Fireworks Distributor Buys Vacant Muncie Property
North Central Industries say it will invest $2.5 million to rehab this vacant industrial site in Muncie. (Photo courtesy: Keith Roysdon)
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn importer of fireworks headquartered in Delaware County has announced plans to invest at least $2.5 million in the purchase and rehabilitation of a long-vacant industrial property in Muncie. North Central Industries says the project will create 10 full-time and 20 part-time jobs.
The company says it will turn the former City Machine Tool & Die building into an updated facility. Delaware County Economic Development says the machine shop closed in 2007 and has remained vacant.
Delaware County Commission President James King credits the East Central Regional Planning District and Director Bill Walters for “remarkable success getting many of the county’s longtime tax-delinquent eyesores repurposed to viable end users.”
North Central Industries says it will strip the vacant building and rebuild it into a modern warehouse.
“The strategic identification of commercial and industrial properties that continue to revolve in and out of the county tax sale is an important undertaking for our community,” said Brad Bookout, Muncie director of municipal and economic affairs. “Once we identify a problem property, our goal is to find an appropriate end user who has the financial wherewithal to not only redevelop the property, but also to redevelop and maintain it in a way that it becomes a community asset.”
DCED says there are “environmental concerns” with the property, which will need to be addressed before work can begin. The city says environmental consultant The Elam Group in Noblesville has submitted a plan to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
North Central says it plans to have the new building complete by 2023.