Episodes

  • Mid-Ohio Development Exchange - MODE

    Mid-Ohio Development Exchange - MODE
    Jun 2 2021
    Economic development is definitely a team sport and a lot of economic development factors are not limited to jurisdictional boundaries. Infrastructure, workforce and site selection are just a few of those areas that need cross-jurisdictional collaboration. Something that the Columbus Ohio Region is known for is doing things the "Columbus Way." Which simply means working together to pool all our regional resources to help the growth and sustainability of our metro area. We are lucky in the Columbus Region to have the https://columbusregion.com/mode/ (Mid-Ohio Development Exchange (MODE)), which is a membership based organization that includes municipalities, counties, public sector organizations, private-sector businesses and utility providers throughout the region. One of the most important things that MODE does is providing a space for economic development professionals to continuously learn. Whether that is by providing educational funds for courses through the https://ohioeda.com/ (Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA)), https://www.iedconline.org/ (International Economic Development Council (IEDC) )and others, or the regular programming on latest trends in economic development. We welcome Nate Strum as our guest. He is Board President of MODE, and soon to be the Director of Economic Development for the City of Gahanna. Plus, we welcome Niel Jurist for our regular segment, More With MORPC! Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    17 mins
  • City of Whitehall Parks and Recreation

    City of Whitehall Parks and Recreation
    May 5 2021
    In this episode, Zach and Jenna explore the link between expanding parks and recreation opportunities and economic development, with a focus on all the parks and recreation developments Whitehall has seen in the last decade. In fact, since 2017, the City of Whitehall has... Seen a 230% spike in program participants Received Nine Ohio Parks & Recreation Association (OPRA) Awards Attracted 25k attendees to the Whitehall Food Truck and Fun Festival Reinvested $9.3 million into the City's five parks and parks facilities, including the Whitehall YMCA Branch, the new Splash Pad at John Bishop Park and new playground equipment Also in 2021, the City is excited to see our first new park open since the 1970s, located inside the new Norton Crossing development at the corner of East Broad Street and Hamilton Road Coming soon, the City is also looking forward to the redevelopment of the Woodcliff Condominiums and golf dome site at the northeast intersection of East Broad Street and Hamilton Road, and its ties into the 80-acre Whitehall Community Park. To learn more, Zach and Jenna welcome Shannon Sorrell, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Whitehall. https://opraonline.org/2021/04/28/whitehall-community-park-ymca-wins-2020-opra-governors-award/?mc_cid=8181c1f262&mc_eid=748ebff6a4 (Congratulations go out to her and her team for winning the 11th Annual Governor’s Award for Parks and Recreation presented by Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.) In order to truly serve the community, the Whitehall YMCA needed to emphasize programs like ESL classes, job readiness, and programming for Middle and early High School students in addition to fitness and wellness. On November 22, 2019 the new, 25,600 square foot Whitehall Community Park YMCA opened its doors. Features include: Teen Hub: Outfitted with study spaces, musical instruments, podcast studio, robotics lab, and gaming computers. 4,000 square foot indoor artificial-turf field Teaching kitchen Community Hub: Combines adult-centric furnishings adjacent to kids’ activities. Plus, https://www.morpc.org/ (More With MORPC) and https://www.morpc.org/about-morpc/leadership/ (Niel Jurist). Neil goes into more detail about what MORPC is doing to encourage green space and parks in the Central Ohio region. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    23 mins
  • RAPID5 Project

    RAPID5 Project
    Apr 7 2021
    We welcome Keith Myers, VP Planning, Architecture and Real Estate, Office of Administration & Planning to talk about RAPID 5 Project (Rivers and Parks Imagination Design). The goal of RAPID 5 gets us back to the most basic definition of economic development, which is improving the economic well-being and quality of life for a community. Economic Development professionals traditionally have focused on attraction of jobs to a community, but in recent years, our focus has had to shift, to also concentrate on quality of life or quality of place factors. Not only is it important for our communities to grow in a smart and sustainable way to thrive, it is also important for businesses in regards to the attraction of employees to have desirable living amenities. It is a big, collaborative puzzle to put the pieces together and have a truly transformational project for your community. It takes partnerships from the public and private sectors to develop, add new businesses, create housing options, have various modes of transportation, parks, restaurants, shops, etc. Keith talks about some memorable projects he has worked on that have had a transformative impact in Central Ohio. He also gives a very detailed overview of the RAPID 5 project. In short, this new large-scale project will be connecting all of Central Ohio’s major waterways and trails together into a cohesive system for residents and visitors. The “Rapid5” program is being spearheaded by local leadership at the Urban Land Institute of Columbus, MetroParks, MORPC, Franklin County and others. The five major waterway systems that would be interconnected include Big Walnut, Alum, Olentangy, Scioto and Big Darby. A comprehensive system could include navigable waterways for long distance kayaking and cross-city biking and running trails that touch most major parks throughout all of the municipalities of Franklin County. The RAPID5 can put park greenways and waterways within a mile and a half of every resident of Franklin County. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    23 mins
  • Transformational Transportation

    Transformational Transportation
    Mar 3 2021
    Happy Anniversary to us! We are celebrating our first year anniversary of Whitehall Works. 2020 was a difficult year to keep new episodes coming to your podcast player. We are looking forward to this year, and a more normal schedule with great topics. We've talked about transportation before (https://player.captivate.fm/episode/f079e926-13da-4c50-ac9f-c9ab270a8590 (episode 5)), and this time we have a different twist on the subject. Transformational transportation and economic development. There are number of reasons why we have an interest in transportation and the options it creates for our community. To recap a bit on Episode 5, we covered more of the day to day transportation as an attraction, retention and expansion strategy for business. And also how it is a workforce development and community development strategy. The strategy is to develop transportation alternatives and to rethink the ways communities develop their land-use and transportation patterns. This can bring more jobs and talent to a community as well as for communities to be well-rounded and sustainable for the long term. To dive into the future of transportation, we welcome Thea Walsh Ewing from https://www.morpc.org/ (MORPC) (Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission). Thea gives us some background on MORPC and its role in transportation in the mid-Ohio region, and well as how MORPC is working toward preparing for growth. All from the lenses of adapting to the new normal from the pandemic. We also get into more detail about the https://linkuscolumbus.com/ (LinkUS Mobility Initiative), https://gohiocommute.com/#/ (Gohio Commute), and hyperloop and rail options. https://www.morpc.org/event/state-of-the-region/ (The State of the Region) is one of Central Ohio’s most significant events of the year. Being presented virtually in 2021, we will highlight community accomplishments and showcase upcoming plans for leading our region into the future. Wednesday, March 31, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Plus, Mayor Kim Maggard invites you to join the City of Whitehall for our virtual https://www.whitehall-oh.us/457/State-of-the-City-Address (2021 State of the City Address) on Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to any interested community member. A link to the virtual event will be emailed out by March 15. The theme of the address, as well as our 2020 Annual Report, is Decade of Opportunity. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    26 mins
  • Financing

    Financing
    Nov 4 2020
    When we say financing, there are a lot of different direction to go. As Economic Development professionals, there are various ways that we may have a hand in financing, depending on the type of organization you are. From the local government perspective, our main focus is helping our businesses with finding resources to bridge financing gaps or assist in ventures where social and economic benefits outweigh the risk of financing. In this episode, we focus on how we assist businesses with finding resources to bridge their financing gaps. Depending if you are a local government or non-profit economic development organization, you may offer programs assisting businesses in their financing gaps in a number of ways. When it comes to local financing assistance, it's typically used in conjunction with private sector funding that has been secured by the company independently. Private sector lending institutions provide debt financing and equity financing. We cover the number of reasons businesses need financing. It's not limited to just starting a business. There are a number of resources on financing through local, state, and federal programs. The City of Whitehall is working on financing. One specific example is the newly developed http://whitehallmeansbusiness.com/covid_19/reboot-whitehall/#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Whitehall%20has,from%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic. (Reboot Whitehall Program). Our guest, Kevin Goehring is our guest on this episode. He is a https://osdc.net/about/staff/ (loan officer) at the https://osdc.net/ (Ohio Statewide Development Corporation), a local partner that helps small businesses fill that financial gap. The OSDC's mission is "to promote business investment and job creation by providing SBA 504 and Ohio 166 loans to small businesses for buildings and equipment. Sometimes that means lending directly to businesses, other times it means partnering with their existing lender. But the end result is the same: we help small businesses across Ohio secure the financing they need to grow." We cover what is the SBA, when might an SBA loan be a good fit for a business, basic eligibilities, and much more. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    22 mins
  • Live at 2020 Virtual OEDA Annual Summit

    Live at 2020 Virtual OEDA Annual Summit
    Oct 7 2020
    The Ohio Economic Development Association, like many other organizations at this time during COVID-19, held their annual summit virtually. And so we recorded our podcast audio while we held our video session via Zoom during the 2020 Virtual https://ohioeda.com/ (OEDA) Annual Summit. The theme for this year's summit was Moving The Needle. We also included our session overview https://ohioeda.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Whitehall-Works-Moving_the_Needle_Final.pdf (with a link here), with our focus being on The Broad And Hamilton Redevelopment Zone. To illustrate how Whitehall has come to the point of developing a key intersection in Central Ohio, there have been many pieces to this puzzle, or many moves of the Rubik’s cube, if you will, to change the face and perception of our community. In this episode, we run through a few of the key areas where the City is working on moving the needle. Housing At the beginning of September, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission released the results of their Regional Housing Study, which clearly defines the core housing issues the Central Ohio region is facing as we are expect over 700,000 new residents between now and 2050.  The study calculates that 11,000 new residential units will need to be developed annually to keep up with the new demand. Business Just for reference, we are a City of about 19,000 residents with 650 Businesses and 33,000 jobs  Since 2011, the City has grown income tax revenue $6.5 million annually More than 114 Million economic investments per square mile invested since 2010 More than $228 million of taxable income, payroll, and business profit have been added since January 2012 2,300 jobs added since January 2012 From a business retention and attraction standpoint, bringing in new business has given us more leverage for new development to occur. Safety In 2017, the Division of Police implemented its first three-year Safer Whitehall Strategic Plan and is in the process of adopting the 2021-2023 Strategic Plan.  The 2017-2020 Strategic Plan set in motion the new "A Safer Whitehall Initiative". During the 3-year period, the City has had a: 27% Drop in violent crime 38% Drop in robberies 46% Drop in burglaries Recreation 2017 was a big year of implementing new strategies at the City! Since 2017 we have seen a:  230% spike in program participants 7 Ohio Parks & Recreation Association Awards Tying It Together Four components have put us in a position to move the needle for the next decade, and we cover these in detail in this episode. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. www.whitehall-oh.us www.whitehallmeansbusiness.com
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    31 mins
  • Transportation

    Transportation
    Sep 2 2020
    There are a number reasons why transportation offers so many options for a community. One reason is for attracting, retaining and expansion of businesses. It is an important workforce development strategy. Developing transportation alternatives and rethinking the ways communities develop their land-use and transportation patterns can bring more jobs and talent to a community. Real estate development is another reason. We cover what is meant by "Smart Growth" in this episode. Neighborhood Economic Development is another piece of the puzzle. Quality of life factors and the development of dynamic neighborhoods has become increasingly important to businesses since this is what is important to employees. The health of a region and city is based on perceived strength of neighborhoods that make up a community. Partnership is key in economic development. Some key organizations we work with are our regional planning organization, https://www.morpc.org/ (MORPC), Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. We also work closely with https://www.cota.com/ (COTA), Central Ohio Transit Authority. Whitehall is working on transportation... by ensuring our developments have integrated transit by being involved with the MORPC study creating bus rapid transit corridors in the Columbus region, specifically the development of East Broad Street We welcome https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelloges (Michael Loges from COTA) to the podcast. He talks more about the LinkUS Mobility Corridors Initiative, including the East-West RFQ. Michael also covers... Why is bus rapid transit so important for a city/region like Columbus? How has COTA made adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic? What other contactless transit investments has COTA made recently? How as COTA/Plus ride sharing program been accepted? How does affordable transit play into the quality of life for a community? As always, we "Kick It To The County" with our guest https://www.linkedin.com/in/talexberes/ (Alex Beres), Assistant Director at Franklin County (OH) Economic Development and Planning. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/
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    33 mins
  • Workforce Development

    Workforce Development
    Aug 12 2020
    We talk about what is currently, and arguably, the hottest topic in economic development: workforce development. Economic development and workforce development are two different professions with unique focuses. Economic development has a very collaborative focus, and is more broad. Workforce development focuses on education and transferable skills of the employee at an individual level. But while different, economic and workforce development share a common goal, which is to strengthen the local talent pool of workers to match the needs of local and regional employers. In this episode, we cover some interesting stats about the workforce in Whitehall, and our strategies, and welcome https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-backiewicz-a71ba28/ (Matt Backiewicz), Vice President of Sales and Business Development at https://www.dawsoncareers.com/ (Dawson Careers) as our guest. Matt covers a lot of ground, including: Who is Dawson Careers The need to continuously prepare the workforce for retraining Trends in the workforce, despite COVID-19 What the Dawson Community Workforce Programs entail As always, we "Kick It To The County" with our guest https://www.linkedin.com/in/talexberes/ (Alex Beres), Assistant Director at Franklin County (OH) Economic Development and Planning. Alex talks about a couple of Franklin County initiatives including: https://www.omjcfc.org/franklin-county-skill-boost (Franklin County Skill Boost): The Franklin County Skill Boost is aimed at assisting individuals recently affected by employment shutdown due to the Corona Crisis and are experiencing financial challenges. Learn more by calling 614-559-4792.  https://jfs.franklincountyohio.gov/worktowardatrade (Building Futures): A 12-week "pre-apprenticeship" program provides you with the skills and trade-specific instruction to enter an apprenticeship. Learn more by calling 614-232-5496. Join Jenna and Zach monthly as they have representatives from Franklin County (OH), as well as special guests from government and other organizations, to talk about different topics that are important throughout the Central Ohio region.  That's part of the reason we named this podcast Whitehall Works. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/ (The City of Whitehall (OH)) is working with a lot of different partners on transportation, affordable housing and workforce development. These are just some of the important topics that not only the City of Whitehall (OH) is working on, but everyone needs to work on. https://www.whitehall-oh.us/
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    32 mins