The business park on the north side of Kettering — the former Gentile Air Force Station — is home to nearly 2,500 employees and is one of the two largest employment centers in Kettering, along with Miami Valley Research Park that also stretches into Beavercreek.
Alternate Solutions Health Network is the top on-site employer, with about 800 jobs, and several of Kettering’s largest employers, such as Kettering Health and Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services), have a presence there.
Credit: Jen Balduf
Credit: Jen Balduf
The city of Kettering took over the former military site in 1996 and owns all the vacant space, about 200,000 square feet of the business park’s more than 806,000 square feet, Chodkowski said.
In addition, the city owns 13 acres that could be developed, and private owners control 15 acres of land that could be developed, he said.
After two big changes in 2019 (Amazon opening a last-mile distribution center) and 2020 (Synchrony Financial closing their call center), the city is now making investments to position Kettering Business Park for a new round of growth.
“We’re very fortunate to be in the position where we do have control of not only the vacant building, the vacancies and the existing structure, but also the 13 acres there,” Chodkowski said.
Payroll trumps market lease rate
The city is investing $1.25 million in state funds to make needed capital improvements to Building 46 — the structure built in 1955 at 2325 Wilmington Pike, which also houses Kettering Municipal Court.
Kettering City Council recently approved rezoning the property from office use to business park to expand the mix of allowed uses for the building. The goal is to make the site attractive to a variety of businesses to expand the city’s income tax base.
“Our vast majority of revenue is based on the income tax,” Chodkowski said. “We’re more interested in being able to garner payroll at this location than we are, I’ll call it market rent. …
“So in other words, bring us a good, strong payroll in a long-term tenancy and we’ll consider significantly lower costs per square footage lease rates than you might find elsewhere in the greater Dayton area,” he said.
Credit: Jen Balduf
Credit: Jen Balduf
Remediation work of the last remaining asbestos flooring and insulation is complete. The project is out for bid to relocate the water service line and update the fire service line to allow the building to be multi-tenant, and the city finance department is pricing updating lighting to LED in preparation for bid.
Other improvements include working with AES Ohio to update electric service to the building, updating air-handling equipment and exterior painting.
Chodkowski said he hopes the work to place the building in a marketable position will be complete by the end of this year or early 2026.
Another $3.15 million in work to replace the roof and HVAC system will be scheduled once the city has a user or users for the building.
Credit: Jen Balduf
Credit: Jen Balduf
Solvita under renovation
Solvita has a construction project of its own at the Kettering Business Park, making improvements to the former Synchrony Financial call center operation center at 950 Forrer Blvd.
The nonprofit organization acquired the two parcels with a combined 400,000 square feet for $37 million in September 2023. They also maintain a workforce of more than 900 in the Miami Valley Research Park.
Chris Graham, Solvita’s chief executive, said at the time the properties would be used initially as a warehouse for climate-controlled storage of allografts, or tissue that is to be transplanted from one person to another.
Because the site is under renovation, there are now only about a dozen employees.
“When this renovation project is through over on Forrer, they’ll begin ramping up employment at this location,” Chodkowski said. “We don’t know what all that looks like yet at this point in time, but we do expect it to be significant based on what they’ve shared with us.”
Solvita did not immediately provide a statement regarding the number of employees planned for the site, what operations will be housed there or when construction is expected to be completed.
Driving activity in the park
The health care industry continues to drive interest in the Kettering Business Park regarding space and availability.
The interest is not for medical office space, but for services that support the health care industry, which Chodkowski called a positive.
“That traffic in and out of the park will help us bolster and support the secondary development in and around that park on Wilmington Pike,” Chodkowski said.
More employees in Kettering Business Park means more customers for nearby restaurants and retailers.
Credit: Jen Balduf
Credit: Jen Balduf
Demolition of Van Buren tavern
Right across the street from the Municipal Court building in the Kettering Business Park is the former Van Buren Tavern.
The Kettering Development Corp. owns the property and is paying the city for its assistance to raze the building. A remediation company is going to pull out asbestos floor tiles and insulation beginning June 23. Once complete, the tavern will be part of a three-building demolition package to save money compared to doing them individually, Chodkowski said.
The second is the former Vista Kawasaki dealership at 3916 Wilmington Pike, almost two miles south of the Business Park, near Stroop Road. The property abuts an old railroad right-of-way and is not suitable for redevelopment because standards have changed. Instead, the city plans a future trail access point to the Iron Horse Trail with a parking lot and restroom facility.
The third site to be included in the demolition package is the former convenience store at the southwest corner of Stroop Road and Woodman Drive owned by Speedway.
“It’s a cooperative effort,” Chodkowski said. “That building is not serviceable any longer and it needs to be razed.”
The Kettering Development Corp. and Speedway will reimburse the city for demolition costs plus an administrative fee.
Kettering Business Park timeline
Kettering Business Park is once again home to nearly 2,500 employees following the closure of the former Gentile Air Force Station in 1996 and loss of more than 2,500 jobs.
July 1997: National Center for Composite Systems Technology opens
September 1997: Bank One Private Label Credit Services opens, 1,000+ jobs
April 1998: Defense Finance and Accounting Service opens with 750 employees
April 1998: Bank One expands, additional 650 jobs for total 1,750 jobs
May 2002: RadianExpress.com opens, 330 employees
May 2003: DFAS leaves, about 400 jobs
May 2003: Kettering Municipal Court opens, 20 employees
December 2003: RadianExpress.com leaves
January 2006: GE Consumer Finance opens, 2,000 employees
March 2007: Air Force Claims Center opens, 100 employees. Left before 2015
October 2007: NanoSperse, 7-15 employees
November 2015: Alternate Solutions Health Network opens, 740 jobs
January 2019: Kettering Health opens command center
April 2019: Amazon opens last-mile distribution center, 375 employees
September 2020: Synchrony Financial closes (former GE Consumer Finance)
April 2023: Solvita acquires Synchrony site, less than 12 jobs during early renovations
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