Kettering, Ohio city officials will take the first steps toward leveling a large building at Kettering Business Park to make way for new commercial development and add hundreds of jobs to the city.

City staff in April will ask council for permission to seek bids for the demolition of Building 47, a vacant warehouse left over from the property's days as a military base, said City Manager Mark Schwieterman. Depending on when the bid is awarded, demolition crews could begin work sometime this summer he said.

Demolition of the 240,000-square-foot building, formerly a warehouse for electronic components, likely would cost somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000, Schwieterman said.

In May, the city will issue a request for proposal from developers interested in launching renewal projects at the site, which would measure about 13 acres, Schwieterman said. The city would sell the property to the developer with the winning proposal, he said.

"We do not want to be long-term landlords of this particular parcel," he said.
The 162-acre business park once housed the Defense Electronic Supply Center, but was converted to commercial use when the military moved most of its operations elsewhere.

City officials had hoped to fill the building with new users, but found it was too big to re-use for anything other than warehousing, which doesn't generate enough jobs.

An acceptable redevelopment plan likely would entail transforming the site into multiple parcels earmarked for light industrial, office or other uses and could generate a few hundred jobs, Schwieterman said. The city may also give developers the option to include a neighboring 200,000-square-foot building in their proposal, he said.

The park's occupants include GE Money, National Composite Center and Kettering Municipal Court. The city owns four buildings on the property.