There is no “wrong door” to economic development in Ohio. Many doors are opening right now to financial and technical assistance opportunities like we’ve never seen before. Ohio’s Local Development Districts can help open the door to resources to make your project successful.
Appalachian Ohio has many partners working together to facilitate investment in our region. These include
- the Ohio Department of Development,
- the Governor’s Office of Appalachia,
- Ohio Southeast Economic Development,
- the Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Service,
- the local economic development offices that serve each of our counties,
- and Local Development Districts like Buckeye Hills Regional Council.
Ohio’s Local Development Districts are Appalachian Ohio’s one-stop-shops for community and economic development assistance.
Ohio is home to 32 Appalachian counties and bolsters federal ARC funding with a matching state investment. Within this region, four Appalachian Ohio Local Development Districts (LDDs) organize community-driven projects and target funds for distribution from federal and state partners to ensure positive movement toward the mission of the ARC and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia: to bring the region to socioeconomic parity.
The LDDs’ most important role is to identify the priority needs of their local communities. Ohio’s LDDs also serve as the Economic Development Districts for their regions, as well as the Regional Transportation Planning Organizations and Ohio Public Works Commission district liaisons for their respective regions. This means they are a primary point of contact for economic development, transportation improvements, and infrastructure funding in each of the regions they serve.
RISE Ohio is an initiative among two of our LDDs that will complement and support the work of Opportunity Appalachia. The RISE Ohio (Resilience Initiative for Southeastern and Eastern Ohio) is a U.S. EDA Assistance to Coal Communities program initiative led by Ohio University’s Voinovich School, Buckeye Hills Regional Council, and OMEGA focused on economic diversification; Opportunity Zone planning, development, and investment; and assistance to communities impacted by coal fired power plant closures. Given the proliferation of Opportunity Zones, the most competitive Opportunity Zones across the nation generally offer additional investment incentives (e.g. TIF, SID, JEDD or other credits) and wrap-around services such as workforce development training, educational access, small business development services, etc. Additionally, the optimal Opportunity Zones in our regions are near the communities most heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the decline in the coal industry. This program’s goal is to provide wrap-around technical assistance to each community located within an Opportunity Zone.
Local Development Districts work in partnership with the Ohio Department of Development, which has a wealth of tax credit and incentive programs that support community and economic development. You can learn more about each of these by visiting development.ohio.gov or contacting the Local Development District. Many of these programs are available directly to businesses and property owners, while others require the participation of a local government or community economic development entity.
For more information about RISE Ohio or to discuss a project idea for one of the Opportunity Zones in our region, contact Kate Perani, Special Projects Manager for RISE Ohio, at kperani@buckeyehills.org or 740-376-7671.