Have we had this many consecutive sunny days ever in NW Ohio in October? My goodness has this been great.

Big things are happening in here in NW Ohio. The American Numismatic Society is moving forward with plans to bring its world-class collection and future Money Museum to the Glass City. Meanwhile, Georgette’s Coffee continues to grow its footprint, reaching more customers through retail partnerships, including Kroger, and online sales.

A few different stories this week, but all speaking to something we like to see: organizations investing in Toledo and building something with a lasting impact.

A special thank-you to this week’s partner, Georgette’s Coffee. Owned and operated by Sunshine Communities, Georgette’s is growing its business while creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. We’re proud to partner with a local business proving that growth and purpose can go hand in hand.

Let's get into what’s happening across Northwest Ohio.

Cheers to The Standard Restaurant owners Chef Jeff Dinnebeil and Megan Dinnebeil, hands down one of the most impressive restaurants in the area. The food is phenomenal and the service feels like the scene out of Beauty and The Beast “Be Our Guest” the staff seemingly works so well as a team and never leaves you wondering where something is. Congratulations on a great restaurant!

Owens Corning | $OC ( ▲ 2.2% )

Dana Incorporated | $DAN ( ▲ 3.57% )

The Andersons | $ANDE ( ▲ 0.9% )

Owens Illinois | $OI ( ▲ 6.75% )

Welltower Inc. | $WELL ( ▲ 0.87% )

Marathon Petroleum Corporation | $MPC ( ▲ 4.77% )

First Solar | $FSLR ( ▼ 0.71% )

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 5 to mark the start of renovations to the Professional Arts Building here in Toledo. Which will become the Society’s new museum and headquarters. The ANS plans to relocate from New York City to the renovated building in 2028.

Amongst the folks in attendance for the groundbreaking were: ANS Director Ute Wartenberg Kagan, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, TMA Director Adam M. Levine, SSOE Group COO Vince DiPofi, and Roncelli Inc. COO Jereme Poxson.

This move to Toledo will allow the ANS to open a Money Museum with space for rotating exhibitions, expand K-12 and adult educational programming, grow its acclaimed research library, and build partnerships with local institutions.

Roncelli Inc. will serve as the contractor for the state-of-the-art renovation of the Art Deco building at 1838 Parkwood Avenue, known locally as the Professional Arts Building. ANS purchased it from the nearby Toledo Museum of Art in January 2026. The Museum and ANS are planning to co-host exhibitions and present joint programming. ANS also purchased a nearby storage facility being renovated under the direction of Spieker.

“I would like to express our gratitude to Roncelli and Spieker; to PBDW and SSOE, our architectural firms; to Toledo Museum of Art, the City of Toledo, and all our other partners in the area,” said Wartenberg Kagan, “We look forward to sharing our progress in the coming months with our dedicated supporters and new friends.”

Founded in 1858, the American Numismatic Society studies and promotes numismatics. With 1,300 members worldwide, ANS holds more than 800,000 coins, medals, monetary objects, and related items dating to 2000 BCE. Its library and archives hold about 100,000 books, documents, and artifacts. The Society also develops digital numismatic resources and is one of the largest publishers of scholarly numismatic research. Educational programs on coins and money are held on a regular basis.

Our team had the opportunity to sit down with ANS Director Ute Wartenberg Kagan over coffee several months ago, ahead of this announcement. We left that conversation impressed by Ute, her vision for the organization, and what she and her team hoped to bring to Toledo. Now, seeing that vision take another step forward is exciting.

Among the treasures in ANS's collection are some of the most celebrated rarities in American coinage, including an 1787 Brasher doubloon, one of the earliest gold coins produced in the United States, and an 1804 silver dollar, one of the most coveted coins in American numismatics. The Society also holds an ultra-high-relief 1907 $20 gold Double Eagle designed by renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, whose work helped redefine American coin design. These objects are more than collectibles; they offer a tangible connection to the people, politics, artistry, and economic systems that shaped history. American Numismatic Association

The opportunity extends well beyond the collection itself. A dedicated Money Museum, expanded educational programming, and partnerships with institutions like the Toledo Museum of Art could create new reasons for people to visit, learn, and spend time in the city. The renovation also brings new life to a historic Art Deco building while adding another cultural asset to Toledo's growing portfolio.

We’re grateful to Ute for taking the time to share her vision with us before this milestone, and we look forward to following the progress as ANS prepares to open its Toledo headquarters in 2028. This is the kind of long-term institutional investment that can strengthen Toledo’s cultural identity, attract new visitors, and create opportunities for the next generation. We’re excited to see what comes next.

With a developer summit approaching, Toledo is making its pitch for more private investment. But questions surrounding construction costs, labor requirements, permitting, and project timelines raise a larger question: How competitive is the Glass City when it comes to getting projects built?

Next Wednesday, October 14, the City of Toledo will bring together public officials, development partners, and private developers for its BuildToledo Developer Summit, an event centered on a straightforward ambition: moving projects from site ready to shovel ready.

The summit will highlight available development sites, financing tools, and resources intended to help developers navigate the city's approval processes.

For a community looking to attract investment, these conversations matter.

But they also raise a question worth exploring: Is Toledo becoming an easier and more economically competitive place to deploy capital, or simply doing a better job of promoting its opportunities?

Toledo has made meaningful progress in encouraging private redevelopment.

In May, the city announced 19 projects selected through its 2026 Vibrancy Initiative, supported by $630,000 in program funding and an estimated $13.5 million in associated private investment across 10 neighborhoods.

That's approximately $21 in anticipated private investment for every public dollar allocated to the program.

It's an encouraging figure, though projected investment is different from completed construction, and not every private dollar can necessarily be attributed to the public incentive. The demand is notable, too. The city received 82 applications for those 19 awards.

Meanwhile, Toledo City Council authorized another $80,000 in April for a Property Readiness Evaluation program, designed to help developers address feasibility, due diligence, and other challenges before construction begins.

The underlying strategy makes sense: reduce uncertainty early, improve project feasibility, and encourage private capital to follow.

But how effectively are these programs converting interest into completed investment?

Within developer circles, a recurring perception has emerged: building in metropolitan Toledo can be more expensive than pursuing comparable projects in other metropolitan markets.

It's an interesting observation, particularly for a region where affordable real estate and a competitive cost of living are often viewed as economic advantages.

The perceived disadvantages are attributed to several factors, including construction labor costs and availability, applicable labor requirements, permitting, and the overall time necessary to complete a project.

To be clear, this perception alone doesn't establish that Toledo is more expensive. Comparable project-level data would be needed to determine whether a measurable difference exists and what actually drives it.

But the perception is worth examining.

Developers evaluate opportunities through the lens of expected returns, capital requirements, and risk. Additional months of financing costs, uncertainty surrounding approvals, or difficulty securing qualified contractors can quickly change whether a project makes financial sense.

And there's another important consideration: The cost of building something isn't necessarily the same as its economic value once completed.

Two communities might have relatively similar construction costs, but significantly different achievable rents, property valuations, and demand.

A project that makes financial sense in a higher-rent market might struggle to generate an acceptable return in Toledo, even if construction is no more expensive.

The question is whether the total cost, time, and expected financial return are competitive with other metropolitan areas pursuing the same investment dollars.

For developers, time is money.

Property acquisition, environmental assessments, engineering, zoning, financing, and construction approvals all introduce costs before a project begins generating revenue.

Toledo's published guidance indicates commercial building-alteration plan reviews are usually completed within 30 days, while zoning changes average approximately 90 days.

Those figures represent separate approval processes, not the total time required to move a development from concept to construction. They also shouldn't be mistaken for verified performance across every project.

A development might move efficiently through building-plan review but spend months resolving financing, site conditions, or zoning matters. In other cases, incomplete applications or necessary reviews may extend the timeline.

Not every delay is attributable to city government, and not every regulatory requirement is unnecessary.

Toledo has already taken steps toward improving its processes, including an online permitting portal and pre-development meetings that connect applicants with relevant city departments.

Its long-term strategic plan also calls for streamlining permitting and development reviews in 2027, followed by a comprehensive zoning-code rewrite targeted for 2028.

These are meaningful efforts.

But they create an opportunity to ask a more difficult question: How does Toledo's entire development process compare with competing markets, from the first conversation to the day a building can open for business?

And what, if anything, would make a developer choose Toledo over another community?

Economic development is frequently measured through announced projects, projected capital investment, and anticipated jobs.

Those are useful indicators, but they tell only part of the story.

Consider a different set of questions:

How much announced investment actually reaches construction? How long does it take a project to move from initial interest to an issued permit? How do all-in development costs compare with peer metropolitan areas? And how many completed projects ultimately generate new commercial activity and recurring tax revenue?

Equally important, how much public investment was required to make those projects financially viable?

None of these questions assumes Toledo is underperforming.

Rather, they present an opportunity to demonstrate whether the city's economic development strategy is delivering measurable returns.

A clearer understanding of the development pipeline could help identify where private investors need additional support, where city processes are working well, and where resources might be better deployed.

It could also help separate perception from reality.

If Toledo is competitive, the evidence becomes a powerful tool for attracting capital. If the region faces genuine cost, timing, or return disadvantages, understanding those differences is the first step toward addressing them.

The upcoming BuildToledo Developer Summit provides an opportunity to connect capital, opportunity, and the people responsible for helping projects advance.

And that should be welcomed.

But the most interesting measure of its success will be what happens afterward.

Do developers leave with viable projects? Does new capital enter the market? Do improvements in permitting and site readiness translate into greater predictability? Can Toledo demonstrate that its overall development economics are competitive with other metropolitan areas?

And, ultimately, do more properties become productive assets supporting businesses, employment, and the city's tax base?

Toledo has made it clear that it wants more investment.

The next opportunity is demonstrating that the city isn't merely open for development, but an economically compelling place to build.

Because attracting interest is only the beginning.

The real return comes when that interest becomes an occupied building, a growing business, and an investment that makes economic sense for both the developer and the community.

Here are a few headlines we are snacking on

Georgette’s coffee, owned and operated by Sunshine Communities, continues to expand its reach. What began as a local coffee shop has grown to include wholesale coffee in local stores, expanded distribution through regional retail chains, including Kroger, and now online ordering through Shopify. Offering a variety of roasts and flavored coffees, Georgette’s is reaching more customers while creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.