Area Business Owners, Leaders Learn about JobsOhio Programs

SALEM, Ohio – The revitalization of the Broadway Avenue area in Salem, expansion of usable space at the Youngstown Business Incubator, the rehabilitation of two buildings in downtown East Liverpool and a strategic project to reboot downtown Youngstown are some of the projects that have received funding through JobsOhio in recent months.

Representatives from Lake to River Economic Development and JobsOhio, as well as the Sustainable Opportunity Development Center, detailed some of the programs that can help with development during an event Friday at the Timberlanes Complex.  

JobsOhio expounded on just two of the programs businesses and community leaders can use to obtain grants for development in the Lake to River region, which covers Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.

Alexa Sweeney Blackann, interim CEO of Lake to River, introduced her team, as well as the two teams of individuals from JobsOhio, to the many small business owners and area leaders in the room. The JobsOhio representatives explained the Small Business and Vibrant Communities grant programs to those in attendance.

As Ohio’s private economic development organization, JobsOhio is able to work with businesses of all sizes. Kristi Tanner, senior managing director of JobsOhio, said Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have challenged them to not only help medium and large businesses, but also smaller businesses across the state.

Tanner said 530 companies have received Small Business Grants of up to $50,0000 since that program launched in 2020, committing to create more than 2,600 jobs across the state and invest more than  $200 million. The program can allocate up to $8 million annually.

“We’re just scratching the surface, really, in terms of the number of small businesses that we’re able to reach with this program,” Tanner said, adding that the majority of the money awarded has gone to small manufacturers, with a smaller amount going to agribusiness and other industries.

She explained who is eligible, what types of projects can receive funding and how to work with Lake to River and JobsOhio to apply.

The businesses cannot be a startup and need to be able to make some of the investment themselves and be willing to commit to job and payroll growth of up to 10% over three years.

A successful project can lead to other opportunities to work with JobsOhio through other programs to continue to grow a business.

Layering funding sources – known as capital stacking – and even stacking stakeholders or community partners in projects through JobsOhio was part of a presentation by Chuck Bailey, founder and CEO of True North LLC, which is moving from Chester, W.Va., to East Liverpool.

“The Vibrant Communities program, specifically and personally, gave me the opportunity – and maybe we change that word to courage – to take on $1 million in personal debt to go do what we wanted to do,” Bailey said.

True North will relocate to the building that currently houses the Buckeye Online School for Success after renovations are complete. BOSS will later move to the nearby Thompson Building, which will also be renovated. 

Hannah Baumgartel, a project manager with JobsOhio, said the Vibrant Community Grant program, as well as a Community Planning program, are available to any community with a population under 75,000 and at or above the state poverty average, currently at 13.3%.

The money can be used for preplanning, market studies and rehabilitation projects that help redevelop downtowns.

“So when we’re going and looking at all these projects across the state, we’re trying to figure out, is this really fulfilling a market need for the community or are we just redeveloping a building?” Baumgartel said. “Is this going to be catalytic investment for the community as well?”

Julie Needs, the executive director of the SOD Center, said the projects made possible in the Broadway Avenue area of downtown have affected not only those buildings, but also nine other projects with about $9 million in private investments.

“There were other investments happening, smaller investments, a little at a time, but this really pushed us over the edge and brought in even more investors into our community,” Needs said. “This is really catalytic for all we’re doing in our community.”

JobsOhio representatives emphasized that reaching out to Lake to River and talking through JobsOhio program options is the best way to determine if a project would qualify for a grant or other funding opportunities. 

Pictured at top: Alexa Sweeney Blackann, interim CEO of Lake to River Economic Development.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.