Taft lays solid foundation for high-tech in the Valley

As he prepares to leave office, Gov. Bob Taft is obviously thinking about his political legacy, and while he can point to many things he has done in the past eight years to make Ohio better, the one that probably gives him the greatest satisfaction is his Third Frontier initiative.
That's because it is forward-looking -- designed to make the state a player in the highly competitive, global high-technology sweepstakes. In November 2005, Ohio voters authorized state government to issue up to 2 billion in bonds to provide seed money for high-tech businesses, assist local governments in developing sites for industry and business and to finance road and highway construction.
That vote sent a strong message around the nation and the globe that Ohio is ready to play.
A similar message is contained in the governor's steadfast support for the expansion of the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown. The growing information technology cluster along West Federal Street is evidence of the incubator's success. But with such success comes a challenge: To persuade companies that are incubated to remain in the downtown area.
Thus, the construction of a market ready, fully wired office building called the Youngstown Technology Center adjacent to the business incubator. The project carries a 5.75 million price tag, of which 3.5 million is coming from the state. The rest is from the federal government.
The state funding is the result of Taft's making the project a top priority for this administration.
Taft's commitment to downtown Youngstown as a center for high-technology activity doesn't stop there. He has earmarked an additional 2.75 million from the forthcoming biennial capital budget for the third phase of the incubator's expansion.
The capital projects bill is making its way through the General Assembly and is expected to be passed by the end of the week.
Major earmark
The 2.75 million would enable the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., which is spearheading the YBI expansion, to pursue creation of 41,957 square feet of technology and support space and 80 parking spaces.
Two buildings, Wells and Semple, would be readied for use by technology and related support services, while two others, Armed Forces and State Theater, will be demolished. The facade of the State Theater would be retained.
On the heels of the announcement that Gov. Taft had earmarked 2.75 million for the high-tech initiative in Youngstown, M7 Technologies, a machine shop in the city-owned Ohio Works Park, let it be known that it is interested in establishing a high technology operation in the Wells Building.
Taft's 2.75 million is the kind of investment of state money that opens the door for future funding from Columbus and Washington.
Indeed, the governor embraced the latest expansion after learning that the Youngstown Technology Center will be home to Turning Technologies, one of the hottest high-tech companies in the state.
Turning is currently located in the Youngstown Business Incubator, but it is growing so fast and its global reach is expanding so quickly that it needs office space to make its move seamless. The technology center is designed to do that.
Gov. Taft, through his unflagging support for the Youngstown Business Incubator, has laid a solid foundation for high-technology in the Mahoning Valley. We are confident that his successor, Ted Strickland, a Lisbon resident and 6th District congressman, will recognize the importance of continued support for such endeavors.