FAIRFIELD — A $275 million commercial park will rise on former farmland strategically located along a new southeastern Butler County gateway.

        Union Centre Commerce Park West, a mix of industrial, office and retail space, should eventually provide 5,000 to 6,000 jobs over the next 10 years on 550 acres straddling Fairfield and West Chester Township, developer Mark Schumacher of Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc.. said Wednesday.

        The complex will emerge along the north and south sides of Union Centre Boulevard, which links to Interstate 75 and is being extended from Ohio 747 west to Seward Road in Fairfield.

        Two projects already are under way in Fairfield on Union Centre Boulevard near Seward Road. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. is building a 400,000-square-foot bulk distribution center that will be complete in March, Mr. Schumacher said.

        Although there isn't a tenant for the building yet, MetLife's real estate broker, Tom McCormick of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, said several interested companies have inquired, and he expects one to sign a lease soon. That building is expected to bring an estimated 200 to 400 jobs, Mr. McCormick said.

        “The park is the premiere one in Southwest Ohio because of its location and access to Interstates 75 and 275,” Mr. McCormick said. “There is over 500 acres for development out there, so the investment will be significant for both regional and local companies, as well as large industrial developers and owners.”

        The other project, a 75,000-square-foot office and warehouse building for Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc., is being designed and will be built in the spring, Mr. Schumacher said. That building, estimated to provide 200 to 300 jobs, also will be leased out, but there are no tenants yet, he said.

        Key to all the development is the $8 million road project linking Fairfield with I-75 through West Chester Township that will open Dec. 10.

        Fairfield is footing most of the bill for the project with $5 million; another $2 million came from Butler County; and $1 million came from West Chester Township, officials said.

        “Obviously, with the city putting in $5 million for a new road, we were hoping to see some spinoff from private investment,” said Tim Bachman, Fairfield's planning director. “I am actually real excited just having that as another piece to market for the community. It is very nice to have that acreage open up, and we can truly now say it's minutes from the interstate.”

        The road will be called Union Centre Boulevard from Ohio 747 to Seward Road, where it will meet Symmes Road, which is being widened to four lanes to carry increased traffic from Seward Road to Ohio Bypass 4.

        Most of the new four-lane road's right of way was donated by developers who own it and see it as vital to growth in West Chester Township and Fairfield, officials said.

        “The extension will unlock significant sites for industrial development in both communities,” said Melissa Koehler, West Chester Township's economic development director.

        The park is an extension of the existing Union Centre Commerce Park just off I-75 in West Chester Township, which includes the Marriott Hotel and Procter & Gamble and is half complete, Mr. Schumacher said. When it is done, he expects that park also to provide 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, just as is projected for the new western component when its development is complete.

        Despite the national economic downturn, developers, brokers and officials aren't worried that the new park will stall.

        “We are very bullish on the park's future,” Mr. McCormick said. “Cincinnati has historically been a very stable and steady commercial and industrial real estate market. While the economy is not what we would all like it to be, we are very optimistic of the market's future, particularly Union Centre.”

Terrifying gunman shot dead by cops
Butler developers go west
Coroner: Patty didn't fight
Heimlich's legacy: 'Across-the-board cheapskate'
Bengals box won in drawing
Clergyman accused of soliciting
Council renames Avondale street
Drug campaign hopes to make danger 'obvious'
Mediation proceeding questioned
Procedure marks step in fight against diabetes
Schools take diversity lesson
Tristate A.M. Report
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: War games
Book gives kids' views
Brothers accused of scheme
Jury listens to two confessions in death of inmate
Lebanon council to discuss severance packages
Meters may not return
Lab finds lots of fear, false alarms - but no anthrax
Man testifies against former sheriff
Two meningitis cases unrelated
Art shows journey of cathedral
Callahan: Ky. outlook bleak
Family ties at NewCath
Inaction could kill apartment plans
Ky. grads' ability as workers studied
Public gets peek at project