LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — A rural area of central Lorain County is bracing for what some leaders have called “generational change.” A state grant will help prime Northeast Ohio’s largest mega site for development.
Frank Poore remembers when farmland sprawled across the area now home to the Lorain County Airport and residential properties.
“It’s changed a lot over the years,” said Poore, 83.
With the transformation of other nearby communities, he told News 5 he wasn’t surprised to hear of more changes near his New Russia Township home.
“Look at the cities like Avon and North Ridgeville, how they’ve grown. They can only move this way,” he said.
More than 1,000 acres north and west of the airport are poised for new infrastructure to support potential industry and housing. The shovel-ready tract of land is known as a mega site.
“Not only is it going to alleviate the housing pressures that we receive, but the employment boom is going to be immense,” said Lorain County Commissioner Dave Moore.
This week, the state announced it was awarding the Board of Commissioners $67.4 million from the All Ohio Future Fund (AOFF). Governor Mike DeWine created the All Ohio Future Fund to help attract future economic development projects by preparing large sites with necessary infrastructure.
The funding, along with a local and private investment, will expand water capacity, improve
wastewater service and fund a new wastewater treatment plant.
“You can have a lot of farmland and it’s really good hunting land. But unless you can flush a toilet, it’s really just hunting land,” Moore said.
He explained the utilities project will move forward along with a planned extension of the runway at the Lorain County Airport. Expanding it to 7,000 feet will allow larger aircraft, like freight planes, to land at the regional airport.
Moore believes both projects will make the mega site attractive to would-be developers.
“We’re building the foundation and we’re opening up our doors and rolling out the red carpet, saying we’re now ready,” he said.
Some neighbors told News 5 they’re concerned the industry attracted by the mega site could make the rural community busier and noisier.
Others said the investment is a sign of progress.
“Growth is always good. Controlled growth is what you need, though. I hope the commissioners and everybody doing this knows what they’re doing or thinks it through,” said Poore.
Economic development partner Team NEO will work with JobsOhio to lead the site assembly effort. They believe the mega site could support thousands of jobs.
Christine Nelson, the vice president of project management and site strategies at Team NEO, said it’s ideally situated near Lorain County Community College and near several population hubs. She said investment there could benefit the entire region.
"Everybody gets very excited about all the projects that are happening in Columbus, which is exciting for Ohio - but keep in mind that none of those projects, Honda, Intel, Anduril, none of those are in Franklin County, right?” said Nelson. “So this being in Lorain, it's still good for Cleveland. It's still good for Akron."
Moore believes Lorain County has the potential to attract another high-tech industry and the AOFF grant will further incentivize investment.
“This just kind of seals the deal that we are going to grow, but we’re going to grow in a smart way,” he said. “We’re building a foundation. This is generational change and that’s what we’re doing.”
