SWANTON TOWNSHIP – The new owners of 13 parcels of property in the 140-acre Land-Air Commerce Park, located across from Toledo Express Airport, have announced plans to invest more than $125 million into the Swanton Township property, with more than 850,000 square feet of new construction to attract manufacturing and warehousing businesses.
“This is now the largest industrial park in Lucas County. This is truly a regional opportunity for Toledo, Lucas County and Swanton Township,” said Brian McMahon, president of Danberry National, one of the partners – also including Interstate Capital and Gerken Paving – that will build and lease the facilities.
While Land-Air Commerce Park has been in existence since the 1990s, the completion of infrastructure a few years ago opened the door to new development including the addition of Game One and Velocity on Crosswinds Drive. Earlier this week, Swanton Township trustees approved the rezoning of the remaining property to M-1 manufacturing enabling the partners to move forward with additional investment.
A conceptual site plan includes at least three buildings: a 202,500-square-foot structure at the intersection of Berkey-Southern and Tailwinds; a 206,000-square-foot building with a 155,500-square foot truck terminal; and a 257,950-square-foot cold storage facility. It will not include a data center, McMahon said.
Interstate Capital, based out of Birmingham, Mich., is no stranger to putting up spec buildings and filling them with manufacturing and warehousing tenants.
“For us to take this to the next level, we wanted someone with a network to bring opportunities to the market that we might not have,” McMahon said.
Interstate Capital is a private equity real estate firm that specializes in the acquisition, entitlement and development of industrial land in mid-sized industrial cities in the Midwest, focusing on overlooked markets that can be transformed into shovel-ready industrial assets.
“The term gets used too often, but this is a shovel-ready site. That means there’s no unforeseeable delays due to utilities and infrastructure. And that’s what companies want: an immediate site with the best location,” McMahon added.
Interstate Capital not only has projects in Michigan, but in Rossford, Findlay, Fremont and Dayton, said Managing Partner and CEO Gregory Dilone. Most of these projects are in mid-size cities, which aren’t as expensive as major markets but still offer what tenants want: ready-to-go facilities with freeway access and an available workforce.
Land-Air’s freeway access, ready utilities and access to the airport and a workforce is attractive, Dilone said. And having enough acreage to build more than one building will make more of an impact on the tax base and the schools, he added. By investing in the buildings up front, Interstate Capital is able to attract companies to lease the facilities quickly.
“When tenants are looking, they want it now,” Dilone said. “When they start seeing standing steel, we see a lot more interest on our sites. We’re talking to a handful of tenants now, and we could be able to announce one 90 to 120 days out.”
The cold storage facility is unique, as it can be used by medical companies shipping – by land or air – frozen vaccines or other products that need to stay refrigerated or frozen. While the cost to construct a cold storage facility is much higher – about $220 per square foot compared to $70 to $80 a square foot for a normal building – these are in demand, especially in the Toledo market.
“It’s part of the critical infrastructure to have cold storage,” Dilone said, noting while similar facilities are located around the Detroit Metro Airport and elsewhere, none are available in the Toledo market. Interstate is currently working on plans for such a facility in Rossford.
“We’re really excited to have this opportunity, with new partners who bring fresh ideas,” Dilone said.
Interstate Capital will work with brokers to attract tenants, but will manage the leases for the facilities.
The only section of the property that is not planned is a small corner parcel that McMahon said he could envision as a convenience store to serve employees working at the airport and area businesses, as well as residents who are between grocery stores.
Land-Air Commerce Park is located within the Toledo Express Airport Joint Economic Development District (TEA-JEDD), which was founded in 2015 as an agreement between Monclova Township, Swanton Township and Toledo. A 1.5 percent tax on income earned by employees and 1.5 percent on net profits of businesses within the district is used to spur business growth, infrastructure investment, job creation and other services in and around the airport.
The zoning change request was approved by the Lucas County Planning Commission and the Swanton Township Zoning Commission before coming to the Board of Trustees.
The county’s senior planner, Molly Maguire, recommended the zoning change.
“The zoning change request supports the economic base of the township through land use, development and capital investment, while preserving the natural features and residential areas of the township,” Maguire wrote in her recommendation to the Lucas County Planning Commission.
During the township Zoning Commission meeting, member Mike Bayer was the lone no vote, in part because he is concerned about the increase in truck traffic and its impact on residents. Dilone said he expects that all traffic will be diverted to the main roadways and have little effect on area reasidents.
Zoning Inspector Ben Mooney pointed out that roadways and other plans for the development will be considered later this year, when Interstate Capital is expected to submit a preliminary site plan for approval.
“Swanton Township has been a wonderful team player and has helped us immensely,” McMahon said.
