photo by: R. Michael Semple

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, left, and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel address the media Thursday after announcing the creation of the Ohio Innovation Hub in Youngstown. The gathering took place at America Makes – National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute located in the Youngstown Business Incubator.

A $62.2 million project, which includes $27.2 million in state funding, will result in the creation of the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense that state and local officials say will bolster the area’s economy and create up to 750 new jobs during the next four years.

Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that the hub will “help reduce our country’s reliance on foreign manufacturing, particularly when you’re dealing with matters of national defense.”

The project, spearheaded by the Youngstown Business Incubator and America Makes – National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute with several partners, received a $26 million allocation from the Ohio Innovation Hub Program created last year. The Youngstown award is the final one from the $125 million program.

The hub project also received a $1.2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for the design and engineering of the new facility at the former Youngstown Vindicator building in downtown on the corner of West Front Street and Vindicator Square as well as for initial renovations.

There’s a local match of $11 million, which includes $1.35 million from the city of Youngstown paid annually over four years as well as several other funding sources and in-kind contributions from foundations and corporations.

The federal government is providing $25 million for activities and projects related to product development and commercialization to take the aerospace and defense products to market using 3D printing.

Additive manufacturing helps the production of military equipment through the creation of complex and customized parts.

“It’s a real tribute to Youngstown; it’s a real tribute to the Mahoning Valley” to get this funding, DeWine said.

Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a former Youngstown State University president, said, “It’s been a long journey building up and having the credibility to be ready to accept a grant like this. We think this could be the final thing that pushes over the top to make sure that we can get that workforce built up along all areas from the technologists to the researchers. It’s going to give us a chance to have the space and really dial in to the aerospace industry.”

The official announcement Thursday said that by 2029, the hub is expected to yield about $161.6 million in economic impact and create 450 new jobs, including 100 new construction jobs. Partners will focus on a comprehensive workforce development initiative to upskill the current workforce and ensure the region’s future workforce has the skills and knowledge to work at the hub. Those efforts are expected to create 185 science, technology, engineering and math credential opportunities and 40 internship opportunities.

DeWine and Tressel said they expect the jobs created will be filled by a combination of existing Mahoning Valley residents and those outside the area.

Ewing has said the initiative’s impact would be $191.7 million over the next four years with the creation of 271 new jobs, with average projected annual salaries of $81,806, as well as adding 481 indirect jobs. Of the 271 new jobs, about 150 would be located in the former Vindicator building.

The old Vindicator closed more than five years ago with its name, subscription list and website purchased by the Tribune Chronicle, which continues to publish the newspaper.

The building was to house a small technology firm before the COVID-19 pandemic. Years later, the remnants of the improvement work done by the business – which has since had its employees work from home – remain at the old newsroom on the second floor, including new carpet, a pool table, a ping-pong table, chairs and knickknacks.

The plan is to lease the downtown building and redevelop it before eventually purchasing it, Ewing said. The hub developers have 20 years to purchase the building, but Ewing said she expects it to occur well before that. She declined Thursday to disclose the requested purchase price.

The building would house expansions of JuggerBot 3D, a manufacturer of industrial 3D printers, and Ursa Major, a rocket propulsion company, at the building. The companies would take up about half of the usable space at the downtown building, Ewing said.

It would cost about $20 million to $25 million to renovate the building, Ewing said.

Design and engineering could begin as soon as next month and take about six to nine months to complete, Ewing said.

YBI purchased the original Vindicator building, across the street from the other location and renamed Tech Block Building No. 5, in 2015 for $654,500. YBI owns five downtown buildings in total.

REACTIONS

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said the hub “is not only an anchor to the other economic investments we’ve made to bring our downtown back, but it cements Youngstown as the national leader in additive manufacturing and creates technology-based jobs right here that will attract and retain the best and the brightest.”

Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, said the hub “is transformational not only for downtown Youngstown, but the entire region. We’re looking at a couple of hundred high-tech jobs downtown and around 700 in the region. I can’t think of anything that will have this kind of impact on the area. It will result in some of the best additive manufacturing being housed in downtown Youngstown. It changes the landscape of the area’s future.”

Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said the Youngstown hub “will drive everlasting economic growth and create opportunities that will benefit this region and its people for generations to come.”

State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, said, “This is a huge win and will be transformational for Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.”

State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, said: “This isn’t just any project. We will leave a mark on this community for generations.”

She praised the collaboration over the past two years that went into the successful project award.

“This is just the beginning and I can’t wait to see where we go from here,” she said. “Together, we’re really building something that’s going to last, a true legacy for Youngstown.”

The $26 million award to Youngstown is the final one from a $125 million innovation hub program created by the state in 2023. It is the smallest because it uses virtually all of the funding that remained.

The first grant of $31.3 million in state funding was awarded July 1 in the Toledo area to enhance northwest Ohio’s position as a leader in glass science, engineering, technology and production.

A $35 million state grant was announced Aug. 19 for Dayton for digital transformation technologies.

A $31.25 million award of state funding for the Akron region was announced Sept. 5 for polymer research, development and technology.

The innovation hubs “combine the talents of leading academic and research institutions, workforce and economic development partners, and private companies to gain a competitive advantage through collaboration,” according to DeWine’s office.