HUNTINGTON — Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia President Keith Burdette says the economic development organization’s recent purchase of a $7.5 million manufacturing site in Huntington has two objectives: to create jobs and investment in Huntington.
Burdette said the Polymer Alliance Zone closed on the former U.S. Equipment, U.S. Crusher and Labor Services building at 900 West 9th Ave. in December.
“We think this building and site gives us a great opportunity,” Burdette said. “The building is 363,000 square feet.”
The Polymer Alliance Zone (PAZ) of West Virginia was created in 1996 as a pilot project through an executive order of the governor. Today, PAZ has one of the highest concentrations of high-technology, specialty and engineering polymers production in the United States.
PAZ is a membership organization that includes polymer and related industries. Burdette says it strives to create new, good-paying jobs and an improved quality of life by expanding the manufacturing base in Cabell, Wayne, Mason, Jackson, Pleasants, Tyler and Wood counties.
“There isn’t another building like this in the state’s inventory of available properties,” Burdette said of the new Huntington site. “There isn’t one anything close to this.”
The project was financed with loans through West Virginia Economic Development Authority and the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, Burdette said.
Burdette said in March of last year, David Lieving of the Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO) became aware the building was for sale.
“Our relationship with HADCO was key to this investment,” he said.
The Polymer Alliance Zone is one of HADCO’s regional marketing partners.
“HADCO facilitated the process for Cabell County and Wayne County to become a member of the Polymer Alliance Zone in 2018,” said Lieving, HADCO’s president and CEO. “The partnership has allowed us to expand our reach through a regional marketing effort offered by PAZ that allows HADCO to tell our story in a more cost-effective way by simply collaborating with Polymer Alliance Zone on marketing efforts. This partnership allows us to gain access to a bigger team and it also helps us to cast a wider net to our target audience of potential investors interested in the growth of the polymer sector in the Ohio Valley.”
Lieving also serves on the Polymer Alliance board of directors, representing HADCO.
“We made them aware of this property being on the market and encouraged them to consider purchasing the property,” he said. “One of our biggest challenges in Cabell and Wayne is having ready sites and buildings available for new investors to consider. When opportunities surface, we need to be ready to offer options that meet the needs of businesses looking for a location to stand up operations. Our mantra is ‘No Product, No Project.’”
If HADCO cannot meet the real estate requirements of businesses it tries to recruit, they will locate elsewhere, Lieving said.
“This is a large industrial building in the center of the Huntington Industrial Center that has rail and many other amenities. Rail-served properties are rare in our entire region. The building will require some investment to update it and to get it ready for a new business to occupy the space, but it is a good opportunity for us to attract some new business to locate operations here in Huntington.”
Currently, Pittsburgh-based Koppers is the only tenant of the building. It leases about 150,000 square feet, Burdette said.
Koppers’ Huntington facility designs, manufactures and markets track components consisting mainly of standard joint bars and insulated joints for joining rail. Products include bonded insulated joints, polyurethane encapsulated joints and epoxy fiberglass joints. Its products are sold globally and are involved in the utilization and maintenance of railroad track structures.
“That leaves over 200,000 square feet,” Burdette said. “It has rail, both adjacent and at least one place into the building, which is highly unusual. It has about six overhead cranes. Again, highly unusual there.”
Burdette said the building needs cleaned up and cleaned out.
“We are looking over the building and getting a plan of what we need to do and what we need to prioritize,” he said. “We’ve got a whole litany of things, but the biggest concentration is start cleaning it out, cleaning it up, getting it ready to lease. It’s got a probably a half century of grime in it.”
Burdette estimated the cleaning phase could take from six to nine months. While that is taking place, tenant recruitment is focused on polymers and polymer-related companies, he said.
“Our board has always taken the position that the property is a means to an end, so we don’t limit to just polymers who’s in our buildings,” he said. “So for instance, in Parkersburg, we have a big plastic packaging company. But we also have a metal fabricating company that does work for a defense contractor. We have an electric bike company that designs and sells electric bikes. So we have a mix of a lot of different things.”
Burdette says the Huntington building could be a lot of different things.
“It could be a really top-notch heavy manufacturing facility, because like I said, it has overhead cranes,” he said.
Burdette says the goal is to find a big opportunity with the right investment to take over the remaining space in the building, but the PAZ is open to leasing portions of the building.
“The building has expansion opportunities,” he said. “We have the potential to create more warehouse manufacturing space. This site has a lot of potential.”
Burdette said PAZ wants to be more than just landlords.
“Our mission is to improve the building,” he said. “We we take great pride in our property, and this property will need a lot of tender loving care. But it’s got great bones, and we’re gonna give it the attention it needs and hopefully find a company that will create some jobs in Huntington.”
Burdette urges anyone interest in leasing the building to contact him at 304-428-1622.
