Impact 2020: Port’s industrial strategy brings international aerospace company, jobs to Bond Hill
Story By: Mikhaela Renner, The Port's Communications & Marketing Team
The phrase “rust belt” comes to mind when thinking about the exodus of companies which pulled out of the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County since manufacturing hit its peak in 1969. Cincinnati lost more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs because of this flight. As a result, abandoned, dilapidated facilities remain throughout the county, skeletal reminders of the prosperity our region once knew.
What is site readiness?
Critical to The Port’s industrial development strategy is site readiness, which is the work involved in assembling and preparing underutilized manufacturing sites for business attraction and retention. A significant part of this work involves environmental cleanup, part of The Port’s environmental stewardship strategy to take on challenging sites for the safety of nearby workers and residents.
Making a site ready for development isn’t as easy or simple as finding a piece of land and building on top of it. Site readiness is an arduous process that requires a significant amount of time and resources. In today’s world of rush delivery and instant gratification, companies looking to relocate aren’t willing to wait the months or years it takes to clean and prepare a site for development. In addition, the cost to remediate existing sites is significant. These are both common barriers that prevent private companies and developers from taking these projects on themselves. The Port is uniquely equipped with legal and financial tools to lower these barriers to entry by cleaning and preparing sites for new development.
Background on 2250 Seymour Avenue
The Port acquired the former Cincinnati Gardens site in 2016 as part of its industrial strategy to prepare underutilized manufacturing sites for business retention and attraction. In 2017, The Port began remediation and overall site cleanup. This process included demolition of the existing structure and cleaning the site from environmental hazards and impurities. The Port removed 85 tons of asbestos, a 10,000-gallon underground storage tank, recycled nearly 2,000 tons of metal, and crushed more than 10,000 tons of concrete for reuse.
Partnership with Terrex and Messer
In 2018, we announced our partnership with Terrex. Terrex purchased the first of three parcels with the intent to market it to an advanced manufacturing company. Notably, Terrex committed to our goals for jobs per acre, average wage, and capital investment created from this acquisition. In 2019, Terrex broke ground on a speculative building on the site. Now, we are thrilled to share the next phase to this property’s epic saga: Texas-based TEAM, Inc. signed a lease for the nearly 75,000 square foot facility at the end of 2020, with an anticipated opening date in late 2021. This project is bringing 150 good-paying jobs to the Cincinnati region.
This success could not have been achieved without the support from local economic development agencies and the City of Cincinnati. After securing the site, The Port worked with REDI Cincinnati and JobsOhio to secure funding through JobsOhio’s Site Redevelopment program to assist with abatement and remediation efforts, which the City of Cincinnati matched. The Port consulted with REDI Cincinnati to identify the building needs of advanced manufacturing companies looking for new space, which informed the building’s design.
About Team, Inc.
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Team provides asset performance testing and optimization solutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe and internationally. It has three segments, inspection and heat treating, mechanical services and quest integrity. Team serves refining, power, renewable, nuclear, offshore oil and gas, pipeline, terminal, and storage, chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, automotive and mining, bridge, port, construction and building, road and railway, and aerospace and defense industries.
Partners:
- City of Cincinnati
- REDI Cincinnati
- Jobs Ohio
- US EPA
- Messer Construction
- BHDP Architecture
- Easter Seals
