The Opus Group is planning to construct a 254,000-square-foot, multi-tenant, industrial spec building on 18 acres in Marysville’s Innovation Park. Officials said the building will fit the character of the other buildings in the park and will have distinctive architectural features.
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Marysville is in the process of selling 18 acres of its Innovation Park.
At its meeting Monday, Marysville City Council held the first reading of legislation to sell land in Innovation Park to The Opus Group, a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies headquartered in Minneapolis.
Union County Economic Development Director Eric Phillips said Opus would buy 18 acres in the park at $90,000 per acre.
He called it “a great opportunity.”
He said it is “an honor” to have Opus interested in the land as the company is “well known throughout the nation for the work they do on industrial buildings.”
Alex Vulic said Opus is planning to construct a 254,000-square-foot, multi-tenant, industrial building. Space inside the building will be broken into increments of about 60,000, “unless someone wants the entire building,” Phillips said.
Phillips said the vacancy rate for spec buildings like the one proposed has “consistently” been 1 to 2% in the area.
Vulic said the building will look similar and because it will be able to offer larger spaces, he thinks it will complement the other buildings in the park.
He said the building will “fill a gap” for businesses that want a site larger than the other vacant spec buildings in the Innovation Park.
Vulic said Opus will construct the building, market the space and lease it to the initial tenants, “at least initially.”
Once the operation is “stabilized,” it will be sold to an investor like a pension fund, life insurance company or other “top end, the folks that want to pay top dollar for product that will retain value.”
“That is our business model,” Vulic said.
As part of the sales process Opus will have a 180-day “due diligence” period before the sale is final. Phillips called the period, “typical.” The company could also purchase two additional 90-day due diligence periods.
“The project would be contingent on obtaining a real estate tax abatement. That would happen during the due diligence period,” Phillips said.
Vulic said the company is still working on “some design issues, access issues that we’ve got to work through” but hoping to begin construction at the end of this summer if possible or in the Spring of 2025.
He said the way the building is financed, “it will go forward for us.”
Phillips said the construction would be “very nice.” He said the building would be “very similar” to the buildings already in the park.
He said there would be “some real distinctive architectural features on that building as well.”
City council member Mark Reams said he has been told there are businesses ready to move, but they want an available space ready before they do it.
Vulic said he was correct.
“The credibility of having walls up, having a place to land very quickly is key,” Vulic said. “Projects don’t have a lot of credibility until there is a place to go.”
Council Member Scott Hunter said he has seen spec buildings attract “a new business who was a new player in the game.”
“To me, I see it as an opportunity for just that, new business tenants that want to make Marysville their home and bring employment opportunities here,” Hunter said.
City Manager Terry Emery said the project, “just seems like an excellent opportunity on an ideal location in Innovation Park so we see it as being a very positive addition to the development.”
Vulic brought a similar project forward in 2018 when he was with Elford Construction, based out of Columbus. That project would have been the first in Innovation Park but ultimately fell through.
“I have always been a huge believer in the story here in Marysville,” Vulic said Monday.
The city purchased more than 200 acres for the Innovation Park in late 2016, paying nearly $5 million. Since then, the city has invested nearly $10 million in infrastructure improvements on the site. If the sale to Opus moves forward, the city will still have about 130 acres available in the park.
The sale will be in front of city council again April 22 for a public hearing.