Posted: 12:00 a.m.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Variances approved for AK Steel project
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/ed-richter/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Middletown
Planning Commission Wednesday approved the variances on the city’s
architectural and landscaping standards for the new 135,500-square-foot AK
Steel research and innovation center that will be visible from Interstate 75
just north of the Ohio
122 interchange.
While
City Planner Marty Kohler has administrative authority to approve plan reviews
if it meets city standards, any variances that are requested outside of those
standards need to be approved by the Planning Commission.
“Staff
recommends approval due to the unusual circumstances and the clients needs
which are justified,” Kohler said.
Doug
Kramer of Al.Neyer LLC, whose company is the design build contractor, said some
of the variances concerning landscaping, screening and buffering as well as
issues with the facade siding and lighting, would interfere with AK Steel’s
desire to showcase its new facility by maximizing its visibility from
Interstate 75 as well as its product. He said the siding for the steelmaker’s
facility will be built with mostly architectural metal. Another variance was
sought to adjust the building location on the parcel.
Kramer
said additional variances were also being sought to allow rooftop machinery to
support the research activities going on inside the building, which is located
off of Union Road.
Commission
member Ann Mort raised a concern about the rooftop units. However, Kramer said
they would be hard to see as I-75 is lower than the building and that the
rooftop machinery would be screened as best as possible.
The
new $36 million facility will have laboratory and office space, a test
manufacturing facility, a loading and delivery area, conference rooms and a
small auditorium. Kramer said the building is also designed for future
expansions as needed and will have a loading dock, drive-in doors, a stormwater
detention basin and a parking lot for 145 vehicles that can be expanded to add
25 more parking spaces.
A
groundbreaking ceremony is tentatively set for later this month, according to
AK Steel and city officials. Construction is projected to be completed by the
fourth quarter of 2016,
About
75 researchers at the company’s current facility on Curtis Avenue in Middletown will move to the new facility once
its done, and an additional 15 new full-time research positions are expected to
be added by the end of 2018.
City
officials has said the new research center would retain more than $7 million of
payroll, which could increase to $8.4 million when additional employees may
start work by the end of 2018. In addition, the city is projecting to see an
additional economic impact of about $2 million when contractors start work at
the site.
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