Developer plans to build near base
Jason Woodard says companies still want offices despite the rise in work-from-home arrangements.
Developer Jason Woodard said Friday he hopes to begin construction by early summer on two new defense-focused office buildings, extending the successful Mission Point development in Beavercreek.
Planned are two new office and research buildings for the site, Woodard said.
“These are office and R&D facilities, really designed to continue to support the defense industry,” he said. “We are actively engaged with several users and are working to finalize a couple of those deals.”
According to plans Woodard shared, the first building — a threestory 27,500-square-foot office structure — would sit on nearly 6.5 acres. The second building, a two-story, 30,000-square-foot structure, would be on 4.5 acres.
Both buildings would be just east of and adjacent to Mission Point Boulevard south of Col Glenn Highway. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. anchored the office park at 2601 Mission Point in 2014 and continues to operate there.
This new plan is not related to the extended use leases or EULs in an area sometimes called “Gerlaugh Farm” that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base began to open for the consideration of local
developers late last year.
Woodard said Friday he is not actively exploring future work in that area, but he said he will monitor developments there.
“What we’re working on is not part of the EUL, but it’s directly south of it,” he said.
The case has not received final approval, but Beavercreek Planning Commission did advance it to City Council with a recommendation of approval, Beavercreek City Planner Sandra Pereira said. It will move forward to council April 26, she said.
Woodard continues to believe in the future of office space, saying employers with whom he speaks plan to use offices, perhaps while offering employees greater flexibility in working remotely.
“Basically what we’re hearing is that how offices are utilized will vary from company to company,” he said. “We’ll see maybe more flexibility in the schedule.
“There are some companies we’ve talked to who have talked about more permanent work-from-home solutions, but obviously the overwhelming majority sees tremendous value in getting back to the office, maybe not in the same form it was pre-pandemic. But the common message is there’s a lot of value in the water-cooler talk, as far as idea-sharing.”