Plant closings create vast empty spaces
The millions of square feet that are going unused pose development problem for the region.
Friday, July 04, 2008
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The expected closing of General Motors Corp.'s assembly plant in Moraine and the anticipated loss of at least 6,000 jobs at the DHL Express hub in Wilmington won't just deal a punishing blow to the region's economy.
Longer term, these moves also may create a development headache: millions of square feet of empty commercial buildings that must be filled or torn down, situated on land that may need environmental cleanup. And finding new uses for a sport utility vehicle plant, an airfreight distribution hub or other large buildings such as Cooper Tire's vacant distribution center in Moraine can pose a daunting challenge for a region.
In the cases of GM Moraine and DHL's Wilmington Air Park, officials say they are pursuing a two-track strategy. They are working with the businesses to keep them here, while also beginning to look for ways to deal with empty industrial buildings, warehouses and other facilities that could remain after the businesses close.
There's no one way to deal with a vacant industrial property.
In some cases, companies find it makes better financial sense to tear down a factory and recoup any possible environmental cleanup and demolition costs by selling the copper, the steel and the other components for scrap, said Doug Harnish, president of Gem Public Sector Services.
The worst-case scenario when a factory closes is for a company to shutter it, but also keep it, Harnish said. This allows a company to avoid cleanup and other costs incurred when a property changes hands, though it also takes the property out of productive use, he said.
Digger Daley, a vice president with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, said the problem with redeveloping a factory site, unlike a warehouse, is that a factory is designed and built around the assembly line or manufacturing process housed inside. This means bay doors and other features that may be perfectly placed for a car-parts maker may be a deal killer for another prospective tenant.
"As far as reuse, those facilities are basically made for one purpose, and that's making automobiles," said Daley, who specializes in industrial real estate. "To get a different use in there is expensive."
