Knox County Land Bank gained control of the 47 acres of the former Siemens facility at 105 N. Sandusky St. and will seek state and federal grants to fund purchasing the site from Cooper-Cameron Corp.
Siemens Energy agreed to transfer its lease to the Land Bank in negotiations by the Area Development Foundation (ADF).
Though land banks are traditionally funded through their own property sales or through a portion of fees collected on delinquent tax payments, ADF President Jeff Gottke said that wouldn’t be enough to cover the annual operations costs, which are in the high six-figures.
“We are seeking outside grant funding to at least help us cover the initial costs while we lease the property,” he said. Leases and sales on the property will fund operations in the future.
The site will be named Cooper Progress Park in recognition of the property’s root from 1833, when the C&E Cooper Iron Works began as a foundry there, a release from the Land Bank said.
The ADF also runs the Knox County Land Bank, Gottke said.
“My biggest hope is that it becomes an urban, community-connected, multi-tenant industrial park. That’s what it was designed for, and that’s what— as the county’s economic developer— we’re going to market it as,” he said.
Knox is a manufacturing county and those are the highest-paying jobs, he said. The county now has a property to meet the demand and they will try to match those together.
“This is a big deal for Mount Vernon,” Mayor Matt Starr said. “This is our ground zero for economic development for Mount Vernon.”
Starr cited the almost 700,000 square feet of manufacturing space and even an on-site 50-ton crane as strengths. The buildings are like move-in ready.
“It’s even a sweeter deal now because control of the property is now managed locally,” he said. “And that sets us up to do a much more effective job marketing to companies wanting to come in and make Mount Vernon their home.”
Starr agreed with Gottke’s desire for multiple tenants. He, too, wants to attract a diverse group of industries or manufacturers.
“If you diversify your investment, in economic downturns you can weather the storm,” he said.
