Scannell Development Co. of Indianapolis has lined up two more sites, taking to four the number of industrial buildings it plans to construct this year in Northeast Ohio.
The developer of Cornerstone Business Park in Twinsburg and multiple buildings in Strongsville is moving to closer-in suburbs to find infill locations for its next two projects here, in Valley View and Bedford Heights.
Scannell plans to construct a 300,000-square-foot warehouse at 5585 Canal Road in Valley View and a 145,000-square-footer on the 24000 block of Aurora Road in Bedford Heights.
Tim Elam, a Scannell managing director, said in an interview, “We’re trying to find good infill sites as tied into the market as we can. It’s hard to find them, but we’re also working on a few more.”
The developer is working through the planning process with the Valley View project and has a request for architectural design review pending March 9 for the Bedford Heights project.
The Bedford Heights project is such an infill location that it technically calls for demolishing an existing building, the 50-year-old Aurora Upper Intermediate School, which was closed 15 years ago and has had several temporary tenants.
Scannell acquired the site from the Bedford School District for $900,000. It previously obtained a rezoning to industrial from institutional use from the City of Bedford Heights to ready the project.
Terry Coyne, a Newmark vice chairman who represents Scannell on the Bedford Heights building, said the site will have strong visibility, and the building will be designed to serve multiple tenants rather than a single one. He said it may benefit from a substantial number of construction contractors and suppliers that already have located in the area.
Elam said it’s likely about three tenants will occupy the Bedford Heights structure. He said planning a speculative, multitenant building differs from building a structure for a single tenant. For instance, a multitenant building needs to be designed so doors, windows and electrical controls are located to serve occupants of different sizes.
“There’s a little guesswork due to the site, but we draw on our experience dealing with multiple tenants over the years,” Elam said.
Mayor Fletcher Berger of Bedford Heights said he was “pleasantly surprised” when Scannell surfaced as the buyer of the school property. The company just last year completed a large building on Miles Road in the suburb that’s now occupied by an Amazon delivery center.
“It’s been little used since the district closed the school there,” Berger said. “It’s time for it to go.”
There is some empty land nearby that Berger hopes may yield another project soon to give a fresh look to that stretch of the artery in Bedford Heights.
Meanwhile, Scannell on Feb. 16 obtained a contingent approval from the Valley View Planning Commission for its plans, according to Valley View Mayor Jerry Piasecki.
“It’s an exciting project,” Piasecki said. “Scannell indicated it plans to move forward quickly.”
The two projects are in addition to two buildings that Scannell previously announced it would construct at Cornerstone this year.
Elam declined to say how much the Valley View and Bedford Heights projects will cost to construct. However, the Valley View project will cost about $20 million and the Bedford Heights building about $10 million, according to industry estimates for constructing such buildings. The estimates do not include costs for adapting space for specific users, which vary widely.
The Scannell projects are part of a boom in constructing industrial properties in the country and region driven by the rise of e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Wayfair, and the reshoring of manufacturing.
Even with the rapid expansion, demand has been keeping vacancy in the region low.
The Cushman & Wakefield Cresco brokerage estimates 3.7% vacancy in industrial buildings throughout Northeast Ohio as of the end of 2020.
The areas for the latest Scannell projects are, incredibly, in even better shape with less available space.
In the eastern suburbs, which include Bedford Heights, vacancy is 3.4%. The south suburbs, which include Valley View, have a 3% vacancy rate, the Cushman & Wakefield Cresco report stated.
Scannell has developed 85 million square feet of property over the last 30 years, located in 44 states and three provinces in Canada.
Recent Comments