S.O.A.R Business Park Begins to Take Shape with First Speculative Building

The Southern Ohio Aeronautical Regional (S.O.A.R.) Business Park located in Minford, Ohio in Scioto County is designed to attract business and jobs to the Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE) region. With the help of a $605,565 Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP) grant from JobsOhio, construction of the first speculative building began in late 2022 and is still underway. The spec building will include manufacturing, warehouse, and office space upon completion.

Scioto County, located in the OhioSE region, needed a space to attract new businesses and job creators. Several economic development organizations, including the Scioto County Board of Commissioners, the Scioto County Economic Development Office, Southern Ohio Port Authority, JobsOhio, and OhioSE partnered to plan and bring the S.O.A.R. Business Park to life with the development of the first spec building.

The S.O.A.R. Business Park is directly off State Route 823 Bypass/Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway, conveniently located near the Portsmouth Airport, and less than two hours from Columbus to the North and Cincinnati to the West, making it convenient to the entire region and other major Ohio cities. With access to an abundant talent pool and workforce and its central location to highways, the S.O.A.R. Business Park will be a sought-after landing spot for businesses.

The $5.3 million, 45,600 square foot spec building will be the first of many developments located on the site of the S.O.A.R. Business Park. Forty-two thousand square feet will be allocated for manufacturing/warehouse space, and the remaining 3,600 square feet for office space.  

Benestar Brands, an international food producer and the world’s leading producer of pork snacks, will become the first business on the site with its new tortilla chip facility. The company is expanding its footprint in Ohio and already has a manufacturing facility in Portsmouth, which will continue to run. Benestar’s expansion to the S.O.A.R Business Park is expected to bring 40 new jobs to Scioto County by 2025. JobsOhio supported the expansion with a $100,000 grant.

The President of Benestar Brands, Bruce Myers, shared his positive experience working with the state and regional partners. “We’re excited to expand our existing operations in Scioto County,” said Myers. “The region has proven to be a good business partner, receiving additional support from our partnership with OhioSE and JobsOhio. We see this as an opportunity to leverage the favorable logistics to both the Northeast and Southeast regions and leverage a local team with expertise in food production.”

The Director of the Southern Ohio Port Authority and Scioto County Economic Development Director, Robert Horton, is pleased with the local and state partnerships that have gone into the development of this first site for the park. “We’ve worked hard to get this first building going. The support of the Scioto County Commissioners, our state and regional economic development partners, and now Benestar Brands has been unprecedented,” said Horton. “This will be the first of many developments out here at S.O.A.R.”

JobsOhio is helping businesses succeed across Ohio. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our Ohio Site Inventory Program.