050117...R AUTOPARKIT 3...Warren...05-01-17... Christopher Alan, CEO of AUTOParkit, talks about his plans in Warren from the old GE building he purchased recent;y...by R. Michael Semplwe

WARREN — Three-and-a-half months after a run-in with Warren City Council, a city businessman is placing his industrial properties on the market.

Christopher Alan, owner of AUTOParkit, listed 310 Dana St., 408 Dana St, and 650 Griswold St. on Monday with Platz Realty Group of Canfield. The properties had been one-time manufacturing sites of General Electric and Delphi Automotive.

The online flyer lists the land for sale or lease. A price was not provided.

Alan obtained the properties in 2017 and 2018 for $300,000, according to the Trumbull County Auditor’s website.

Whether this means the departure for the parking system manufacturer from the area is unclear.

Warren Community Development Director Michael Keys said he and city officials are expected to meet with Alan when he returns from vacation. Keys said the city would have no other comment prior to that meeting.

Calls to Alan and his representatives for comment were not returned as of press time.

The Warren Western Reserve High School alumnus brought his company from Los Angeles to Warren in 2015. He said at the time he wanted a site to manufacture, design and ship from to a worldwide customer base.

“Knowing what used to be here and the infrastructure that was here quickly brought Warren back to the forefront to seriously looking at the town,” Alan said at the time.

He projected a workforce nearing 1,000 workers within 10 years of beginning operations.

A year after returning to town, Alan asked the city to close Dana Street to public traffic.

He and Enzo Cantalamessa, then-city law director, cited vandalism and safety as reasons for the move.

“The vandals were the major concern,” Cantalamessa said in September 2017. “Before we placed the barriers, Mr. Alan spoke to the businesses and neighbors in the area and they were OK with our placing them. The other company owners realized the job potential that AUTOParkit is bringing to the city.”

The road closure and the public perception of AUTOParkit’s growth have been issues. Complaints and questions regarding the barriers first began in 2017.

In October 2018, Alan opened his facilities to the public. During the tour, he said lawsuits tied to the properties hampered the company’s growth.

Alan then detailed current projects at the time and highlighted the seven garages then being built. He also noted he invested $4.5 million in upgrades. Alan projected his investment would surpass $20 million by 2028.

“There are residents looking from the outside that believe we’ve not done very much,” he said at the tour. “We have done quite a bit, but this is a slow process.”

AUTOParkit’s work had been touted in connection with the renovation of the former Detroit Free Press building, operating as The Press / 321 in downtown Detroit. Alan said in a June 2020 interview that parts for the structure, such as electrical, mechanical and control systems, were manufactured in Warren.

On its website, The Press / 321 “(boasted) the Midwest’s first indoor automated parking system powered by AUTOParkit, a structure similar to a vending machine for vehicles to be parked and retrieved with speed and ease.

The barriers were removed eventually from Dana Street in October. Alan protested the action at that month’s council meeting.

“I can’t secure the campus with people driving 80 miles an hour up the street, motorcycles running up and down the street,” Alan said at the meeting. “We’ve had three break-ins in the last month, three, and that’s because I still have to let people come through.”

Alan told council he would consider a move to a location with lower taxes and free infrastructure.

“Make no mistake, this isn’t a vote about Dana,” Alan said at the time. “It’s a vote about asking me to stay or asking me to leave.”