Friday, May 10, 2013YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A partnership of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, the owners of the Ohio Commerce Center, Routh Hurlbert Real Estate and MS Consultants was honored Wednesday by the Northern Ohio chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the chamber announced this morning.
The partnership was recognized for its work in obtaining and managing a $2 million Ohio Job Ready Site Grant in 2012 that will partially fund infrastructure improvements at the Ohio Commerce Center in Lordstown and enhance the potential for significant job growth. It received the trade group's "Industrial Development of the Year" award at a reception Wednesday.
The Regional Chamber was designated by the Ohio Department of Development as the grant recipient for the project, and served as its economic development community facilitator, the chamber noted. Owners of the property are George and Spiro Bakeris. Routh Hurlbert is the real estate broker for Ohio Commerce Center, and MS Consultants drew up the site plans for the project.
This project was one of only seven to receive an Ohio Job Site Ready grant in 2012 out of 30 requests submitted from across the state. The grant was to be used to prepare 266 acres of industrial and manufacturing space for future development, including road resurfacing, railroad crossing and line improvements and the modification of the state Route 45 bridge.
Some of the upgrades will allow for additional railcar storage on the property and a loop track to enable the handling of unit trains. The project is expected to be wrapped up in early summer, the chamber said.
“This project had a lot of moving parts and could not have been accomplished without a strong partnership and the ownership of the OCC, George and Spiro Bakeris, leading the charge,” said Sarah Boyarko, the chamber's vice president of economic development.r
THe Ohio Commerce Center is a 1.5-million-square-foot facility that sits on 476 acres at 5232 Tod Ave. It offers manufacturing, storage and distribution space. The complex is comprised of nine warehouses, eight outdoor concrete storage pads and additional outdoor storage. Three of the warehouses have both truck and rail access. About 120 acres of greenfield space is available for development, the chamber said.
SOURCE: Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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