FORT LORAMIE — For the village of Fort Loramie, 2016 was a year of growth and change.
“The downtown area is taking on a new look and the industrial and residential areas of the village continues to grow,” said Mayor Randy Ahlers. “The village has issued over $5.3 million in building permits this past year. In addition to these changes, a new park is on the horizon for future use.”
His report continues:
The downtown got a new look in 2016. The vacated Seger’s Restaurant/Hotel was demolished in August. This will allow the town to add a turn lane on North Main Street. The rest of the land will be used for green space. On the Southwest corner, Vogelsang’s Restaurant and the Eilerman Insurance building were taken down to allow space for the new Casey’s General Store, which is a convenience store and gas station. They are located at the corner of state Route 705 (Park Street) and state Route 66 (Main Street) and is scheduled to open in April 2017. Another addition to the downtown area is Eileen’s Natural Soap. They are located on West Main and produce natural soaps and lotions which are being sold locally at all Wagner’s stores and regionally in other independent stores. The business is being operated by local residents, Sheila and Kevin Musser.
Industrial Sector
• Custom Foam Products has added another addition onto to its building to accommodate the growth of the business.
• Tooling Technology added a new 12,000 square foot building to its already large footprint in the Industrial Park. Tooling Tech now operates out of three buildings in the industrial park.
Retail Sector
• Primary Eye Care has relocated to the corner of state Route. 705 and Dawson Road. The newly-remodeled building is 12,000 square feet. Primary Eye Care is housed in 4,800 square feet of the building.
• Eilerman Insurance has relocated from the downtown area to the Primary Eye Care building. They occupy 1,000 square foot of the building.
• E-bikes is also located in the Primary Eye Care building. They occupy approximately 5,000 square feet of the building and is operated by Eric Loudenback. E-bikes is a gym that offers HIIT, TRX and indoor cycling classes. He plans to be selling bikes in the near future.
Parks and Subdivisions
• Redskin Memorial Park is located just east of the High School. Over this past summer, the village has put the finishing touches on the underground construction of the park. The first shelter house/storage building has been completed. The new high school practice field was leveled and irrigated in hopes that it will be used this coming year. A $500,000 grant from the state of Ohio was awarded to help finance the park project.
• Woodland Estates Subdivision is a new subdivision located off Elm Street, east of the village, connecting to the Redskin Memorial Park. There are 22 lots making up this subdivision. Fifteen of these lots are already sold and five houses are completed and occupied. The subdivision was established by Rapid Development of Fort Loramie.
The year 2017 will be the long awaited reconstruction of Main Street. This will be the largest project the village has ever done. The reconstruction will run from Park Street to Enterprise Drive. The project will include a new street, curbs, sidewalks and street lights. It will also include moving all utilities underground along with new water and storm sewer lines. A grant of $500,000 was received on this project as well.
