January 8, 2024 – More than $225 million in development projects are expected to be completed in downtown Dayton this year. 2024 will bring new apartments, new employers, and new retail space to the city.

Katie Meyer, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said in 2023, visits to downtown recovered around 80% since before the pandemic.

“We’re on the right trajectory, and 2024 is a really promising year ahead,” Meyer said.

Over the course of this year, 14 development projects are expected to be completed. Some of those include the opening of Hotel Ardent, the renovation at the Dayton convention center and phase three of the Dayton Arcade project.

“A really strong downtown has people, you know, on the sidewalks and the businesses 18 hours a day,” Meyer said. “It’s not just 9 to 5.”

Two companies in the defense industry selected Dayton to do business because of proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Kaney is expected to create 20 to 50 new jobs and Dine Development will add around 100 new jobs downtown.

“Block by block, there is investment coming and it can really be seen and felt and people want to be downtown,” Meyer said.

A big focus of the partnership’s strategy in 2024 is rethinking downtown as a neighborhood, Meyer said. Current downtown apartments are already at 90 percent occupancy.

2024 is expected to bring four new mixed-use apartment projects with a total investment of more than $180 million.

“Post-pandemic, people are working from home or maybe office inventory isn’t going to be as valuable, but we are seeing a huge interest in downtown residential,” Meyer said.

Looking long-term, Meyer said the partnership wants to work to connect different districts, improve walkability, and tell the story of downtown Dayton so it becomes a destination for people inside and outside of the community.