MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, OCTOBER 2005

TOLEDO
Karen Stone, CCIM

Although manufacturing related to the automotive industry still dominates in Toledo, the economic influence of research and technology is growing steadily. With more than 60,000 students in the area attending four colleges and universities, a research corridor is springing up in the area between The University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio. The universities and the community have fostered a launch program to assist start-up companies in the materials, polymers and electronics industries. This influence is sparking economic diversification and recovery in the area.

The automotive manufacturing sector is seeing new growth. Daimler-Chrysler is expanding its 5-year old Jeep plant by 1.2 million square feet, bringing its total investment in the facility to more than $1 billion, including equipment. Located at the north end of Toledo, an influx of automotive suppliers to the area has been absorbing the vacant space, creating a tight industrial market. BP also is upgrading its refinery to increase production and will be investing $350 million, primarily in equipment.

Menards, a competitor of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and The Home Depot, is building a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Williams County that will employ more than 600 new workers. Infrastructure construction has begun and will be completed in three stages during the next several years.

In May, Owens-Illinois (now O-I) announced it will be leaving its 32-story headquarters tower in downtown Toledo when its lease expires in September 2006. The international glass company plans to consolidate its operations with its existing R&D facility in Perrysburg, a suburb 8 miles south of downtown. A new 100,000-square-foot headquarter building is under construction in the Levis Development Park, which is part of the 400-acre master-planned, multi-use project known as J. Preston Levis Commons, being developed by Toledo-based Dillin Development Corporation. The Town Center at Levis Commons, a 319,000-square-foot, $53 million lifestyle retail center built by Charlotte-based Hill Partners, opened in October of 2004. Approximately 68,000 square feet of office space has been completed and is available for lease. Another 135 acres are available for industrial park uses.

Even as O-I leaves downtown, there is an increase in plans for residential development in the area. Preliminary plans are being discussed for the redevelopment of the former downtown steam plant into a loft project that will bear the name of its former use. In addition, brownfield clean-up is being completed on 100 acres along the Maumee River across from downtown. Columbus-based Pizzuti Development, which has been chosen by the city to lead the development efforts for this parcel, is assessing the highest and best use of this unique waterfront location, which will be called The Marina District.  

“Economic recovery in the Toledo area is going well,” says Ed Schultz, senior vice president of development for the Regional Growth Partnership. “We are seeing positive interest and growth from an investment point of view.”

©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.