UAW 1714 Hall Goes on the Market for $699K

LORDSTOWN, Ohio – The union hall once home to United Auto Workers Local 1714 is up for sale.

Signs were posted on the property Friday.  “It’s got a lot of potential uses,” , says Dan Crouse, a broker with Platz Realty Group. The building sits on 42 acres that are zoned industrial.

Crouse says the 8,000-sqaure-foot building is listed for $699,000. “It’s a great location for a distribution center or someone who has the need for light manufacturing,” he says, noting the hall boasts 20-foot ceilings. “There’s also great power going into the building,” he says.

Moreover, a CSX rail line runs to the south and west side of the property, another amenity for manufacturers, Crouse said.

Mayor Arno Hill said the union hall property presents a great opportunity for new development in the village. “There’s a lot of industrial-zoned land back there,” he said.  “I could definitely see a trucking company or distribution center going in there.”

The building at 2121 Carson Salt Springs Road was constructed in 1975, according to the Trumbull County Auditors website.  The most recent appraisal – performed in 2018 — values the land and building at $569,500 for tax purposes.

The union hall hasn’t been used in earnest since UAW Locals 1714 and 1112 merged last year into a single chapter under Local 1112.  Retirees would hold events there, and last summer a rally was held at the outdoor pavilion in support of the TJX HomeGoods Distribution Center project now under construction.

Dave Green, president of Local 1112, said union leaders discussed the possibility of a sale months ago.  “We went ahead and pulled the trigger on it,” he said.  “We can’t retain two halls with one membership.  We’re one local union now and we’re trying to make good business decisions.”

Local 1714 represented hourly workers at General Motors’ Lordstown complex beginning in 1970 after the company opened a fabrication plant to stamp parts for the assembly plant, which opened in 1966.

By the mid-1990s, about 3,000 workers were employed in the “fab plant” and under the representation of 1714.  Another 5,000 or so were represented by 1112 in the assembly plant.  By 2017, that number had dwindled to about 1,400, as the plant became more automated and positions left vacant from retirements were not filled.

In 2017, a decision was made to combine the two unions, which became effective in February 2018.  In November, GM announced it would cease production of the Chevrolet Cruze and close the entire plant by the first week of March 2019, ending GM’s 53-year run in the Mahoning Valley.

On Wednesday, GM announced it is “in discussions” with Workhorse Group Inc. and an affiliated company regarding the purchase of the plant.  The Cincinnati-based company manufactures electric trucks.There are questions whether it has the financial strength to purchase and sustain such a large complex as Lordstown.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.