Columbus Ohio – Rust Belt Becomes Recovery Belt
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Steve Steinour who coined the term ‘recovery belt’ after arriving in Columbus five years ago to head up then struggling Huntington Bancshares. I think he’s been thoroughly impressed with the breadth and depth of not only Columbus and Central Ohio’s recovery , but Ohio as a whole.
“We had our challenges, to be sure – we did at Huntington, we did in the state,” , Steinour said Monday at a Columbus Rotary meeting. “But, in a relatively short period of time, Ohio’s performance is stunning. And it’s leading the country – you don’t hear this Rust Belt nonsense anymore.”
Steiner has also been impressed with Ohio’s manufacturing recovery, especially Honda. He said manufacturing boasts economic multipliers of 2 to 1 and for vehicles it’s 7 to 1.
Plus Columbus is becoming an attraction for young professionals right up there with the best in the nation. “You can see the city transitioning in many respects, but certainly the younger dynamic that’s going on,” he said. “You walk around the Short North on Friday or Saturday and you could be in Chicago or Cambridge, or any magnificent urban city that kids like. We have it, and many cities don’t.”
We have plenty of new development coming online in 2015 and 2016 to absorb some of the Columbus real estate for sale and lease need with new triple net retail and restaurant space. We also need addition industrial / warehouse space all around the city similar to what we have at Rickenbacker.
