By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Rossford Planning Commission tonight (Dec. 12, 2018) approved key measures to allow the development of a project in the Crossroads area by an unnamed company.
Mayor Neil MacKinnon responded “absolutely” when asked if the project would be game changing for the area in the southern reaches of the city.
Presenting the proposal at the meeting was Nathan Harris of Duke Realty. He would not comment further on the project after the meeting.
Wade Gottschalk, Wood County Economic Development executive director, said he and others involved were operating under the conditions of a non-disclosure agreement.
An article earlier this week in the Toledo Blade provided informed speculation that it may be an Amazon fulfillment center.
What’s not a mystery is the size of the project. Situated on 100 acres off between Deimling Road and South Compass Drive, behind the Giant Eagle, the site will have parking spaces for 1,800 cars and 300 tractor trailer trucks.
The plans call for constructing a 2.8 million-square-foot , four-story facility.
MacKinnon said the final announcement about the project will be left to the as-yet-unnamed company.
“I would guess in spring,” MacKinnon said.
Before the planning commission was a request to change the zoning of one of the four parcels to planned industrial, the same as the other parcels.
Duke on behalf of its client also requested a variance to allow screening of the parking lots to be on the exterior of the lots and not on islands within the lots. It also requested a variance to allow an 85-foot-tall building. The limit in planned industrial is 35-feet.
All three requests were granted unanimously.
Zoning Administrator Mark Zuchowski said that the final site plan might be ready by the Planning Commission’s next meeting.
