New Warren County distribution center project moving forward near I-75

TURTLECREEK TWP. — Preliminary plans for a logistics center to be built on 296 acres near Interstate 75 outside Monroe have been approved by Warren County.

Core 5 Industrial Partners is planning to build a logistics center on the property located north and east of the Miami Valley Gaming Racino at Ohio 63 and Union Road.

The proposed $116 million project will consist of four industrial buildings, totaling more than 3 million square feet of space and would access Ohio 63 to enter and exit the facility. According to planning documents, the site will have ponds for stormwater management.

Martin Russell, deputy county administrator and Warren County Port Authority executive director, said county commissioners approved plans that include a condition that trucks were not to go through the Shaker Run subdivision.

However, a road from Ohio 63 to the logistics center would also connect into Shaker Run so residents could use it for quicker access to Interstates 75 and 71.

He said the next goal was to obtain road easements and close the deal.

In May, Core 5 received the approval of the Lebanon Board of Education and the commissioners for a Community Reinvestment Act tax abatement 10 years, 50% real property tax abatement. The CRA application indicated that the owners estimate of creating in multiple phases cumulatively, 1,200 full-time equivalent employee positions with an aggregate annual payroll of $45 million with zero part-time or temporary jobs when the project is completed. The hiring of employees is expected to begin September 2022 and continue incrementally over the following eight years of 100 to 200 jobs each year.

The CRA agreement also provides certain benchmarks based on the project’s valuation, payroll and square footage to be reached that would increase the CRA property tax abatement to 15 years at 75% as the project continues to grow.

In late March, the Warren County Port Authority purchased the former prison farm land for $10.3 million and is selling the land to the developer. The land was rezoned in 2020 and Turtlecreek Twp. officials told Warren County commissioners that the land was one of two economic development corridors the township hopes is developed to help offset the costs of growth otherwise shouldered by its nearly 15,000 residents and other property owners.

The site is already part of a busy logistics, entertainment and retail corridor off of the Interstate 75/Ohio 63 interchange, that includes Park North.

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