GRISSOM AEROPLEX – Construction is set to begin on a new $2.85 million shell building near Grissom Air Reserve Base that officials will hope will attract new businesses to Miami County.
Jim Tidd, executive director of the Miami County Economic Development Authority, said crews will begin moving dirt this week to build the around 58,000-square-foot building. He said the project should be finished by December.
Tidd said the county currently doesn’t have any buildings available, and most companies who are looking to develop in the state want an existing building to move into. The shell building will give the county a marketable facility for companies to buy and develop.
The Miami County Council in November approved funding for the project. The money will come from the county’s economic development fund, and the county will be required to pay $95,000 for the first three years, and $203,000 every year after that until the building is sold.
The original design of the facility called for 36-foot-high ceilings, but that figure has been lowered to 32 feet after research showed very few companies wanted that ceiling height, Tidd said.
“We wanted the building to be unique and set aside from others, but in going back and looking at the leads that come from the state, only 7 percent of leads were looking for an existing building with ceiling heights greater than 32 feet,” he said.
The project will only install the basic frame of the building, which will include four docking stations. Once a company purchases the facility, the building can be modified to meet their specific requirements for floor heights, office space and additional docking stations.
The building can also be expanded up to 240,000 square feet, depending on the needs of the company.
Tidd said MCEDA has submitted the shell building project to two manufacturing companies looking to expand in the state. He said one company has put the building on its short list for potential sites.
“Even though it’s in still in the design phase, we’ve been able to respond to a couple of leads that prefer shell buildings,” he said. “We’re still in the game, and we couldn’t have been in the game without the shell building.”
In 2000, the county constructed a shell building, but that facility didn’t sell for six years. Tidd said in a previous interview although the former shell facility sat vacant for six years, it brought two other companies to the county who were attracted to the area by the building.