Phillips Edison & Company
What: Real estate company with home offices in Cincinnati and Utah and more than 25 million-square-feet of neighborhood shopping centers across the U.S. including Bridgewater Falls
Where: 11501 Northlake Dr., Cincinnati
Phone: (513) 554-1110
Principals: Jeffrey Edison and Michael Phillips
Website: www.phillipsedison.com
Editor’s note: In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama challenged Americans to be more innovative than the rest of the world. He called innovation the first step to winning the future. This is the third in a monthly series of stories that examines innovative companies and organizations in Butler County and the products and services they provide.
FAIRFIELD TWP. — By next year, shoppers and diners at Bridgewater Falls will be able to accomplish another task while they visit — charge their electric car.
Currently the shopping center’s owners Phillips Edison & Company are constructing a four-unit building in the 60-acre property’s final outlot to be complete by the end of the year. Phillips Edison has partnered with a developer of electric vehicle public infrastructure to install a plug-in for electric cars at the building in coordination with construction.
It seems this is the first electric vehicle charging station in Southwest Ohio in a commercial or public place. The presidents of Hamilton and Middletown chambers of commerce are unaware of any other charging stations. It is the owner of the plug-in station’s first in Ohio, said Bill Policastro, president and chief executive officer of U-Go Stations.
“This is a first of a network of chargers permitting the travel of electric vehicles with confidence,” Policastro said.
Phillips Edison of Cincinnati is a real estate company that owns more than 240 properties across the country, according to the company. The company acquired in 2009 Bridgewater Falls Lifestyle Shopping Center in Fairfield Twp., according to Phillips Edison.
The $1 million construction project facing Princeton Road began last month.
U-Go Stations will install and operate one plug-in station, with the possibility for more at Bridgewater. U-Go is a Philadelphia company looking for host partners to put charging stations in high traffic, easily accessible areas such as parking garages and shopping centers to make way for when more electric vehicles hit the road. It has plug-in stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and one under way in Memphis, Tenn., at another Phillips Edison property, with more scheduled for installation, Policastro said.
The type of station likely to be installed at Bridgewater is a General Electric WattStation, a free standing Level 2 charging station with 220 volts capable of fully charging a plug-in vehicle in four to eight hours, Policastro said. Customers will probably pay $3.75 an hour to plug in, he said. U-Go will own and operate the station, likely giving Bridgewater 5 percent of revenues.
U-Go, which formed last year, has a goal of installing 10,000 stations in the U.S. by 2016 or 2017, he added. The GE WattStation costs $9,000 plus $5,000 to $7,000 to install. He said installation may require concrete cutting, wire trenching, adding more electric substations and obtaining permits.
In addition to extra revenues, the benefit for Bridgewater is to help meet its green initiatives, draw eco-minded patrons and promote itself as environmentally friendly.
“We’re currently under construction, with new construction, it makes it cost effective to install the unit and not disturb other tenants,” said Tom Meyers, Phillips Edison vice president of construction.
Policastro also said electric vehicles are on the verge of a major upswing in production. A tax credit for 30 percent of the costs of the units and installation is currently available for owners of electric vehicle charging stations.
Nissan and Chevy have waiting lists for their electric vehicles, the Leaf and Volt.
One of the challenges facing widespread adoption of electric vehicles are their limited ranges. The Nissan Leaf is an all electric car with a range of 100 miles and the Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid with a regular gas engine that can recharge the battery with about 40 miles of driving before the engine turns on, Geller said.
If people know charge stations are available like at Bridgewater, it assures them of a place to plug-in without running out of juice, Geller said.
“This is all just beginning so it’s not yet clear how it all will work in practice,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.
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