Opus Develops in Cincinnati

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

The Opus Group is developing two speculative industrial buildings totaling 800,000 square feet at Port Union Commerce Park in Cincinnati on behalf of its owner, Founders Properties, L.L.C.

Founders Properties had acquired two existing buildings and 46 acres at the site, and the two new buildings will be to the south of those presently standing. For the project, Opus Development Co., L.L.C. is the developer, Opus Design Build, L.L.C. is the design-builder and Opus AE Group, L.L.C. is the architect and structural engineer.

“The Cincinnati marketplace in the Northwest submarket, is historically really the most active industrial market in the area when you look north of the Ohio River,” Doug Swain, Opus Development Co.’s vice president and general manager, told Commercial Property Executive. “We traditionally have been by-in-large industrial developers and try to build complete developments that meet the market’s needs for modern industrial space. This fits in with the philosophy we have.”

Located at 4250 Port Union Road, Building 1 is planned as a 260,000-square-foot industrial space with 28-foot clear height, 40-foot by 44-foot structural bays, 25 dock doors and two drive-in doors.

The 547,000-square-foot Building 3 will be located at 4350 Port Union Road and include 32-foot clear height, 50-foot by 50-foot structural bays, 60 dock doors and four drive-in doors. Swain said the space will most likely be split in two and shared by two tenants.

Both buildings will feature 60-foot deep trailer storage in the truck courts, abundant car and trailer parking, as well as ESFR sprinklers and T-5 fluorescent lighting.

The buildings sit on 46 acres in a premier industrial development near the intersection of State Route 747 and Port Union Road and will provide tenants with easy access to I-275 and I-75 for local, regional and national distribution.

According to Swain, there’s a strong local workforce in Cincinnati that is receptive to the industrial product, so the timing was right for these buildings.

“When you look at this site, the marketplace is very tight and there has been very little development so there is very little modern space available,” he said. “We feel like we can satisfy new groups coming into the market and also the organic growth that is happening within companies already existing that are looking to expand.”

Construction is expected to be complete in September. When finished, the commerce park will have four buildings in total, including existing Buildings 2 and 4.