The abandoned Ohio Department of Transportation garage in Burton Village appears destined to morph into an industrial power and technology learning facility for Berkshire Schools’ students and others.
The abandoned Ohio Department of Transportation garage in Burton Village appears destined to morph into an industrial power and technology learning facility for Berkshire Schools’ students and others.
The school district is in the process of buying the 5 acres of blacktop and buildings and Pat Preston, owner of Preston Automotive Group, plans to renovate the facility, investing in the future of the community and students who want to learn skills that will lead to employment after graduation.
By next fall, Preston and Berkshire Schools Superintendent John Stoddard plan for the facility on West Center Street to accommodate students in the diesel maintenance and repair classes, agribusiness and special needs programs, as well as serve as a school bus parking lot and maintenance garage.
During a sunny morning tour of the concrete structures and asphalt driveways Sept. 16, the pair outlined those plans.
Preston said the industrial campus would provide a Ford Motor Company training program that, when completed, would give the participants a certification and qualify them to get jobs in the private sector.
“Ford has a great program,” Preston said.
He pointed out a large blacktopped area just off Center Street where buses would be parked. The blacktop would save the buses from rusting when parked on gravel, and the asphalt would extend their lives and reduce maintenance, he said.
The property includes a cavernous garage where work could be done on buses and school vans by Preston workers and Berkshire students.
“That will take a lot of coordination between supervisors and instructors. It will enable students to get hands-on experience, especially in diesel,” Preston said.
The empty building includes office space and a breakroom, but the roof, tarped in places, needs repair — a project Preston said he expects to fund.
“These buildings are really old — they need some TLC,” he said, estimating he may be investing more than $1 million to renovate the property.
“Some of these buildings are 60 years old,” he said.
Preston and the district plan to demolish a wooden-sided structure on the south end of the property and replace it with classrooms for students who need instruction before venturing into the garage.
Skills instruction for individuals with special needs would also be included in the curricula for the facility, Stoddard said.
“This partnership opens opportunities for our kids and for a lot of other businesses in the area,” he said. “We see awesome opportunities here.”
For instance, welders are in high demand, so welding instruction and certification programs would be offered.
With those skills in hand, graduates can expect good employment locally, helping solve the labor shortage issue, Stoddard said.
Preston said the vocational programs would not be in competition with the Auburn Career Center in Concord Township. Rather, they would fill in the gaps, such as a diesel mechanics course, which ACC does not offer.
“Auburn was very helpful in getting us our diesel certification. We have a strong partnership with Auburn,” Stoddard said, adding Lake County students may be able to apply for diesel mechanics classes at the new facility.
“We’re exploring offering adult classes in the evenings,” Preston added.
A three-bay garage near the Rapids Road exit may eventually be retrofitted as a Preston collision center for repairing damaged vehicles, he said.
Close to the center of the facility is a bollard-protected rectangle where ODOT had diesel and gasoline tanks, which have been removed. A pumping station is planned to serve school vehicles, Preston said.
Old underground tanks were taken out in 1998 and 2017 by a very good environmental firm and the report to the state revealed no additional issues relating to soil contamination, he said.
The financing of the project is being kicked off with a $950,000 grant from the state legislature that Sen. Sandra O’Brien (R – Ashtabula) and Rep. Steve Demetrio (R-Bainbridge) presented, Preston said.
The grant enables Berkshire to purchase the 5 acres, Stoddard said, adding Preston would be leasing part of it.
The district has also applied for some or all of a $2 million Ohio Department of Education grant, Stoddard said, adding Preston would supply much of the equipment needed to repair vehicles, such as lifts.
The fencing surrounding the yard would be repaired or replaced to enhance security and key cards would be needed to open the gates, Stoddard said.
The parcel has a market value of about $1.3 million, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office website.
The state owns the property and the price will be set based on an appraisal by Andrzejczyk and Associates, LLC, with offices in Cleveland, the superintendent said.
The entire project is on hold until the appraisal is received and Berkshire and the state agree on a deal, Stoddard said.
“Once we have the appraisal, everything else will start to move like dominoes,” he said.
Burton Village Zoning Inspector Rick Gruber said he is exploring with the village solicitor the best way to have the zoning of the parcel reclassified from M2 industrial to B2 highway business.
Once that is determined, it would be up to the Burton Village Planning Commission to make a recommendation to Burton Village Council, he said.
Brent Kovacs, public information officer for ODOT District 12, verified the pending sale of the parcel to Berkshire Schools Sept. 16.
“We are currently in the process of selling the old yard in Burton to the Berkshire Schools,” he said. “That is our only involvement at this time.”
