Delano Industrial, LLC, JobsOhio, Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE), Ohio Department of Development, and Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development today announced the development of the Delano Industrial Park Spec Building will be supported by a $910,000 JobsOhio Grant through the Ohio Site Inventory Program.

“The new Delano Industrial Park speculative building will come after close collaboration with our partners, bringing a space that will accommodate rapid investment to create jobs in Chillicothe,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “When complete, the facility will include space for future expansion and access to the surrounding rail, Route 23 and talent in Ross County.”

The overall investment of over $4.4 million includes site preparation and the construction of a 50,000-square-foot building expandable to 100,000 square feet on a 10-acre site with an additional 77 acres remaining for development. Site work will include road improvements and grading of the building site pad.

“The location of this site will support the continued growth of the local Kenworth supply chain,” noted Tammy Eallonardo, Director of Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development.  “Ross County appreciates the developer’s continued investment in our local economy.”

The Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) was established to create property within the state that is not being developed by the market, but that has proven demand and known economic benefit. This program improves the state’s competitive edge with respect to attracting new investment and job creation by filling gaps in the state’s inventory portfolio.

“I am happy to partner with OhioSE, JobsOhio, ODOD and Ross County’s economic development team on this project and am grateful that this new spec building will help to make good, new jobs possible for the local community,” said Kevin Winegardner of WRH Company. “Together we are laying the foundation for more opportunities for our local workers and for businesses to grow in Chillicothe.”

Delano Industrial Park is located near PACCAR-Kenworth Chillicothe operations and just minutes from US23. The site is 45 min from Columbus via US23, and rail runs along the length of the industrial park.

“This business park’s location will allow access to our region’s labor surplus and support continued growth in Ross County,” said Katy Farber, OhioSE Vice President. “We were pleased to work with Ross County and Delano Industrial, LLC to provide assistance for this industrial park.”

This project was also supported by a $2.5 million loan through the Rural Industrial Park Loan (RIPL) Program. The RIPL program promotes economic development by providing low-interest direct loans to assist eligible applicants in financing the development and improvement of industrial parks and related off-site public infrastructure improvements.