March 2017 | Business View Magazine

146 147 Green, Ohio one less hurdle to overcome,” says Jessica Hyser, Green’s Community Development Administrator. “In addition, there’s poten- tial tax savings depending on the type and volume of products that they’re bringing in from overseas, or shipping out. The project is unique in the sense that we brought to- gether the private sector and multiple pub- lic agencies to develop the land. All these parties came together for a common goal. And we’re waiting for that first company to invest in the newly expanded park.” Meanwhile, the city is already home to some major corporations, including Die- bold Nixdorf, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ATMs; ASC Industries, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of water pumps; and FedEx Custom Critical, a division of the FedEx Corporation. In addi- tion, because of its close proximity to Ak- ron’s rubber industry, Green also has several tire companies’ Research and Development divisions including Hankook Tire, Kenda Tire, and Giti Tire. “We have a diverse busi- ness base, and that’s something we’ve done, strategically, to help make sure that we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket,” Hyser explains. While many older cities are busy revital- izing their downtowns, because Green is so new, it never had an actual downtown node to restore. “So to create a sense of place, over the last several years, we’ve seen a lot of development through the center of town, including medical facilities and the city’s Central Administration Building,” says Hy- ser. “And last summer, we completed the $5 million Central Park, which connects neigh- borhoods to some of these commercial de- velopments. The Park includes a community meeting room, a splash pad, an amphithe- atre, an ice skating rink in the winter, play- grounds, and walking trails.” Wayne Wiethe is the city’s Director of Planning. He explains that because Green still has a lot of open space, there is also plenty of room for infill housing. “There are six active subdivisions, and we continue to