DeWine visits East Liverpool, touts economic project

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio (WKBN) – Ohio Governor DeWine joined the mayor of East Liverpool to announce a $4.2 million project to renovate two buildings and spark economic growth.

The plan involves renovating the Thompson and BOSS buildings and the relocation of the corporate headquarters of True North LLC, a business consulting firm, from its current home in Chester, West Virginia.

The renovation plan is a monumental investment in the city.

“It’s the most important thing that’s happened in 50 years,” said Mayor Bobby Smith.

True North is redeveloping the BOSS Building, which currently houses the Buckey Online School of Success. The company will bring 80 jobs to East Liverpool which includes 55 existing employees and plans to add 25 new positions.

“These are not just jobs, these are careers. These are jobs that are going to allow people to make over $50,000 a year,” Mayor Smith said.

The project is getting a $700,000 boost from JobsOhio’s Vibrant Communities Grant for the $2 million project.

“We had choices to allow people just to work from home and be just like every other company or build a world-class facility that our team could actually call home,” said True North CEO Charles Bailey. “The amount of capital that’s needed for a project like this is just way beyond the means of a little company.”

An additional $600,000 will go to renovations at the Thompson Building, located on the Diamond in downtown. The $2.2 million project will feature workforce housing and retail space and will be the new home for the Buckey Online School of Success. The project will preserve 30 jobs and create at least 13 new positions.

“When people see businesses like this coming in, it starts opening up,” Mayor Smith said.

DeWine saying while many of the big projects in big cities get a large portion of the attention, smaller projects like this are also critical for Ohio.

The East Liverpool School Board also approved a tax abatement for True North. He said without that, they would not have been able to hit their financial goals.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTRF.