Demolition permit issued for large Indiana factory

Sagamore Hills, Ohio-based Jim Wallace Co. has been granted a permit to demolish a former auto transmission factory in Muncie, Indiana, that checks in at more than 1 million square feet in size.

According to an online article from The Star Press, based in Muncie, Jim Wallace Co. bought the factory complex, which has been vacant since 2009, for $500,000 earlier this year. The previous owner, who had hoped to redevelop the building, died in June of 2017.

Throughout much of the 20^th century and up until 2009 auto transmissions were built at the complex. The Star Press says more than 5,000 people worked at the plant in the 1950s. It was closed by Michigan-based BorgWarner in 2009.

New owner Jim Wallace Co. has now received a permit from Muncie’s building commission to demolish most of the complex, which The Star Press describes as being “a half-mile long and 1.1 million square feet in size.” The complex sits on 125 acres of land.

Wallace has told The Star Press he plans to demolish most of the building, but will leave intact “up to 200,000 square feet that is in good condition,” with Wallace saying he will try to lease it.