In a thought-provoking roundtable discussion, elected officials from throughout Ohio will discuss hot topics in the economic development incentives world.

The speakers will discuss trends they are seeing in the economic development industry and how those trends are impacting projects. The speakers are experienced economic development professionals that bring viewpoints from the city, state and corporate perspective.

An overview and update of tax abatements and exemptions, including CRAs, EZs, use-based real property tax exemptions and pollution control tax exemptions.

As the commercial center of downtown Dayton starting in the early 1900’s, the giant Dayton Arcade provided area residents the opportunity to shop in style, purchasing everything from clothing to fresh seafood and produce shipped by train all the way from Florida. For decades now the giant has been asleep. This session discusses the history of the Dayton Arcade and its importance to the past and future success and survival of downtown Dayton, identifies many of the factors that ultimately doomed prior efforts to redevelopment the Arcade, and explores the many tools recently employed to wake the giant.

With a new interchange needing to be completed in time for a high profile event, sufficient funds for the required ODOT local match were hard to come by. With an expected price tag of over $13 million just for the local match, multiple levels of government, along with the private sector, would need to work together to find a way to borrow the local match while providing a path to receive a return on this significant investment.

This session will discuss new federal regulations and current trends, the nomination process, and initiatives the Ohio Development Services Agency has taken on the topic.

When White Castle was looking for a corporate headquarters, its first choice was always to stay in Columbus on its current parcel. Environmental challenges that pre-dated White Castle’s occupancy on the site meant that incentives would be necessary to keep White Castle home. Now that the headquarters is complete, and multiple other phases are well underway, hear how the incentives impacted the design, construction and operation of this downtown jewel.

Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, Development Director and the director of JobsOhio’s sites and infrastructure strategy will discuss Ohio’s current economic development strategy, including how economic development incentives can be used to help improve the state’s economy and residents’ well-being.