Accelerate Van Wert 2.0 campaign launched

The "Accelerate Van Wert 2.0" campaign is in full swing, and money is being raised to promote growth in Van Wert County.

Accelerate Van Wert is the five-year strategic economic growth initiative (2019-2023) of the Van Wert Business Development Corporation (BDC) with three goals. The first goal is to grow jobs and attract capital investment through the Opportunity Fund.

The budget needed for the new Opportunity Fund is $750,000 over five years. The fund would be used for things such as offering new or expanding companies loans for land purchases or construction with low or 0% interest rates, purchasing land to expand Industrial Park and Vision Park capacity to attract new companies, possibly constructing another speculative building, and utilizing other incentives to attract new businesses.

The next goal is to attract, retain, and align talent. Currently, Van Wert has 15% more than the average number of people near retirement age and 17% fewer than the average number of millennials compared to similar cities. This means there will soon be a shortage of workers if local businesses don't find ways to attract younger people.

Van Wert also has around 9,000 people living in Van Wert County that work outside of the county. Meanwhile, just over 4,600 people are coming to Van Wert from outside the area to work. With around 14,700 workers living in Van Wert County, more than 60% of working-age residents leave Van Wert County to work daily.

"Talent is the new currency in economic development. With a 3 percent unemployment rate, if you want a job and can work, you've got a job."

To attract talent, the Accelerate Van Wert initiative program would aim to brand and market Van Wert as a desirable destination for workforce talent, to implement high school graduation retention programs, to attract talent back to Van Wert through scholarships programs and marketing campaigns, and to provide the appropriate quantity and quality of housing, among other plans. The budget needed for goal two is $375,000 over five years. The primary item to be funded from this goal budget is a full-time workforce development professional that can oversee this goal.

The final goal of the Accelerate Van Wert campaign is to strengthen the quality of the place. Quality of place issues include dilapidated buildings and a need for more amenities, especially downtown. After input from a cross-section of community leaders, the BDC discovered an excellent opportunity to improve Van Wert's quality of place by accelerating downtown revitalization.

Some of the plans for goal three are to initially focus on the Washington Street Corridor, with the BDC prioritizing high-impact projects that stimulate new dining and retail options. The focus will also incentivize the redevelopment of under-utilized buildings, encourage downtown housing developments attractive to young working adults, and obtain options on at-risk structures critical to the downtown facade.

The budget needed for this goal is $375,000 over five years for a total of $1.5 million to fulfill the 5-year Accelerate Van Wert campaign goal.

In short, the campaign's overall goal is to bring in new businesses, new residents, and new housing, dining, and retail options. Some of the economic impacts the BDC expects to see are high-quality jobs with increased payroll, the creation of new disposable personal income, new sales and property tax revenue to the City and County, and an overall improved quality of place and life for Van Wert County residents.

The BDC just wrapped up its 2014-2018 "Opportunity Fund Initiative," where $1.1 million was raised to improve economic development in Van Wert. During those years, the BDC facilitated construction of a 100,000-square-foot speculative building, secured land for future commercial development by purchasing 59 acres and options on another 150 acres, and made various catalytic loans to businesses and other organizations.

Money for the Accelerate Van Wert campaign is being pledged from various investors throughout the Van Wert Community.