Civil and Municipal - Mar 2023

73 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 CI T Y OF CLAY TON, OHIO “That’s approximately an $80 to $100 million project that is going to see an influx of anywhere between 150 to 200 new residential units, which is really going to drive the potential that was originally seen at that location. We’re really excited about that,” Kuntz says. With a mix of housing styles, The Village of North Clayton will feature high end apartments targeting young professionals along with townhouses, custom single-family homes and pocket neighborhoods, with shared community spaces, along with commercial areas. Currently, Clayton’s major employers are Caterpillar and Northmont City Schools, along with a wide selection of small local businesses and service providers. The city is working to bring new industry, attracting companies like Roadstar Trucking, a Canadian trucking company, who have recently purchased a six-acre tract with plans to bring their operations to the US. “In terms of access to the interstate system, it’s an ideal location for trucking or logistics,” Kuntz acknowledges. “Also, our access to the Dayton International Airport really lends itself to manufacturing, logistics, and all those industrial types of uses.” With the goal of being open in 2023, Roadstar will be employing 15-25 people to start. “It really represents the city of Clayton as an ideal location,” he suggests. “There’s a lot of activity going on around the Dayton airport right now in terms of manufacturing and logistics. We’re located only six minutes from the airport, but the cost of living and the cost of doing business is cheaper.” In an effort to attract more of this type of business, the City of Clayton has streamlined its zoning and permitting processes and transitioned to its own building department, which previously was part of Montgomery County. “We are going to cut down the red tape, probably by about 75% in terms of timeframes. By doing business in the city of Clayton, we hope you find a pro-business community and staff that is willing to work with end users to get their product out to market as quickly as possible. We think Roadstar Trucking is going to be that first business that demonstrates how quickly we can get these projects to the finish line, and really demonstrate what the city of Clayton is all about,” Kuntz asserts. On the subject of workforce training, Kuntz reports that Miami Valley Career Technical Center (MVCTC), and the MVCTC Adult Education Center are valuable resources for the city, while Sinclair Community College also provides vital workforce training opportunities. Montgomery County’s award winning BusinessFirst! Program also provides countless resources for new and existing businesses in Clayton, including the