Finish Thompson Inc., a 72-year-old Erie company that designs and builds industrial pumps, is the new owner of the 14-acre former Lord Corp. property on West 12th Street.
Finish Thompson, which has operated from its headquarters at 921 Greengarden Road since 1959, completed the purchase of the vacant industrial site on Friday.
FTI paid $1.37 million for the property, at 1635 W. 12th St., according to a deed recorded at the Erie County Courthouse.
“Finish Thompson has seen steady growth over the past decade and we have been looking for an ideal space in the community to meet our manufacturing needs,” Casey Bowes, the company's CEO and owner, said in a statement. “We have secured the property for the short-term, as we evaluate our long-term plan.”
The former Lord property, located about three blocks south of the Finish Thompson complex, will be evaluated as manufacturing and office space for Finish Thompson.
The company, which currently has about 140 employees, has seen strong growth over the last two years, following an off year in 2020, Bowes said.
"We have been looking for a place where we could expand our operations for over a year now and we have been looking at the Lord property during that time," Bowes told the Erie Times-News. "Convenience is a huge factor. If we end up keeping our current location it will make having two locations very convenient."
Would Finish Thompson consider selling or leasing part of the space to other companies?
"I am not going to rule out any possibility," Bowes said. "Our primary intent is to provide space for Finish Thompson."
In addition to owning Finish Thompson, Bowes developed and owns Greengarden Place, a shopping center at 1535 W. Eighth St. Retailers in the plaza include Pressed, a bookstore and coffee shop owned by Bowes' wife, Tracey Bowes.
Chuck Peters, the managing partner of Erie-based Altair Real Estate Services, which had listed the property, first confirmed that FTI Realty is linked to Finish Thompson, which specializes in fluid transfer pumps.
Peters said, "Altair is very proud to have been part of the transaction. Our commercial agent, Joel Marz, worked very hard to make this come together."
More:Former Lord Corp. property in Erie remains vacant, but interest could be stirring
The property's past
The Lord property, which is located on the south side of West 12th Street and is bordered on the east by Greengarden Road, had been home to a sprawling Lord Corp. facility until 2014 when Lord closed the complex and moved to Summit Township.
With help from $790,000 from Lord, buildings in the complex and most of the debris has been removed.
Lord initially sold the property former Greater Industrial Development Corp for $1. The property was later sold to Maverick Contracting Ltd, of Lisbon, Ohio, which had talked about developing an industrial park on the site.
The property has been listed for sale — offered at one point for $1.5 million — by a series of local real estate agencies.
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Importance of the site
Tina Mengine, CEO of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, who had prior knowledge of the buyer's identity when she was interviewed in late February, said she was enthusiastic about plans for the property.
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"It's a critical part of our downtown revitalization and certainly 12th Street is the gateway into ourdowntown," she said. "A responsible investment of that site is really critical."
In a statement released after the Times-News first reported the purchase, Erie Mayor Joe Schember said Finish Thompson might be considering an expansion on the site of the former Lord plant, which is just east of Interstate 79.
"I am happy today to say that the purchase of the West 12th and Greengarden Road site by Erie's Finish Thompson is an enormous win for the entire region and another big step toward our goal of adding more jobs," Schember said in the statement.
"I want to thank Casey Bowes and Finish Thompson for choosing to invest in Erie, and I look forward to next steps as Casey and his team move forward with evaluating their plans and making decisions about their expansion.
"There have been many false starts on that site since 2018. I also want to specifically thank our economic development specialist, Chris Groner, for his persistence and dedication to finding the right buyer and helping to facilitate the sale."
In February of 2022, Schember talked about the need for activity on the former Lord site.
"I do think it is very important that we get the site of the former Lord Corporation back into productive use," he said at the time. "This is the first thing that people coming into Erie from I-79 see."
Contact Jim Martin atjmartin@timesnews.com.
