Future Tenants at Former AMETEK Site Unclear
City-owned, former manufacturing complex on Lake Street to be redeveloped
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One thing is certain, the city of Kent will redevelop the former manufacturing complex that was home to AMETEK on Lake Street before the firm moved downtown this year.
What's unclear is who the tenant or tenants in the 288,000-square-foot, 15-acre former manufacturing complex will be and how they might use the old factory.
Kent Economic Development Director Dan Smith said about half a dozen entities have approached the city with proposals for putting manufacturing operations into the space, which Kent City Council members voted to buy in April 2011 for $106,000 as part of a deal that moved AMETEK into the downtown redevelopment project.
"Ultimately our goal is to get it into the hands of a private owner," Smith said of the property.
He said it's too early in talks to identify the firms that have shown an interest in the property.
One firm identified early as showing an interest in using the site was the Ohio Lighthouse for the Blind and Vision Impaired, which proposed potential lock and mattress assembly there.
But Smith said the group is unlikely to take part in the site's redevelopment because the site remediation is not moving fast enough, and the financing for their involvement — including fixed operating costs associated with the complex — have become potential roadblocks for the non-profit group.
"They continue to look for capital partners," Smith said. "They have to make sure that they have critical mass and enough partners to go into that facility to make sure they can run the building."
But city leaders anticipate there won't be just one tenant or use in the building when it is redeveloped.
"Several of the people we’re talking to are talking about a jointly occupied facility," Smith said. "It could be mixed use, or predominantly manufacturing. But because there is so much office space available, it may not be out of the question that portions of the building are used for office uses."
The property is in the midst of remediation to remove contaminated soils and any on-site asbestos. The property has already been through both phase one and phase two environmental studies under the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Volunteer Action Program.
The Clean Ohio Council approved a grant award of $1,084,403 from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund to the city in order to finish environmental remediation work at the industrial complex.
The city has a 25 percent match requirement and will have to contribute about $270,000, but that's less than the $500,000 city officials had previously earmarked for the project.
This, city officials expect to issue a request for proposals to hire a certified professional to oversee the remediation.
Smith said he expects the remediation could take at least a year or more before the property is ready for new tenants.
"There are portions of the facility that could be occupied in a quick time frame," he said.
The next four to five months is an anticipated period of heavy negotiations between city officials and the firms interested in using the property. The city may have to manage leases, with the expectation of a payback for the city's investment through income taxes, if it can't be sold outright to a private owner.
Smith said the city's main goal is to recoup the close to $500,000 investment in both buying the site and cleaning it of contaminants.
"Ultimately we’d like to get it into the hands of a private owner," he said. "We could either sell it to recoup the half million or, depending on the types of projects we put in there, show a rate of return on income taxes if we’re able to put together a constructive deal."
He added that the city did not buy the building on a whim and that it was part of the deal to keep AMETEK from moving out of Kent.
And this month city council approved leasing 10,000 square feet of the building back to AMETEK for part of the firm's operations that could not be moved into the new downtown offices.
"It was one of the deals we had to commit to to keep them in town," Smith said of the land buy.
Sue
2:57 am on Sunday, December 9, 2012
I certainly hope that whatever new occupant moves to the site will not contaminate the environment any further or pollute the air. There is a residential area very near the site, and Walls Elementary School is very close. Children need clean air, and asthma is an ongoing problem for many children. We need to ensure that the environment is clean and safe. The new occupants should guarantee the city that they will engage in environmentally sound practices.
Mars
2:24 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Precisely why the uproar over Baker's towing. I echo your sentiment.
Debra-Lynn Hook
6:49 am on Sunday, December 9, 2012
I am concerned like Sue. With all due respect to manufacturing, tax bases, current zoning and the appropriate use of buildings fit for manufacturing, it's too bad this complex can't be transformed into something more consistent with residential -- like the Trader Joe's or the Whole Foods everybody wants or a natural food hub/year-round market or even more residential.
Mars
2:23 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
I've met so many people in Kent who are jazzed at the idea of a Trader Joe's. I have to stop and wonder why we haven't gone that direction or even tried. I know I've heard the poo-pooers state we don't have the income level to support a Trader Joe's. Yet I know some of the stores in the new downtown aren't for the income challenged. It's a college town and Trader Joe's isn't some upscale store. It's good food with good prices and happy staff (very happy, helpful staff). And that being said, you know the saying, "Build it and they will come." People from miles around will come to Kent for a Trader Joe's... Even, gasp, Hudsonites and other well do to communities will start flooding into Kent because, let's face it, everyone shops at Trader Joe's.
Chris (Kit) Myers
7:00 am on Sunday, December 9, 2012
1) Smith is right. It is always important for a business to have critical mass in order to be able to run a building. Critical mass is important in bomb building, too.
2) Having to sweeten the pot to keep a business in town is kinda like a deli owner having to buy protection from the mafia.
Jim Williams
2:38 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
It would be interesting to know if the city has considered live/work space for artists at this site. This company: http://www.artspace.org/ has a very good track record of redeveloping such sites and bringing economic activity and culture together for the betterment of communities. With all the art/music/dance/theater grads here, it could be a key to retaining students in the area, a stated goal of the Kasich administration.
Mars
3:12 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Well, sadly, I'm not sure if you're new to Kent but this city isn't exactly clammering to encourage it's arts scene. And certainly not let it be vibrant and thriving. Look around the new stuff being built and notice the utter lack of local artist input. It's appalling.
Downtown Canton has a superb arts district. If you haven't walked around downtown, do it. And even Akron has some great stuff like painted potters and garbage cans and the like.
Wouldn't it be fantastic though. I wholeheartedly support your idea. The link you posted is a wealth of information. Thank you.
Also, I thought for many years the vacant and currently for sale old Brady Lake school building would be a PERFECT candidate for this type of endeavor. I've been looking forward to something happening with that great old building. It's also small enough to be doable.
Mars
3:16 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
And yes, my big beef is with the hideously ugly metal black squirrel sculpture in Acorn Alley (or whatever that area is called since we can't just call it "downtown"). Who was it that designed that monstrosity? How many, MANY metal artists reside in and around Kent rather than New Hampshire?
Jim Williams
4:47 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Oh, I've been around a while, and I disagree with you pretty strongly. McKay Bricker (woefully under-recognized for its role in spurring development downtown), KSU's Downtown Gallery and Fashion School Store, The Kent Stage with its amazing performance schedule, Standing Rock Cultural Arts' festivals and events and even the Haymaker Farmer's Market point to a strong arts community, well-supported by its residents. Canton is a very laudable success story, and Arts in Stark should be rightly proud, but Kent is active for its size. And I'm not even including the arts ON campus!
I just think that building an environment to encourage artists to live and pay taxes in town would help to secure a stronger, more vibrant economy than one built on chain restaurants and stores ever could. It's encouraging to see what's happening, but I'd like to see more Lazizas and less Paninis, and the arts helps to encourage more creative venues to move in. Artspace has its problems, too (ask Cleveland) but a developer is necessary to make a project like that happen, as we artists tend to suck at that kind of thing. Artspace has the experience to do the job.
Mars
6:38 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
"as we artists tend to suck at that kind of thing"
ouch
Mars
6:39 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
If only Kent could be more like Oberlin.
Jim Williams
11:22 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Not ouch, just the reality of our business model. Very few artists have or can attract the resources to do a multi-million dollar redevelopment. That takes a strong, established track record, and the ability to attract funding that small arts groups just can't do.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that there are a LOT of local businesses in the new developments besides Laziza, so they deserve a shout out, too. Don't want to imply that only chains are making these projects succeed. And of course, Ron Burbick gets a huge amount of credit.
Tiffany Jones
11:53 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
@ Jim, FYI, Panini's Bar and Grill 1986 in Cleveland and now has 20 locations in Northeast Ohio. Chain? Yes, but I'm sure some of the other single location restaurants in the area hope that in (nearly) 30 years they can claim the same level of success.
Mr Confederate Man
11:45 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Well kpd could finally get their new pd for less than 18m
Teresa K.
9:16 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
Mr. Confederate: I think the Ametek spot would make a good police department. Tons of square footage, tons of parking spacing, fenced lot, lots of room for future expansion if needed, access to all different directions in Kent. They could spruce it all up and make it look purty.
Way cheaper than 18 million. Why didnt the city think of that location when they decided they needed a new PD? Because they had a plan ALREADY in motion and they were gonna stick to it.
Tiffany Jones
11:58 am on Monday, December 10, 2012
Well all these ideas are fine and dandy but in the neighborhood in question ZONING takes precedence over anything else, and the area in question is not zoned for a grocery store or art gallery as far as I know. So bring on the factories, noise, traffic and chemicals!!
Mars
3:49 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
Oui!
Mars
9:53 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Did you know your buddy behind you releases obscene amounts of FORMALDEHYDE ? In years as recent as 2007 they also let loose 1-CHLORO-1,1-DIFLUOROETHANE and CHLORODIFLUOROMETHANE.
Seems 2007 was a good year for S. Oasis as it put out 22730.6 Pounds Of Chemicals into the air. Yay?
And to think, some people actually value life supporting air and having a day free from asthma.
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+164
Tiffany Jones
10:08 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Well at least they aren't towing or repairing cars. Now that i wouldn't stand for!
and i guess i get what i get as i chose to live on the "industrial" side of the street. At least you and all the others so so far away (TENTHS of a MILE!!!) don't have to use the same air right? oh and I've had asthma long before I lived here, maybe you can further creep me out by figuring out my former addresses and listing the harmful toxins near there too? and extra credit given if you can tell me what you personally have done about smithers oasis releasing toxins? what neighborhood groups or picnics you have spearheaded or articles or chain letters you have written about it etc you know, since you are so concerned??
Mars
10:00 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
You mean you already had asthma and then willingly located yourself and your family directly next to a factory that puts thousands of pounds of asthma inducing and extremely carcinogenic formaldehyde into the air? Really? That's incredible.
Tiffany Jones
1:49 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Yep. My asthma has actually improved and I no longer need medication. Will wonders never cease!