Two Central Ohio Municipalities are Set to Engage Their New Strategic Plans

The Montrose Group LLC

Two Central Ohio Municipalities are Set to Engage Their New Strategic Plans

Two central Ohio municipalities have recently received their new strategic plans created in partnership with The Montrose Group. Through these strategic plans, the communities are taking a proactive approach to preparing infrastructure and sites for future development opportunities. Morrow County and Union Township will begin to implement their strategic plans, setting them up for growth over the next five years.

Positioned approximately 30 miles north of Columbus, Morrow County is the northern most county in the Columbus, Ohio MSA. Morrow County has a long history of agricultural trade with much of the county landmass still utilized as farmland. In order to achieve prosperity over the next five years, build on the successes around manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing sectors, and diversify the local economy, Morrow County will enact the following action plan tactics.

1. Establish standalone Economic Development Organization via Public-Private Partnership model that brings together government and private sector stakeholders.
2. Morrow County should develop economic growth and site development priorities that support existing business needs, build a strong network of Morrow County business leaders, and encourage investments that create high-value jobs.
3. Implement Morrow County Industrial Site Development Marketing Strategy around key sites along the Interstate 71 corridor in leading and emerging industry sectors which include Advanced Manufacturing, Semiconductor Supply Chain, and Logistics & Distribution and develop an incentives policy to attract new investment to key sites.
4. Morrow County should support private, developer-led residential investments to increase the overall housing inventory in Morrow County.

Union Township is a rural community situated within an area that is undergoing extensive growth. The location of Union Township within Licking County and the proximity to Columbus, Ohio provides numerous opportunities to create economic prosperity. Union Township is a desirable community for residents and businesses with strong economic and demographic data in comparison to the state of Ohio as a whole. The Union Township strategic plan provides the goals and tactics to position Union Township to create a healthy and prosperous community by enacting the following tactics.

1. Implement Union Township Industrial Site Development Marketing Strategy around key sites along the Interstate 70 corridor in leading and emerging industry sectors. Union Township should capitalize on the strong concentration of a healthcare workforce to bring Healthcare facilities into the township and drive private investment to targeted areas.
2. Develop a Union Township economic development incentives policy that supports the township’s goal of attracting high-value capital investment opportunities and generating wealth.
3. Utilize state and federal resources to support intentional development within Union Township and meet the goals and objectives of township leadership and its residents.
4. Pursue state and federal resources to support needed public infrastructure improvements such as roads, water, and sewers.
5. Engage in an update to Union Township’s comprehensive plan that establishes a long-range plan which captures the vision of what the community wants to be in the future.

Contact Jamie Beier Grant at jbgrant@montrosegroupllc.com or (419) 707-0164 for more information on Montrose Group’s Economic Development Planning services.