News Summary

Extras

Photos

The closing of big industries often leaves behind large empty factories. General Motors recent announcement that it will close the Morane Assembly Plant will result in a large empty facility, much like Menlo at the Dayton International Airport. Staff photo by Ty GreenleesClick to enlarge

A plant's design and its environmental history as well as the economy's health all can factor into whether a shuttered factory or warehouse gets mothballed or a new lease on life.

Area leaders have launched efforts to save General Motors Corp.'s sport utility vehicle plant, slated to close in 2010, and to stop an expected loss of more than 6,000 jobs when DHL Express ends operations in Wilmington. But they also find themselves grappling with how to deal with a potential influx of millions of square feet of commercial space and hundreds of acres of land when those companies close operations.

In the case of the GM's sprawling Stroop Road facility, it likely wouldn't get another chance as an automotive factory, since the industry has ample production capacity, said Doug Harnish, president of Gem Public Sector Services, a research and brokerage firm.

And, even if another automaker wanted to set up shop in Moraine, GM probably will not want to lease or sell property to a competitor, Harnish said. However, such features as the property's proximity to Interstate 75 and a rail line could boost its chances for redevelopment, he said.

Executives for DHL reportedly have said they would consider donating the freight hub operation in Wilmington to the community if DHL hires United Parcel Service to handle all its U.S. cargo transport. The facility includes 2,200 acres of land, two runways, a control tower and several buildings.

In 2006, UPS closed an air cargo hub at Dayton International Airport, shifting operations to Louisville, Ky. Closure of the former Menlo Worldwide Forwarding/Emery Air Freight hub eliminated 1,200 jobs in Dayton.

UPS leases the land the building sits on for about $642,000 per year, said Tom Biedenharn, a spokesman for the city of Dayton, which owns and operates the airport. Airport officials have been negotiating with UPS about getting possession of the building, Biedenharn said. Until the city gets control of the facility, it can't market it to possible users, he said.

However, officials would like to see the former United Parcel Service airfreight operation once again used for air cargo, said Iftikhar Ahmad, airport director.

But, with that industry consolidating, local officials may have to look at other strategies, such as leasing the offices that once housed the headquarters of UPS' predecessor, Menlo Worldwide, while dedicating another section to a manufacturing use, Ahmad said. Regardless, he said, the goal is to put the property back into use.

"You have an asset and you want to use it for the benefit of the people of this region," Ahmad said.

Moraine City Manager David Hicks said that between GM's sport utility vehicle plant and the DMAX diesel engine factory, the automaker owns about 3.6 million square feet of space in the city. GM's Web site lists the Moraine plant as 4.1 million square feet. Hicks said the automaker's holdings in the city — which includes not only the SUV and engine plants, but also the now-vacant site of Delphi Harrison — include more than 400 acres.

In the case of the SUV plant, city officials still are focused on keeping GM as the factory's tenant, Hicks said.

Harnish said that local cities have been willing to thrust themselves into development projects. In Kettering, for example, the city turned both the former Defense Electronics Supply Center and the Hills and Dales Shopping Center into business parks.

"They've not been bashful about getting into the development game, if that's what it takes to make it work," he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7317 or

ttresslar@DaytonDailyNews.com.