The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a grant award for $175,000 to help build rail infrastructure at a proposed Menards production and distribution site.

The grant to Menards will provide the company with the necessary rail infrastructure to support their distribution and manufacturing processes.

Menards will be investing approximately $50 million to build a truss plant, concrete plant, bagging plant, transload operation, and a cross-dock distribution facility to support its expansion in the Midwest.

The grant will be used to repair a mile of track, working in partnership with the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway.

The 90-acre site is proposed to be located along Interstate 76 between Liberty Steel Products, Inc, and the FedEx Ground facility.

The estimated cost of construction is $50 million and includes two distributions centers and four manufacturing facilities.

The permit lists 90 new permanent jobs and over 1,000 projected new jobs in connection to the upcoming manufacturing and distribution center that will support the build of more new stores in the area.

The site listed in the application is one of five considered sites, including Kent, Atwater, Ravenna, and another in North Jackson.

The two North Jackson sites, one located on the northside and the other on the southside, were the only ones that met all of the requirements Menard's was looking for in potential sites to build the facility.

While plans are not yet official, the application acts as a move for Menard's to make the site in North Jackson the most preferred building site if they officially decide to start construction of a new manufacturing and distribution facility.