LISBON, Ohio – A company studying Columbiana County’s downtowns identified 29 new businesses, 590 properties being tracked, 23 properties actively marketed and 131 street-level opportunities for transformation in vacant spaces.
Brittany Smith, executive director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, told port authority members at a meeting Monday that she recently met with Town Center Associates, which is studying the county’s seven walkable downtowns. Those include Salem, Leetonia, Lisbon, East Liverpool, Wellsville, Columbiana and East Palestine.
“We are now working with their team to schedule another round of workshops aimed at helping local stakeholders revitalize downtown buildings, attract new businesses and encourage private investment,” Smith said.
She also said the port authority’s first Growth and Investment series installment drew more than 30 attendees. Participants included community leaders, developers, real estate professionals, bankers, building owners and managers, and Smith said the port authority’s finance partners from Kutak Rock, GAX Capital and Bradley Payne Advisors led discussions about the port authority’s financing capabilities.
The event has sparked conversations about future development opportunities, Smith said.
“We look forward to continuing this series throughout the year,” she said.
A recent Junior Leadership for Columbiana County program brought 20 students from county school districts to port authority facilities to learn about operations.
“It was a great opportunity to introduce them to the role of the port authority and discuss their ideas for making Columbiana County a better place to live and work,” Smith said. The program is part of Leadership Columbiana County.
The students visited the Intermodal Facility in Wellsville to tour Quality Liquid Feeds, where they saw some of the projects the port authority has supported, and observed a barge being unloaded along the river.
“We want the port authority to be the first call when a project is being discussed so we can provide the incentives, guidance and resources,” Smith said after the board meeting.