City Economic Development Director Gregg Gorsuch said IRG hopes to complete a purchase agreement with Delphi in the next few weeks, with the stipulation that the sale is dependent on Clean Ohio funds being approved.
IRG representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Delphi made shocks, struts and exhaust systems at the plant until 2008. Gorsuch said Delphi demolished roughly half of the building space, and the auto parts producer Tenneco moved into most of the remaining space after Delphi closed.
City Manager Mark Schwieterman said IRG wants Tenneco to succeed as long-term tenant on the property. But Tenneco uses only a fraction of the site. Gorsuch said if IRG gets control of property, the city likely would ask them to apply for an economic development overlay district and submit a master plan of how they’d like to handle the site.
“They’ve looked at our zoning and understand it, and they’re moving forward,” Schwieterman said.
IRG has bought other major industrial properties in recent years, working with Goodyear in Akron and buying a Ford plant in the Cincinnati suburb of Batavia.
“I think it would be very encouraging if IRG obtained the site,” Gorsuch said. “With the situation Delphi is in, I think this is the best-case scenario for the city. And it’s nice to know (IRG) has been successful with these projects in the past.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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