Home Depot may build warehouse in Wood County

Retailer already has facility north of Findlay

Home Depot Regional Distribution Center in Van Buren.

Home Depot Inc., which already has a distribution warehouse in Hancock County, is considering adding a distribution facility in northeast Wood County.

The home improvement retailing chain has been working with the Wood County Economic Development Commission on a project to build a 1.6-million-square foot warehouse on a 157-acre site in Troy Township off of Pemberville Road south of U.S. 20. The land is owned by Virginia-based utility Dominion Resources. The site is just north of Dominion’s gas-fired electric-generation peaking plant.

Wade Gottschalk, the commission’s executive director, said the project is in the preliminary stages and Home Depot remains in the due-diligence phase.

“Usually on a project like this, we wouldn’t be talking about it at this stage. But they are considering that site, but there’s a lot of due diligence they have to do and they still have to get corporation approval for the project,” he said.

Mr. Gottschalk said it could be that Home Depot is considering other locations for a distribution warehouse. “We are under the assumption that we are in competition with other sites,” he said.

However, Home Depot is seeking approval for a site plan it submitted to the Troy Township Zoning Commission. The plan’s fate is to be decided at the commission's May 9 meeting.

Mr. Gottschalk said the cost of the project and information on how many jobs would be created have not been officially disclosed. Estimates have been suggested, but are not reliable, he added.

Home Depot officials plan to seek local and state tax incentives if they choose the Troy Township site, Mr. Gottschalk said. And they have assured Hancock County officials a Wood County facility would not conflict with the existing facility in Allen Township, north of Findlay. “We've been told that facility would have no impact on this project,” Mr. Gottschalk said.

The Wood County site has the necessary infrastructure, which Dominion provided years ago, so construction could occur quickly if Home Depot chooses it. The site has been approved by CSX railroad as a premier site and a rail spur could be extended to it if the occupier desired, Mr. Gottschalk said.