17 Ohio counties could be affected by $170 million New Concord redevelopment project

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include a comment from East Muskingum Schools.

NEW CONCORD — Mayor Jennifer Lyle was clear: Regardless of whether the Ohio Department of Development awards the Appalachian Ascent Consortium project its request for $120 million, New Concord is in for a serious makeover.

“If this (grant money comes in), it’s going to be fantastic,” said New Concord’s first female mayor of the expected announcement of the ODD’s Appalachian Community Grant Program grant awardees in the next few weeks. “But in the meantime, I’m working on all my Plan Bs to get it done anyway.”

Lyle, who ran on a platform of economic development to secure her second term beginning this year, is referring to a proposed $170 million redevelopment project to turn downtown New Concord and its surrounding areas into a new tourism corridor.

Specifically, to “establish Southeast Appalachia as the Midwestern United States ecotourism destination centered on the Wilds, with all visitors and residents benefiting from a culture of healing, restoration, and wellbeing,” according to the grant application obtained by The Times Recorder from the ODD.

The grant application was submitted in December by Muskingum University’s AVP for Finance and Controller Kevin Brown, and is requesting $120 million. The other $50 million is coming from partner resources, according to the application. Additional details were redacted.

The primary community partners listed on the application are Muskingum University, the Village of New Concord, East Muskingum Local School District, The Wilds, and Connect Real Estate. It also states that 17 counties will be directly impacted including Adams, Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Harrison, Hocking, Guernsey, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Washington. It adds that all 88 Ohio counties will be impacted by the development of the ecotourism corridor.

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If the grant is awarded, work would begin immediately with a projected end date on the application stating Oct. 31, 2026.

Money is the biggest driver for the changes coming to New Concord, said Lyle.

Over the years, growth in the Village has been stalled by a lack of taxes. In New Concord, Lyle said the coffers are filled mostly from income tax, not property tax. That’s because so much of New Concord’s property is tax-exempt for Muskingum University and the East Muskingum School District.

“If we could enlarge our income tax base by having private industries come in, that would assist us in building our tax base,” she said.

“New Concord has a lot of potential,” said Lyle, who moved to the area when she was a child and graduated from John Glenn High School. “Change is inevitable no matter what you do. I’d rather be in a position to make the change happen, then let it just happen to us.”

That change is wide-sweeping, according to the application, which gives the public a peek into what local partners are planning for New Concord and surrounding areas in the near future.

While the changes are dependent on how much, or if, they are awarded the grant money, Lyle is stoic: redevelopment is coming to New Concord, one way or the other.

Other grant and funding opportunities are already being actively pursued to keep this redevelopment train moving, she said, from housing to restaurants, and everything in between.

New Concord Elementary

New Concord Elementary (formerly the historic New Concord High School) is the epicenter of the redevelopment efforts in New Concord. The building is set for “adaptive reuse and will be used by the Village of New Concord for community events, leveraging nearby parks and parking lots,” according to the application.

Lyle said adding gathering areas, which many communities offer in the form of a community center, are necessary.

“If you live or work here and you’re trying to put together a gathering for 50 to 100 people, we want to make sure you have a place to do that,” she said.

And those spaces would ideally be mixed-use areas of retail, food, entrepreneurial/coworking, and residential spaces, according to the application.

“We’d work with the school district (when we start redeveloping New Concord Elementary),” said Bob Lamb, Executive VP of Development of Connect Real Estate.

It is not decided where students at New Concord Elementary will attend classes, but the district is aware of the grant and is prepared to respond should it be awarded."If the Appalachian Community Grant is awarded and Connect Realty moves forward with its plan East Muskingum Schools will have an educational plan in place for the 2024-25 school year for the students who attend New Concord Elementary,” said Superintendent Dave Adams. “The East Muskingum Local School Board has taken no formal action on this matter.”But should the grant come through, Connect already knows what they want to do.

“From the Connect viewpoint, we are looking at downtown New Concord and historic redevelopment of Main Street,” said Lamb. “We’re focused on new commercial and residential opportunities overall.”

Diversity of housing

Housing is one of the key issues being addressed by the Ascent project.

“Diversity of housing is something we need in New Concord,” said Lyle. She noted the lack of senior housing, young professionals housing (apartments or condos), housing for Muskingum educators, and housing for businesses who want to expand here but need residential for their employees. “We need housing options, and we’re seeking ways to provide them.”

The application states that, if awarded in full, one of the grant’s outcomes is that “80 housing units will be constructed (50) or rehabbed (30) by Connect Real Estate,” including “a new building with twenty new residential units.”

And once more people live in New Concord, they need something to do, said Lyle.

Restaurants, retail and healthcare

“We need more things going on,” said Lyle. “Like more restaurants. Dinner restaurants, especially.”

For a long time, that dream was near impossible. New Concord was a dry town, and dinner restaurants didn’t have much incentive to start up here, as most of them rely on alcohol to bolster sales. After a law was passed in the village allowing Riesbeck’s to obtain a permit to sell beer and liquor, voters then allowed for alcohol to be sold in a restaurant setting.

“They voted yes by a large margin, so it was very exciting,” said Lyle of last year’s measure. “There are absolutely people who are interested (in bringing dinner restaurants) to New Concord.”

Lyle said such amenities are one way to spur economic development in New Concord. She counts Orme Hardware, the Genesis New Concord Pharmacy, Riesbeck’s Food Markets, Dairy Duchess, Genesis HealthCenter, and other like businesses, as essential amenities, too, that can be built upon.

According to the application, if all the money were awarded and the changes made, 22 New Concord businesses would be impacted and eight new businesses would be created by Oct. 31, 2026. In that same time frame,

“Revenues Increase/Non-Export Sales” would increase by $39,062 within New Concord, the application reads.

Healthcare especially, was noted in the application as an essential need. It read that expanding Genesis HealthCenter services helps to increase “healthcare access in a region that is medically underserved, as evidenced by U.S. Health Resource Service Administration designating four of the project counties as being medically underserved (Adams, Meigs, Monroe, and Scioto) and Muskingum County’s 2022 designation as a state Health Professions Shortage Area.”

According to the application, “Genesis Healthcare will relocate to expand its urgent care and double its primary care center footprint,” which will bring six new jobs and serve or improve healthcare for 23,138 patients in the region, if the grant is improved and all changes implemented by October 2026.

The new center will: “expand access to services through new healthcare professionals and job creation, expanded urgent care hours, new virtual medical specialist telemedicine accessible in primary care offices, and new community spaces, including those used for behavioral and mental health services,” according to the application.

But redevelopment can’t just be functional, including “water and sewer modernization,” according to the application —it has to look good, too.

Curb appeal

If you’ve ever been to downtown historic Dublin or Granville, both just outside of Columbus, then you’ve already gotten a glimpse into what the vision for New Concord is.

“Dublin’s an amazing community,” said Lamb. “They’ve managed to keep that historic nature while bringing in the new. That’s what we’d be looking to do.”

Lyle, who left New Concord and landed in New York before coming back, agrees.

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“There’s more we can do here than has even been done already,” said Lyle, who added preserving the historical aspects in New Concord is a requirement. “I don’t need New Concord to be Dublin or Granville, but we can take what they do and apply that here.”

That means preserving and highlighting historic treasures such as the John and Annie Glenn Museum, the “S” Bridge, and the Harper Cabin, among others, with things like “wayfinding signage,” according to the application, while also updating New Concord’s overall look and feel, starting with the crosswalks.

“We want it to be pedestrian-friendly with nice gathering places, restaurants, and storefronts that are appealing,” said Lyle. “In the (grant application), the Village’s part is focused on streetscapes. What can we do to enhance things? We can enhance the crosswalks, increase them. Spiff them up a bit for everybody’s benefit.”

The idea to make New Concord’s Main Street a vision of beauty and charm, all comes back to one thing: Tourism.

The outdoor life = tourism dollars

“We could become a stronger tourism destination than we have been,” said Lyle.

She points to the one thing New Concord and surrounding areas have in spades—the great outdoors.

“People walk here a lot,” said Lyle. “If we could make it even friendlier for walking, we could make it better. Improve walking and add some trails wherever possible.”

According to the application, the Village of New Concord will “reimagine open spaces, recreational amenities, and regional trail connections.”

It intends to connect natural assets in New Concord with those of “the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Muskingum Watershed Conservancy” and that are “accessible for ecotourism, recreation, and ecotherapy,” according to the application.

The Wilds will be heavily involved with the creation of trails and other natural elements, according to the application.

“Our role in the grant centers around an education center, potential lodging, and trail and fishing enhancements,” said Nicolle Gómez Racey, VP of Communications and Marketing for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, which also runs The Wilds.

The application said The Wilds is the “anchor of the ecotourism aspect of the project” and will “redesign lakes, footpaths, and waterways for recreational use.”

If all goes well and the grant is awarded in full, The Wilds will see “Revenues Increase/Non-Export Sales” of $13,194,393 (within first year), according to the application.

Additionally, Lyle is searching for grant money for a new community pool.

“I really believe in swimming and outdoor activities,” said Lyle. “Especially in a semi-rural area, where it’s important to have as many recreational activities for children and adults as possible.”

Those beliefs are what she feels makes New Concord a prime geographical location for this grant to create an ecotourism corridor.

According to the application, “Ecotourism is a growing and economically promising industry.”

It also states that New Concord “can position itself as an ecotourism hub to attract more outdoor businesses like those that provide guided recreation, interpretive naturalism programming, and outdoor equipment sales and rentals, alongside more general hospitality businesses like cafés, restaurants, and hotels.”

It continues that other avenues for investment include “renewable energy, eco-friendly, and sustainability-focused businesses, nature retreats, and other niche services.”

Job creation and workforce development

The focus on an ecotourism industry is driving the redeveloping of the infrastructure towards job creation and retention, which means New Concord and surrounding areas need an educated and eco-friendly workforce.

That’s where Muskingum University comes in.

“Muskingum's role in the grant focuses primarily on educational opportunities and workforce development,” said Michelle Shaver, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications.

According to the application, “Muskingum University’s Boyd Science Center is in Muskingum County, and capital improvements will be made there.”

Those capital improvements are extensive and are a deeply collaborative effort with local colleges, the East Muskingum school district, and The Wilds to create a Conservation Hub.

According to the application: “Renovations to Boyd Science Center will produce a dynamic 21st-century STEM conservation hub providing state-of-the-art programming aligned with workforce development needs. It will virtually connect the University with The Wilds and educational organizations for collaborative, innovative learning experiences.”

The Wild’s will also build a new Interpretive Center in conjunction with the Conservation Hub at the University that will “host guest speakers, workshops, and seminars as additional educational opportunities for the Muskingum community,” according to the application.

The renovations to Boyd Science Center are expected to impact delivery of five education pathways: Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Conservation and Environmental Science, Healthcare, and Hospitality, Retail, and Ecotourism, according to the application.

Muskingum is also hoping to remove one critical barrier to education — childcare.

According to the application, they’ll work with the Coalition of Appalachian Development and other partners, “to address a critical childcare shortage in the region.”

A full grant approval with changes made by Oct. 2026, would see Revenues Increase/Non-Export Sales by $1,648,500 at Muskingum, according to the application.

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“There are so many things that make New Concord an inviting location,” said Lamb. “A good school district and a small-town feel, coupled with a university that’s a leader in the region and the state really drive that community feel.”

Lyle agrees and admits that part of New Concord’s excellent quality of life is rooted in its charm and appeal, which stems specifically from the fact that it’s small — she argues that’s also exactly what’s preventing it from growing, even a little bit.

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“I would venture to say not everyone is on board,” she said of her analysis and the economic development she’s trying to rustle up. But she’s hopeful that sentiment is changing, especially with the formation of the Friends of New Concord nonprofit.

“It is there specifically to raise money to help the community grow,” said Lyle. “This group put on an event last fall called Community Day. It was an incredible success. It’s going to happen again on Labor Day weekend this year. I see that as a sign that people are buying into the possibility of change.”

And make no mistake, change is coming. Lyle loves this community too much to let it fall off the map, she said.

“Everything is with an eye towards economic development, and how can we make it better,” said Lyle. “New Concord is one of those communities that can appeal to so many people in different stages of life. It’s a wonderful place to live, work, and play. And we want to enhance that even more than it already is.”