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Columbus Business First
New aquatics center, commercial development coming to Delaware County
A new development anchored by an aquatics center is moving forward after Berlin Township officials approved a revised plan. <\p> Buckeye Swim Club's competitive training facility received unanimous support from township trustees, who voted in favor of revisions to the original development plan at a recent meeting. The approval sets the stage for the project to begin construction this year and open in fall 2025. <\p>
Cereal maker closing its Lancaster plant
A Central Ohio cereal plant is closing this October.<\p> Post Consumer Brands, according to a notice filed with the state, will wind down business at its 3775 Lancaster-New Lexington Road SE facility in Lancaster this fall. <\p>
Luxury home prices hit a new high
The U.S. luxury housing segment has bucked some of the trends affecting the rest of the residential real estate market, in large part because those buyers and sellers are less affected by affordability issues.<\p> But like the broader housing market, luxury homes continue to see a surge in prices. In fact, luxury home prices hit a new high in the second quarter of this year, with a typical home in the category selling for $1.18 million, an 8.8% increase from the same quarter last year, according to Redfin Corp. data.<\p>
Heartland Bank's Scott McComb on future after merger
Heartland Bank will be able to serve more Central Ohio customers with larger loans as it joins a peer triple its size, CEO Scott McComb said. <\p> Keeping the brand and securing a future for growth cements the legacy of his father, Heartland founder Tiney McComb, Scott McComb told Columbus Business First.<\p>
Columbus retailer closing more stores than first disclosed
Big Lots Inc. is closing more stores than it initially announced.<\p> The Columbus-based retailer this summer said it expected to shutter between 35 and 40 stores this year while only opening three new locations.<\p>
Billion-dollar public company cuts 1,000 jobs through buyouts
AEP's "solid" first half ended with cuts. <\p> About 1,000 American Electric Power Co. Inc. employees took voluntary buyouts offered by the company as part of its "efforts to address the impacts of inflation," interim CEO Ben Fowke said in a press release. That's roughly 6% of its workforce. <\p>
What comes next in the saga of Fort Rapids
The owner of the former Fort Rapids water park may go to jail and the property could be on its way to finally being sold and redeveloped. <\p> In June, the person acting as owner of the former water park, Jeff Oh Kern, was held in contempt of court by the environmental division of the Franklin County Municipal Court for failing to bring the property into compliance with health and safety codes. <\p>
Restoration project for historic Newark building reaches funding goal
The Licking County Foundation has secured additional financing to complete the restoration of a historic Newark building. <\p> A collection of individuals, families, foundations and businesses donated more than $2.5 million for interior renovations to the Louis Sullivan building at 1 N. 3rd St. in downtown Newark. The foundation had until June 30 to raise the funds and exceeded the goal by nearly $250,000. <\p>
Central Ohio bank agrees to acquisition
Heartland Bank has agreed to acquisition by a publicly traded regional bank in Indiana for about $330 million.<\p> German American Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GABC) and Whitehall-based Heartland BancCorp (OTCQX: HLAN) announced the deal Monday after approval by their boards, according to a press release. <\p>
Southwest is adding a new nonstop flight from CMH
Editor's note: The headline of this story originally described the flight as direct. <\p> Southwest Airlines is adding a new nonstop flight from John Glenn Columbus International Airport to Miami International airport. <\p>
Three area film productions receive $3.7M in state tax credits
A TV mini-series and two feature film projects in Central Ohio are receiving nearly $3.7 million in state tax credits.<\p> Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced Monday that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program will support 17 feature films, television series and mini-series and broadway/theatrical productions across the state, for a total of $36.7 million. The tax credit program reimburses up to 30% of a film's in-state cast and crew wages and other qualified expenses. <\p>
OSU has the third most NIL deals in the country
Ohio State University ranked third in the country for the most reported NIL deals, according to a recent study.<\p> Online gaming experts from JustGamblers released a report analyzing data from March 2021 to May 2024 from NIL database On3 NIL Deal Tracker for reported name, image and likeness deals reported by college athletes.<\p>
Columbus officially adopts new zoning code
Columbus City Council has approved legislation updating the city's zoning code.<\p> The vote at Monday's meeting is the culmination of years of work to overhaul the code, which hadn't been updated comprehensively since the 1950s. <\p>
Rigging company expands to Central Ohio
A Cincinnati-based provider of rigging products and services has expanded to Central Ohio. <\p> Fulcrum Lifting announced that its newest branch is now open at 1782 Dividend Dr. in Far West Columbus. The location is the company's first in the region and fifth in the Midwest, joining its facilities in Cincinnati and Dayton, and Jeffersonville and Evansville, Indiana. <\p>
ERC moratorium could spark windfall for some businesses
Welcome to The National Observer, a roundup of top business news and actionable insights from across The Business Journals network of publications. Today, we've got stories on the challenges of Series B fundraising right now, how regulations are shaking up remote work at banks and declining foreign investor purchases of U.S. homes. First, however, let's zoom in on the potential costs for the IRS' pause on Employee Tax Credit refunds.<\p> Get more stories like these every day in your inbox by subscribing to The National Observer newsletter. <\p>
CrowdStrike outage may cost billions. Here's what businesses should do
The fallout over the global outage from a Crowdstrike update on Windows devices could measure in the billions — a stark reminder that business owners may want to revisit their insurance policies. <\p> A report by cloud monitoring firm Parametrix Insurance estimated the direct financial loss among Fortune 500 companies —excluding Microsoft Corp. — from the CrowdStrike outage that disabled computers around the world on July 19 was $5.4 billion. <\p>
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