Guest editorial: modern investments

By Dean Monske

Over the next decade there will be trillions of dollars invested in infrastructure for AI data centers in the United States. Now is the time for northwest Ohio to make certain we are prepared for what may be the largest economic development opportunity ever presented. Our region has already attracted billions of dollars of investment in this evolving space, and we have the opportunity to attract billions more, but only if we work together to lay the proper foundation for an extraordinary opportunity that will benefit our communities.

For too long our area has been bypassed when similar opportunities have come and ultimately gone. The jobs and revenue went to other markets while northwest Ohio still pursues its place in the new, advanced economy.

Many of our forefathers capitalized on opportunities to create a vibrant community. We built the wealth of the region by attracting and welcoming the glass and automotive assembly industries. We developed traditional energy facilities at our refineries, and with First Solar, we have taken the lead in the growing renewable energy sector. Those clusters will continue to serve us well, but Northwest Ohio needs more to prosper. We are a great place to live and work but we have still not returned to pre-Covid employment levels in our region. Too many of our children and grandchildren are moving elsewhere to build their futures. Our region’s population is in slow decline and our community’s wealth continues to erode.

As some of the largest businesses in the world look to locate next-generation investments, it is clear the Northwest Ohio area has the desired attributes. We have flat land, water and sewer infrastructure, a strong electrical grid, an advanced fiber backbone with multiple providers, and modern high volume and pressure natural gas lines to meet energy needs. We have outstanding universities to educate tomorrow’s workforce and a strong skilled trades and construction sector.

But our advantages are only temporary. Other regions are scrambling to build similar infrastructure to attract these developments. Our region needs to act quickly and carefully to maintain our lead.

These projects bring thousands of construction jobs and ongoing tech and maintenance support. They permanently employ a highly paid workforce and can attract other high-tech industries to the region. Our country will need new chip fabricators, and regions with a demonstrated tech support system will be the most attractive.

Ai and data center companies have a track record of investing in the regions where they locate and becoming an important part of the fabric of a community. They support education, local charities, and special events as they grow. Finally, they serve as significant contributors (millions) to our local property tax base that supports schools and strong local services (police, fire, roads), without facing the need to constantly raise property taxes. All of these critical investments can and should serve as catalysts for reinvestment and growth in our community.

The facilities are traditionally low-impact attractive neighbors. The developments are high quality with appealing landscape buffers. They make less noise than the ambient background sound that already exists in our environment, and they produce less traffic than a standard commercial office building. Rather than traditional heavy industry which our community is accustomed to, these developments more so resemble the advanced manufacturing growth taking place at Van Wert’s Vision Industrial Park with TechniPlex Consumer Product’s new $40 million facility and Alliance Automation’s recently constructed 80,000 square-foot building.

Data centers do not use well water, and they will not discharge into our groundwater or ditches. They are no longer high-volume water users as the modern facilities have developed more sophisticated and lower impact cooling processes, and thus they will not impact our significant municipal water systems.

Change is hard and there are tradeoffs with any new development. That is why any large site will require responsible community planning to ensure these projects end up in the right location with the appropriate attributes, helping us maintain and build strong communities. We must require appropriate height restrictions, setbacks, and landscape buffers to help the projects fit into our communities and ensure they remain good neighbors. Let’s take this opportunity to plan and shape these developments now rather than scrambling after the fact.

These facilities do require energy, but these needs can be accommodated with low-impact, clean facilities fueled with natural gas. In the long term, these facilities can produce energy from zero-emission hydrogen as technology matures.

Our region has a choice. We can continue to manage slow regional decline or take the needed steps to welcome an entire new sector and diversify our economy. Successful communities seize and shape an opportunity when it is presented.

Let’s not let this window close. Let’s create new opportunities for our children and grandchildren to succeed – opportunities that offer high-paying jobs with long-term, viable futures – all built within a community providing an affordable cost of living with all the amenities to enjoy the high quality of life found in most any city.

We owe it to our community and our future to explore this opportunity together.

Editor’s note: Dean Monske is the President and CEO of Regional Growth Partnership, the lead economic development organization serving Toledo and the other 17 counties of northwest Ohio.