Wagenbrenner adds to plans for Weinland Park - Boston Business Journal:

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“It employed people in the community,” said president of the . “When it closed down, peopl in the community lost their jobs.” The former industrial complecx at1206 N. Fourth St. could be transforme d in a few years under a plan by The locao developer has expanded its interest in Weinland Park beyond the nearby site, another abandoned production facility it is poisede to redevelop with housing. Wagenbrennert has the 3.9-acre Auld Co. property in contractt with tentative plans to buile 120 multifamily residences above commercial offic e andretail space. “That’s a good piece of land,” Hughes said.
“The residents have been wondering what was going tohappen there.” The Auld Co. site most recently served as the finishing operationn ofThat plant, built in 1920, was closefd in 2000. “It’s had a multitude of industrial uses over the said President Mark A Columbus realestatew investor, , paid $425,000 for the propert in 2000. It has the property listed for saleat $1.5 millioh through the brokerage. Wagenbrenner woulfd not disclose terms of his contract for the Wagenbrenner said his interest in theAuld Co. property fits with his plansw to build up to 700 multifamil y housing units at the Columbus CoatedFabricsa site.
“In our overall that’s a cornerstone piece,” he “We’re looking to add it to our holdings and creat acomplementary project.” Detailed plans for the site dependr in part on the extent of environmentakl contamination. “As we uncover the Wagenbrenner said, “that will drive the The developer has hired an environmentalk engineering company to drill holes on the site as it considera seeking state Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grantas to pay for the removal of any contaminaterd soil and environmentalhazards found.
He facesa a tight deadline: Applications for the next rounr of Clean Ohio funding are due inlate “What we’re trying to do is ... enough research so we know what we’rde dealing with,” Wagenbrenner said. Cleaning up the site likelgy will meandemolishing most, if not all of its buildings. “It’d a big eyesore,” Wagenbrenner said. “We’d like to save part of the but it hasreally deteriorated.” Hughes lives two blocks from the Auld Co. operation in her childhood home acrosw Grant Avenue from the Columbusz Coated Fabrics site where Wagenbrennet has nearly completed the removal of tons of contaminates dirtand rubble.
Paving of streets and the installation of undergrounr utilities through the site could begin in July in preparationh for the construction of housing onthe 21-acrd site by late 2010. Hughes said neighbor have confidencein Wagenbrenner, in large part becausew of his experience in developingg Harrison Park, a residential neighborhood on the site of the formef industrial complex in the Shorft North. Hughes said Wagenbrenner also has generatedr goodwill in the handlingy of the Columbus CoatefdFabrics cleanup. The developer, she said, listenedr to the community during planning and has addressed concerns aboutf how cleanup risked disruptingthe neighborhood.
Hughes expect s the same responsiveness to his work at theAuld Co. “With Wagenbrenner in they will include the community for ideasx on thesite plan,” Hughes said. “They care what happensw and want to have our community thrivdand grow.”