Former industrial facility reborn as BlueRock Nexus
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BRIDGEPORT -- BlueRock Nexus is bringing a 60,000 square foot industrial warehouse to the village of Bridgeport.
Located at 56100 Burkley Road, BlueRock Nexus is being developed with the goal of bringing more jobs to Bridgeport and the Ohio Valley.
"We took an old industrial facility, and we’ve rejuvenated it and brought it back to life hoping to bring jobs to Belmont County and to the Ohio Valley. There’s a good, strong history of the workforce in the valley, and we want to continue that," BlueRock Nexus owner Brian Schambach said. "We want people to be able to stay in the valley and raise their children here and have available jobs. So what we have here is a 60,000 square foot warehouse that we’ve rebuilt and whatever rejuvenated, remodeled, and 30,000 square feet of parking available around the warehouse."
Schambach said he also is leveling and grading 15 acres at the rear of the property for additional buildings as part of a planned industrial campus.
Schambach created BlueRock Nexus two years ago and has been working to rebuild and remodel the former Wheeling Brake Block Manufacturing Co. building.
He said the venture would not be possible without the help of Belmont County Treasurer Katherine J. Kelich, the Belmont County Board of Commissioners, OhioMeansJobs and various local and state officials.
Schambach's wife, Callie Schambach, said her husband saw the building and had a vision for how he could improve it.
She said the couple are lifelong Ohio Valley residents and are passionate about improving the community.
"This county has given so much to us, we wanted to give back. So he felt that he could improve this to the point where he could make it an industrial park and add jobs," she said. "He just had a vision of how it could be workable into the community to help."
Schambach said the project should be completed this fall. Once it is finished, he plans to host an open house in hopes of attracting businesses interested in moving into the warehouse.
Schambach first saw the building five years ago while looking for property for his other business, BlueChem Chemicals, which needed a processing facility.
"We ended up locating in Ravenswood, West Virginia. But then I was acclimated with this building and the potential that it could have in Belmont County," Schambach said.
Schambach said his interest in art inspired him to create a structural sculpture to display outside the building. He also added aluminum cladding to the front of the building to improve its appearance.
"It really makes it different. I just didn’t want an old regular looking warehouse," Schambach said.
He also added 8-inch-thick concrete to the parking lot and inside the building to accommodate tractor-trailers, lifts and cranes.