SHELBY COUNTY—KARSS Group LLC will begin development of 24,000 square-foot speculative expandable building in Fort Loramie, Ohio. This is the newest commercial building to be built in the Fort Loramie Industrial Park within the last six years.

“The demand for this type of development is high due to the lack of available expandable speculative buildings in the area,” said KARSS Group, LLC Partner Scott Holthaus.“This project will catalyze future development within the Fort Loramie Industrial Park.

Previously used for production agriculture, the site was converted into an industrial park in 1990. The project will add a 24,000-square-foot speculative building with the option to expand to 98,000 square feet. The speculative building will join 10 other businesses within the industrial park and will help enhance the Village of Fort Loramie’s existing manufacturing presence.

“Manufacturing entities employ over 50% of Shelby County’s and Fort Loramie’s total workforce,” said the DDC’s Executive Vice President of Regional Development Julie Sullivan. “This project will support growth for entrepreneurs in Shelby County and the Dayton Region as well as opportunities to attract new business to Fort Loramie.”

This project was made possible due to the close partnership between the Village of Fort Loramie, the Sidney-Shelby County Economic Partnership, JobsOhio, and the Dayton Development Coalition.

“Fort Loramie’s strong manufacturing presence and dedicated workforce make it the ideal site for development,” said Fort Loramie Mayor Randy Ahlers. “Fort Loramie’s residents take pride in their occupations and quality of production.”

JobsOhio approved an Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) grant in support of the project. OSIP offers grants and low-interest loans to support speculative site and building development projects with no identified end user. The primary goal of OSIP is to fill gaps in Ohio’s real estate inventory with real estate targeting near-term sector wins to ensure our state is more competitive for reactive site selection projects.

“This new 24,000 square-foot speculative building will be an attractive destination for manufacturers seeking to grow their business in the region quickly and with confidence,” said JobsOhio president and CEO JP Nauseef. “The Ft. Loramie Industrial Park site is located in the heart of Shelby County, providing access to its talented manufacturing workforce and customers throughout the North America market.”