According to EPA Brownfield Program documents an alternative energy firm contemplates utilizing 800,000 square feet and hiring 850 employees, while an indoor agricultural business estimates it will create 250 jobs.

RACER Trustee Elliott P. Laws said, "The agreement with Hilco and the Adler Group sets the stage for a new era of economic vitality on this property. We envision the creation of 1,100 new jobs as a transformative event for the entire region. "

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