Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor called the facility an example of the type of partnership between private business and collegiate-level institutions that she and Gov. John Kasich want to see.
UD will be a research partner with GE at the facility that will begin with 10-15 jobs and, if conditions are right, grow to nearly 200 people researching advanced electrical systems at the site within the decade.
The project, with 40,000 square-feet of office space and 80,000 square-feet of research space, is financed with public funds including $7.6 million Third Frontier grant, $1.2 million in local grants and other tax incentives. The land, worth $2.6 million, is owned by UD. CityWide, the city’s development arm, will own the building and lease it to GE.
Mayor Gary Leitzell said GE’s decision to locate in Dayton was the result of tireless collaborative efforts.
“It is proof the paradigm has shifted here,” he said. “We are no longer an antiquated, Neanderthal-thinking community in some ways. We are innovative, progressive, moving forward, as we should, to the future.”
Jim Leftwich, former head of the Dayton Development Coalition who was recently tapped by Kasich to head the Ohio Department of Development, said the public investment is worthwhile because the facility will attract “spin off” businesses related to aerospace.
Secretary of State Jon Husted juxtaposed the city’s good news Thursday with Tuesday’s announcement that a NASA space shuttle wouldn’t be coming to the Miami Valley. “That was about the past; today is about the future,” he said.
GE hopes to be in the EPISCenter facility within a year, said Lorraine Bolsinger, CEO of GE Aviation Systems. It will be the new headquarters for the company’s electric power business and is just 7 miles from one of its largest customers — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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