The owners of the former Columbus Castings on the south side plan to invest at least $100 million to build 3 soft commercial buildings that would breathe new life into what for more than a century has been a production anchor for the neighborhood.
Dusten Estes, vice president of Stonemont Financial Group of Atlanta, said Wednesday that the company plans to innovate within 90 days, subject to the city of Columbus’ tax breaks.
He said the company had spoken to several potential tenants, though Stonemont has not yet identified any.
The 3 buildings (600,000 feet, 115,000 feet, and 100,000 feet) would take about 18 months to build.
Estes did not need to give an express structure cost, but said it would be “a nine-digit number. “
Stonemont officials met with Columbus officials last week to discuss tax incentive plans for city assets to get things done.
“They must make significant investments in the site,” said Mike Stevens, the city’s director of development.
In 2021, Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial Group bought the 74-acre site for $8. 5 million. It was once the home of Buckeye Steel.
Reich Brothers Holdings bought the bankruptcy court at 2211 Parsons Ave. in in 2016 and sold it to Stonemont.
Photos: Back to Columbus Castings/Buckeye Steel
“We have a preference to see a major employment center,” Stevens said. “We’ve been encouraged by the projects they’ve done elsewhere. “
Estes said the filler site was smart for allocation due to the availability of hard work and demand from new industries in general. Rail lines also service the site, he said.
“We seek to create Class A commercial buildings,” he said, devoting time and attention to making tenant-friendly plans and services.
“This is a site that has been a horror in the city for years,” Estes said. “People have the mentality that they’re going to see it,” he said.
According to Stonemont’s website, the company is in speculative growth projects and has developed Zurich Insurance Group’s North American headquarters in suburban Chicago and a peaceful railroad-related commercial and production park in Savannah, Georgia.
“They did proactive development,” Stevens said. There’s a bit of demand for commercial space” in the city, he said.
Columbus Castings: a South Side Institution
Columbus Castings, which operated for years as Buckeye Steel Castings, closed in 2016. For more than a hundred years, the company has manufactured portions for wagons. In the 1950s, the foundry hired more than 2000 workers.
Demolition of the foundry began in 2018.
The city’s public service arm is working with Stonemont to determine what new public infrastructure would be needed, Stevens said.
No one has housing for the site, Stevens said of its proposed use.
“It has been an intermediate matrix of employment . . . We’re talking about the kind of production features they can offer,” he said, especially with relocation discussions across the country. This is nationwide as a result of COVID-19. Pandemic and supply chain issues abroad.
Donna Bates, secretary of the Reeb-Hosack/Steelton Village Community Civic Association, said she believes warehouses will be built on the site. The community is north of the property.
“Everything would be an improvement,” Bates said. He said he hoped Stonemont would stay in touch with the network about its plans and timeline.
Jim Griffin, who heads the Columbus South Side Area Commission, said some citizens would like to see retail businesses on the site, as a target or something similar.
“It’s in our garden,” Griffin said. We’re going to have to do it with everything they build. “
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@MarkFerenchik