Trumbull county, Ohio - In Warren on Tuesday, members of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber (YWRC) led a meeting with city leaders to discuss Ohio's new Residential Economic Development District Grant. The $25 million program will allow qualified communities to develop workforce housing. 

Over the past year, there has been a steady increase in job announcements across Trumbull County due to new factories and manufacturing projects, such as the Kimberly-Clark facility in Warren.

In light of this growth, directors of YWRC expressed concerns that many communities lack adequate housing to support this job growth. 

"There's a number of sites that we've spotted throughout the valley, in talking with communities that, you know, they could make fine locations for residential development, but they don't have the infrastructure in place." Nico Morgione, Director of Government Affairs of Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, said. 

To address the housing shortage issue, chamber members believe the grant could make a difference.

City leaders were informed that this initiative does not focus on low-income housing. Instead, it is a $25 million grant that will be distributed among communities that meet the state's criteria for workforce housing, making the process potentially competitive.

The regional chamber believes that the city has a better chance of securing funding if it collaborates with surrounding communities.

"In most cases, it is looked favorably upon when there are grants that are multijurisdictional. So I would think that it would behoove us to, you know, start talking among our neighbors and see if there is a way that you could join together." Brenda Linert, Director of Community Impact of Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said. 

A total of $10 million will be distributed in 2026, followed by an additional $15 million in 2027 to municipalities and townships awarded the grant.

At this point, it is unclear what type of housing the money would go toward, but the Ohio Department of Development plans to provide more guidance in December.