A Dynamic Dud

 

We were all caught by surprise last week when it was revealed some of the Airtex property had changed hands.

I’m not a lawyer (and I don’t play one on radio) but I think there’s something rotten about the deal. The real estate firm which “bought” the property for three-quarters of a million dollars, is virtually non-existent. It appears, from here, to be a shell game. In fact, there might be a negative outcome to the sale.

That property, which includes Airtex Plant Two, was valued at over two million dollars only a few years ago. That means the owner is paying taxes on that value. If the bulk of the property is “sold” for a third of its value, it probably is an attempt to further roll back the company’s property tax bill to the detriment of our schools and local government.

So, our first blush assumption that the sale could produce new jobs for Fairfield and Wayne County was likely a misinterpretation. That’s kind of cruel during these tough times for our area. Industrial property sells for pennies on the dollar and we just hope it means jobs. It appears it could be just a strategic legal move.

I come to that assumption because nobody in city or county government was privy to the sale. They were left scrambling to research the real estate firm just like me. Put the new owner, Bleecker Group, LLC of Cleveland, into a Google search and you get nothing, zip, nada.

I hope I’m wrong. …but I think something smells in Ohio.