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Ohio Commerce Center on Track for More Growth
LORDSTOWN, Ohio -- The Ohio Commerce Center, a sprawling, 500-acre site along state Route 45 in southern Trumbull County, is taking all steps necessary to prepare it for diversified growth and success, say its principals.
"Our goal is to bring jobs here," said George Bakeris, who along with his brother, Spiro, owns the Commerce Center.
On Monday, workers were busy in sections of the park as construction continues on a massive rail infrastructure upgrade that's already lured a new tenant, Savage Services.
Savage Services, a materials handling and management company based in Salt Lake City, plans to immediately start transloading bulk materials to and from railcars serving oil and gas operations in eastern Ohio's Utica shale (READ STORY).
The Bakeris brothers purchased the park three years ago, and have since invested millions of dollars to improve its infrastructure, accessibility and appeal to a variety of different industries, including oil and gas.
"We don't want to exclusively be oil and gas," noted Spiro Bakeris. "We want to diversify and target other businesses, such as Anderson-Dubose."
Anderson-Dubose Inc. constructed a $28 million distribution center at the Ohio Commerce Park that opened last year. The company distributes products used by McDonald's and wanted a site with rail access. The new distribution center employs 160.
"We knew the value of using rail," Spiro said, gesturing to a new spur of track in progress under the state Route 45 overpass. "It's cheaper to move goods by rail than by truck, so we decided to build up the infrastructure."
Much of the rail infrastructure improvements result from a $2 million Job Ready Sites grant from the state of Ohio, which was secured with the help of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and a 30% match from the park's owners.
The money was used to improve the rail tracks inside the park, and under Route 45 enabling the Commerce Center to develop a 12,000-foot-long rail loop that allows for fast, efficient loading and unloading. Once completed, the park will be able to accommodate unit trains -- that is, trains that hold about 100 cars at a time.
"We've got a number of projects going on site," reported Chuck Joseph, a broker for Routh Hurlbert Real Estate, Warren, marketing agent for the park. The project beneath the Route 45 bridge, he said, consists of 1,000-foot rail line that would create more "headroom" moving east of the park.
"That would give us the ability to bring in rail cars and switch them on-site," he said. "The other major project is creating a loop track."
The loop track is nearly finished, and there are sections of an existing track that need upgraded, Joseph said.
"That loop track will give us the ability to handle unit trains," he said. The site would then be able to handle sand that is used during the hydraulic fracturing process and oil recovery.
A second phase that includes another loop track is also planned, he added.
At full capacity, with the second loop track, Joseph estimates that the park will be able to handle between two and three unit trains a day.
The advantage of using rail to transport products such as crude oil is that the producer doesn't have as limited a market, Joseph added. Pipelines, for example, essentially restrict to where the product can flow, whereas rail can send oil to the East Coast of Gulf Coast.
"The customers will have the ability to ship where they think they can get the best price for crude," Joseph said.
And, as Savage Services' presence grows at the park, there may be opportunities for other investment, including sand storage silos and flat storage, Joseph said. "It gives us the ability to hold tons of sand" to accommodate unit trains. "We need to unload that sand get the trucks to the well sites."
Storage tanks to handle crude oil are also envisioned for the park, Joseph said. "We envision a few of those storage tanks. When we get a unit train of tankers coming in, we can fill them up quickly and get them to the refineries."
Three major roads inside the park are now paved, and the park today is a far cry from what it looked like three years ago, Joseph said.
"Since the new owners have taken over, we've had Anderson-Dubose, three or four structures have been taken down, roads have been improved, and the rail upgraded," he said.
Today, about 60% of the park is leased, Joseph said.
"We're prepared for success."
MORE:
Savage Services Opens Site at Ohio Commerce Park
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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