RELATED: Company's expansion means 200 new jobs in West Chester
The parcels are adjacent to the plant and its property, and the company wanted to gain control of them to demolish some vacant homes, said Grauwelman.
“They are a good corporate neighbor, and a couple of those properties are blighted, and we went ahead and worked to acquire them through foreclosure proceedings,” he said.
“There are a variety of properties along there,” he added. “There a few that have houses on them that they’re going to tear down to clean it up.”
Grauwelman said he would characterize the effort as beautification of the neighborhood. “If you drive out there and look at their grounds, I think you’ll see they take really nice care of their facility.”
Grauwelman said he did not believe the company had local expansion plans. Peter Tamborski, general counsel for Sugar Creek, declined to comment.
Sugar Creek has been expanding in Southwestern Ohio in recent years, moving its corporate headquarters from Washington Court House to a $50 million West Chester Twp. headquarters in 2015.
The company — a maker of ready-to-eat bacon and turkey bacon for other food brands — has about 1,000 employees total in Southwestern Ohio and owns several properties in Montgomery County, including about a dozen parcels along Gardendale, according to county records.
The land reutilization corporation — commonly known as the “land bank” — works with partners to take down blighted properties and make the land marketable.
“We saw this as something that’s helping us and promoting our mission, which is removing blight,” Grauwelman said of the Sugar Creek transaction.
Sugar Creek created 200 jobs in Butler County when it moved its corporate base there.
The company renovated 4235 Thunderbird Lane, a 182,977-square-foot vacant building formerly occupied by U.S. Foods.
At the time, corporate jobs were moved from other sites in Springdale, Blue Ash, Dayton and Washington Court House.
Sugar Creek already operated a combined production and storage facility in West Chester Twp. at 4585 Muhlhauser Road.
The company also has an operation in Kansas.
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