Spec projects are popping up across the Midwest, certainly a sign that developers are willing to take risks on a commercial real estate market that, while still sluggish, is showing signs of a recovery.
The latest example is taking place in Miamisburg, Ohio. That’s where Construction Managers of Ohio and Mark Fornes Realty have formed a joint venture partnership to develop the Austin Business Park, an 80-acre flex office park located near the Austin Road and I-75 interchange in Miamisburg in the Dayton, Ohio, region.
Speculative construction was all but dead during the height of the Great Recession. But this project in Ohio is far from the first spec project under construction today in the Midwest.
Is it a risk? Yes. But it’s one that the developers behind the Austin Business Park view as only a slight one.
“In our opinion, Austin Business Park will be the best location for flex office users in the entire region,” said Jason Rudzinski, vice president of Mark Fornes Realty. “Our tenants will benefit from easy access to the highway system, numerous amenities that are coming soon to the area and a geographic location that will allow them to attract talent from both the Dayton and Cincinnati labor markets. We are extremely excited about the future of Austin Business Park.”
The first building in the business park will cover about 65,000 square feet and is scheduled for completion in February of 2013. Plans for the park call for 10 or more buildings and more than 900,000 square feet of commercial property. The developers are estimating that it will take seven to 10 years to complete the park.
This isn’t the first time that Construction Managers of Ohio and Mark Fornes Realty have teamed up to develop a business park. In 2008, the companies worked together to develop Byers Business Park. Developers at this business park have now leased more than 160,000 square feet.
— Dan Rafter
