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Economic development pitches hotel, Meridel OBJ and larger reserve in 2026 budget
Summary
Economic development staff outlined 2026 goals including a targeted Q1 groundbreaking for the Meridel OBJ phase 1 amphitheater/arena, a downtown hotel RFQ that drew four proposals, multiple affordable‑housing projects, and a proposal to raise the department’s reserve from $75,000 to $250,000 to support catalytic projects.
Nick Langford, economic development (presenting), told the Finance Committee the department's 2026 budget focuses on advancing large development pipelines and strengthening incentives for catalytic projects. He said zoning and a school compensation agreement for the Meridel OBJ project are in place and that staff are "pretty hopeful we can break some ground in quarter 1 of next year."
Langford told members the department recently issued an RFQ for a downtown hotel and received four proposals; staff intend to invite two or three teams to submit full proposals with the ultimate disposition slated to come from the county Community Improvement Corporation. He also described three affordable‑housing efforts: Greenwood Commons and Homeport (reported as having broken ground) and The Reserve at Northbourne, which he said has entitlements in place for 157 units targeted at or below 60% AMI.
On financing, Langford asked to increase the economic development reserve fund from $75,000 to $250,000, saying the larger fund would give the city flexibility to provide matching grants, gap financing and to pursue state and federal brownfield and economic development grants. He outlined recurring program costs and outreach investments — including a $25,000 travel/trade show line, a CoStar subscription to support site selection, and an annual contribution to the OWU Entrepreneur Center — and said the department has used outside consultants for site selection (GSLI) and to support incentive policy work with Baker Graydon.
Langford closed by flagging near‑term marketing and small‑business programs: a Dec. 2 Vacant Box Showcase downtown and a regional small‑business training event with 120 registrants. He said staff will return with any RFQ short‑list recommendations and that the reserve fund change would be available for council action if the committee supports it.
