Trending
STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Port Authority Board of Directors approved a motion Thursday to proceed with development of a contract that would bring a multi-state property development company on as the project manager for the construction of a spec building.
The port authority's contract with Agracel Inc. is subject to modifications before ultimately being executed, though it will permit the company to provide construction management and marketing for a spec building in a 13.36-acre site in the Jefferson County Industrial Park.
Approval of the motion came almost simultaneously as the Jefferson County commissioners signed a resolution, committing to be the guarantor of any loan or debt taken on by the port authority during the spec building's development process.
Thursday's proceedings from the port authority and commissioners marked significant progress toward realization of a spec building, a facility constructed to entice businesses into the county as tenants.
With added services from Mike Jacoby of Argus Growth Consultants LTD, who the commissioners hired in January, the project is set to move forward once the port authority and commissioners have jointly determined the spec building's specifications. Development will include pursuit of low-interest and forgivable loan funding through Jobs Ohio's Ohio Site Inventory Program and the Ohio Department of Development's Rural Industrial Park Coal program to offset costs.
Prior to the motion's approval, Jason Kester, Agracel's regional development director, presented the port authority's board with a proposal previously presented to the commissioners on Jan. 11.
Kester described Agracel's roughly 30-year history as a property developer for communities without large-scale development. Headquartered in Effingham, Ill., Agracel has developed more than $1.5 billion worth of property in as many as 25 states, with multiple spec buildings spread across its portfolio.
Agracel's contract with the port authority comes at no out-of-pocket cost to the latter. Rather, if the port authority decides to sell the spec building to an Agracel-controlled LLC, that will cover the company's project management services. The port authority could also choose to retain the building and lease it itself, at which point Agracel would be paid a fee. Agracel also guarantees that the port authority will pay nothing if a tenant is not found within five years.
Robert Naylor, executive director of the port authority, said the agency has been consulting with Agracel regarding the OSIP and RIPL programs since September, and Kester has been providing guidance on the port authority's request for qualifications for an architect to provide renderings for the spec building.
"I think that (Kester and Jacoby) can be very complimentary with one another and provide us the best option of getting ... loan funding and helping us proceed and navigate these waters as we try to get the spec building built in the industrial park," Naylor said.
The process will require collaboration with the commissioners, Naylor said, noting that a property transfer must first take place to give the port authority ownership of the site. The port authority does not have its own income stream, necessitating the port authority be the borrower and the commissioners act as the guarantor.
Kester said a civil engineer will be assigned to the project to handle day-to-day construction. In order to qualify for the loan programs, buildings must be "move-in ready" upon completion.
What the building's specifications will be depends on what kind of business the port authority wants to market it to and how much the port authority is willing to finance, Kester said. His recommendation was a 50,000-square-foot design with an expandable pad -- prices average about $100 per square foot.
Kester estimated that the loan program application will take between nine and 12 months, followed by a construction period of about the same. The RIPL program is funded on a two-year cycle by the state of Ohio, he said, and its cycle will end in June 2025.
Kester said also that Agracel gives priority to local contractors, and it hopes to use a pre-designed building model from one of its previous projects to expedite the process. Additionally, Agracel's in-house marketing team will handle marketing for the building, including facilitating site visits and posting on social media, among other methods.