Lord Corp. property at West 12th & Greengarden in Erie remains vacant

More than seven years have passed since Lord Corp. shut down its Erie plant at the corner of Greengarden Road and West 12th streets.

Lord, one of Erie County’s largest industrial employers and a maker of anti-vibration equipment for aviation and other applications, didn’t go far. The company moved and continues to operate from a $100 million facility in Summit Township.

Lord, founded in Erie but based in North Carolina, was sold in October 2019 to Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp. for $3.675 billion.

But 1635 W. 12th St., the former home of one of Erie’s top industrial employers, remains an example of both blight and untapped potential.

It’s been years since the buildings were razed and most of the rubble hauled away. But the 14.2-acre brownfield, strewn with a scattering of construction rubble and flanked by a for-sale sign, remains vacant and unsold.

Bill Bucceri, a broker with Coldwell Banker Select Realtors in Erie, is convinced that could change sometime soon.

Bucceri, who said the property is priced at $1.5 million, said, “We are seeing a lot of interest lately. But it’s not under contract so I’m telling people it’s available.”

The current owner of the property is listed as Lorde Erie LLC, of Lisbon, Ohio. 

That recent level of interest in the property has Bucceri feeling optimistic that it will be sold within the next 12 months, he said.

According to the real estate listing for the property, “Creative owner will sub-divide, build-to-suit, land lease, etc.”

The current tax bill on the unimproved property is $18,399.

On the market for a while

This isn’t the first time there’s been an interest in the property, which Ohio-based Maverick Contracting Ltd. purchased in 2016 for $375,000 from the Greater Erie Industrial Development Corp.

GEIDC, part of the former DevelopErie, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016, paid $1 to buy the property from Lord Corp. and then funded the cost of environmental cleanup, using state grants and loans.

2016 report:Sale pending for former Lord. Corp. property in Erie

2016 report:Former Lord Corp. property on West 12th Street has been sold

There has been serious interest since then. In fact, Jack Munch, who previously had the listing for the property at Baldwin Brothers Real Estate Brokerage and Management, said in February 2020 that the sale of the property was pending and was moving into a period of due diligence, essentially a period of kicking the tires.

The deal fell through, Munch said recently.

He didn’t offer details on what scuttled the sale, but did note the timing coincided with the nationwide shutdown related to COVID-19.

Munch said, “There were multiple contracts (pending) at that time at different points in the due diligence process. When everyone started shutting down, there was a great deal of trepidation in several of the commercial contracts I was working on. People decided to terminate rather than move forward.”

A need for industrial sites

Although Munch’s company no longer has the listing on the former Lord property, Munch said he is seeing some signs that the real estate market is bouncing back.

“Some things are slow to return, but some things are coming back,” he said.

Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, has said repeatedly that Erie County has a need for buildings and land that are ready for industrial companies to purchase or lease.

Mengine said she recently received a call from a Fortune 500 company looking for 10 or 15 acres located along a highway.

Is the Erie County Redevelopment Authority a potential buyer for the property?

“I think it’s an important piece of property and it’s a gateway to the city,” Mengine said. “It’s a good size and has good access to the highway. I think it’s always been on our radar, but it has to be priced appropriately.”

Erie Mayor Joe Schember sees the redevelopment of the property as a priority.

“I do think it is very important that we get the site of the former Lord Corporation back into productive use,” Schember said in response to a question from the Erie Times-News.

“This is the first thing that people coming into Erie from I-79 see.”

Contact Jim Martin at 814-881-5229 or jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNMartin.