That rendering is perhaps *the worst* I've seen yet of anything, period.

^I kinda liked it.  There was a Simpsonian quality to it.  Just hope they don't build those support bases that close to the road or on the road for that matter.  Would they need to keep the railroad gates there if the track is elevated?  i guess they have no way of doctoring up the photo to take out the gates. 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060624/NEWS16/606240348/-1/NEWS

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article published June 24, 2006

 

Cargo at Port of Toledo is up 3-fold

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Port of Toledo officials have been unloading some of their financial worries this season because of a marked increase in cargo business and ships.

 

General cargo loaded and unloaded at the Port of Toledo has increased three-fold through May compared to the same period last year.

 

...

From the 6/25/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Markings on two of the Jeep Parkway plant's smokestacks are a reminder of its early history.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

PHOTOS: Lucy Bonilla, Marv Machinski, Barbara Wawrzyniak

 

PHOTOS: Anita and Art Young, Bob Thompson

 

PHOTO: Jeep Parkway, as it appeared in 2000, has churned out roughly 11 million vehicles during the last 96 years.  ( THE BLADE )

 

JEEP PARKWAY

Nation’s longest-operating auto plant faces final days

Retirees saddened as sun sets on Toledo’s Jeep Parkway

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

For more than 80 years, two smokestacks bearing “Overland” spelled out in brick have towered over Toledo’s Jeep Parkway plant, a remnant of the auto company that started the massive complex in 1910.

 

But like Willys-Overland Motor Co., what remains of the nation’s longest-operating auto plant will become defunct this week and eventually torn down, wrenching the hearts of workers and retirees such as Lucy Bonilla, Barbara Wawrzyniak, and Marv Machinski. Retirees such as Bob Thompson, however, look to the future...

 

 

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: [email protected] or 419-724-6087.

 

KEY DATES IN TOLEDO JEEP PARKWAY'S HISTORY

1910: John North Willys starts constructing what will become Jeep Parkway, including a building currently housing the press shop.

1912: Willys-Overland Motor Co. ranks as the second-largest automaker behind Ford Motor Co. and has 15,000 employees by 1915, making it Toledo’s largest employer.

1928: Jeep Parkway reaches an employment peak of 23,000 people, who work in a 7 million-square-foot facility that includes more than 90 buildings and covers 119 acres.

1941: Production of military Jeeps begins, and about 363,000 are assembled at Jeep Parkway during World War II. Trailers, 155mm shells, aircraft parts, rockets, and other military equipment also were made at the factory during the war.

1945: First civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A and a predecessor of the Jeep Wrangler, is produced at Jeep Parkway. Station wagons, pickups, the sporty Jeepster car, and sport utility vehicles eventually follow.

1954: Jeep Parkway builds its 5 millionth vehicle.

1964: The Stickney Avenue factory, where modern-day Wranglers undergo final assembly, is purchased.

1970s: Military vehicle production is moved to Indiana, spawning what would become the Hummer brand now owned by General Motors Corp.

1980: Rebuilt paint shop debuts, the ‘newest’ building at Jeep Parkway.

1983: Production of the Jeep Cherokee and its twin, Wagoneer, begins.

1985: The CJ-7 is moved to Brampton, Ont., and is redesigned as the Wrangler the next year, marking the first time none of a Jeep model’s production comes from Jeep Parkway.

1992: The first Wrangler is made at Jeep Parkway.

1996: Talks involving a new plant to replace Jeep Parkway gain momentum.

1998: By the time ground is broken for Toledo North Assembly Plant next to the Stickney Avenue factory, Jeep Parkway is made up of 62 buildings covering 4.5 million square feet.

2001: Production of the Cherokee ends, and the new factory on Chrysler Drive starts making the replacement, Jeep Liberty. Wrangler production continues at Jeep Parkway and Stickney Avenue.

2002: About a third of modern-day Jeep Parkway is demolished as buildings used to build the Cherokee — and where World War II Jeeps were assembled — are no longer needed.

2003: DaimlerChrysler AG and United Auto Workers Local 12 negotiate an agreement unique to North America under which, as part of a $2.1 billion expansion, suppliers would own and operate some factories used to make the Wrangler and another vehicle off its platform.

2004: Construction begins on the $900 million multifactory plant between Stickney Avenue and Chrysler Drive that will build two and four-door versions of the redesigned Wrangler.

2006: Production is to end June 30 at Jeep Parkway, closing the nation’s longest running automotive plant. The plant produced roughly 11 million vehicles, from Overland cars to Jeeps.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/BUSINESS02/60625033/-1/RSS04

 

From the 6/29/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Cheryl Allen, a Toledo Jeep employee for 28 years, checks a 2006 Wrangler on the Stickney Avenue assembly line.  ( THE BLADE/TIM M. GRUBER )

 

2 plants’ last Wrangler signals new era at Jeep

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Toledoan Bob Laucks isn’t saddened by the prospect of inspecting his final Jeep Wrangler this week, a move that will help signal the end of the nation’s longest-running auto plant.

 

Instead, the 29½-year Toledo Jeep veteran is looking forward to moving to the $900 million multifactory complex that will replace the Stickney Avenue plant and Jeep Parkway factory...

 

 

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at: [email protected] or 419-724-6087.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/BUSINESS02/60629019/-1/RSS04

 

From the 8/4/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Toledo plant is adding a 3rd shift, new vehicle

2007 Nitro begins production Monday

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

A third shift and another vehicle will be added at the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex this month, answering five years of calls by union leaders for the moves.

 

Production of the 2007 Dodge Nitro will begin slowly on Monday on the same line and at the same time as the Jeep Liberty manufacturing on two shifts.

 

Three production shifts will operate starting Aug. 14, providing jobs to 750 workers who were idled or displaced when Jeep Parkway closed in June.

 

Read More...

 

From the 8/2/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Corey Robinson works on the space where Toledo-based Tuffy will have its new headquarters.  ( BLADE PHOTOS/HERRAL LONG )

 

GRAPHIC: Office vacancy rates

 

PHOTO: Tuffy is to move into the former Barone Building in October.

 

RATE AT 6-YEAR LOW

More area offices find tenants

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Office vacancies in the Toledo area dropped to their lowest in at least six years in the first half of 2006, a development that real estate experts attributed to pent-up demand.

 

The number of empty offices in the city and its Ohio suburbs dropped to 13.3 percent from 13.9 percent at mid-year 2005 and 14.2 percent at the end of last year, according to a survey by the commercial brokerage CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/BUSINESS05/608020367/-1/RSS04

 

From the 8/7/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Port gains agreement to handle new cargo

1st shipload of pipe anticipated in Sept.

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Steel pipe imported from Germany for a pipeline expected to cross parts of eight states soon will become the next new cargo to cross the Port of Toledo's docks.

 

The first of an expected 11 ships carrying 10,000 tons each of coated pipe for the project is likely to call in Toledo next month, with most of the deliveries expected next year, said Matt Duty, marketing director for Midwest Terminals, stevedore at the port authority-owned general cargo docks near the Maumee River's mouth.

 

...

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060807/NEWS11/608070332/-1/RSS

 

From the 8/15/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Area factory activity declines for month

 

Factory activity in northwest Ohio slowed last month from the month before, and slipped below a national measurement.

 

A manufacturing index compiled by Toledo's Regional Growth Partnership was 52.1 in July, down from 56.5 in June and below the 54.7 last month nationally. A reading above 50 indicates increased activity.

 

The measures released yesterday showed the production component was stronger last month than the month before, but all the other components were weaker.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/BUSINESS06/608150429/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 8/18/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Area big-store vacancies prove tough to fill

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

The Toledo area's vacancy rate for big-box stores will grow in two weeks by 113,000 square feet when the Kmart store at 5956 West Central Ave. closes for good.  The area remains burdened by 11 former Food Town supermarkets vacated three years ago, and a trio of former Farmer Jack and Food Basics stores that closed a year ago.

 

Local commercial real estate experts had predicted most of those sites would find new tenants easily, given their prime locations.  Now, however, those experts said lease problems have stalled getting new tenants or getting the sites redeveloped.

 

Kmart has operated the Sylvania Township store site since 1966 and has paid low rent.  The land owner, real estate businessman David Friedman, of Farmington Hills, Mich., tried to get Kmart to give up the lease, and after the chain shuts the store at the end of the month, he will have clear ownership to start anew, said Pete Shawaker, a partner at Michael Realty Co. in Toledo.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060818/BUSINESS05/608180391/-1/RSS04

 

From the 8/17/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Workers assemble a 2007 Dodge Nitro, which took its place on the assembly line last week at the Toledo Jeep plant. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

PHOTO: Luis Rivas, left, plant manager, and Byron Green, Chrysler’s vice president of truck and activity-assembly operations, answer reporters’ questions at yesterday’s news conference. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

PHOTO: Juan Huerta drives a finished 2007 Dodge Nitro off the assembly line. Production of the highly anticipated model has been plagued by quality problems, a top union official said. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

 

JEEP PLANT'S NEW VEHICLE

2007 Dodge Nitro rolls into production in Toledo

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Even as company officials at the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex yesterday celebrated production of the all-new 2007 Dodge Nitro, some glitches have developed.

 

The complex was supposed to have three work shifts building the Nitro and Jeep Liberty this week, but only two shifts are scheduled until next week.

 

Plus, the plant’s top union official said defects and quality concerns have plagued the startup of the Nitro as well as production of the redesigned 2007 Jeep Wrangler, which began last month in adjacent factories.

 

Read More...

 

From the 8/29/06 Toledo Blade:

 

PHOTO: Leasing has been slow for this Holland-Sylvania Rd. project.  ( THE BLADE/LORI KING )

 

Strip-center construction in area gains energy

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

After a slowdown because of poor economic conditions since 2000, strip shopping center construction in the Toledo area is heating up again.

 

At least six centers of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet have opened since the first of the year or are nearly completed. Four other projects are planned, and others are in the initial market test stages.  Plus, several centers are getting makeovers to compete with the new projects.

 

"There is a demand for new retail space in the market," said Duke Wheeler, a commercial real estate agent with CB Richard Ellis/Reichle Klein in Maumee.  "We're not seeing a lot of the big users fighting for space, but we are seeing new smaller users looking for space."

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060829/BUSINESS05/608290386/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 9/7/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: Kiesha Smith installs a Johnson Controls seat made in Northwood into a new Wrangler Unlimited. ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

Jeep supplier jobs nearly filled

'New people on the payroll in the Toledo economy'

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

A dozen new or expanded suppliers in the Toledo area are in the final stages of hiring about 1,000 employees to supply the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex.

 

That figure is on top of more than 1,100 employees of DaimlerChrysler AG and three key suppliers who will build 2007 Jeep Wranglers at the newer factories in the complex on two shifts starting Sept. 25.

 

About 330 of those jobs were filled by people from outside Toledo Jeep, said Bruce Baumhower, president of United Auto Workers Local 12, which represents workers at assembly complex and its suppliers. Toledo Jeep also makes Jeep Libertys and Dodge Nitros.

 

Read More...

 

From the 9/12/06 Toledo Blade:

 

Toledo-area hiring seen stronger than the nation's

 

Stronger hiring prospects in metro Toledo are forecast for the end of this year, even better than the national average, a new survey has found.  One of every three employees intends to add jobs in the October through December period, compared with 28 percent nationally, according to Manpower Inc., a staffing agency.

 

The firm's latest quarterly poll, released today, said 10 percent of local employers expect to reduce payrolls, compared with 8 percent nationally.  Best hiring prospects are in manufacturing, transportation, and stores, the firm found.  A year ago for the end of the year period in metro Toledo, 27 percent expected to hire and 7 percent to cut workers, the survey found.

 

Elsewhere in the region, in Findlay, 37 percent of businesses anticipate hiring and 3 percent cutting; in Lima, 33 percent to hire and 3 percent to trim; in Defiance, 20 percent to add staff and 7 percent to reduce it; and in Sandusky, 30 percent to increase employment and none to cut them.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060912/BUSINESS06/609120326/-1/RSS04

 

From the 9/14/06 Toledo Blade:

 

 

Factory index gains for northwest Ohio

 

Factory activity in northwest Ohio increased last month, though it still lagged the national average.

 

A manufacturing index compiled by Toledo’s Regional Growth Partnership had 53.2

reading for August, up from 52.1 the month before but behind the 54.5 level nationally. A reading above 50 indicates increased activity.

 

The local measure has been above 50 for 37 months. Production and commodity prices declined last month, but the other factors in the index, including employment and new orders, rose.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/BUSINESS06/60914001/-1/BUSINESS

 

Article published November 1, 2006

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'We did it!' OC's chief exults in global e-mail; Toledo firm ends 6 years of bankruptcy

 

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Shortly before 11:30 yesterday morning, a computer message went out from Owens Corning headquarters in Toledo to its 20,000 employees scattered around the globe.

 

"We did it!" Chief Executive Dave Brown said in a message that was translated into Spanish, Korean, Hindi, and eight other languages.

 

OC emerged yesterday from Chapter 11 after six years, marking the end of one of the nation's longest and largest asbestos-driven bankruptcies. The Fortune 500 firm makes roofing shingles and building insulation, among other products.

 

...

 

More at:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061101/BUSINESS03/611010369

It seems to me like this video tries to convince more than inform.  I’ve never been impressed by any videos that come across that way.  I don’t know much about Owens Corning, but if they are doing well in Toledo as they self proclaim (big surprise), then they are in the minority.  The video does point out a few things that I think are true though.  I’ve been to the zoo and the art museum there, they’re pretty nice.  It’s also true that you can get some great houses around there for a good price, but with the housing market as bad as it is right now, you can get pretty good deals anywhere. 

All I want to know is if I'll hear that awesome high-energy background music everywhere I go in Toledo.

 

Please say yes. Please say yes...

From the 11/30/06 Blade:

 

 

PHOTO: The Catherine Desgagne, a laker from Quebec, is at the head of the line at the Port of Toledo. Behind it yesterday were two oceangoing vessels, the Puffin and the Orla.  ( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

 

Bustling port reflects jump in shipping traffic

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

If you feel like you've been stopped by freighters at either the Craig Memorial or Martin Luther King, Jr., bridges more often this year than last, you may be right.

 

Despite one of its three primary grain elevators being closed for repair for most of the year, grain business at the Port of Toledo is up more than 50 percent this year, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority statistics show.

 

...

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061130/NEWS11/611300370/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/15/06 Blade:

 

 

SPRING GROUNDBREAKING POSSIBLE

Coke plant owners sign deal with 2 contractors

By TOM HENRY

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

Plans for building the proposed $600 million FDS Coke Plant on the East Toledo-Oregon border have a new pulse, but only because the group behind the project thought it was within hours yesterday of having its hard-fought and contentious environmental permit nullified.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS06/612150352/-1/NEWS

 

From the 12/26/06 Blade:

 

AREA ECONOMY

RGP halts index of factory activity

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

A barometer of local manufacturing activity, produced for more than a decade by Toledo's Regional Growth Partnership, is no more.

 

Citing a need to prioritize its resources to create jobs, rather than "just measuring stuff," the partnership has halted its monthly manufacturing index. It surveyed factories in northwest Ohio to measure whether production was growing or contracting.  "It is another data point … but there are a lot of data points," said Steve Weathers, president of the partnership. "We find it more useful talking to CEOs and learning what their problems are and what they find useful."

 

Still, the index was the only local benchmark of the manufacturing community. Other economic figures that are available include unemployment, home sales, car sales, and bankruptcies. But none measures production, inventory, raw-material prices, vendor deliveries, and new orders at local factories.

 

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061226/BUSINESS06/612260312/-1/BUSINESS

 

From the 12/28/06 Blade:

 

GRAPHIC: Mixed results on area retail vacancies

 

GRAPHIC: More empty offices downtown, fewer in the suburbs

 

GRAPHIC: Industrial space usage stayed steady

 

REAL ESTATE

Picture varied for commercial space in area

Retail demand up; vacancies in offices, factories nearly flat

By GARY T. PAKULSKI

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

ASKING RENTS for retail space shot up nearly 30 percent on average in the Toledo area last year, but that hasn’t scared away scouts for major restaurant and store chains.

 

Look for more retailers to enter the area in 2007 and others to expand, commercial real estate executives said.

 

Firms said to be eyeing the area for new sites include California’s Del Taco, the nation’s second-largest Mexican fast-food chain; Starbucks, which has two free-standing stores under development; and Chipotle Mexican Grill, which recently entered the Toledo market.

 

Despite some bumps in the local economy, commercial agents who specialize in sales and rentals of stores, offices, and industrial properties sounded an optimistic note in interviews last week.

 

MORE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/BUSINESS05/70128005/-1/BUSINESS

 

Interesting...nothing in the local media around here about Columbus being the third best "city of the future" (whatever the hell that means) overall by this publication. Yay for another fun list/ranking/survey.

What a strange list.

Link contains photos. From the 2/11/07 Blade:

 

 

TOLEDO PLANT WITH ON-SITE SUPPLIERS A FIRST FOR U.S.

Bumpy at first, assembly smooths out for Wrangler

By JULIE M. McKINNON

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

WITH A two-week break in between, employees building Jeep Wranglers moved from working in the country’s longest-running auto plant to the newest last July.

 

It took a week longer than expected to produce the first redesigned 2007 vehicle for sale, one sign DaimlerChrysler AG’s $900 million manufacturing experiment off Stickney Avenue in North Toledo was having a rocky start.

 

Not only were workers dealing with an all-new vehicle and high-tech plant, but two on-site suppliers operate factories that build and paint Wrangler bodies, and a third supplies complete chassis.

 

Read More...

 

From the 4/13/07 Toledo Free Press:

 

 

BUSINESS 360

OC moves forward

By Kristine Hoffman

Special to Toledo Free Press

 

Owens Corning has a payroll of 20,000 employees worldwide, with 1,150 in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Today the company is a global leader in all businesses in which it participates, including building materials and composite solutions, according to Owens Corning President and CEO David Brown.

 

With more than $6 billion in sales and 130 facilities, the company stayed the course throughout a turbulent Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Now, six months after emerging from bankruptcy, Brown talks candidly about how the process started and how the company was able to sustain operations, grow market share and continue its acquisition strategy during the bankruptcy process.

 

According to Brown, Owens Corning produced a product from 1958 to 1972 that was used for high temperature applications such as insulating steam pipes and boilers in ships. This product was reinforced with asbestos, which proved to be harmful to humans.

 

...

 

More at:

http://toledofreepress.com/?id=5317

 

Link contains photos. From the 4/19/07 Blade:

 

 

Bankruptcy-tested executive to replace Owens Corning’s retiring boss

By JON CHAVEZ

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

Having finished his biggest task — steering a $6.5 billion company through and then out of bankruptcy — Owens Corning Chief Executive Dave Brown said yesterday he will retire from the Fortune 500 firm by year’s end.

 

Mr. Brown, 58, will be succeeded as president and CEO by his friend and long-time colleague, Mike Thaman, OC’s chairman of the board and chief financial officer.

 

The choice of Mr. Thaman, 43, to become the seventh CEO in the 69-year history of the building-products manufacturer was approved last week by OC’s board.

 

But all along, Mr. Brown said, “he has been my one and only candidate.”

 

...

 

More at:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/BUSINESS03/70419018/-1/RSS04

 

From the 4/24/07 Blade:

 

 

OC, Saint-Gobain pull merger filing

 

Toledo’s Owens Corning and French glass maker Saint-Gobain said yesterday they are temporarily withdrawing a filing with the European Commission to merge most of the two firms’ fiber-glass production units.

 

...

 

More at:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/BUSINESS03/70424007/-1/BUSINESS

 

From Bloomberg, 7/18/07:

 

 

OC may abandon venture with rival

Toledo firm in talks to buy fiber-glass unit

BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE

 

Toledo's Owens Corning said yesterday it is in talks to acquire French glass-maker Saint-Gobain SA's Vetrotex fiber-glass unit and possibly abandon plans for a joint venture between the two companies.

 

Also yesterday, OC agreed to sell its siding unit to Saint-Gobain for $371 million.

 

The proposed joint venture would be the world's largest producer of fiber glass, which strengthens plastic in autos, boats, telecommunications, windmills, and other applications, the companies said in February when the agreement was signed.

 

...

 

More at:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/BUSINESS03/707180385/-1/RSS04

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070908/NEWS11/709080379/-1/NEWS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article published September 8, 2007

 

The Port of Toledo striving to diversify its freight business

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

One need only look through the chain-link fence at the Port of Toledo general-cargo dock to see the fruit of efforts by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and its stevedore to diversify the local waterborne freight business.

 

Row upon row of steel pipe, imported from Germany for construction of a natural-gas pipeline across the central United States, is stacked around much of the dock's south end.

 

...

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/BUSINESS02/806270347

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article published June 27, 2008

 

Over 2,200 workers to be laid off at Toledo Jeep; dismal sales of Liberty, Nitro blamed for move

By LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

 

 

More than 2,200 workers at the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex will be laid off for nearly two months because of dismal sales of the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro, United Auto Workers officials said yesterday.

 

The seven-week layoff will immediately follow a one-week model changeover shutdown that was to begin July 4. It will last through at least Aug. 25. Second-shift workers at the plant may be sidelined as early as Monday, said Dan Henneman, UAW Local 12 leader at Toledo Jeep.

 

 

 

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at: [email protected] or 419-724-6091.

The union is right on this one, Toledo Jeep needs a vehicle with better mileage. It would also help if the cars didn't consistently rank at the bottom of comparisons with similar vehicles.

It should be noted that Chrysler is axing the hugely unpopular and hideous Dodge Nitro. I have no idea what the former execs were thinking when they approved of that, and the hulking Chrysler Aspen and other non-Jeep Jeeps. Jeep has always been about the ruggedness and the performance on the dirt, not on the pavement.

how devastating........Ohio never gets a break

^ditto!

I don't totally disagree with these studies, but the facts are just not easy to measure, the media in Cincinnati takes this to the extreme.  If one medium/large company moves out, the Enquirer runs its typical gloom and doom story about downtown losing 300 jobs.  What they NEVER report is that the space is usually backfilled with the same or more amount of workers from multiple companies, not as headline worthy, but both sides of the story nonetheless.

All of these articles about the loss of jobs in Ohio's downtowns between 2000-2005 and yet no mention of what was happening with the national, state, or regional economies during that time?  It's as if the dot-com bust, 9/11, and the recession never happened- Ohio's downtowns just lost a bunch of jobs.  That's it.

Why is 2000 a benchmark? Lots of places lost jobs when 911 happened.

debbie downer must be from ohio

 

wahhhh wohhh

This is about net loss, not gross loss. These facts are incredibly easy to measure unless you want to include illegal employment. I'm not sure how the Enquirer measures job losses, but these Blade articles used basic census statistics. Cincinnati lost many more jobs than it gained. Between 2000 and 2003 alone, there was a net loss of 11,000 workers. Those numbers are not taken out of thin air. There are over 11,000 fewer private sector workers in downtown Cincinnati today than there were in 2000. There's sadly no way to argue that.

 

I don't doubt our downtowns, state , nation etc. have not lost a lot of workers, I just doubt the accuracy of these studies and their numbers.

 

First, census statistics are gathered once every 10 years and extrapolated at other intervals.  As for their accuracy, how do you explain all the under counting in the residential side that most city leaders in Ohio have been challenging the last several years?  According to the DCI studies for downtown Cincinnati the total CBD employment has fluctuated and is slightly down for the last 10 years, but has been relative flat over that time period.  I would put more stock in their report than the Census Bureau's.

 

Second, a net loss of 11,000 workers at the industry average of 250 square feet per worker works out to 2.75 million square feet of empty office space.  This does not jibe with the office vacancy statistics over the long term time period.  Even given the conversion of a handful of old Class C office buildings to residential, this does not come close to 2.75 million s.f.  Furthermore, most of those Class C buildings were nowhere near full when they were converted, most were under or non performing, hence their conversion to an economically viable adaptive reuse.

wow the Blade puts the PD to shame as far as negativity goes. 

There was a discussion on this over at the Business and Economy thread link, which had some equally dismissive remarks about this article series.

 

I posted some graphs on downtown Dayton vis a vis Montgomery County based on County Business Patterns (an annual survey), basically confirming the Blade article on Dayton, and the discussion died.

 

 

...and Youngstown are the only cities that have really seen drastic increases in vacancies, and that's coupled with losing office space too.

I can't speak for Dayton.  But, based on this quote:

Art Lewis, a real estate agent who specializes in commercial property, is not aware of an available office-vacancy report for Youngstown. He estimated that about 5 percent of newer space downtown is empty, compared with 15 percent for older buildings.

what makes you say that Youngstown has seen a drastic increase in vacancies?

 

Additionally, the article is based on a comparison of 2000 and 2005.  From 2005 to now is a rather long time for downtown Youngstown.  I think there has been an overall improvement from 2005 to now. (I have to admit that I can't back this up with stats)

C-Dawg, unfortunately the hometown booster club crowds will never accept anything other than their own sugar-coated spin version of the truth about their cities.  Any study which doesn't align with their a priori thinking is attacked.  Any study that supports it, no matter how dubious (e.g., Social Compact) is lauded.

 

I thought the Toledo Blade series was great.  The data wasn't perfect and data never will be, but it was a great series of profiles of Ohio's downtown.  What's more, they actually reported a lot of the positive developments and momentum, especially in the 3C's, all of which are, while they have private sector job declines, re-positioning their downtowns as entertainment and residential hubs, often with quite a bit of success.  So the picture is not monolithically bad.

 

^

The residential/entertainment mix is what's being tried in Dayton.

 

Twenty-five years ago, everybody would say, ‘It’s about jobs, jobs, jobs,’” said John Gower, director of planning and community development in Dayton. “Today, we say, ‘It’s about jobs, amenities, and housing.’”

 

..so he says, but the irony is that the housing/enterainment drive has stalled, and most recent sucess is in "jobs" (due to a new office building opening for an IT company).

 

 

 

...and Youngstown are the only cities that have really seen drastic increases in vacancies, and that's coupled with losing office space too.

 

I don't think dontown Dayton has lost substantial amounts of office space in the recent past. 

 

The most recent demolitions were of an abandoned hotel and a small two story building that used to have WDAO radio, but might have been offices in the recent past.

 

Recent downtown conversions did include a conversion of a department store to offices, a hotel to apartments, and an old factory building to loft apartments.  No office-to-housing conversions that I know of.  As I posted above, the city would like to see that happen (for certain pre-war high rises, which are mostly or totally vacant) but I think the economics just aren't there to make it work.

 

 

Has Dayton had anything happen like the Fiberglas Tower situation in Toledo? Meaning has a major office building gone off the office market?

 

The equivilant situation is the Mead Tower, which lost its major tenant, but has not been converted..it is still on the market, and will be the new home of the local Keybank branch, which will be vacating a prewar high rise.

 

 

It's quite possible some of those have been taken off the office market. If they're not currently marketable a office space, they're probably off the market.

 

The three that would fit this discription are the Lindsey Building, the Commercial Building, and the low rise Arcade buildings on Ludlow and Fourth.  They have been vacant for years..the Lindsey Building since the 1970s.

 

Other pre-war high rises, like the Fideity Building and Center City Tower still have offices in them but also a lot of vacancy (and a good question if Center City is being actively marketed since it has been considered for residential conversion).

 

Another thing that comes to mind is the Reynolds and Reynolds corporate HQ and training center.  This set of buildings was taken over by the school board, so it would no longer count as office space as it went to a government function (though still "office", not on the market).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought the report, on Cincinnati, was pretty good.  There were a few items that I would chalk up to not having a full understanding of the issues (i.e. the closing of Gap).  Other than that I would tend to agree with their comparison of Cincinnati's downtown to other Ohio downtowns.  Cincy has built-in advantages and definitely feels like a bustling big city during the weekdays.

 

Things are improving on the weekend and at night, but we're not there yet.  We need more affordable residential that young people can move into (Fifth & Race, more OTR rehabs, etc).  Heck even ColDayMan was shocked at the amount of activity Downtown in a recent visit of his.  Cincy is doing its thing, but it will just take some time to get there (that's the Midwest for you).  The good thing is that all the boosterism you see/hear from Cincy forumers is there because there is a feeling that there is no doubt that Cincy will indeed reach that critical mass and become a 24-hour downtown.

Heck, $97,000 for a condo in OTR is not affordable? Or $750 rents for a very large space (almost double of what I was having per SF in Lexington)?

 

I was shocked at the cheap prices in DT and OTR Cinci. And when I talked to Middle Earth and another (the one who manages the Emory and Gateway) about the prices in Lexington, their mouths dropped to the floor. "$375,000 for a one-bedroom condo!? $720 for a 400 SF efficency!?"

 

Of course, Lexington is currently suffering from a glut of unsold units in the downtown... and a lack of retail in some of the new developments.

C-Dawg, unfortunately the hometown booster club crowds will never accept anything other than their own sugar-coated spin version of the truth about their cities.  Any study which doesn't align with their a priori thinking is attacked.  Any study that supports it, no matter how dubious (e.g., Social Compact) is lauded.

 

I thought the Toledo Blade series was great.  The data wasn't perfect and data never will be, but it was a great series of profiles of Ohio's downtown.  What's more, they actually reported a lot of the positive developments and momentum, especially in the 3C's, all of which are, while they have private sector job declines, re-positioning their downtowns as entertainment and residential hubs, often with quite a bit of success.  So the picture is not monolithically bad.

 

I couldn't agree more!    This is a Great Thread Idea.

 

Ohio city's are trying to align themselves to compete in the 21st century with the rest of the world for that matter and I feel we are getting VERY little help from C-bus (Government).    The biggest benefactor that EVERYONE in the statehouse SHOULD recognize quickly is the fact that we NEED to invest heavily in transit within the state.    This has hindered new growth and reinvestment within ALL of our cores, even at the steps of the statehouse.    They need to get on this NOW and not in 5 years.    We need to beat other states (and countries for that matter) to the punch here and start building 21st Century Cities and quit with these Suburban Cluster$%^&s.