DHL Moves to Wilmington Hub

Last week DHL moved its Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky operations to a new one million-square-foot facility in Wilmington, Ohio, despite a continuing lawsuit over who has the right to finance the project. Nearly a year ago DHL struck a deal with the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority in which the state of Ohio guaranteed a bond financing deal and tax exemptions. But neighboring Clinton County Port Authority sued and two weeks ago a Clinton County judge ruled that the Dayton port authority cannot legally finance the deal. The expanded hub is in Clinton County’s Wilmington Airpark. Retired Common Pleas Judge Ralph Winkler ruled Sept. 13 that the Clinton County Port Authority has the exclusive right to provide public bond financing and grant tax exemptions to DHL, if the company chooses to work with the Clinton County port authority, according to a report in the Dayton Daily News. Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority plans to appeal the ruling, the newspaper said. The legal disputes did not stop construction activity at the Wilmington air hub. However, a bypass around Wilmington may not be built because of a lack of funding. That project may cost $36 million more than originally planned.