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Rail hub to open Monday

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By Ed Richter, Staff Writer 8:17 PM Sunday, May 10, 2009

More than 170 people are expected to attend an open house today, May 11, to celebrate the establishment of a facility that will give regional businesses and industries another option to transport their goods and materials cheaply via rail in Franklin.

Last week, the city of Franklin received the approval from the State Controlling Board in Columbus to release a $1.6 million forgivable Logistics and Distribution Stimulus Loan from the Ohio Department of Development, according to Martin Russell, deputy director of the Warren County Economic Development Department.

The facility, called Franklin Yards is a multimodal, multiuser rail hub located at the former IKO plant on South Main Street at Ohio 73 on Franklin’s south end. City officials have said the public/private partnership project would create five construction jobs and 10 permanent positions.

Russell said U.S. Rep. Mike Turner will be the keynote speaker for the event beginning at 2:30 p.m. He will be joined by a number of other state, county and local officials, including Warren County Commissioners Pat South and Dave Young, Franklin Vice Mayor Carl Bray, state Reps. Shannon Jones and Ron Maag, state Sen. Robert Schuler and Steve Schoeny of the Ohio Department of Development.

In case of rain, the event will be moved to the Deardoff Senior Center on South River Street.

According to the state development department, the loan, which can be forgiven if specific terms are attained, will be used for capital equipment and facility renovations in support of the overall $2.3 million project.

The plant, which used to make roofing shingles, is being converted into a storage and rail hub for smaller companies that desire to ship their products via rail.

City officials said the IKO plant is tied into Norfolk Southern Railway lines to ship products to the east and companies also may truck products to a sister facility in Camden where it ties into the railroad lines heading west. The facility will be leased from the city by Rod Good of Camden and his family would lease the facility from the city.

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