The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Wright State University President Susan Edwards, center, and summit attendees listen to a presenter at WSU-Lake Campus' 2025 Regional Workforce Summit on Wednesday.
CELINA - Places such as Mercer and Auglaize counties, if they play their cards right, could be poised for economic development, according to David Burrows of the Dayton Development Coalition. Much of the Dayton-Cincinnati corridor is out of space, and Burrows sees future projects looking for suitable sites to the north.
"I just want to stress the importance of this region," Burrows, DDC's vice president of engagement, told an audience at Wright State University-Lake Campus' 2025 Regional Workforce Summit.
DDC, a network partner of JobsOhio, is the leading economic development organization in the 14-county Dayton Region. Mercer and Auglaize counties make up the northern part of the region.
Its staff work closely with public and private regional partners to recruit, expand and retain jobs. The top three industries in the region are advanced manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace and aviation.
"Cincinnati is running out of room, Dayton is running out of room," Burrows said. "We have to grow this way. We have to grow to the north, we have to grow to the east, we have to grow west. I live in Troy. I drove up here. Not a whole lot on 75. You hit Piqua, you hit Sidney. There's tons of opportunities. Any suggestions, work with your economic development teams, reach out to us. We want success, we want growth and we want to keep our students here."
A lot of times the things that hold up economic development can't necessarily be controlled (for example, the amount of water that can pumped into a factory), Burrows noted.
"It all takes money, it all takes time," he said. "But the opportunities today are greater than they've ever been. There's more money that's available for those things today than there ever has been."
David Burrows, vice president of engagement of the Dayton Development Coalition said economic growth will inevitably creep northward as much of the Dayton-Cincinnati area is maxxed out.
Fayette County, Burrows said, is home to 25,000 people. In comparison, Mercer County has a population of 42,690, as of 2024.
"Honda made the investment with LG (Energy Solution) to put a factory there and hire 2,200 people," Burrows said of the $3.5 billion joint-venture battery factory in Fayette County. "It can be done. It takes everybody working together. For 20 years they marketed that site, and for 20 years they got turned down and turned down and turned down."
However such projects, Burrows insisted, can now come to fruition in just a few years.
"We are, I believe, the only economic development organization in the United States that has a dedicated employee-lobbyist in Washington, D.C., that all he does is advocate for this region, and again, that includes everybody," he said. "Our guy in Washington creates a book, and he gives it to the federal legislators, and it talks about everything that's important in this region, from here at Lake Campus to down in Fayette County at the Honda-LG battery factory. It stresses what we need in this region."
As a result, tens of millions of dollars flows to the region, Burrows asserted.
Burrows underscored the importance of Honda.
"Honda hits every inch of our region up here, especially because you've got the Anna engine plant, you go over to East Liberty, Russells Point, Marysville. I mean, it's everywhere, and I've said this for years: If it wasn't for Honda, Ohio would be in the toilet," he said.
Burrows said he comes from a GM family.
"We had at one time, 50-60,000 people working for General Motors in the Dayton region," he remarked. "Those (jobs) are all gone. Every single one of those jobs are gone. If it wasn't for DMax and the creation of the Isuzu-GM joint venture (in Moraine), we would have zero GM employees. Honda has 15,000 employees, most of which are in the vicinity of this region."
Burrows also highlighted other ways DDC can lend a hand to economic development.
The JobsOhio Vibrant Community Program can assist small and medium-sized communities with the implementation of catalytic development projects that fulfill a market need and represent a significant reinvestment in Ohio communities.
One such project involving the repurposing of an old facility into a packaging center for the medical industry.
"This one happens to be two gentlemen that grew up in Camden, Ohio," Burrows said. "These guys have started a company that created over a 100 jobs right away. This is just last year. They already called us to create another 150 jobs in Camden, Ohio. So it can be done. They're working with workforce, they're working with the community, they're working with universities and CTCs."
Similar business models could be replicated elsewhere.
"Rundown buildings or something that could be repurposed, and someone willing to make the investment: You talk to your local economic development," he said.
