If there’s one word that describes the city of Hilliard’s approach to economic development, it’s flexible. Make that two words: flexible and creative. In a region where multiple communities are finding success, Hilliard’s approach helps it stand out.
2020 — a year that ushered in new ways of doing business for so many — can be seen as a turning point, when a change to the council-manager form of government brought a stronger business focus to city operations and the pandemic threw up new obstacles to existing plans and traditional strategies.
If one allowed oneself a third word to describe the approach, it would be initiative. In 2020, considering a large tract of city-owned land on Cosgray Road where a major sports and recreation complex had been envisioned but no longer was considered suitable, Economic Development Director David Meadows mused, “Why don’t we rezone it and sell it for a data center?” And, he now says with appreciation, “We had city council members willing to consider it.”
Amazon Web Services (AWS), which already was in Hilliard with a data center campus on Britton Parkway, paid enough for the land for the city to use the proceeds to buy an even bigger site, nearer the city’s municipal complex. It’s now the construction site for The Well, the city’s 105,000-square-foot, 22-outdoor-field health, wellness and recreation complex expected to open in mid-2025.
When AWS asked whether Hilliard might have a third data center site, the development team went to work to pave the way for a site at Scioto Darby Road and I-270 that was great for a data center but little else, due to “horrible logistics.” In Meadows’ view, there was little road frontage for ingress and egress and a low elevation, with outerbelt traffic zooming by on the overpass. The city brought in AEP to proactively tackle due diligence work such as wetland and soil-bearing studies. It was a valuable time-saver for AWS, which closed on the property (now under construction) just ahead of its deadline, on New Year’s Eve 2020.
Meadows stresses that Hilliard is happy to learn from peer cities and adopt tactics that are proven successful. A talk by New Albany Community Development Director Jennifer Chrysler on the value of having site prep and design work done “before the big fish comes calling” was inspirational, he said. Hilliard also followed the lead of other central Ohio communities in forming a public-private partnership to build a fiber-optic cable network.
Owning “the wires” of connectivity freed users of the city network, which includes all Hilliard schools, from the limitations of single-carrier control, giving them not only better bandwidth but leverage to negotiate better rates from providers.
Just as important, the city fiber network helped pave the way for what may be Hilliard’s most innovative economic development enterprise: City Lab, a program of grants, incentives and assistance aimed at boosting startups that, as they succeed and grow, will be likely to make their permanent home in Hilliard.
City Lab’s most concrete manifestation is Converge Technologies, a tech incubator located in the building where auto racer Bobby Rahal once had his auto shop. “What better place for R&D?” Meadows asks. Now, the space is operated (in partnership with the city) by two co-founders who previously ran Ohio State University’s tech incubator, the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence. With 27 grants issued so far (15 in 2024 alone), the Converge space on Lyman Drive is full and the city, following its take-initiative playbook, recently purchased 120 acres on Davidson Road to create space for companies that have “graduated” from City Lab and are ready to establish longer-term headquarters.
Along with space, shared equipment and cash grants, City Lab companies benefit from a city administration focused on providing whatever they need to succeed, including access to expertise. “Hilliard is not a big bureaucracy,” Meadows said. “We have an entrepreneur mindset. We’re not, ‘You meet us at our process.’ We ask, ‘How can we help you?’ at the very beginning.”
The help goes two ways, with many City Lab companies testing their products and services via demonstrations on city property. Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), which is building both a new manufacturing plant and a new world headquarters in Hilliard, donated $500,000 worth of drainage pipe to the recreation center project. The Well will serve as a demonstration site for ADS, with a state-of-the-art drainage system designed to protect the nearby Big Darby Creek, designated a state and national Scenic River.
A City Lab company helps maintain the splash pad playground at the Hilliard’s Station Park downtown. Another, based on an idea from the police department, is working to develop a virtual air traffic control system that could garner Federal Aviation Administration authorization for drones to be operated beyond a direct line of sight. “The whole city is open as a lab for companies,” Meadows said.
In all, more than $3 billion in investment is underway along Hilliard’s portion of I-270 and city employees are all in, Meadows said. When the administration invited employees recently to join a “city ambassador” initiative to help welcome and take care of prospective new businesses, 40 people signed up. “Up and down the chain, we’re excited as a community to be doing what we’re doing.”
