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GM Moraine plant worth millions less, liquidators argue

Weeds are beginning to grow from the cracks in the parking lot of the deserted General Motors Plant in Moraine Ohio. Jim Noelker/Dayton Daily News

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 1:29 AM Thursday, October 15, 2009

DAYTON — The value of the former General Motors Corp. Moraine assembly plant has fallen some $600,000 since March, according to Motors Liquidation Co., the company responsible for assets GM discarded this summer through bankruptcy.

In March, GM appealed to Montgomery County to reduce the value of its closed mid-size SUV assembly plant from the county’s valuation of $69 million to $22 million.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, an attorney and two consultants for Motors Liquidation put the plant’s current value at $21,413,101. The three appeared before the Montgomery County Board of Revision arguing for that property value.

In December 2008, GM closed the plant found on about 177 acres between Springboro Pike and Kettering Boulevard. The automaker cited high gas prices and disappointing sales for the vehicles made there, including the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy.

Consultants argued Wednesday that the plant offers little value in today’s market.

“I cannot conceive of a single manufacturer, looking at what their plans are, who would find it (the Moraine plant) interesting,” said Michael Tracy, president of engineering firm Agile Group.

“For several years, there has been an oversupply of manufacturing plants in this country,” said Bruce Pickering, president of Pickering Valuation Group.

Allison Crites, an attorney for a Dublin, Ohio, law firm representing Kettering City Schools, pressed Tracy on his written report, asking if he had explored other possible manufacturing uses or ownership configurations for the plant.

“You didn’t analyze it for a different kind of vehicle (assembly), maybe heavy or construction?” Crites asked Tracy in the quasi-judicial hearing.

Tracy responded that while he had knowledge of manufacturing beyond light vehicles, his written report focused on the likelihood of a single vehicle manufacturer using the facility.

The board will issue a decision within 90 days, member Tonya Oberer said.

In a 2008 appraisal as the plant was winding down, Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith cut the plant property’s value from $91.3 million.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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