The site, the former home of PMX Industries Inc., is one of five statewide to have achieved certification through the state's Jobs Ready Sites program. Certification indicates that the property exceeds site-selection standards and will meet companies' needs for an efficient relocation or expansion.
View full sizeConcrete is excavated from the old PMX Industries site on June 25, 2009. EUCLID, Ohio -- A once-contaminated industrial property in Euclid is ready for companies to move in and start opening manufacturing facilities, distribution centers and offices.
The 80-acre industrial site was once home to PMX Industries Inc. and, before that, Chase Brass & Copper. Ray Fogg Building Methods Inc., based in Brooklyn Heights, has cleaned up the site for what the developer hopes will be more than 1,000 jobs and more than 1 million square feet of buildings.
"This could well be the premiere manufacturing site in the state," Mark Barbash, assistant director and chief economic development officer for the Ohio Department of Development, said during a news conference at the site Thursday morning. The state announced Thursday that it has certified Bluestone Business Park through its Jobs Ready Sites program.
Established in 2005, Jobs Ready Sites has awarded more than $135 million in grants to prepare properties for companies that want to move in or expand quickly. The state awarded a $4.3 million grant to Fogg's project in late 2008, helping him to pull out the concrete slabs and foundations, clean the property and put in a road.
Covered with tall grass, the future industrial park sits near the Interstate 90 and Route 2 interchange at East 260th Street. It is bordered by CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, providing potential tenants with rail access for distribution and shipping. Part of a Community Reinvestment Area, the property offers 100 percent abatement of real estate taxes on all improvements for 15 years.
Fogg plans to construct all the buildings and have them certified through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Ray Fogg Sr., the company's chairman, said during the news conference that the business park will bring industrial development back to the urban core.
Bluestone Business Park is one of five properties in the state that have received certification.