The 47-acre Siemens campus has 180 years of history of industrial use in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

Due to a current industry slowdown, Siemens opted for a phased relocation of a portion of assembly and testing functions from the Mount Vernon site. As expected, this relocation is resulting in job loss for the region and vacant buildings on the campus.

Turning this unfortunate situation into an opportunity, Siemens Real Estate (SRE) and the Area Development Foundation of Knox County partnered in the preparation of a redevelopment plan for the site, to recreate the current campus into an industrial park attractive to new users.

The redevelopment plan consists of three reports which can be used separately:

• Part I: The Site Assessments, which provides a detailed inventory of the site and existing structures on the site including the location and utility types.
• Part II: The Redevelopment Plan, using the site assessment information, along with community and regional knowledge, to envision and recommend site development concepts and necessary budget. The goal being to attract the highest and best use for the site.
• Part III: Marketing Reports, providing a condensed summary of details on each available building on the site. These summaries are intended to market to potential tenants.

The technical assessment of the current condition of the site and buildings conducted in Part I was later used to develop the concise and pertinent cut sheets for Part III, Marketing Reports.

These cut sheets are used by SRE and the Area Development Foundation of Knox County in collaboration with Columbus 2020 and JobsOhio to market the site and buildings to potential users.

The technical assessment of the site and buildings helped determine current conditions, available utilities, and special features for the site and each building. Site assessment details include:

• Investigating and collecting data for 13 buildings
• Surveying around the 13 buildings
• Collecting utility information for the campus

Thanks to the well-developed redevelopment plan, the Mount Vernon area was prepared for the Siemen’s relocation.

Jeffry Harris, President of the Area Development Foundation of Knox County was quoted in the Columbus Dispatch saying that Mount Vernon is now “among the best-prepared communities for such a complete shut-down.”

Now, said Harris, the city has “a tremendous opportunity to lease the 400,000-plus square feet of high-quality, pristine-condition industrial facilities to a range of end users.”