(The Center Square) – Ohio plans to spend more than $225 million in taxpayer funds with the hopes of luring businesses to four areas of the state.
The money and plan are part of the All Ohio Future Fund program that identifies areas and spends money on infrastructure improvements to help attract future economic development.
The four new sites are in Coshocton, Lorain, Montgomery and Muskingum counties. Coshocton and Muskingum are in the southeast part of the state, while Montgomery includes Dayton, and Lorain borders Lake Erie near Cleveland.
“When major corporations are looking for somewhere to build, they want sites that are prepped and ready for construction,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. “By investing to build infrastructure at the Conesville, Lorain, Dayton, and Frazeysburg sites, we’re making Ohio more competitive and positioning those regions to attract projects that create good-paying jobs and boost the state’s economy.”
Nearly $79 million of the new money is going to Dayton International Airport to update the Dayton Airport Defense and Aerospace Campus with a new apron. The current apron will also be rehabilitated to give the airport more room for hangars.
Lorain County is expected to receive more than $67 million to improve the Lorain County Mega Site with expanded water capacity, wastewater improvements and a new wastewater plant.
The Conesville Industrial Park will receive nearly $59 million for road, utility, water and wastewater improvements.
Finally, the Zanesville-Muskingum Port Authority will receive more than $20 million for water and sanitary access to 600 acres in the Frazeysburg development area.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing a site for development, so we’re literally laying the groundwork for future jobs and economic development in these communities,” Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel. “We’ve already generated interest in these locations, and by proactively preparing them with needed infrastructure, these sites won’t be vacant for long.”
In all, the state has spent nearly $350 million on mega sites from the fund.
