RACER Trust Completes Sale of Former GM Facility in Ohio to Major Development Company
Hundreds of Jobs Anticipated for Multi-Tenant Operation
ONTARIO, Ohio — The RACER Trust today completed the sale of the former GM Mansfield-Ontario Stamping Plant in Ontario to the Brownfield Communities Development Company (BCDC), which has committed to bringing hundreds of new jobs to Ohio.
A sales agreement was announced in August, followed by a customary 120-day inspection period.
“We’re very pleased to announce the completion of this sale,” RACER Trustee Elliott P. Laws said. “We’re particularly excited for the people of Ontario and Richland County, because of the new jobs and other economic benefits that we expect will be created by this project. The community and its leaders, as well as federal and state officials, were a true partner in bringing this transaction to fruition, and we thank them for their efforts. To BCDC, we offer our congratulations and best wishes.”
The 2.5-million-square-foot former GM facility occupies 266 acres just west of Mansfield, Ohio, in Richland County. The new owner, BCDC, is a joint venture of Adler Group Inc., a Miami, Fla.-based firm with more than 50 years of leasing, property management, acquisitions, investment, development and construction experience, and Hilco Real Estate LLC, a strategic advisory and consulting services real estate firm based in Northbrook, Ill. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are taking an obsolete single-tenant facility and turning it into a modern multi-tenant business generator,” said Michael M. Adler, CEO and Chairman of Adler Group. "We are excited to start the next phase of the project and we are looking forward to working with the community."
“The City of Ontario and I look forward to a bright future as the plan for redevelopment of the former GM facility unfolds,” Ontario Mayor Larry Collins said. “It has been a pleasure working with the RACER Trust, the Adler Group and Hilco. The promise of hundreds of new jobs, and the additional indirect jobs new industry will help to create in the surrounding area, is great news that brings encouragement and hope to all of Richland County.”
“Hilco is proud to be a partner in this revitalization deal and we are certain that this redevelopment will enhance the opportunity to attract businesses that can compete in today’s global market place,” said Jeffery Hecktman, CEO of Hilco Trading LLC, the parent company of Hilco Real Estate LLC.
The RACER Trust has sold more than 20 former GM properties, with proceeds in excess of $26 million, since it was established in March 2011.
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About RACER Trust: The RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy.
RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and is the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust, which is independent, was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.
About Adler Group: Adler Group, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and its affiliates offer a seamless network of services designed to maximize the value and strength of the organization’s real estate assets. Throughout its history, Adler Group has developed, acquired and operated in excess of 20 million square feet of industrial, office, retail and residential real estate. Today, by means of relationships with a prestigious list of institutional and private investors and nationally recognized financial lenders, the company owns and manages an extensive real estate portfolio comprised primarily of multi-tenant industrial and office properties located in strategic markets throughout the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest United States. Recently, Adler Group has acquired commercial assets in Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C, Maryland, Texas and Colorado. For further information, please visit www.adlergroup.com.
About Hilco: Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois (USA), Hilco is a privately held, diversified financial and operational services firm whose principal competency is understanding and maximizing the value of business assets, including retail, consumer and industrial inventory; machinery and equipment; real estate; accounts receivable; intellectual property; and, going-concern enterprises. Through 300 professionals operating on five continents, Hilco helps companies and their professional advisors assess asset value, maximize value for said assets through asset monetization solutions, and enhance value through advisory and consulting solutions. Hilco serves retailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, directly and through their lenders, investors and advisors, including private equity firms, hedge funds, investment banks, law firms, turnaround professionals, accounting professionals, bankruptcy trustees and receivers. For more information please visit www.hilcotrading.com.