Behind the 311-square-foot yellow-and-blue structure that is Swedish mega-retailer Ikea stands an almost equally massive 290-square-foot vacant industrial building at 2400 S. Weccacoe Ave. Unique Industries, the name of the former occupant, is still decipherable on the faded plastic sign outside the entrance and guardhouse on the 11.5-acre site. But soon that sign will be replaced by another reading Rotem USA Corp.

The facility that housed Unique until December 2006 is being transformed into a state-of-the-art railcar manufacturing facility/corporate headquarters for Rotem. The company was awarded a $274 million SEPTA contract last year to build 120 new Silverliner V passenger railcars for its Regional Rail lines.

That contract has a “Buy America” provision where the final assembly must be conducted in the United States as well as 60 percent of the vehicles’ overall value — everything inside and out from seats to nuts and bolts — must come from U.S. suppliers, Jack Martinson, Rotem’s vice president for business development, said.

Located behind UPS on Oregon Avenue, the Rotem facility also will build cars for another new client, Southern California Regional Rail Authority’s Metrolink commuter rail service. “We’ve been attempting to enter the U.S. [mass] transit market for quite some time and these are the first two contracts,” Martinson said.

Founded in Seoul, South Korea, in 1999, Rotem is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. and its business on this continent has included building freight cars for an Alaskan rail system as well as other U.S. lines. In addition, Rotem designs and manufactures various trains, such as electrical multiple units, high-speed, light rail and locomotives and passenger coaches.

The Weccacoe location will handle all American business and is expected to create about 300 new jobs. The new site will include the company’s U.S. corporate offices, currently in the Navy Yard, which it has outgrown. “The creating of jobs is a very important thing for this area, the region,” Martinson said.

Rotem signed a 20-year lease with owner/developer Rimas Properties, whose president, Sammy Benakmoume, was committed to working with the company so it may stay in the city, something Martinson said was preferable for customers and suppliers.

“The amount of jobs that this company will be able to create will be a great positive for the city and a great thing for South Philly. We’re just very happy to bring new jobs to South Philly. I don’t think there’s been such a large creation in jobs in South Philly in many years,” Benakmoume told the Review.

The last big influx was when Ikea opened its doors in the Columbus Commons shopping plaza in August 2004 and hired 350 people — 20 percent of its workforce coming from South Philly.

Already a strong presence locally, in October Rimas was granted commercial C-5 zoning for a 5.5-acre parcel at Broad Street and Washington Avenue, giving the green light to a mixed-use twin-tower complex. Benakmoume said it’s too early to say when ground-breaking will begin on that site, but he’s excited about the project that will include office space, apartments, condominiums, an expansive upscale retail center and parking. Another Rimas structure is 1352 Lofts, a six-story condo/retail tower at 1326-52 South St.

Rimas bought the Weccacoe parcel in July and saw out the last months of Unique’s time there. One of the largest party supply manufacturers/distributors in the country, Unique’s office headquarters are now in the Navy Yard and its shipping is based out of Virginia. One day Benakmoume visited Unique when it was on Weccacoe and asked the receptionist why there were so few cars in the lot. The woman told him that’s because many Unique employees walked to work. “I was really surprised at the answer,” Benakmoume said, referring to the fact most people do not live within walking distance of work. Rimas’ president added he believes the 300 new Rotem positions will likely attract many from the immediate area. Martinson, however, said he couldn’t say if South Philly would account for much of the workforce, but the bulk of jobs will likely be manufacturing since three-quarters of the building consists of 265,000 square feet of designated space for that purpose, the office portion occupying 25,000 square feet. It’s too early to know specifics about the workforce, but Rotem expects to utilize labor service providers to fill the positions.

“We will be using people familiar with the local labor market to help us find the right people based on our requirements. Some of these jobs will be permanent, some will be temporary. It depends on how much business we will have,” the Rotem official said.

It was the size of the site that first won over Rotem officials, then its proximity to the port and rail lines cemented the deal. “It is a large enough space to handle multiple contracts. We would rather do it at one site than have it spread all over. It’s easier to manage,” Martinson said.

The facility will handle the final assembly of rail vehicles for the United States market, with car body shells shipped from Korea and other parts coming from domestic and foreign suppliers. “A railcar is a very complicated thing,” he said of the building process.

Rotem expects to invest about $10 million in the space, including upgrading existing exterior rail lines that run adjacent to the building and creating new interior rail lines since at least half of the required parts come via railroad and truck with the railcars from Korea arriving by container ships at the nearby Port of Philadelphia.

“Obviously the closeness to the port is important and the access to rail,” Martinson said.

Presently, things are in the design/architectural design phase at Rotem’s new home.

“We hope to be doing some construction work for the renovation process probably by at least March or April,” Martinson said, adding Rotem expects to begin production of the railcars next year.