UD Arena has hosted men’s NCAA tournament games since 1970, more NCAA games than any arena in the nation.
In today’s newsletter:
- Early retirement may beckon for some government employees.
- How the city of Dayton is securing a return on its development investment dollars.
- A new AI-driven metal-forming machine at the University of Dayton Research Institute.
Study ranks Dayton as one of the most valuable college basketball programs
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
How high do the Flyers fly? Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus, ranked the most valuable teams in college basketball. North Carolina topped the list. But Dayton ranked 17th with a valuation of $178 million.
Standout: Dayton is the top program on the list outside the power conferences. The next highest-ranked Atlantic 10 Conference program on the 2025 list was Virginia Commonwealth, which ranked 81st with a value of $54 million.
Dayton is developing
Dayton has seen about $365 million in new investment in the last year, and slightly more than half of that was spent on projects outside downtown, city officials say.
Pipeline of projects: City officials say about $640 million of projects in the pipeline could be completed in the next two years, and most of that investment is outside downtown.
Return on investment: Dayton staff say the city has been seeing $12 of private investment for every $1 the city has spent on economic development projects.
“City dollars are used to leverage private and other public funding,” said Veronica Morris, Dayton’s economic development supervisor.
Renovation of former Trotwood Sears store could start soon
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Remember the Salem Mall? The renovation of the former Salem Mall’s Sears & Roebuck building in Trotwood could begin as early as this year, with a goal to reopen the space as a business hub in 2026.
Work is continuing behind the scenes to secure funding to facilitate the 125,000-square-foot facility, city officials said this week.
What they’re saying: “We’ve been pretty busy with this project since the beginning of the year, applying to several different funding sources for the project, some competitive, and we’re optimistic about our project’s ability to score those,” said Chad Downing, director of the Trotwood Community Improvement Corp., the organization spearheading the renovation.
DOD civilian employees may apply for early retirement
Credit: ty-greenlees
Credit: ty-greenlees
Does retirement beckon? Readers flocked to this story online (thank you, by the way): The Department of Defense announced a Deferred Resignation Program and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority for civilian employees.
They may apply until Monday, April 14. Air Force civilians were told to expect direct emails from the Acting Secretary of the Air Force and myFSS (the Air Force’s human resources platform), the service said.
Mall liquidation sale this weekend
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The city of Middletown is hosting a liquidation auction at the Towne Mall this weekend, featuring items left in stores when Middletown bought the mall in 2024.
Middletown paid $10 million for the four-parcel, 32-acre mall property in July to guide development of the site off a busy part of Interstate 75. When it acquired the property, the city had no particular plans.
Details: On Saturday, a sale begins at 11 a.m. with a preview at 9 a.m. until auction time. Saturday’s auction will include the liquidation of the contents of the Funke People Store, including new coats, jeans, T-shirts and purses and more.
Contact me: Thank you for reading and being here. Tell me about your business (or job) at tom.gnau@coxinc.com or at X and Bluesky. I’m also on LinkedIn and on our Dayton Business page, with my colleagues.
Quick hits
The story behind the Blue Berry Cafe: A story of family.
Cutting-edge metal-forming at UDRI: I happen to have a story about that.
New Eastway CEO: Eyes possible new outpatient services.
Union dues: No longer deducted from Air Force civilian employee checks.
Federal staff laid off: At Miami Valley Community Action Partnership
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