A local economic development leader is raising concerns about a change in the new biennial state budget that he says could reduce Ohio’s chances of obtaining large manufacturing projects.
State legislators cut $500 million from the All Ohio Future Fund, which helps communities prepare large areas of land, known as "mega sites," for development, said Matt Dolan, CEO of Team NEO, a Northeast Ohio economic development organization.
“These are hugely important, because it provides an opportunity for northeastern Ohio to bring a large manufacturer into the region,” Dolan said.
When large corporations scope out areas for a new plant or industrial project, they are often looking for land that is entirely ready to go, with the necessary infrastructure and utility hookups already in place, Dolan said.
“Usually, infrastructure is the largest component that you don't want the end-user, ultimately, to have to pay for - that drives up the cost, and we lose opportunities,” Dolan said. “(Using the All Ohio Future Fund) makes it marketable immediately, that we can tell the company that the hookups are there from the moment you guys are ready to turn a shovel.”
Dolan worked with Gov. Mike DeWine to create the All Ohio Future Fund two years ago when he was a state legislator, he said. In the previous 2024-2025 state budget, legislators designated $750 million to the fund, he said.
“It takes a long time to get these sites ready to go,” Dolan said. “I'm disappointed that the legislature in the current budget severely cut out the fund.”
Legislators reallocated $250 million of the funding to a brownfield remediation grant program, which helps communities clean up old industrial areas and repurpose them for future development, according to the Ohio Department of Development. Another $250 million was reallocated to the state’s general operating revenue.
State Rep. Brian Stewart, chair of the Ohio House’s finance committee, told reporters in April that the brownfield program is more popular among communities statewide.
“The brownfield program has been more effective at getting money back into the communities in a timely manner,” Stewart said. “Continuing a program that works and people like, by taking some funds from a program that I don't know has been implemented quite the way the General Assembly intended, we think makes good sense.”
On Monday, the Ohio Department of Development announced four projects approved for a combined $225 million in mega site funding: three for future site development and one that includes upgrades to the Dayton International Airport. These projects were funded through the previous budget allocation, Department of Development officials said.
The sole project approved in Northeast Ohio is a large tract of land in Lorain County.
Now, economic development leaders can market this site to large manufacturers, with the hope of securing a project like the Intel development in Licking County, Dolan with Team NEO said.
“There aren’t many sites like this, you know, in the United States, for that matter, so we are one of very few now that can market a 1,000-acre site,” Dolan said. “Similar to what brought Intel here, similar to what brought Anduril here, so this is a unique opportunity for us.”
Earlier this month, JobsOhio announced a $310 million grant to defense contractor Anduril to build a military drone plant in Pickaway County.
In a Monday news release, Lorain County state legislators wrote the lack of sewer and water infrastructure in the area “has been a major obstacle” in attracting new businesses. The property is near the Lorain County Regional Airport, “which could offload some of the load from Cleveland Hopkins and Burke Lakefront,” officials wrote in the release.
Although he is excited about the Lorain County site, Dolan is concerned that Ohio will lose out on future projects, now that there is less funding for mega sites.
“I do think we have lost out now, because communities won't have the funds necessary to build the infrastructure, and companies will see that their project doesn't pencil out if they have to, you know, put up-front infrastructure dollars in,” Dolan said.
Other states have started similar mega site funds, he added.
“The sad irony is Pennsylvania, our neighbor, has now put money into a program very similar to All Ohio Future Fund,” Dolan said. “At the same time, we have severely reduced our funds for those uses.”
Since the fund’s creation in the 2024-2025 state budget, 11 project sites have received nearly $350 million, according to the Ohio Department of Development. Projects are located in Defiance, Gallia, Guernsey, Muskingum, Pickaway and Trumbull counties.
