With the support of Governor Mike Dewine, members of the Ohio General Assembly provide $25 M for the reinstituting of Ohio’s Rural Industrial Park Loan Program. Local economic development and real estate leaders for years have been calling for the development of additional sites in rural communities. Ohio’s rural communities have been facing substantial economic challenges in recent years. In fact, Ohio’s rural counties have a net population loss of 40,000 over the last five years. Efforts to stem this population loss are critical to the economic survival of rural communities.
The Ohio Rural Industrial Loan Program is just one method to address the economic challenges of rural communities. With interstate corporate site location projects highly competitive, communities seeking to retain and attract high-wage industrial jobs need to sites ready for development. Job-ready sites require the land to be acquired or controlled in the size needed for the industry targets relevant for the site and region, proper zoning, 100 % property tax abatement for 15 year, an infrastructure financing scheme that supports the site development as well as local taxing system that provides funding for local schools and governments. The biggest challenge rural communities face is funding to develop these sites to fund land acquisition or control, legal services, engineering services to outline the site development costs, and funding to prepare the site for actual development through infrastructure investments. The map below outlines the highlighted rural Ohio counties that are eligible for this important new program. Contact Dave Robinson at [email protected] or Nate Green at [email protected] if you need assistance to access funding from the Rural Industrial Loan Program or other economic development financing.
