Neyer Properties, City Plan $30M Development Project

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Neyer Properties Inc. has been busy in Cincinnati in recent months, and plans to be even busier in November and December. For all its important projects, the Evanston-based real estate development company recently won the award for Developer of the Year at the NAIOP Night of the Stars 2011 Awards Dinner.

The company is now working with the city of Cincinnati and the Sedamsville and Riverside communities to turn one of the largest pieces of vacant industrial land in the city into a $30 million shipping and rail hub. Preliminary plans show the land could be home to 670,000 square feet of new development and as many as 600 jobs.

Neyer Properties acquired the 46 acres along River Road (US-50) and Southside Avenue, west of downtown, for about $412,500, roughly $9,000 an acre. The city owns 22 acres adjacent to Neyer’s acquisition. The city applied for a $750,000 grant from the Ohio Jobs Ready Site Program to fund construction of a 1,000-foot access road to the 68-acre parcel of land along River Road. The road is expected to be installed by 2012, if the grant is approved. But the two sides could go forward with the development even if it is not. They would look to alternative funding to complete the roadway and other infrastructure.

Known as the Conrail Redevelopment Site, it is one of the best opportunities for industrial development in Cincinnati, offering companies access to rail, road and the river. It will include 400,000 square feet of light manufacturing space, 125,000 square feet of distribution space, 100,000 square feet of warehouse space and 45,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. In addition, Neyer plans to have rail access and access to the Ohio River using an overhead conveyor. Preliminary plans also show 30,000 square feet of retail space near the intersection of River Road and Fairbanks Avenue, as requested by the Sedamsville and Riverside communities.

The project could keep existing businesses in the city, as well as attract new companies. It will bring annual tax receipts of $780,000 for the city and $1.2 million for Ohio.