Publication recognizes Portsmouth for economic development
Portsmouth and Scioto County are getting national attention for community commitment to economic development as seen in recent years.
Portsmouth City Solicitor John Haas announced Monday night that Portsmouth and the county as a whole had been recognized in Site Selection Magazine with Portsmouth ranked second for development along the Ohio River Corridor.
Though Maysville, Kentucky took the first place spot as winner of the Great River Cup, Portsmouth was close behind as a leader in bringing multinational corporate investors to the region. Rankings are based on various factors, including projects per population.
Maysville had four projects in an 18 month period for a population of 17,166; whereas, Portsmouth/Scioto County was ranked sixth for projects for a population of 77,258. Those six projects put Scioto County in the top 10 Ohio River Counties by projects.
The article in Site Selection Magazine recognized the area’s continued high ranking finishes, looking back on the America’s Best Communities grant competition.
“You’ll have to pardon the people of Portsmouth, Ohio, for feeling like winners, even if they came in No. 2 in our Great River Cup rankings,” The November 2017 issue of Site Selection Magazine stated. “The runner-up finish mirrors a semifinalist finish in last year’s America’s Best Communities competition, a $10-million program that aims to assist community revitalization in small towns nationwide.”
Site Selection Magazine tracked several projects in Portsmouth and Scioto County. According to the article, those projects included investments by Yost Labs, Appalachian Wood Floors (AWF), NiSource and Mako Finished Products.
“As in Maysville, adaptive reuse is the order of the day. AWF’s investment, for instance, will begin the transformation of a former Dayton-Walther industrial site into Portsmouth Gateway Industrial Park,” the article stated.
Some of the perks of Portsmouth listed by Site Selection include access to the river, rail and highway as well as lower-cost utilities and proximity to a petrochemical plant being built by Shell in Monaca, Pa.
For more information about how Portsmouth was on the rise, access the full Site Selection Magazine article online at http://siteselection.com/issues/2017/nov/ohio-river-corridor-maysville-gets-its-mojo-back.cfm.
From Portsmouth Daily Times | November 15, 2017
