With earth-moving machinery just beginning work on site, Marker Development LLC representatives hosted a groundbreaking celebration Thursday afternoon to officially kick off a $14 million investment in the building of 200,000 square feet of new speculative construction flex space at Peak Industrial Park in Bellefontaine.
The development will be comprised of two new 100,000-square-foot institutional-grade speculative buildings, demisable in 20,000-square-foot increments, located on the city’s west side on Progress Way. These two industrial flex buildings are ideal for major employers in the manufacturing, warehousing and distribution sectors, officials related.
“Our family has been operating in the Logan County area for three generations, so we are happy to be able to continue that commitment with this project,” Marker Inc. President Alison Marker said.
“After many virtual meetings over Zoom and dreaming up these structures for more than a year, it’s amazing to be here today,” said Chris Gump from Marker Development LLC, an affiliate of Marker Inc. “We can’t say ‘thank you’ enough to all of our partners who made this happen.”
Assisted by JobsOhio’s Ohio Site Inventory Program grant, Marker Development is able to construct Logan County’s first industrial speculative development project in more than a decade.
“This is an exciting day and a long time coming,” Logan County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ben Vollrath said. “As a county, we have a history of hitting it out of our weight class, as far as attracting major manufacturers like Honda and other employers. This is no exception; we have an incredible opportunity with this project.”
“Marker has contributed to making Bellefontaine into the vibrant community we know today,” Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler said. “They were also involved in the Sloan Boulevard project and recent building projects with Mary Rutan Hospital, including the Urgent Care and Health Center.
“Thank you, Marker, for the integrity and professionalism you’ve shown.”
During Thursday’s groundbreaking, officials also announced that Ryan Logistics will be the first company to occupy the entire first building upon its expected completed in the first quarter of 2022. The Marysville-based and family-owned trucking company is expanding its facilities.
The new buildings will be supported by complete utility and road infrastructure on Progress Way, serving 110 industrial zoned acres in the area of west Sandusky Avenue, which was dedicated in the fall of 2020 by the Logan County Chamber of Commerce, City of Bellefontaine, Logan County officials and Marker.
Upon completion, the project will provide a Class A hard wall structure in the Logan County market, where lease rates have historically not supported a structure of this quality.
Vollrath said the chamber receives frequent field search inquiries from companies looking for industrial-quality buildings or shovel-ready sites to establish or grow their businesses. Previously, Logan County would have to eliminate itself from consideration because it did not have those type of sites available.
“Prepared communities win. Previously when RFIs would come in, I would have to tell them that we don’t have the inventory. But now, we can start submitting,” he said.
“Marker’s development will help Logan County tackle a challenge that has faced our community for more than a decade. Today’s groundbreaking is a milestone event for our business community, so we are appreciative of Marker’s community-minded vision as well as the support offered by the OSIP program to bring this project to fruition.”
JobsOhio launched the Ohio Site Inventory Program in 2020, offering grants and low-interest loans to support projects with no identified end user.
The OSIP grant funds are a vital component of the capital stack for Marker’s new construction, assisting to close the funding gap for this project and adding inventory to a submarket that has maintained a historically low vacancy of less than 1 percent for more than five years.
“The Peak Industrial Park in Bellefontaine is exactly what we had in mind when launching speculative development assistance,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “Logan County is gaining a new edge in attracting businesses to the area as Ohio and our communities continue to aggressively pursue proactive and reactive site selection projects.”