Dayton ranks high in attracting development
Region ranked third in drawing top projects, according to magazine.
New jobs promised in 2016 at Navistar in Springfield, Care Source in downtown, Tenneco Automotive in Kettering and DMAX in Moraine are a few of the projects getting the Dayton region and Ohio recognized for economic development efforts.
The Dayton region was ranked third in the U.S. for drawing top development projects, while Ohio was second among states in a new Site Selection magazine ranking released Wednesday.
The region beat out Durham Chapel Hill, N.C.; Lexington-Fayette, Ky.; and Greensboro-High Point, N.C. to claim the third
spot, according to the Dayton Development Coalition.
“We continue to grow and thrive with the hard work of our local partners,” said Jeff Hoagland, coalition president and chief executive. “They are the boots on the ground providing the environment for companies to expand and new ones to land.”
The rankings tracked the number of businesses expanding that either invested $1 million, added 20 new jobs or have plans to expand 20,000 square feet of new space. The Dayton region’s 45 new projects in 2016 were ranked third for metropolitan areas with populations between 200,000 and 1 million people.
Dayton has now been in the top 10 for 11 years, according to a Dayton Development Coalition spokeswoman.
Last year, the Dayton Development Coalition said 3,136 jobs were pledged or added in the region, adding $138.8 million in new payroll and $568.9 million in new capital investment.
“I would say of Dayton’s primary assets — and I think it’s far and away No. 1 — is location,” said Ron Starner, executive vice president and senior editor at Site Selection magazine. “Being near Interstates 70 and 75 is a huge asset.”
Great water resources represent another area strength. “A lot of areas don’t have an abundance of water,” he said.
Another strength Starner identified: The presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Air Force’s biggest base and Ohio’s largest single-site employer.
Dayton, however, can find itself “undervalued and undersold.” Starner cautioned.
There’s a “lot of work” that can be done to help make Dayton more “top of mind” when considering Midwestern locations, he said.
“I do think at times Dayton can get lost in the shuffle a bit,” he said.
Julie Sullivan, vice president of development for the coalition, was visiting on Wednesday the just-opened 20-acre Golden Fresh Farms greenhouse in Wapakoneta. That project was expected to create 75 to 100 jobs, but that’s only in the early phases, Sullivan said. “I think in a lot of ways, (the ranking) is a great testament to a lot of our local economic developers across the region.”
Ohio ranked second among all U.S. states for the fifth-straight year. Ohio has placed either first or second for more than 10 years. Texas was the top ranked state.
But according to a report released by JobsOhio on Wednesday, the state had a down year in 2016 in creating new jobs. Last year, Ohio attracted 284 projects with 20,603 new or pledged jobs, a decrease of 2,999 from 2015. The jobs created carried an annual payroll of $994 million — about $48,250 each — a drop of $106 million or 10 percent from 2015, the private, nonprofit job creation group created by Gov. John Kasich reported.
“We are disappointed that we did not continue the string of higher results, but the U.S. experienced a slowdown in economic development project activity last year,” JobsOhio President John F. Minor Jr. and board Chairman James C. Boland wrote in a letter in the report.