Rolling into this Friday, I could not help but think about how fast summer is moving. Part of me believes it’s because of how lackluster May’s weather was. The other part of me says that if September is a warm month (70+ degrees on average), then I will forgive May for its misbehavior.

My wife and I took advantage of the warm weekend this past Saturday and moseyed up to The Orchard in Catawba Island, Ohio. What a fantastic restaurant. It almost feels insulting calling it a restaurant because it is much more than that. They have truly branded themselves as a destination. If you have not been, I encourage you to check it out. And do yourself a favor, order the whipped hot honey feta as an appetizer.

Before we jump into this week’s edition, I want to take a moment to welcome the many new readers who joined us over the past week. A large portion of that growth came after regional media outlets began reporting on Trader Joe’s and Dick’s House of Sport coming to Westgate. If you are new here, you should know that Toledo Money readers first learned about those developments months ago (read here.) We don’t mention that to take victory laps. We mention it because it validates exactly what we are building: a publication that helps Northwest Ohio residents and business leaders understand what’s happening in our region before it becomes common knowledge. Thank you for reading, sharing, and helping us grow.

Anyways, let’s get onto the trading floor.

This week’s shoutout goes to Jacob Varner, a loyal Toledo Money reader who has been with us since the early days more than a year ago. Jacob is a Cybersecurity Analyst at The Andersons and a 2024 graduate of the University of Toledo. Readers like Jacob are exactly why Toledo Money exists. We’re building a community that brings together ambitious young professionals, experienced business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors who all care about one thing: moving Northwest Ohio forward. Thank you, Jacob, for being part of the movement and for investing your time, talent, and energy into our region.

Owens Corning | $OC ( ▲ 4.03% )

Dana Incorporated | $DAN ( ▲ 1.63% )

The Andersons | $ANDE ( ▼ 0.95% )

Owens Illinois | $OI ( ▲ 0.45% )

Welltower Inc. | $WELL ( ▲ 0.32% )

Marathon Petroleum Corporation | $MPC ( ▼ 0.16% )

First Solar | $FSLR ( ▼ 3.35% )

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority recently reached out to us at Toledo Money and invited us to learn more about the organization's role in our region. We were glad to lend an ear.

What followed was a high-level conversation about an institution that many Northwest Ohio residents have heard of, but few fully understand. While the Port Authority is often associated with ships, airports, and transportation, its work extends far beyond those visible assets and touches economic development, business financing, industrial real estate, and environmental restoration throughout the region.

Our goal with this piece is not to endorse or advocate, but rather to provide readers with a 10,000-foot view of an organization that quietly plays a significant role in shaping Northwest Ohio's economy.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority may be one of the least understood but most consequential economic institutions in Northwest Ohio.

Most residents associate the Port Authority with ships on the Maumee River or flights out of Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport. In reality, the organization operates far more like an infrastructure and economic development platform, managing transportation assets, real estate, financing programs, and increasingly, environmental restoration projects that shape the region’s long-term competitiveness.

At the center of that effort is a leadership team, led by President & CEO Thomas Winston, that spans transportation, finance, business development, and public-private partnerships, including Jason Bartschy (Loan Programs Manager), Craig Teamer (Director of Finance & Special Projects), Joe Cappel (VP Of Business Development), and Holly Kemler (Director of Communications.)

Cappel, who has been with the Port Authority since 2004, operates at the intersection of economic development, real estate, and government relations. His role often involves negotiating leases, structuring projects, assembling financing solutions, and helping businesses navigate the complexities of growth.

In practical terms, the Port Authority functions as a regional problem solver.

Its portfolio stretches across maritime, aviation, rail, commercial property, and economic development assets. The Port oversees the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport (KTOL), Toledo Executive Airport, downtown office buildings, parking systems, industrial land, and maritime facilities, while also helping businesses finance expansion projects.

At the Port of Toledo, roughly a dozen terminal operators and logistics companies load and unload ships moving commodities through one of the busiest Great Lakes ports. Toledo’s strategic advantage lies in multimodal transportation access: water, rail, interstate trucking, air cargo, and passenger rail all intersect within the region, giving businesses access to supply chain infrastructure that many similarly sized metros cannot replicate. The Toledo region also benefits from rail connectivity, interstate access, and one of Ohio’s busiest Amtrak stations.

According to a 2023 study, activity at the Port of Toledo supported approximately 7,971 jobs and $906.2 million in annual economic activity in 2022, representing an increase of nearly 900 jobs and more than $237 million in economic output compared with the prior study period. Much of that growth was attributed to industrial expansion, including the Cleveland-Cliffs direct reduction plant in East Toledo.

The airports generate their own economic weight.

A Bowling Green State University Center for Regional Development study found Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport supports approximately 2,938 jobs and more than $581 million in annual economic output, while Toledo Executive Airport contributes an additional $6.6 million and 44 jobs. Together, the airport system functions as both a passenger gateway and an industrial logistics platform.

While many residents know Toledo Express primarily through Allegiant’s Florida routes, the airport’s business model increasingly depends on cargo, aviation services, military operations, and industrial tenants.

Allegiant has maintained service at Toledo for more than two decades, and passenger service remains strategically important to the Port Authority’s long-term vision for the airport. Airport officials continue conversations with additional carriers about future service opportunities, though the economics of attracting hub-and-spoke operators remain challenging in a mid-sized market.

At the same time, major employers at the airport campus include the Ohio Air National Guard, aviation ground-support manufacturer Tronair, and logistics operators supporting air cargo movements for Grande Aire and Amazon. As a result, Toledo has become one of the top 100 air cargo airports in the country.

Tronair, headquartered at Toledo Express, occupies a roughly 300,000-square-foot facility and manufactures aircraft ground support equipment used globally, underscoring the airport’s role as an employment center beyond commercial flights.

The Port Authority’s influence, however, extends beyond transportation. One of its least visible but most powerful functions is financing.

Through programs such as:

The Port helps businesses, nonprofits, developers, and manufacturers complete projects that may otherwise struggle to move forward.

A simplified example illustrates the model: rather than forcing a company to purchase land, finance construction, and carry the full capital burden upfront, the Port Authority may acquire land, structure financing, construct a facility, and lease it back to the tenant. In some arrangements, businesses eventually acquire the property outright. In others, the Port simply reduces upfront friction and financing costs.

Its capital lease structure can also generate material savings by allowing certain construction projects to benefit from sales tax reduction on building materials while spreading payments over time. Marina Lofts on Toledo’s riverfront, as well as other private development projects, have utilized this financing structure. The program is often used to lower project costs and make developments financially viable.

The organization’s financing footprint is substantial. According to the Port Authority, since 1988, it has supported more than 950 economic development projects representing over $2 billion in investment and more than 30,000 jobs created and retained across Ohio. Companies such as The Andersons, Dana, and Owens Corning, as well as organizations such as The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo School for The Arts, and Lucas Metropolitan Housing, have participated in Port-supported financing efforts. The Andersons’ headquarters is among projects tied to Port Authority development financing.

The Port’s industrial real estate role is equally important.

At Farnsworth Business Park near Waterville, the Port Authority was invited by local leadership to help market, structure, and activate industrial land intended to broaden the municipal tax base and attract employers. The Port combines land ownership, infrastructure expertise, and financing tools to create what economic developers often call “turnkey solutions” tailored to tenant needs.

Some companies want leased facilities to preserve cash flow. Others prefer ownership. The Port Authority often customizes project structures depending on the capital profile and operational needs of the tenant.

Increasingly, the organization is entering a newer arena: environmental infrastructure.

Historically focused on transportation and financing, the Port Authority now administers large-scale restoration and remediation projects funded through public agencies and environmental partnerships.

Among the most notable examples is the restoration of Clark and Delaware/ Horseshoe Islands in the Maumee River, a roughly $13 million project supported by state and federal funding that restored wetland habitat, improved water filtration, and rebuilt islands near their historic footprint. Officials describe it as the largest restoration effort in the Maumee River watershed. The work was funded through partnerships including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Future environmental work includes wetland expansion projects designed to reduce nutrient loading before runoff reaches Lake Erie, a planned Crain Creek restoration effort, and sediment remediation initiatives in the Maumee River.

The larger story is this: the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is not merely a landlord, airport manager, or maritime operator. It is a financing engine, infrastructure manager, transportation coordinator, and increasingly a regional implementation arm for projects too large or complex for a single municipality or private company to execute alone.

In a region competing for industrial investment, logistics growth, talent, and tax base expansion, that role may be more important than most residents realize.

As a region, we may be overlooking an opportunity when it comes to creating more experiences that attract and retain working professionals and families. Strong attendance numbers are encouraging, and it’s great to see events drawing thousands of people. But raw attendance figures shouldn’t be the only metric that matters.

How do we create more places and events where young families, professionals, and long-term residents want to spend an entire evening? Places where parents can bring their children, socialize with friends, support local businesses, and feel comfortable staying for hours rather than minutes?

What are those households doing on the weekends? Are we effectively reaching them with our event marketing? Are we creating experiences they actually want to attend? Are we building destinations designed for families to gather, linger, and return to regularly?

I’d challenge us to run a survey on the events taking place across the region and find out how many working professionals and family households actually hear about them, and further, how many actually attend them. I dislike when people paint unrealistic utopian visions of Northwest Ohio. However, many opportunities are entirely realistic. We simply don’t pursue them.

Take The Orchard in Catawba for example. A beautiful 15-acre property with dining, gardens, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, beverages, and plenty of room for families. It’s packed. Nightly. That should tell us something.

People are clearly looking for places where they can spend an evening, connect with others, and enjoy an experience that extends beyond a single meal or transaction. In Toledo and the greater Toledo area, we have very few places that create that same type of experience. I’d challenge you the next time you go out to dinner to pay attention to how many families you see lingering, walking around, socializing, and making an evening out of it.

I’ll go as far as saying the closest thing we have in suburban Toledo is the Perrysburg Farmers Market. It’s branded well. It reaches families, professionals, and residents of all ages. People walk through a well-kept downtown, socialize, dine, shop, and spend time together. But that’s one evening a week for only a few months each year.

Which raises a bigger question. If working professionals and family-raising households are the future backbone of Northwest Ohio, how do we keep them here? How do we keep them employed here? How do we create more places for them to spend their money? How do we build more dining districts, gathering spaces, and weekend destinations that don’t stop at a coffee shop, but encourage people to stay, walk around, spend time together, and enjoy the experience?

The regions that win over the next twenty years will not simply be the ones with the most jobs. They’ll be the ones that give people a reason to build their lives there after work is over.

Here are a few headlines we are snacking on

For Ashley Vetter, design is the deliverable, but the real work is the idea. Ashley partners with businesses and organizations to simplify the complicated, connect the dots, and create thoughtful branding, websites, marketing, and creative campaigns. With more than 20 years of experience and a collaborative approach, she helps clients turn ideas into clear, cohesive solutions that work across all platforms. Below are just a few of the notable projects:

Whether you're launching something new, refreshing an established brand, or simply need a creative partner who can help bring clarity to your next big idea, Ashley is a trusted resource right here in Northwest Ohio.