Work on future Conesville Industrial Park is moving forward
CONESVILLE − An industrial park on the site of the former American Electric Power plant outside of Conesville is coming to fruition with officials already talking to businesses that could move in.
The coal-fired plant closed in May 2020 after 62 years of operation. The Frontier Group of Companies, whose core business is Frontier Industrial Corp., took over about 2,500 acres that June, including the main buildings with plans on razing most structures, remediating the coal land and turning the site into the Conesville Industrial Park. They've been doing work since that time, including razing three of the large stacks in December. There are also plans to erect a 50-megawatt solar array.
Frontier started in 2001 in Buffalo, New York, with a primary focus on being an industrial contractor and brownfield developer that decommissions, demolishes and re-purposes aging and distressed industrial facilities. Around the time Frontier acquired the Conesville plant they also took on old AEP sites in Cameron and New Haven, West Virginia.
Business Development Director Patrick Ford said he's received a lot of questions lately on what's going on with the site and what's next. He attributes this to work on Ohio 16 by the Ohio Department of Transportation detouring traffic through Conesville and past the old plant.
He said they have about two years of remediation work left, but where the plant stood should be ready to go in 9 to 15 months. The finished product will look like a modern industrial site with a public access road and utilities like water and sewer.
Development Potential
Ford called it a "sexy site" in their portfolio for a variety of reasons related to location and available needs.
"It's a 2,500-acre site with ample power and ample water. It's served by rail, road and water. It's also in a larger economic market that's very attractive to businesses in energy, chemical, value added metal, transportation logistics and also technology and microchip manufacturing," Ford said. "The same assets that are used to make a site attractive for generating power are the same assets that are sexy for industries to want to locate to our site."
Ford said with Frontier being family owned it's still operated like an old Main Street firm and is concerned about the communities it's in. Working with local officials, Ford said they've developed a great relationship with the Coshocton Port Authority and Executive Director Tiffany Swigert among others. Frontier is also working with leadership in Conesville on some projects, including creating a park with river access.
"We want to make sure we have our hands on the pulse of the community and not only are we bringing industries and businesses that are a good fit for the community, but we also want to capitalize on the labor force in the area," Ford said. "One of the things that really attracted us to this site was the rich agrarian and industrial heritage that is the foundation for a great work force. They bring a great work ethic not only to our site, but the businesses we're going to bring to our site."
Swigert said the closure of the plant was very emotional and impactful for the community and not the first time Coshocton was slammed by a major company closure. However, this is a crucial moment in Ohio's history when it comes to economic development and some of the projects coming, like the Intel chip plant in nearby Licking County. Ford said he recently met Gov. Mike DeWine at a function and he was interested in the Conesville Industrial Park because of it's proximity to the Intel facility.
"It's really important in economic development to figure out what's next and not stay in that moment of sadness, but really look toward the future," Swigert said. "When we realized what the portfolio was with the Frontier Group of properties we got really optimistic."
What's Next
The heart of the site with the buildings and ash ponds are being cleaned up to create a large location that could appeal to a major corporation like an Intel. However, there are other areas where businesses can move in now and one local firm has already expanded there.
Crozier Welding relocated in 2020 to a larger facility on Ohio 83 adjacent to the Frontier property. Swigert worked with Crozier on the move and in following up with them found they needed even more room based on an expanding customer base. They were able to move into an adjacent old maintenance building. Ford said they have a few warehouses available to be moved into now.
He's working with Swigert on marketing the site, meeting with prospective businesses, getting permits ready for new businesses to come in and readying necessary infrastructure. He can't reveal any potential companies as nothing is finalized. Swigert said they're receiving several requests for proposals related to interest in the burgeoning industrial park. Park estimated they've met with close to 40 prospective businesses so far.
"We've got a lot of room to accommodate three or four 50-acre industries or one 500-acre industry and a couple 50-acre industries. What's really attractive is that we have road frontage for half the site, we have rail along one side and river along the other. We have a lot of flexibility to build a road network to service all the sites and not only accommodate one, but multiple industries looking at the site right now," Ford said.
More about the Conesville Industrial Park can be found online at conesvilleindustrialpark.com.
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Work on future Conesville Industrial Park is moving forward
