by Isabella Carwile | Apr 9, 2025 | Business Expansion, Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), Events, PCED Office, Property Development, Shoutout
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release April 9, 2025
ANTWERP – Paulding County is preparing for its own future growth as major project investment takes place in surrounding counties. This week, the Powell, Ohio-based development group BMJW Investments LLC, with affiliate entity MWB Investments LLC, closed on three parcels totaling approximately 89 acres of “ready to develop” property in the northeast corner of the US24/Highway 49 intersection. This location is on the south end of the Village of Antwerp. Sitting along US24, the site is 20 miles west of Defiance, Ohio, and 15 miles east of the I-469 loop around Fort Wayne, IN. With all the growth taking place in both northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, this location has unlimited potential for future growth.
This exciting development project has been on the county’s radar since the new four-lane US24 highway opened in 2012. Since that time the Antwerp/Payne/Paulding County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) has had an option to purchase 64 acres on the north end of this property from owners Don & Elaine Benschneider. As CIC discussions with BMJW Investments began, they quickly realized that in addition to those 64 acres, they would also need to purchase the 19 acres owned by the Marlin family and 8 additional acres of property owned by the Antwerp Community Church. With both of those parcels having US24 frontage, it was critical to incorporate these parcels to maximize the development potential for the project site.
BMJW investments worked closely with the CIC and each seller to develop purchase agreements on the properties. Finally, on the last day of March 2025, the stars aligned, and the BMJW team was able to close on the entire property, totaling nearly 89 acres.
Unlike the Benschneider and church parcels already sitting in the village limits, the Marlin farm property sits in Carryall Township. The property has been a topic for discussion between village and township officials, for a while, and is expected to be annexed into the village following a review of the project by county commissioners.
Similar to other recent development projects in Paulding County, this project has been an incredible collaboration of entities from all over the county and state. Included in the project discussions were the Antwerp Village Council, CIC, Carryall Township, the Benschneider family, the Marlin Family, the Antwerp Community Church, the Antwerp Exchange Bank, the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office, BMJW Investment team, the Paulding County Commissioners and the Ohio Department of Development.
CIC President Tom VanVlerah remarked, “Having worked with so many people and groups these past years, it is a pleasure to see this project come to fruition. I’m very proud of all who worked to make this happen. Past and current members of the CIC team have invested lots of time to bring this development to where it is now. We are thankful for all the support and effort, and to BMJW Investments, and look forward to seeing the future of Antwerp possibilities.”
Currently identified as the “Antwerp Square” project in tentative development plans, the residential portion of the project will potentially begin on the north end of the property, adjacent to the Antwerp Local School complex. The CIC had previously been donated a property, along the east side of Highway 49, that connects the highway with this development property. The property was donated by Leo & Jane Stumphy and included an older outbuilding. The building was removed by Ben Kauser Excavating to make room for a new public road which was 75% funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Development. The CIC paid for the other 25% of the road infrastructure cost. The road, including curbs and adequate surface drainage, is in place and ready for use.
John Wicks, managing member of BMJW Investments, stated, “We are excited about all the potential this development project could bring to Antwerp and Paulding County. It has been a pleasure to work with the CIC, local governments, and property owners in what has truly felt like a partnership throughout our due diligence and acquisition processes. We look forward to collaborating with local and regional builders, businesses and investors to create an inspired mixed-use community”.
BMJW Investments will be looking to speak with interested building and development groups including, but not limited to, single-family residential builders, duplex and triplex builders, multi-family residential, senior living, service sector facilities and offices, light manufacturing, and retail and commercial opportunities, including a hotel, travel plaza, and restaurants.
The PCED office is currently collecting funds to update a hotel study that was completed for the region in 2019. Updating the study will put data into real, post-covid numbers and will provide the information needed for potential hotel builders to review, and decide if building the first hotel in the county in decades, can be successful.
Tim Copsey, Economic Director, added, “This type of forward thinking, collaboration and investment is what Paulding County needs. This project provides us an opportunity for overall population growth, increase in student count, and a capacity for business growth. It is exciting to get this project past the point of a dream and actually taking place. Thanks to the efforts of all involved, the potential is wide open here now!”
The development could begin construction in 2025 pending agreements with potential buyers of at least 2 subareas within the mixed-use development. For questions, opportunities or interest in the project please contact the Paulding County Economic Development office 419-399-8282.
by Office Manager | Mar 19, 2024 | Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), PCED Office, Property Development
PAULDING – The first quarter Paulding County Zoning Inspector meeting was recently held at the OSU Extension Building. Tim Copsey, Paulding County Economic Development Director, provided a brief overview of previous meetings for new attendees and shared how this meeting has developed and grown out of the quarterly county mayor meetings. This group developed in 2023 and has continued to meet as a way to bridge communication gaps and provide idea sharing and collaboration around the county. Copsey then introduced the guest speaker, the Honorable Suzanne Rister, Municipal Court Judge, to the group of township trustees, mayors, village council officials and other local officials that attended.
Judge Rister shared the legal process involved in addressing junk or trash ordinances within villages and townships. She presented stats regarding the number of cases handled by the municipal court and shared that there is a low occurrence of zoning cases across the county. Most issues are resolved through correspondence from governing agencies. The number of zoning cases presented to the court annually were: eight in 2020, two in 2021, nineteen in 2022, eight in 2023, and none so far in 2024. Only a small fraction of cases gets to the point of jailable offenses. The cases that do mainly involve repeated violations of the same code.
Judge Rister highlighted the importance of clear communication between townships and village officials and residents, stressing the need of providing detailed documentation and current evidence in zoning violation cases.
Fines collected from convictions are returned to the charging entity. Judge Rister also addressed reimbursement policies, including attorney fees, indicating her efforts to alleviate financial burden on localities in these cases.
Incite was provided for how to increase the likelihood of favorable rulings for concerned localities. Judge Rister advised that representatives from villages or townships stand alongside prosecutors during court proceedings to be a witness to the case.
Participants asked about various procedure and process aspects, such as submitting evidence and how to handle repeat offenders. Judge Rister provided clarifications on landlord responsibilities and the criteria for jailable offenses.
Prosecutor Joe Burkard followed and elaborated on strategies for addressing property cleanup, expressing the importance of thorough information and gathering photos and time stamped evidence.
Copsey followed providing updates on community cleanup efforts, highlighting recent accomplishments, and shared ongoing projects where the Paulding County Land Bank and Community Improvement Corporations are involved.
Copsey then shared a prospective new project that may aid in cutting down zoning violations. A recent investment at Kohart’s Surplus and Salvage, now provides a way to efficiently shred and recycle vehicles. A request was made to all townships and villages to have conversations with property owners that have vehicles that do not have current plates on them. If the owners are willing to sell the vehicle there is a possibility of designing a county program to purchase these cars and remove them at no cost to the owners. In order for this program to develop we need to understand the demand and interest from residents.
Attendees discussed potential ways, including local recycling events, to facilitate resident cleanup efforts and how to identify blighted properties or open lots for future redevelopment.
Sarah McCabe, with the Paulding County Auditors office, shared that the County GIS system is updated now with zoning layers for Oakwood, Antwerp, Paulding and Crane Township. This was thanks to collaboration with the Paulding County Engineers office.
The importance of continuing to improve the county GIS system was noted. It is extremely helpful when inquires for site development come into the PCED office, especially for water and sewer infrastructure mapping. All localities were encouraged to work on mapping their utilities to better streamline planning down the road.
All in attendance agreed to meet again next quarter for continued collaboration between zoning inspectors and to discuss community revitalization efforts.
by Office Manager | Dec 19, 2023 | Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), Property Development
PAULDING – The December meeting of the Paulding County Land Reutilization Committee (Land Bank) was hosted at the office of the Paulding County Commissioners.
Matt Wagner, with EPA consultant Tetra Tech, shared that the long-awaited letter of approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers has finally been received. The letter confirms that the bodies of water located on the former Stokely and Grizzley properties were man-made and are not actual designated Ohio wetlands. With this confirmation the water can be drained and the property leveled for approved future development. As the committee establishes criteria for a future excavation bidding, the current owner of the former Grizzley brake factory, Arvin Environmental Management, LLC. has committed to some property border foliage remediation and fence repair on the site.
The Paulding theatre building and adjoining Noneman building demolition will begin after the first of the year. There continues to be research in regard to an adjoining wall on the west side of the theatre with a neighboring building. Legal pieces are taking place to make sure everything is legally covered should the demolition of the wall hurt the integrity of that building. The entire project must be complete by June 2024 for the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) funding to be used. The committee and Wagner are making sure the timeline will be met.
In regard to the residential and commercial blight removal program, completed applications continue to flow in. Estee Miller, Planner with Maumee Valley Planning Organization, shared the updated list of Paulding County completed applications that have been received. The committee discussed the list and also noted the several properties that applications have been sent out but not yet received. The group understands there may be more applications this year than funds to provide remediation for all properties. The committee will begin prioritizing the list. The applications will be submitted to the state by April 1, 2024.
Miller also shared that the remaining $50,000 in funding from the first round of ODOD residential funds was approved to be used for existing projects. This allowed four more projects to be bid for remediation. These properties should see demolition work starting immediately.
Paulding County Economic Development Director, Tim Copsey updated the committee on the properties located on the Paulding County side of the Village of Scott. A good meeting with the village council provided the detailed information requested by the county health department in regard to sewer and water connections there. This should allow future new residential development on the four Paulding County Land Bank owned properties including a potential new Vantage Career Center student-built home. If all details worked out the home would not begin until the 2025-26 school year.
The committee closed out the meeting going into executive session to discuss additional properties to acquire for potential remediation. No decisions were made. The land bank will continue to accept and work with property owners looking to find relief for properties that are behind on taxes or they are struggling to maintain or keep up.
by Office Manager | Aug 30, 2022 | Community, Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), New Business, PCED Office, Property Development
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release August 29, 2022
Antwerp/Payne/Paulding County CIC chooses logo; establishes property committee
ANTWERP, OH – The Antwerp/Payne/Paulding County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) board reviewed several new logo samples this month, as the discussion of a positive branding and marketing image continues. Alex Hindenlang, an Antwerp alum, created the logos at the request of the board. Upon review and discussion, a logo was chosen and voted on with some minor adjustments requested. The logo was made with a universal feature that will also allow the other CIC groups in the county the freedom to use their current entity name in the same logo, so that residents around the county will become familiar with, and recognize the logo immediately.
The CIC board continues to watch for development opportunities around the county. The discussion this month was in regard to how the CIC might get involved with purchasing residential properties that are the right fit for getting them into the hands of future home owners, not renters. In order to have a grasp on any upcoming properties, a Property Assessment Committee (PAC) sub-committee was established by the board to oversee and find opportunities.
Board members Tyson Mowery, Denise Coleman and Antwerp Mayor Jan Reeb will head this committee with input from the other board members and any interested residents of Paulding County communities. Research will begin to get a list of properties developed for immediate review.
In other business the board:
- heard updates on current owned and option properties and their status for remediation or development. Discussion also carried into potential purchasing property with current options in place
- received an update from board treasurer Anita Bok and President Tom VanVlerah about the success of the recent state audit. Minor findings for record retention and storage were already addressed and resolved with the help of Antwerp Village Administrator Brian Davis and Mayor Jan Reeb.
- discussed gathering potential board member names to have a pipeline of contacts in place for future open positions.
The board will next meet on September 22 at 6pm at the Antwerp Depot. For immediate information or property discussions please reach out and contact the Paulding County Economic Development office at 419-399-8295.
