Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner (R-10) was in Dayton Wednesday afternoon to celebrate revitalization progress in downtown Dayton. Turner was joined by Congressman Brad Wenstrup of Ohio’s 2nd District.
Wenstrup is the newest member of Congressional House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax and economic development policies.
Wenstrup's District represents parts of the Cincinnati metro area and a large swath of southern Ohio. Congressman Turner led his colleague on a tour of Dayton sites he says represent the city’s efforts to stimulate downtown development.
“There are more people living, working and enjoying downtown than there were twenty years ago. “We have used federal programs such as low-income housing tax credits, brownfield redevelopment tax credits, new market tax credits - all of which are important ways for us to stack with local money and state money, redevelopment dollars to help change the community,”
Turner says, "it’s all because we pulled together as a community but also we’ve turned to those important vehicles at the federal level.”
Many parts of Southern Ohio stand as a model for economic recovery, says GOP Congressman Wenstrup.
Following the Great Recession and job losses linked to the departure of General Motors, NCR and other big employers, Wenstrup says the recovery is still picking up steam.
“It’s driving economic opportunity and driving the increase in jobs today we actually have more jobs and we have workers that’s a good problem to have.
Turner says more still needs to be done to encourage companies to locate in Dayton. Despite downtown’s high residential occupancy rate, Dayton still has a surplus of empty office space.
Rebecca Benná, executive director of Five Rivers MetroParks, and Charlie Simms, president of Simms Development also took part in the press conference.
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