A long-term lease for 260,000 square feet of manufacturing space by Dana Inc., a Fortune 500 auto parts manufacturer, brought about 275 jobs to northwest Ohio, where the company was founded in 1904.
The substantial job impact of the deal is one of the factors that earned it a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The lease of the property at P314 County Road 12 in Napoleon was signed on April 1, 2022. The plant is located 30 miles from Dana’s headquarters in the Toledo suburb of Maumee.
Dana Inc. was founded on April 1, 1904, based on founder Clarence Spicer's patented invention of an encased universal joint, according to the company's website.
Its products have been used in "history's greatest vehicles — from the Model T and the World War II-era Jeep, to one of the first mass-produced battery-electric vehicles," according to the company. Dana now primarily supplies axles, driveshafts, transmissions and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing and digital equipment for conventional, hybrid and electric-powered vehicles.
About the project: Dana Inc. signed a lease on April 1, 2022, for 260,000 square feet of manufacturing space at P314 County Road in Napoleon, Ohio.
What the judges said: "This lease represented new jobs and green manufacturing updates." — Mark Brazeau, director of group sales, Destination Toledo.
"Rural Building, substantial job impact on smaller community, and bringing Dana jobs to NW Ohio where it was founded!" — Robert Mack, vice president and principal, Signature Associates.
"Massive lease deal, with broker cooperation across various markets (need more of this industrywide), and lease brought jobs/growth to the immediate market." — Evan Lyons, senior director, Encore Real Estate Investment Services.
They made it happen: Mark Baringer, senior adviser of NAI Harmon Group in Toledo; Erica Holton of Plante Moran Cresa in Southfield, Michigan, represented Dana Inc.