The Mall will also be on the ballot in November looking for the addition of a liquor license to allow for some new faces – including a brewhouse and restaurant – to join the lineup at the outdoor mall.
Great to see new additions coming in to reverse the trend of stores leaving as the pandemic continued to take its toll on the retail sector.
smartasset.com recently evaluated 494 small cities located near a big city and ranked Delaware, Ohio, as the third-best in the nation.
smartasset.com has named Delaware, Ohio, as the third-best small town near a big city in the nation.
Wordy title. But still a cool distinction.
smartasset.com evaluated every community on three factors – jobs, affordability, and livability – and then ranked the 494 communities based on those criteria. Brownsburg, Indiana was first, followed by Hebron, Kentucky in the two communities that out-paced Delaware.
The first two were seen as much more affordable than Delaware. In fact, Delaware was only in the top-10 of the livibility score category.
Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis communites dominated the top-10. With every community located within those metro markets. Other Columbus communities to make the list included Johnstown (7) and Canal Winchester (8).
Methadology According to smartasset.com
Definitions of suburbs according to population constraints vary, but for the purposes of our study, we considered neighboring suburbs with a population between 5,000 and 100,000. This left us with 494 suburbs, which we compared across three categories and a total of 13 metrics:
Jobs. For our jobs score, we considered five metrics: median household income, five-year income growth, 10-year employment growth, job diversity and unemployment rate. Job diversity measures the variety of industries available in a place using the Shannon index. Data for all metrics comes from the Census Bureau’s 2020 5-year American Community Survey.
Affordability. For this score, we looked at housing costs relative to income, home value-to-income ratio, average effective property tax rate and estimated annual cost of living for an individual. Data for the first three metrics comes from the Census Bureau’s 2020 5-year American Community Survey. Cost of living figures come from the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
Livability. This includes the high school graduation rate, dining and entertainment establishments as a percentage of all establishments and violent and property crimes per 100,000 people. Data comes from the 2022 County Health Rankings and the Census Bureau’s 2020 5-year American Community Survey. Crime data comes from the FBI and is for 2020; missing crime data was supplemented by NeighborhoodScout.com.
In our book Delaware is number one; but number three is pretty cool too.
There will soon be another banking option in Delaware County and Delaware, Ohio. Heartland Bank has announced it will open a new location on US 23.
The location is planned to be at 1754 Columbus Pike, which is in the Delaware Community Plaza, and will join such businesses as Harbor Freight, Starbucks, Huntington, Wendy’s, and many others. Construction is slated to begin mid-September with a one-year build timeline.
The Full Press Release
Heartland BancCorp, the parent company of Heartland Bank, today announced that a nineteenth Heartland Bank branch will be located at 1754 Columbus Pike in Delaware, Ohio. With a groundbreaking planned for mid-September of 2022, this branch will be situated in the Delaware Community Plaza. The style will mirror the universal branch model in several current locations and include a night drop, drive-thru, and ATM. The space is being designed to include a community room for small gatherings and casual meetings. Plans currently suggest a twelve-month construction timeframe with an anticipated open date in the late summer of 2023.
“Delaware County has been on our radar for quite a while, and we are very excited to bring our brand of community banking to the county seat. The achievements that the City of Delaware and Delaware County along with the surrounding community have been able to achieve are remarkable. We look forward to playing an active role in the future of Delaware County,” stated G. Scott McComb, chairman, president and CEO.
About Heartland BancCorp
Heartland BancCorp is a registered Ohio bank holding company and the parent of Heartland Bank, which operates 18 full-service banking offices and TransCounty Title Agency, LLC. Heartland Bank, founded in 1911, provides full-service commercial, small business, and consumer banking services; professional financial planning services; and other financial products and services. Heartland Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve, a member of the FDIC, and an Equal Housing Lender. Heartland BancCorp is currently quoted on the OTC Markets (OTCQX) under the symbol HLAN.
In May of 2022, Heartland was ranked #112 on the American Banker Magazine’s list of Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks and Thrifts based on a three-year average return on equity as of December 31, 2021.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current views of future events and operations. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company as of the date of this release. It is important to note that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the Company to implement its strategy and expand its lending operations.
Main Street Delaware announced today that Courtney Hendershot will join the organization on July 5 as its new executive director.
Hendershot
Hendershot currently is the economic development project manager for the City of Delaware. In the role, she assists existing businesses in expansion and retention efforts. Hendershot also helped the downtown district to secure more than $350,000 in pandemic-related grants aiding 49 businesses.
“The Main Street Delaware Board of Directors is excited to welcome Courtney as our new executive director,” said Jeff Kirby, board president. “We are confident her commitment and skills will help us to continue to move the downtown forward even as we preserve and celebrate the past.”
Beyond Hendershot’s experience in economic development, she has past experience with Main Street communities. She came to know and understand what Main Street organizations mean for a city and downtown after college when she worked for Downtown PKB, a Main Street community in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Her experience there included event planning and promotion, securing sponsorship, and fundraising, as well as marketing and social media management.
Hendershot graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in Marketing and Social Media.
She said she is committed to continuing to make Downtown Delaware a vibrant place for everyone while looking to further support downtown business and continue growth.
“Being a part of the community during such a hard time and trying to find my footing during the pandemic, has really allowed me to see all the potential of our downtown.
Courtney Hendershot
“I am excited to start a new venture within the City of Delaware,” Hendershot said. “Being a part of the community during such a hard time and trying to find my footing during the pandemic, has really allowed me to see all the potential of our downtown. I am fortunate to be able to continue working with such a wonderful Board of Directors, Caroline, volunteers, and downtown businesses.”
As it solidifies its leadership team, the Main Street Board of Directors also is promoting current program coordinator Caroline Pusateri to program director effective immediately. Pusateri joined Main Street Delaware in 2018 as an office assistant and become program coordinator in 2019.
“Caroline’s work is evident in every successful event that Main Street holds, and we are pleased to recognize her focus and creativity with this well-deserved promotion,” Kirby said. “Downtown Delaware is in good hands with Courtney and Caroline collaborating to make the area as successful as it can be.”
The store, located at 188 East William Street just east of the walking bridge tracks in downtown Delaware, Ohio, will be having Dos Hermanos Taco Truck and corn hole for those that stop by.
Heritage Cooperative Inc. announced they have exercised the option to purchase the feed, grain, agronomy, and retail assets of Witmer’s Feed and Grain Inc of Columbiana, Ohio.
This includes Millstone Farm and Garden and the Witmer Feed, Edge™, and Show It™ Feed brands that are licensed and currently selling throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Maryland. Witmer’s Feed and Grain was established in 1978.
Witmer’s Feed & Grain was acquired by Delaware Ohio-based Heritage Cooperative.
“This proposed acquisition aligns with our goal of continued diversification of the business, while specifically enhancing feed production and operations throughout Ohio and in surrounding states,” said Jeff Osentoski, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Cooperative.
“The Witmer Feed and Grain management team runs a terrific business and the company’s employees operate it superbly. I am confident that the addition of the feed, grain, agronomy, and retail operations will benefit Heritage and Witmer customers immediately,” continued Osentoski.
“As a member of the Heritage Cooperative team, I am personally excited to continue to serve Witmer’s Feed and Grain customers and to provide additional opportunities for employees,” stated Mike Witmer, President of Witmer’s Feed and Grain, Inc. He continued, “Our vision and values align well with Heritage and together we will provide superior customer service and efficiencies with this strategic alignment.”
The acquisition is expected to close on June 30, 2022.
