Paulding County – Retention, gains are the good news in Paulding County – Defiance Crescent News
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The Paulding Theater and an adjacent building to the east have been obtained by the Paulding County Land Bank, and marked for demolition. State grant funds of $1.5 million will be used towards site cleanup and building removal.
A $15 million project has been completed at Mercer Landmark in Latty. The latest project included 24 acres of development that is described by the company as a “state of the art facility that can serve as a ‘one stop shop’ for area farmers.” Three buildings were constructed as part of the upgrade.
The Paulding Theater and an adjacent building to the east have been obtained by the Paulding County Land Bank, and marked for demolition. State grant funds of $1.5 million will be used towards site cleanup and building removal.
PAULDING – “Paulding County Strong” is more than a hashtag catch phrase for this county.
County economic development director Tim Copsey summed up 2021 in the annual report as a “a year of recovery, stability and certainly some great business growth in Paulding County.” And in the report, he credited the “shop local” effort with having a special meaning this year as local businesses and events around the county were both promoted and supported.
And the news continues to be good in 2022 across the board for retaining and gaining.
Plans have been accepted for a second Dollar General store in the village of Paulding. The demographics made sense at the Dollar General corporate level for the new build. Copsey noted that the stores will be about a mile apart. The current store location is at the far south end of the village. The new store will be at the far north end making it more convenient particularly for those without transportation.
In the village of Latty, a $15 million project has been completed at Mercer Landmark. The latest project included 24 acres of development that is described by the company as a “state of the art facility that can serve as a ‘one stop shop’ for area farmers.” Mercer Landmark had purchased the Latty Grain Facility in 2020, initially spending $4 million to refurbish the facility.
Upgrades to the short line railway serving Paulding County over the last two years represents another overall multi-million-dollar investment. In October 2020 the Pioneer RailCorp received a $4.1 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program for critical safety improvements to the Napoleon, Defiance and Western Railway (NDW) subsidiary, which operates along 58 miles between Woodburn, Ind., and Napoleon. Most of those funds were spent on the 16 miles of track that runs east to west in Paulding County.
In November 2021, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a grant of up to $687,622.50 to replace rail on an approximate three-mile portion line east of Defiance. NDW’s line runs from Woodburn, Ind., to Napoleon, with interchanges with Norfolk Southern in Woodburn and CSX in Defiance. The railroad suffered from years of deferred maintenance, limiting the height and weight of loaded cars and lengths of trains. Every improvement is beneficial for those companies who rely on the rail service.
Of course, with the retaining and gaining of county business, and a growing workforce, the shortage of housing is still a concern. Copsey said the housing shortage is also being addressed in the county with infrastructure is now in place. The hurdles that could have an affect on construction are the price of materials and delays in the supply chain.
Paulding County is benefitting from the release of $1.5 million through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2022-23 budget for the remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites and blighted properties. Maumee Valley Planning Organization is administering the program in the five-county area.
Copsey explained that the $1 million remediation grant will be used for the rehabilitation of the former site of the Paulding Theater and an adjacent building. While acknowledging the sentimental value of the theater to past and present residents, he explained that the theater was not structurally sound and contained hazardous materials such as asbestos. Because of the condition of the building, ground studies could also have been required. With everything considered, it was too costly to rehabilitate the building.
The Paulding County Land Reutilization Corporation (PCLRC), also known as the Paulding County Land Bank obtained the properties April 1. The cleanup will provide the opportunity for future development of that location. The project will be bid out sometime after the April 30 deadline for plans to be submitted to the state.
The last showing at the theater was reportedly in the 1980’s. Like many theaters in Northwest Ohio, the building was constructed in the 1890’s as an opera house. There are efforts to preserve certain items from the theater building such as the marquee and projectors.
The second part of the grant is $500,000 for the clean-up of some 41 blighted properties in the county that are not brownfield sites. Copsey said this program is unique in that residential property owners can receive assistance in removing abandoned or substandard structures from their properties and still retain ownership of the property. Typically, the Land Bank rehabilitates such properties for reutilization.
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