News & Press
JobsOhio Selects Four Transformative Projects through Vibrant Community Grant Program
COLUMBUS, Ohio – JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation, today announced four Ohio cities will receive assistance through the Vibrant Community Grant Program to revitalize downtowns and main streets through targeted investments across Ohio. JobsOhio’s first round of funding of just over $4 million will serve to fuel investment through economic development projects in the cities of Van Wert, Sandusky, Coshocton and Painesville.
“Across our state, many cities require investment to further advance key economic development projects that can serve as a catalyst in their post-pandemic recovery. Through this first round, the cities of Van Wert, Sandusky, Coshocton and Painesville will realize this goal, serving as an example of how public-private partnerships can spur job creation and revitalization of our beloved downtowns,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “The JobsOhio Vibrant Community Grant program is designed to identify and target funding to important, transformative projects - in traditionally distressed areas - that will continue the upward trajectory of Ohio’s economic future.”
Through the selection of these four projects, JobsOhio will allocate competitive grants of up to $2 million per project that will effectively close the gap on development projects that total over $46 million. These projects, which will create and retain over 100 jobs across Ohio, include:
In the first round of funding, approximately 40 applications were received from eligible applicants that include businesses, non-profits, developers, port authorities or local governments. Previously, JobsOhio provided a $1.5 million Vibrant Community Grant to the City of Oxford to help fund a $10.4 million development project with Miami University known as the College@Elm Innovation & Workforce Development Center. With Miami University and The Fischer Group serving as anchor tenants, the project aims to transform a three-block undeveloped area in the epicenter of Oxford’s business corridors into a high-tech innovation corridor.
As part of the program, JobsOhio has identified the 98 communities with populations between 5,000 and 75,000 and poverty rates that are at or above the state’s average poverty rate of 14.6% as eligible to submit proposals for JobsOhio consideration. This program recognizes that distressed communities often do not have adequate resources to develop and implement economic development projects that can attract private investment and create new jobs in the community. The Vibrant Community Grant Program was established to assist distressed communities implement catalytic development projects that fulfill a market need and represent a significant reinvestment in areas that have struggled to attract new investment.
For more information, please visit the JobsOhio Vibrant Community Program page.
About JobsOhio:
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
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For more information, contact:
Matt Englehart, JobsOhio