
Ford Motor Co. closed its Cleveland Engine Plant six years ago and is finally ready to sell the sprawling factory and the 195 acres of land that it sits on. Located just east of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport it's also close to freeways and rail lines. Those in the know believe the site will attract a flurry of interest from real estate speculators, developers and companies in need of manufacturing or distribution space.
"I've never seen a market like this," said Howard Lichtig, a CBRE, Inc., vice president who is handling both the Walton Hills and Brook Park listings for Ford with colleague Michael Toth. "There's a ton of velocity, and there's very little product. And those are great market conditions if you're a seller."
The listing for the Brook Park property doesn't include an asking price, and Lichtig would not throw out any numbers. But based on other recent land sales in the area, it wouldn't be out of the question to see the Ford plant go for $20 million, or more. "This comes along once in a generation, as far as I'm concerned," Scott Adams, the city's economic-development commissioner, said of the opportunity to market such a prominent site.
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