Reading eyesore readied for life sciences companies

Environmental remediation of a Reading eyesore is complete, and lots on the site of the former Nivison Weiskopf Box and Glass factory are being marketed for sale or lease as an addition to the Reading Life Sciences Complex.

The 10.3-acre tract at Third and Voorhees street required $2.3 million in Ohio Job Ready Sites grants, a nearly $1 million commitment from the City of Reading, and smaller federal grants through Hamilton County and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remediate hazardous buildings and soils and make the site shovel ready.
Remediation included the demolition of 155,000-square-feet of condemned buildings and the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated soils.
Infrastructure upgrades are now being made to the site.
The adjacent 59-acre Reading Life Sciences Complex is home to more than 1,000 employees at three life science technology leaders, Patheon Pharmaceuticals, the University of Cincinnati Genome Research Institute, and Girindus America

Mark Fitzgerald of LSR Consultants, LLC, the firm retained by the city to find remediation funding and to market the site, says that the Nivison Weiskopf property is being targeted specifically for similar end users.

"The principal permitted uses on the site must comply with 'RD' zoning, which is research facilities and their accessory uses," he says.

The new jobs will allow the city to recoup its investment in the project – and then some.

"It's expected that 250 to 300 jobs could eventually be on site," Fitzgerald says.  "This could generate up to $300,000 annually in earnings taxes, which could be applied to general city services."

But to Fitzgerald, the project is about much more than jobs.

"While creating new job and investment opportunities is the principal goal of this endeavor, the fact that this project eliminated an unsafe eyesore that posed a threat to the surrounding community should not be overlooked," he says.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Mark Fitzgerald, LSR Consultants, LLC