CEP Enters 5th Year Advancing Local Economic Development

Marcia Bailey

By Marcia Bailey, Director Champaign Economic Partnership
There’s power in working together for a shared purpose of business expansion and job creation. The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) has proven that, since becoming Champaign County’s economic development agency, nearly five years ago.
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The CEP couldn’t do this without the financial support, talent and leadership of our partners, the City of Urbana, the Champaign County Commissioners, Mechanicsburg, North Lewisburg and St. Paris, more than 20 local businesses and our 19-member board.

Key development projects
Thanks to economic development investments by private businesses working with the CEP, Urbana – for the first time ever – ranked 41st in the Site Selection magazine’s 2017 list of top U.S. micropolitan communities.
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Recent successes include the new Navistar distribution center, Memorial Health’s medical building, expansion of Weidmann Electrical Technology, opening of Nutrien Ag Solutions, Sutphen Corporation’s new Service, Parts and Refurbishment Center, expansion of Old Souls Farms hydroponic operations, expansion of Advanced Technology Products and purchase of the former Robert Rothschild Farm property.

Champaign County manufacturing jobs have grown from under 3,000 jobs in 2013 to nearly 4,000 in 2018.

Major projects for 2019 include:

• Construction of a 54-room Cobblestone Hotel in Urbana, owned by local investors
  
• Completion of cleanup of the former Q3/Johnson Manufacturing site 
  
• Development of the proposed Legacy Place project to transform the former Urbana North and South Elementary schools and the Douglas Hotel into 51 affordable senior living apartments.

Preparing the workforce
The CEP is partnering with schools and businesses in numerous ways to help make sure Champaign County has the skilled workforce required by new and expanding businesses.

Results of these partnerships include:

• The CEP's new business liaison, Ashley Cook, who helps coordinate workforce development initiatives with schools and businesses 
  
• Internships and job shadowing opportunities
• Job fairs and in-school presentations by businesses 
  
• The online Community Job Connect job board, where local employers post job openings 
  
• 11 TV monitors placed around Champaign County broadcasting news about local training programs, job openings, and economic development 
  
• Ohio Hi-Point Career Center’s Advanced Manufacturing program at Triad Local Schools
  
• YouTube videos of our local manufacturers
• The Champaign County Business Advisory Council, partnering with schools and businesses preparing students for the local workforce.

Future development

• Also in the works for economic development:
• The City of Urbana will be reviewing results on development ideas for the South Main Street Corridor as well as the South High Street Corridor for potential improvement of pedestrian and bicycle traffic, drainage and parking
  
• The Sowles Hotel building will be redeveloped for office and retail space.
  
• The CEP will help St. Paris market its enterprise zone.
  
• The CEP will be establishing a Community Reinvestment Area in Mechanicsburg 
  
• The CEP will continue promoting Urbana’s Certified Opportunity Zone (COZ) which offers incentives for development in economically distressed areas.
  
• Downtown property owners are moving ahead with redevelopment projects, following the Moving Downtown Forward initiative launched by the CEP in 2018.
  

For more information, call the CEP at 937-653-7200 or browse CEPOhio.com.