OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Sensing a need to spur economic development and grow its tax base, Olmsted Township recently hired Jeremy Rowan as a part-time economic development director.
“The timing is right,” Olmsted Township Trustee Jeanene Kress said. “We had interest in our properties.
“We’ve had a kind of an overall vision but we’ve got to refine that vision and get ourselves an overall long-term plan. This is the absolute best time for us to do this.”
While maintaining his current position as Brooklyn’s full-time economic development and planning director, Rowan will earn $32,000 annually working 10 hours a week for Olmsted Township.
Olmsted Township Trustee Lisa Zver previously told cleveland.com economic development was an identified resident priority tied to a 2019 effort to develop a strategic plan.
“Jeremy will be working with business retention and new business attraction,” Kress said. “He’ll also be working with our landowners. We have several that I think have parcels when aggregated might prove good for development.
“We’ll also be doing an inventory of our land, in a variety of ways, to find out where it is and how it’s zoned. The need for a professional is pretty paramount at this point.”
Rowan’s responsibilities include building a database of all vacant properties, examining the impact of economic development in the community, developing relationships with commercial developers and creating awareness of available Olmsted Township land.
Olmsted Township has hundreds of acres of land available for development, including on Lewis Road. (John Benson/cleveland.com)
The new position will also develop incentives such as tax-increment financing, build strong working relationships with current business owners and study commercial and retail zoning in order to offer improvements in the future.
“It’s exciting to work with the trustees in developing an economic development program that builds on past successes and positions the township to take advantage of future development opportunities,” Rowan said.
“The community has expressed a desire to broaden the tax base through economic development. When a community prioritizes economic development, good things usually happen. I would like to have a part in working with the elected officials and community to achieve those goals.”
In terms of where Olmsted Township currently stands with economic development related to future needs, Rowan pointed to hundreds of acres of land available for development. This includes the JEDD (Joint Economic Development District).
“This is a distinct advantage when development sites are so limited in Cuyahoga County,” Rowan said. “The township must ensure it has the policies and economic development tools to take advantage of development opportunities when they happen.”
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