(Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) – A wholly owned subsidiary of GE Aviation has unveiled an early glimpse at its proposed manufacturing project in Ohio — a high-tech, 280,000-square-foot complex that will ultimately bring 400 hourly and salaried jobs under one roof.
But when the facility comes online in March 2022, it may represent only the first phase of development for the 53-acre campus at the Miami Valley Research Park, which has room to accommodate a future expansion that could nearly double the company’s physical footprint.
Updated site plans reviewed by the city in February call for a 210,000-square-foot future expansion area immediately north of the proposed building, as well as a potential third access point along Research Boulevard.
“If they find out they outgrow their space very quickly, that is a pre-planned area for expansion,” Randy Burkett, the city’s planning and development director, told members of the Beavercreek Planning Commission earlier this month. “Right now, that’s just long-term planning. It’s not any timeframe for (the) immediate future.”
Any building constructed at the expansion area would be part of a separate phase, according to documents filed with the city.
The initial building will provide a new home for Unison Industries LLC, a Jacksonville-based company owned by GE Aviation that designs and manufactures engine components for aircraft.
The initial 280,000-square-foot facility is being envisioned on a 53-acre property at the Miami Valley Research Park. It will accommodate about 400 employees for Unison Industries, a Jacksonville-based subsidiary of GE Aviation.
Unison will lease the site from Pure Development — the Indianapolis-based owner, landlord and developer of the property. FCL Builders, a commercial construction and design company headquartered near Chicago, will oversee construction on the design-build project.
CSO Architects, an architecture and interior design firm based in Indianapolis, is the architect of record. IBI Group, a Canada-based international professional services company with offices in Cincinnati and Columbus, is the civil engineer.
Pending final approvals, the project is scheduled to break ground April 1, Pure Development Principal Brian Palmer said. It should be complete by March 15, 2022.
“We’re targeting a very aggressive schedule; looking to start construction as soon as the weather will allow this spring,” he said.
Most of the facility — about 240,000 square feet — will be designated for manufacturing, and about 40,000 square feet will be office space.
It will also be outfitted with amenities for employees and visitors, including an on-site café & fitness center, said Randy Schumacher, principal at CSO Architects.
First announced in December 2020, the project is part of a major consolidation effort for Unison Industries, which currently occupies seven buildings in the Beavercreek area. The company plans to depart all but one of those facilities, eventually selling its owned properties and exiting leases of those it will no longer occupy.
“The physical layout of the current campus isn’t ideal as it requires parts movement between buildings that results in significant waste and extra cost, and limits teamwork,” GE Aviation spokeswoman Jennifer Villarreal told me previously. “Our intent is to simplify operations by optimizing seven manufacturing facilities into one.”
Villarreal said the plan is for the new building to maintain new product introduction, new technology development, and the existing high-mix/low-volume products and programs.
Unison’s existing campus manufactures gas turbine tubes, ducts and manifolds; offers machining, fabrication and investment casting capabilities; and hosts on-site product engineering, new product development and testing.
Employees will continue working at the existing buildings during the construction and transition phases. The project will not impact or involve other GE Aviation operations based in Dayton, and it is not expected to impact employment or customer commitments.
The future build site is owned by the Miami Valley Research Foundation — a university-related nonprofit jointly operated by Wright State University, the University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College. It is bounded by Interstate 675 to the east, Research Boulevard to the south and Walnut Grove Country Club to the west.
It’s part of the Miami Valley Research Park, which has seen a surge of new activity in recent months. In 2020, Cleveland-area developer Industrial Commercial Properties invested millions to expand its footprint there — including forging plans to develop a 35-acre mixed-use development with 300 luxury apartment units.
Other projects slated for the park include a $12 million headquarters for Life Connection of Ohio, as well as a proposed “Defense Technology Connector Facility” that would help the community support Wright-Patt’s efforts to promote digital engineering and increase digital processes in the acquisition of weapons systems.