By Paula Pyzik Scott

At the Bluffton Lions Club meeting on August 20, Dave Stratton, President and CEO of Greater Lima Region, Inc. (GLR), presented a presentation on what’s new in the world of regional planning and development. The public was invited to attend this program.

Stratton’s focus is on a part of northwest Ohio that includes Bluffton and nine counties. Bluffton is where he grew up, and the room where the Lions meet is where he was commissioned by the Bluffton American Legion to participate in the Buckeye Boys State program.

Stratton’s talk was light-hearted, and he gave the Lions plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Stratton’s audience seemed to be connected to the Allen County community, but he still managed to surprise them with this: Site Selection magazine has ranked Lima as the third-largest city in the country in terms of development among cities of similar size (34,977 in 2022) in 2023.

Of particular interest was also the list of GLR’s generational projects:

Project Gunsmoke (proposed specification building)

Redevelopment of the Allen County Home Grounds

Lima Shopping Center

Project BOSC

American Community

Project Robinson

Edco Project

Renovation of the Memorial Hall

American shopping center

Project Nadella

Perry Township

Stratton spoke about the need to bring jobs to an area where the population is shrinking. Even with very popular projects, there will always be objections to development. Stratton pointed out that a proposed Microsoft data center could bring millions of dollars in revenue to Perry Township and local schools. Some residents are concerned that the facilities would significantly alter the rural character of their surroundings.

“Have you been to downtown Lima this summer?” Stratton asked his audience. He encouraged them to visit the new Spring and Main restaurants and the Greater Lima Region Park & ​​Amphitheater. These new attractions followed shortly after the construction of a new Rhodes State College campus downtown. Around $60 million has been invested in downtown Lima by various organizations.

About Greater Lima Region Inc.
GLR’s responsibilities include developing private financial aid, intergenerational projects, workforce development, inner-city revitalization, housing and marketing.

Check out the region’s profile: https://greaterlimaregion.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Greater-Lima-Re…