SitemapPrivate companies invested more than $173 million in the Mahoning Valley last year, many with the help of regional economic development agencies, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber reports.
According to data compiled by the Regional Chamber and its economic development partners, and published in the 2018 Economic Development Report Card, a total of 102 projects resulted in $173,364,100 invested, 1,157 new jobs and another 3,271 retained jobs.
That compares to 367 company projects resulting in $216,256,009 of investment and 926 new jobs in 2017.
Economic development agencies assisted with 75 projects in 2018, resulting in more than $155 million in investment, creation of 1,016 jobs and retention of 2,914 jobs, according to the report card.
The Regional Chamber, in partnership with 15 other agencies, gathers data on economic development investment in the valley annually. The entities’ combined resources assist companies with infrastructure investment, tax incentives, loans, project coordination, grant oversight, technical advisement, property development and other services. Each individual agency provides project investment for business attraction, retention/expansion and/or startup; job creation/retention; and notable activity that occurred within its reporting year.
The collective efforts of the agencies are screened for duplication and then presented in the report card. Among the projects specifically identified in the report card are the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown hotel which opened last May, renovation work on the former Harshman Building for use by Eastern Gateway Community College, the opening of the Youngstown Business Incubator’s fifth building, and the award of a $10.8 million federal transportation infrastructure grant for downtown Youngstown. To read the full story from The Business journal, click here.