Wawa comes to Butler County
In June, the first official Wawa groundbreaking happened in neighboring Warren County, but construction of Wawa locations in Butler County is happening now.
The gas station and convenience store company is building one 7198 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Liberty Twp. and another site will be at 4577 Dixie Hwy. in Fairfield.
While the Wawa corporate offices wouldn’t confirm, there were plans for as many as four total Wawa gas stations to be built in Fairfield. Plans for three of them were approved, but developers for a fourth Wawa, on the northwest corner of Pleasant Avenue and John Gray Road, pulled plans after residential complaints.
Frisch’s closures
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Several Frisch’s restaurants, famous for their Big Boy burgers and statues, closed after being evicted from buildings they had leased.
The closures began after NRD Capital paid $175 million for the publicly traded company that established Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. in 1939. Four months after the sale, a Florida company, now known as NNN REIT LP, paid $47 million for 74 of the company’s 121 stores. Then the evections began.
Not all Frisch’s restaurants have closed, or are expected to close. As of this month, it was confirmed that the restaurants at 1255 Main St., Hamilton; 2201 E Main St., Springfield; 6188 Wilmington Pike, Sugarcreek Twp.; and 8545 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, West Chester Twp. are staying open.
Two Frisch’s Restaurant Inc. executives, Don Short and Cheryl White, are leading a buyout of “select” locations from the company’s Atlanta-based owner.
Business expansion
Schneider Electric announced intentions of investing $9 million to improve in building improvements, along with spending $16 million to purchase new machines and equipment. This $25 million total investment into its Fairfield facility on Union Centre Boulevard will allow the energy management and automation company to add 100 new jobs, expanding its workforce to 269.
Fairfield City Council approved its Job Creation Incentive Grant Economic Development agreement with the Global 500 company. According to the agreement, Fairfield will provide an annual grant of up to 36% of the new income tax collected from the increased payroll tax at the site for eight years.
Schneider agreed to extend the lease of its facility 10 years and must create the 100 jobs within three years upon completing its expansion project, which should be completed by the end of 2025.
Pacific Manufacturing Ohio has purchased a fifth building as it looks toward another expansion of its Fairfield campus. The Japan-based automotive parts manufacturer purchased in February a 50,000-square-foot building on nearly 8 acres on Quality Boulevard, and plans to construct a 72,700-plus addition.
The project will cost close to $70 million, which includes the purchase of the building, construction costs, and the purchase of new machines and equipment. The project will create 96 new jobs as it retains 860. The annual payroll is expected to collectively increase by more than $4 million to a total $44.7 million.
When completed, Pacific Manufacturing will have about 950,000 square feet of space in five buildings spread over 60 acres on its Seward Road campus.
Pacific is a major supplier of parts to Toyota, Subaru, and Honda, along with others. It manufactures automotive parts, including a variety of metal and plastic components.
The company is Fairfield’s second-largest industrial business, behind Koch Foods, and fifth-largest employer in the city.
Bass Pro Shops
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Near the beginning of this year, Bass Pro Shops opened its new store in West Chester Twp., replacing the company-owned store along the border of Fairfield and Forest Park in the mall once known as Forest Fair Mall.
The 125,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops’ Outdoor World store opened in February and was the latest addition to The Streets of West Chester development, and the Interstate 75 corridor between Cincinnati and Dayton.
The relocation to this spot off Allen Road had been much anticipated for more than a decade. Bass Pro bought the 22-acre site in 2013 and has been thought of a centerpiece for the mixed residential, restaurant and entertainment district.
Hamilton development
Some key properties in Hamilton received tax credits from the state of Ohio.
Wulco Inc. announced in October plans to move into the vacant former iMFLUX building at 3550 Symmes Road. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 1.156%, seven-year tax credit for the company that works in the aerospace industry.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority credit will allow Wulco to create 55 fulltime equivalent jobs with $2.780 million in new annual payroll. As part of the tax credit agreement, the TCA requires the company to maintain operations at 3550 Symmes Road for at least 10 years.
In addition to the new payroll, the company will retain $11.5 million in current payroll, and the new jobs are expected to be on the books by Dec. 31, 2029, according to the state.
Wulco is operated by the Wulfeck family. The company was established in 1990 when two family companies ― Jet Machine and Manufacturing and Rocket Supply ― combined. CIMA Packaging, which is on Hamilton’s west side, was added to the company’s portfolio in 2020. Wulco Inc. expanded its operations when it acquired NextGen Armor in 2022.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The much-anticipated redevelopment of the former Shuler and Benninghofen Woolen Mill in Lindenwald received $3.5 million from the State Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program.
Bloomfield Schon, the owner, has plans to invest $29.1 million to transform the building at the corner of Pleasant and Williams avenues ― just less than 2 miles from downtown Hamilton ― into a 100-unit apartment complex with commercial space.
In addition to the historic tax credit award announced earlier this month, Ohio Rep. Sara Carruthers, a Republican from Hamilton, helped secure $1 million in state capital funds for the project.
Shuler and Benninghofen wasn’t the only residential redevelopment project to get historic tax credits in December. The former Hamilton YWCA building, a three-story masonry structure in the city’s German Village Historic District, received $540,000 for a $5.46 million redevelopment project. Brad Lauck, owner of the development firm, had told the Journal-News he intends to create between 36 and 42 apartment units.
The YWCA building has been vacant since the organization moved out two years ago after building a new facility on Grand Boulevard.
The former Hamilton municipal building will be Hamilton’s second boutique hotel in downtown received $6 million in historic tax credits for that $61.6-plus million redevelopment project set to begin in late Q1, according to Amro Kamel CEO of the Mueller Hotel LLC. It’s expected to take anywhere between 12 and 15 months to complete the renovation project, which includes a four-story addition where most of the rooms will be located.
It will be part of the Marriott Tribute brand and known as the Municipal Hotel.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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