JobsOhio, Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE) and the Adams County CIC celebrated the investment of a $4.2 million JobsOhio Grant in the Winchester Industrial Park with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, August 16.
“The Winchester Industrial Park is an outstanding example of how teamwork and collaboration can make a difference when attracting jobs and investment to Adams County,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO. “Potential job creators now can visit this location with the knowledge it has the water, sewer, and an access road and rail to the park that will help businesses swiftly establish new operations and create jobs. Ohio is in a strong position to capture a generational opportunity, and this investment is more evidence that the opportunity exists for ALL Ohioans in ALL corners of our great state! Ohio is the Future.”
Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted provided a commendation for the Winchester Industrial Park groundbreaking, recognizing the partnership to move the project forward and expressing optimism that the site will greatly benefit Adams County and the surrounding area. The ceremony was also attended by Adams County Commissioners Teresa Diane Ward, Barbara Moore and Ty Pell, as well as State Senator Terry Johnson and State Representative Brian Baldridge.
The overall investment in the park includes water, sewer and an access road. Adams County plans to make regional sewer and water upgrades, which will improve the park’s excess capacities. Water capacity will be increased by a 12” water main extension along State Route 32 from the Village of Seaman and will be supported by a 200,000 gallon elevated tank.
A new 700,000 GPD capacity wastewater treatment plant will be built off-site to add capacity to the Village of Winchester’s municipal sewer system as well as supporting the industrial park. The JobsOhio grant will fund extensions of water and sewer to the park boundaries. In addition, new roadwork will be constructed to avoid residential and recreational areas and allow for a safe turn radius for truck traffic.
“At the groundbreaking, it was exciting to see Adams County leadership working together proactively to build new future economic opportunities,” said OhioSE President Mike Jacoby. “Not only are JobsOhio, county government, banks, and the non-profit Community Improvement Corporation investing in this project, but we heard local church congregations are praying for the success of this business park. That’s community commitment to success!”
The Winchester Industrial Park is located near SR-32 and the acreage is currently used for agricultural purposes. In 2018, the Adams County CIC purchased 36 acres and in 2019, the Adams County Commissioners purchased an additional 19 adjacent acres to form the Winchester Industrial Park. All planned improvements are expected to be complete by end of year 2023. The industrial park will be a shovel-ready site with all due diligence studies completed, water, sewer and electric to the site and roadwork in place to serve new tenants.
“We are very thankful for JobsOhio and OhioSE’s support for the Winchester Industrial Park. Funding provided by JobsOhio will bring needed infrastructure on-site that will make this property a premier destination for business in southern Ohio,” said Holly Johnson, Director of Adams County CIC. “Adams County has a trained and available workforce ready to fill manufacturing and distribution industry at the park.”
Funding to install infrastructure in the park was made available through the JobsOhio-Ohio Southeast Site Initiative, a program that started in 2018 with the goal of assisting southeastern Ohio counties by creating competitive, development-ready sites capable of winning new business investments. The sites in the program were selected with the assistance of a group of southern Ohio CEOs who advised JobsOhio and Ohio Southeast Economic Development.