JobsOhio grant to help with construction of speculative industrial facility by NorthPoint Development near Dayton airport

A $900,000 grant was approved for construction of an industrial facility by NorthPoint Development at 251 N. Dixie Drive in Dayton, according to the Dayton Development Coalition.

JobsOhio approved the Ohio Site Inventory Program grant for construction of a 500,000-square-foot facility near the Dayton International Airport. The details of a possible tenant were not released.

“Our most current project near the Dayton Airport faced site development challenges given the original airport runway, a former firehouse on the property, and other infrastructure issues. Without the OSIP funds from JobsOhio, it may not have been financially viable to redevelop this site,” NorthPoint Director of Industrial Development, Tim McElroy said in a news release.

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The city of Dayton had already approved a 15-year, 100% property tax abatement for the site, which is located in a Foreign Trade Zone. City records show the estimated value of the project is about $13.2 million.

“The Dayton Airport has worked for years to find the best use for the surrounding land, and logistics and distribution operations have proven to be an excellent fit,” Dayton Economic Development Director Ford Weber said. “These jobs have continued to grow during the pandemic, providing stability for our local economy and opportunity for our residents.”

The new facility will be NorthPoint’s seventh industrial building near the Dayton International Airport. It includes land that was once part of the airport’s tarmac. The former Vandalia fire station on the site will be demolished.

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The Missouri-based NorthPoint has built and opened about 3.3 million square feet of new industrial, warehouse and distribution space around the airport since 2017.

Other industrial park tenants include Crocs, Frito-Lay and Innovative Plastic Molders Inc.

“Positioned at the crossroads of I-70 and I-75, this development at 251 N. Dixie Drive is poised to capture the opportunities being borne out of the reshoring of production and inventory in the post-COVID economy,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and chief executive.

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The state program includes grants and low-interest loans for “speculative site and building development projects with no identified end user,” according to the news release.

“Our region has a shortage of the Class A industrial space in demand throughout the Midwest,” said Julie Sullivan the coalition’s executive vice president of regional development, in the news release. “This project will help the region remain competitive as we work to attract new companies to the region.”