BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
UNION TOWNSHIP -- The cornerstone of development on the new Union Centre Boulevard here has been laid.
International Cornerstone Group, a catalog company based in Portland, Maine, broke ground Wednesday for its $40 million, 860,000-square-foot distribution complex. It will be one of the largest buildings in Butler County.
Cornerstone's total investment will reach $90 million, including $50 million in inventory.
"It's going to be one of the top five direct-marketing fulfillment centers in the country," said Daniel J. Lally, director of public relations for Cinmar, a Cornerstone division in Lebanon.
The new facility will house Cinmar, publisher of the Frontgate catalog. Merchandise for at least three catalogs -- Frontgate, Whispering Pines and TravelSmith Outfitters -- will be housed at the site. Other Cornerstone companies may transfer all or part of their distribution activities to the center over the next three years.
When finished, the massive structure, the size of 15 football fields, will encompass 19.7 acres under roof. It will include 740,000 square feet of warehouse - distribution area, 70,000 square feet of office space and a 50,000-square-foot retail store that will sell products from several Cornerstone-affiliated catalogs. The first phase of the project is to open in spring 1999.
In the first three years, the site will offer 705 full-time jobs with annual average salaries of $30,000 and 405 part-time jobs at $12,000.
"Certainly the community has gotten behind this project and supported us," said John O'Steen, president and chief executive officer of Cornerstone Services Co. "We really work hard to be a good corporate citizen."
Cornerstone considered building the large distribution center in Lebanon. But officials, citing a shortage of workers, decided to scratch Warren County from its list and shifted its investment to southern Butler County.
Officials hope the large facility will draw workers from several Southwestern Ohio counties, including Butler, Clermont, Warren, Hamilton and Montgomery.
