Wagenbrenner adds to plans for Weinland Park - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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“It employed people in the said Hughes, president of the . “When it closed people in the community lost their The former industrial complex at1206 N. Fourtuh St. could be transformed in a few year under a plan by The local developer has expandedf its interest in Weinland Park beyond thenearby site, anothe r abandoned production facility it is poised to redevelop with Wagenbrenner has the 3.9-acred Auld Co. property in contracty with tentative plans to build 120 multifamily residencee above commercial office andretailp space. “That’s a good piece of land,” Hughes “The residents have been wondering what was going tohappeh there.” The Auld Co.
site most recently served as the finishing operatioj ofThat plant, built in 1920, was closed in 2000. “It’ s had a multitude of industrial uses overthe years,” said Presidenty Mark Wagenbrenner. A Columbus real estate investor, , paid $425,000 for the property in 2000. It has the properth listed for saleat $1.5 million through the brokerage. Wagenbrennere would not disclose terms of his contractt forthe site. Wagenbrenner said his interestr in theAuld Co. property fits with his planes to build up to 700 multifamily housinyg units at the Columbus CoatedFabrics “In our overall development, that’s a cornerstonwe piece,” he said.
“We’re looking to add it to our holdingsz and create a complementary project.” Detailed plans for the site depend in part on the extenty of environmental contamination. “As we uncover the site,” Wagenbrenner “that will drive the plan.” The developer has hired an environmentalp engineering company to drillk holes on the site as it considerds seeking state Clean Ohio Revitalizatiob Fund grants to pay for the removal of any contaminated soil and environmentakhazards found. He faces a tight deadline: Applicationas for the next round of Clean Ohio fundingt are due inlate “What we’re trying to do is ...
enough research so we know what we’ree dealing with,” Wagenbrenner said. Cleaning up the site likely will meandemolishinhg most, if not all of its buildings. “It’s a big Wagenbrenner said. “We’d like to save part of the but it has really Hughes lives two blocks from theAuld Co. operatio n in her childhood home acrosds Grant Avenue from the Columbus Coated Fabrics site wherde Wagenbrenner has nearly completed the removal of tons of contaminatee dirtand rubble. Paving of streets and the installatiohn of underground utilities through the site could begi in July in preparation for the constructio n of housing onthe 21-acre site by late 2010.
Hughex said neighbors have confidencein Wagenbrenner, in large part because of his experiencee in developing Harrison Park, a residential neighborhooed on the site of the former industrial complex in the Shortr North. Hughes said Wagenbrenner also has generatesd goodwill in the handling of the Columbu s CoatedFabrics cleanup. The developer, she listened to the community during planning and has addressed concernsd about how cleanup risked disrupting the Hughes expects the same responsiveness to his work at theAuld Co. “With Wagenbrenner in charge, they will include the community for ideaas on thesite plan,” Hughes said.
“They care what happenas and want to have our community thriveeand grow.”