DAYTON — Commissioners voted to spend $6 million to jumpstart a project they say will transform the gateway to Downtown Dayton.
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The 38-acre site is located on the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
The onMain development is a partnership between the University of Dayton and Premier Health.
The site needs sewer, electrical upgrades, and even roads.
“There is no infrastructure throughout the site, to support development, so there’s $20 million of infrastructure,” Shelley Dickstein, Dayton city manager said.
Dickstein said city commissioners voted to approve almost $6 million as their contribution to the infrastructure upgrades.
The state of Ohio will be the first and maybe biggest partner.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Ohio will put in $35 million to bring a digital innovation hub to the corner of Main and Stewart Streets.
That facility will partner with the UD Research Institute, Wright Patterson Airforce Base, and others to do artificial intelligence and other high-tech work.
“The phase one will start building some really important momentum and that’s key for the redevelopment to continue,” Dickstein said.
Renderings show different hubs that will be included in the finished development.
Dickstein said that could take decades.
“As soon as they can, they’re going to start turning dirt,” Dickstein said.
Work on the underground infrastructure could begin right after the first of the year.
The first phase, the digital innovation center, is projected to cost $121 million and be finished in 2031.
News Center 7 will continue to update this story.
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