Ford will soon go from three plants in Brook Park to only one, leaving behind a colossal piece of industrial property. Real estate brokers say they expect manufacturing and distribution companies to show a lot of interest in the land.
Workers demolish parts of Ford's Cleveland Casting Plant in Brook Park. The automaker closed the facility a year ago and expects to complete disassembling it by spring. With the demolition of that plant and the planned closure of the adjacent Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2, Ford will leave behind about 230 acres of industrial real estate.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ford Motor Co. is demolishing its massive foundry in Brook Park, and a plant adjacent to it will close early next year. Left behind will be at least 230 acres - a colossal chunk of industrial real estate.
The Cleveland Casting Plant closed last year and Ford plans to close its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2 early next year. Ford plans to keep open its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, a plant that sites on an adjacent 85.6 acres.
That 230-acre plot is big enough to house Gateway Plaza - the Q Arena, Progressive Field, the adjoining park and the surrounding parking garages - eight times over with enough space left to fit two Voinovich Parks.
Ford said it expects to finish demolition of the casting plant early next year. It has not set a date for the closure of the engine plant, but United Auto Workers officials said they expect that facility to close by spring. The union expects the plant's 350 workers to transfer to Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, a facility that will add a third production shift early next year.
UAW leaders expect the remaining plant in Brook Park to employ about 1,500 people by 2014. At its peak in the 1960s, the site employed 15,000 with more than 10,000 of those at the foundry.
Ford spokeswoman Stefanie Denby said the company has no immediate plans for the property.
"We will begin to look at all options for [the engine plant] and the casting property and will work with community leaders as we move forward," Denby said in an email.
Calls to economic development offices for Brook Park and Cuyahoga County were not returned Thursday.
Filling former auto plants has traditionally been an extreme challenge. At Ford's former Lorain Assembly Plant, for example, Stuart Lichter's Industrial Realty Group has been able to lease out about 45 percent of the facility in the five years since that plant closed.
"It's a tough task" to fill massive former auto plants, said Darrell Bossert, senior vice president of IRG Ohio. "Even at 45 percent, we'd say we've been successful. We'd love to get to 80 percent, and I think we'll get there eventually."
The Lorain property is about the same size as the land that should become available in Brook Park, but real estate experts said it should be a bit easier to develop.
David Stover, executive vice president of Chartwell Real Estate in Cleveland, said Brook Park land's location right next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport should make it attractive to distribution companies looking to set up warehouses. The site has easy access to I-71 and I-480 and railroads.
Ford's decision to close the Engine Plant No. 2 will probably make the real estate more attractive, Stover said. When it announced the closing of the casting plant, real estate experts warned that filling a space sandwiched by two active engine plants might be tough.
"I would envision that property being broken up," Stover said. "Those large buildings like the I-X Center and the Ford plants are a thing of the past. There may be one large property sold - 50-100 acres. The rest will go in smaller parcels."
He added that some of the property could go to parking lots for the airport or car-rental facilities. The bulk though will probably go to warehouses and manufacturing space, Stover said.
"A lot of my clients are manufacturers, and they're looking for more space," Stover said. "There is demand for good manufacturing space in the Cleveland area, especially on the West Side."
Joe Barna, co-founding partner of Cresco Real Estate in Cleveland, said there are still a lot of unknowns about the Ford properties that could slow redevelopment. After nearly 60 years in service, both locations could have soil contamination or other environmental issues. And while Ford is already tearing down the casting plant, it has not said what it plans to do with the engine plant's building.
Still, he added that he expects companies to be interested in the land.
"Typically, land around an airport is highly sought after for industrial use," Barna said.