Governor to announce new Ohio ‘innovation hub’ in Dayton visit Monday

DeWine first announced his desire to institute the hubs in a speech at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in February 2023.

Last month, he announced the state’s first hub in the Toledo area, aiming to capitalize on what the governor’s office at the time called “Toledo’s legacy as the glass capital of the world.” His office said the announcement represented a $42 million state and local investment.

Up to $125 million is available through the Innovation Hub program, and lead applicants can apply for up to $35 million in funding, the Ohio Department of Development has said.

When he first announced his vision for the program at the Air Force Museum last year, DeWine said he had no wish to pre-judge the process.

“Dayton should be very, very competitive,” he said then.

Even before the details of the program were nailed down, the presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base seemed to give this community at least a leg up in whatever process would be created. The base is home to some of the most important missions in equipping and arming the Air Force, drawing an array of private companies to the Dayton area that want to be a part of that.

Last week, the base and its allies celebrated the fact that the installation now has a higher working population than ever before, some 38,000 military and civilian employees.