(Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) – A wholly owned subsidiary of GE Aviation landed a key zoning approval this week that brings the company one step closer to developing a large-scale, high-tech manufacturing hub at the Miami Valley Research Park.
Beavercreek City Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved a request from Unison Industries LLC, a Jacksonville-based company owned by GE Aviation, to rezone about 53.5 acres of land at the Miami Valley Research Park, where the company intends to build a new manufacturing complex.
The proposed facility would be about 280,000 square feet, said Jeff Morris, chief manufacturing engineer for GE Aviation. About 240,000 square feet would be manufacturing space, and the rest would be offices.
Unison Industries plans to consolidate its nearby seven-building manufacturing campus into the new facility, bringing about 400 hourly and salaried employees under one roof.
GE Aviation spokeswoman Jennifer Villarreal previously told this outlet that the new building will maintain new product introduction, new technology development, and existing high-mix/low-volume products and programs.
The next step for Unison Industries is to present a specific site plan to the Beavercreek Planning Commission, said Randy Burkett, Beavercreek’s planning and development director. That process is expected to take place in February.
Pending approval of the site plan, the goal is to begin construction by April or May. Employees would begin moving into the building in December, and it is expected to be operational by March 2022.
“It’s a quick turnaround, but it’s a good development of the site,” Burkett said.
The 53.5-acre site in question 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. Unison Industries has signed a letter of intent to secure the property, Villarreal said.
The site is also one of the city’s largest tracts of undeveloped land. About two-thirds of the property is wooded, and the rest is tillable. It is bounded by Interstate 675 to the east, Research Boulevard to the south and the Walnut Grove Country Club to the west.
Unison currently leases four buildings in the Beavercreek area and owns three. The company plans to exit all but one of those facilities, eventually selling off its owned properties and exiting leases of the facilities it will no longer occupy.
Employees will continue working at the existing buildings during the construction and transition phases. Unison is targeting the end of 2022 to complete the consolidation effort.
Activity at the Miami Valley Research Park skyrocketed in 2020 after Cleveland-area developer Industrial Commercial Properties invested millions to expand its footprint there. That same company is looking to develop a luxury apartment community at the park, which is planned to be a 35-acre mixed use development with 300 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.
Unison Industries is a global supplier of gas turbine engine components, as well as electrical and mechanical systems. Owned by GE, the company provides advanced performance solutions for a variety of markets, including aviation, space and defense, oil and gas, power and transportation.