Special to 1831Galion

The Crawford Partnership for Education and Economic Development and Galion Port Authority announced today the first US 30 Expansion Expo event will be held on July 26 at the new industrial spec building at 1376 Brandt Road in the Galion Industrial Park. The half-day informational and community event will feature realtor education, development presentations, as well as an official ribbon cutting and media event at 3:30 p.m. that will be open to the public.

The first portion of the event is open to developers, realtors, and other economic development stakeholders and features a catered lunch at noon, realtor education session at 1:00 p.m., and a series of brief development presentations at 2:00 p.m. on available buildings, the local and regional real estate market, workforce development, the community, and incentives. Attendees can register for this part of the event at us30expo.com. Realtors must provide their license number when pre-registering.

At 3:30, the second part of the event will commence with an official ribbon cutting ceremony, marking the completion of the new 50,000 square foot speculative industrial building that is currently available for lease. This achievement represents the culmination of several years of diligent efforts since the announcement in 2020 regarding the demolition of the previous PECO II/GE facility. JBS Development, a subsidiary of the esteemed local construction firm J&F Construction, successfully carried out the demolition, cleared the site, and meticulously constructed the new building, which now stands proudly as a testament to their hard work. Refreshments will be served afterwards.

Galion Mayor Tom O’Leary expressed his satisfaction with the announcement, saying “New industrial development is key to Galion’s future, and proactively marketing the opportunities here is an important step to securing that future.”

Mark Rantala, Galion Port Authority Director, shared his excitement about the event, stating, “The US 30 Expansion Expo is a valuable opportunity for developers and realtors to explore Galion’s industrial opportunities and showcase its potential. It provides an opportunity to see immediately available speculative buildings in Galion.”

David Zak, President & CEO of the Crawford Partnership, emphasized the importance of launching the event while managing expectations for the first year. He said, “Launching the US 30 Expansion Expo is a significant milestone for us, and we have modest expectations for its inaugural year. We hope this event becomes an annual tradition, driving economic growth for all of Crawford County and the US 30 Corridor. We are grateful for the strong partnership with Galion Port Authority; City of Galion; Regional Growth Partnership; Frost, Brown & Todd; J&F Construction; and many other partners, whose contributions have been invaluable.”

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