By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

An environmental engineering company that's tackled complicated jobs for large corporations and the federal government will help trigger the renovation of an empty Norwood factory into a modern office building.

Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure has signed a seven-year lease for two floors of the former American Laundry building at Section and Ross roads near the Norwood Lateral. The deal is believed to be one of the largest office leases of the year in metro Cincinnati. Shaw, which employs 107, will move from a Sharonville office in January.

"We're excited by the idea that, as an environmental firm, we're going to move into a brownfields restoration," said William Pier, Shaw's office director and program manager.

Norwood development officials say the move is the initial step in what will be a major overhaul of a large swath of land just north of the city's business district. In addition to the American Laundry site, a developer is attempting to revitalize the abutting General Motors lot into a mixed-use project anchored by a specialty heart hospital, a supermarket and other offices.

"These are good-paying, quality jobs. It reinforces the office market in Norwood," said Rick Dettmer, the city's development director.

Lakewood, Colo.-based The LandBank Group Inc. purchased the 8.5-acre American Laundry site earlier this year, and has demolished much of a factory once visible from the Norwood Lateral.

The project's centerpiece will be a century-old, four-level brick building that is being renovated into about 60,000 square feet of office space. Shaw Environmental will occupy the bottom two floors, and developers are seeking tenants for the remaining space. Both LandBank and Shaw Environmental are owned by Baton Rouge, La.-based Shaw Group Inc.

While most of the factory has been demolished, the developer will preserve a loft-style, 55,000-square-foot building with 24-foot ceilings targeted for technology firms, said Jeffrey Kanable, LandBank's project manger. New office space and a restaurant are planned, too, for a total project expected to cost up to $15 million.

The city of Norwkod and the development team of LandBank and Neyer Properties are negotiating a development agreement to build a parking garage for the site. Dettmer said it likely will be funded through tax increment financing - a method of diverting property tax dollars to help pay for improvements.

Shaw Environmental's Cincinnati-area client roster includes GE Aircraft Engines, Cinergy and Rumpke. It also does work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is conducting water purity research in connection with the nation's anti-terrorism effort.

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com