On Monday, July 22, 2019, the Summit County Transportation Improvement District (TID) received notice that two area projects will be granted funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Office of Jobs and Commerce. The funds will be directed to projects in Fairlawn and Norton and will benefit overall economic development efforts in Summit County. Throughout the state, 44 applications were received requesting nearly $9 million for project development and construction.
In Fairlawn, $134,000 will be used towards the Fairlawn Corporate Parkway Extension project. To accommodate the relocation of a cybersecurity company, the City of Fairlawn must extend Fairlawn Corporate Parkway to provide additional access to the property and allow for the construction of a new global headquarters building. This project will provide short term jobs in the design and construction of both the road and building, in addition to 40 highly technical jobs with the cybersecurity company. The roadway extension will consist of installation of 575 linear feet of asphalt roadway, concrete curb and gutter, water lines, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, gas lines, electric lines and fiber optic telecom. The extension will also allow access to four additional buildable sites.
In Norton, $200,000 will be used to benefit the Newpark Drive Reconstruction project. This project will provide an improved, safer and more durable road surface for the heavy trucks and traffic entering and exiting the Interstate Industrial Park. The project will allow the headquarter operations of S.A. Comunale, the largest employer in the City of Norton, to expand. The existing road surface cannot withstand the expected increase in truck traffic and new employee growth, making an improved roadway essential to retaining and adding additional jobs at the current location. S.A. Comunale currently houses 500 employees at the Norton corporate headquarters and plans to add 210 employees to the site over the next five years as the company develops and expands its fire suppression business.
“Summit County is committed to supporting economic development and job growth,” said County Executive Ilene Shapiro. “TID grants are a vital source of support for efforts to expand and improve infrastructure, which we know leads to the creation and retention of jobs in our communities. We are very pleased to receive this funding and are excited to invest it into job creation projects.”
The Summit County TID was formed in 2014 to enable Summit County to take advantage of funding opportunities offered by the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Office of Jobs and Commerce. Each year, the State solicits projects for funding that are designed to strengthen infrastructure and bolster economic development by creating and/or retaining jobs and road construction. The TID grants are competitive and support innovative infrastructure projects that create and retain jobs. With these awards, the Summit County TID has now received $2,076,500 for local development projects in its five years of existence.
