The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber recently hosted a group from JobsOhio and TeamNEO, as well as the owners of InSite Consulting, to tour a 53-acre site in CASTLO Industrial Park—the only Valley site that is close to being certified to be marketed as client-ready for future investment and job opportunities, via a program the state launched in 2016.
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber recently hosted a group from JobsOhio and TeamNEO, as well as the owners of InSite Consulting, to tour a 53-acre site in CASTLO Industrial Park—the only Valley site that is close to being certified to be marketed as client-ready for future investment and job opportunities, via a program the state launched in 2016.
SiteOhio, created by the State Of Ohio and Insight Consulting, aims to increase business attraction opportunities across the state by ensuring sites meet multiple requirements to become certified. In early 2016, the Regional Chamber’s Economic Development team—in partnership with JobsOhio and TeamNEO—submitted 40 land sites in Mahoning and Trumbull counties for review and consideration, based on initial requirements that included availability of at least a 30-acre site; access roads that are of industrial quality, i.e., can accommodate truck traffic; and proposed truck routes to the site that are free of weight or height limitations/restrictions. Insite then reviewed each site for additional requirements.
The CASTLO Industrial Park site is a remediated brownfield with full utilities and access to rail and is also ready for development. (Property details may be accessed at www.regionalchamber.com.)
Randy Partika, CASTLO Board chair, said, “The SiteOhio program established strict criteria for authentication. It took many years for CASTLO’s 53 acres to be converted to shovel-ready status with state-of-art amenities, utilities, rail and roadways, all within secured boundaries. We are elated that InSite and JobsOhio recognize the value of our work and dollars invested.”
Sarah Boyarko, senior vice president of Economic Development at the Regional Chamber, said, “We are pleased to have had the opportunity to finally host the SiteOhio group. This has been a long process, but it will certainly pay off should CASTLO become an authenticated site—meaning, the site meets all of the criteria a company typically looks for and that it’s ready for development on day one. The board and staff of the CASTLO Industrial Park have done a great job preparing this site for future development.”
Because of the numerous and precise requirements of the SiteOhio program, there are very few certified sites in the state as of yet (and just one in northeast Ohio).
Since the tour, the Chamber has received a list of follow-up items necessary for the site to become certified and is working with CASTLO to gather the information in order to take the next step in the process.
While the industrial park in Struthers is the only one that is close to being authenticated in the Valley at this time, the Chamber is making efforts to ensure that the other sites are moving in that direction.
In the meantime, Boyarko and the Economic Development team continue to aggressively market all properties to their contacts and those who enlist their services to identify property for potential projects.