Regional economic development officials have said that over the last several years, there is a shift from office projects to manufacturing projects in Central Ohio. Officials say that has to do with COVID-19 as well as an effort by government officials to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
(Graphic submitted)
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Officials from One Columbus recently gave their regional economic development report to Marysville City Council.
Matt McCollister, executive vice president of One Columbus, presented what he called, the organization’s “bold vision to be the most prosperous region in the United States.”
McCollister said Central Ohio is “on our way.”
“There are ways to grow smartly,” McCollister said, explaining that regional officials are looking at “best practices from around the country.”
McCollister said it is “fantastic” to have Honda building electric vehicles in the region. He said Honda and Intel investments are responsible for about 25% of the economic development opportunities in the region.
He provided a snapshot of proposed economic development projects in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 2018. He said that in 2018, about 36% of proposed economic development opportunities in the region were office and about 37% were manufacturing. In 2023, that percentages shifted to 9% of opportunities were office and nearly 64% were manufacturing.
“We are not going to see this change for the foreseeable future,” McCollister said.
He said the pandemic and as well as state and national efforts to “shore up” manufacturing in America changed things.
“You all are prime to benefit from a lot of this development because you are a great manufacturing location,” McCollister said.
He added Union County is “fortunate to not have a bunch of offices that need repurposed” noting that manufacturing has always led office opportunities in Union County.
McCollister said the region has “a pretty robust pipeline” of potential projects looking to locate in central Ohio, though he added, “it has been more robust in the past.”
McCollister told council it was wise to have purchased the Innovation Park years ago. He said he believes space in the park, “will be gone here before long at the rate that we have had interest in it.”
He encouraged the community to expand innovation opportunities, specifically mentioning the Marysville East projects.
“You have to have sites to be in the game if you want to win economic development projects,” McCollister said. “And they have to have water, which you guys have right now.”
He said many Central Ohio communities are “behind the eight ball” because they do not have water and they do not have a strategy to be able to expand water services.
“I think you guys have all the materials you need to be ultimately successful,” McCollister said. “I would encourage you to continue to support the local economic development operations.”
Council member Zack Bordner asked about a strategy to have employees to fill the jobs being created.
“We have to have the people to support the jobs,” Bordner said.
“Number one, we have to have housing,” McCollister said.
He said about 50% of the regional growth is expected to come from outside the state.
“Our problem has been, lately, we don’t have the housing to support that growth trend,” McCollister said. “Housing has got to be part of our strategy somewhere in the region.”
McCollister said the two biggest issues facing work force development in the community will be transportation and housing.
He encouraged council to see housing as “closing the loop” on economic development. He said that if individuals work in the community but live outside the area, “they take a lot of their tax dollars that they would be spending in your community with them as well.”
He said that in the Midwest, the Columbus and Indianapolis regions are seeing similar population growth but Indianapolis is seeing more jobs.
He said part of that is because Indianapolis is building more homes for workers, which keeps prices more affordable.
McCollister said there is also “a transition” in the workforce. He said the region’s largest private employer, J.P. Morgan Chase, “will likely have less soon due to artificial intelligence.”
He said it will be important to find training and jobs for displaced workers.
He said that with Union County’s manufacturing base and the Marysville Early College High School, “you guys are ahead of the curve there.”
Council member Henk Berbee asked about the type of housing that is needed. He said the city has approved more than 1,000 housing units, from one-bedroom apartments to larger homes in Weaver Ridge and Adena Pointe in the last several years, but there has been “modest” interest in the city’s Innovation Park and the investment has not produced the wages or job density officials expected.
McCollister said the economy has changed over the last three years. He also said there ahs been “a lot more looks at that site” and he is “confident” there will be development in Marysville’s Innovation Park, noting that it is one of, if not the largest “authenticated” site in the state.
McCollister said the city’s efforts to expand housing “should be commended” and said there is still a need for multifamily homes.
Boerger said there has to be something more than just having more homes, but McCollister confirmed, “it has to do with inventory.”
“People are going to go places where they see themselves ultimately being able to afford a home,” McCollister said. “While not everyone can afford a home, if they could work for five years and they could see themselves affording a home, I think they are likely to stay and I think they are likely to go to a market like that.”
He said prices “are artificially going up” because there is not enough homes being built.
Boerger said wages are “so low, in a lot of ways, for average if you are not getting these high tech jobs, that I don’t know how people are ever going to be able to buy a home, pay off their student loan debt, pay for health care at the same time we want them to move up, but a house and all that other stuff.”
He said communities are preparing for residents that “might not ever be able to purchase a home, no matter how cheaply we make homes.”
He said he does not see the price of homes coming down.
Council member Mark Reams asked how it could be cheaper to build a home in Indianapolis than in Columbus.
McCollister explained that zoning and density restrictions make it expensive to build in the suburbs locally. He said that about 50% of the new housing in the Central Ohio region is being built inside the City of Columbus, compared to 17% inside the city limits of Indianapolis. He said there are also tax differences that make it more affordable for developers in Indiana.
McCollister said it costs about $20,000 more to build a home in Central Ohio than in the Indianapolis market.
“There is a lot to it,” Boerger said. “As a country, there is a lot more than just what we can do as a city.”
McCollister responded that “it’s still possible here, its just not happening here because of that zoning density predominantly.”