Vacant industrial sites abound in Elkhart Countyby Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)
More than 120 manufacturing complexes and warehouses are for sale or lease in Elkhart County. (WSBT photo) ELKHART COUNTY — The economy and business shutdowns have left a lot of empty industrial sites in Elkhart County. Multimedia Related Content“It’s unfortunate when you hear about the vacancies. And at the same time it's unfortunate when you hear about layoffs,” said Kyle Hannon of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce. More than 120 manufacturing complexes and warehouses are for sale or lease. That's more than 10 percent of the county's manufacturing properties. Realtor Ross Miller of FM Stone added, "Its about 123 spaces — some of those are multi-tenant facilities. Lease rates are down, sale prices, or sale prices per square foot, are less than they have been. And there is an abundance of buildings on the market." Miller believes that vacancy rates for commercial and warehouse buildings around the county are the highest he's seen since he's been in the real estate business. "Anything that affects manufacturing such as high oil prices and credit tightening will affect our economy locally. So, that has a tremendous affect on us and it's not gotten any better," said Ross. But many think the economy will turn around. "We've had a thriving economy in the past and we will again," Hannon said. "There’s available buildings. This would be the time to get into and lease your buildings and hire the workers, and this is the time to do that." Some companies may offer their buildings at a lower cost to attract new owners — which they hope will bring back industry and jobs to the area. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
WSBT WeatherWSBT Weather
Stock QuotesYouNews
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
|
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
Tonight On WSBTFull Schedule
7.00
60 Minutes
8.00
The Amazing Race 15
9.00
Three Rivers
10.00
Cold Case
11.00
WSBT News
11.30
Paid Programming
Question of The DayMost Popular
|
Sun, Nov 22
South Bend
