The project is expected to create about 70 new jobs and retain about 158 jobs, Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said.
“This development Economy Linen is doing in the heart of West Dayton, one of the most depressed areas in our city, it’s going to be transformative,” Dayton City Commissioner Chris Shaw said.
Last week, the Dayton City Commission approved a development agreement with Economy Linen in support of its planned new facility. The city will provide $600,000 to the Dayton company to pay for capital improvements.
Half the money is a grant from the Montgomery County Economic Development/Government Equity Program (ED/GE). The rest comes from the West Dayton Development Fund.
The city also approved a new Community Reinvestment Area that offers a 100% commercial tax abatement for 15 years on the increased value of the property.
The new commercial laundry facility at 2100 McCall St. will be dedicated to health care services.
The company has vowed to make every “reasonable effort” to hire Dayton residents for the new positions, and it has committed to hiring residents from surrounding West Dayton neighborhoods, the agreement says.
“It’s not only that he’s going to be using labor from the neighborhood ― it’s the kind of labor that he’s using,” Shaw said, referring to the company’s president Bruce Feldman. “Folks that are returning citizens, he’s done this work and operated in these spaces for so very long ― it’s really just a great thing for West Dayton.”
Economy Linen has been a good business partner in the community, and the city is proud to support the company and its ownership, Dickstein said.
Feldman said the West Dayton property meets all of his company’s expansion needs.
“Dayton offers a great location for our business,” he said. “In addition to our many customers in the area, we are close to Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis, and have a very strong local team that will help ensure our success.”
Founded in 1931, the Dayton-based company employs about 130 people locally, Feldman said.
He said the company has a diverse workforce and he’s committed to working with the community to identify qualified candidates from the surrounding neighborhoods.
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