Is Joby Aviation nearing the dream of scaled-up manufacturing in Dayton, a goal first announced in September 2023?
The pre-revenue company first announced its Dayton manufacturing plans on the lawn of Orville Wright’s former home. The announcement turned heads globally. Progress since then, however, has been slow.
In this newsletter:
Why the movement of a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base fence is a big deal.
How voters decided to let the state spend more on infrastructure.
The situation: Leaders of electric air vehicle manufacturer Joby Aviation Inc. reported “momentum” toward Dayton production as they discussed the company’s net loss of $82.4 million in the first quarter of 2025.
What the CEO said: “The facility in Ohio is also coming along really, really well,” said JoeBen Bevirt. “This is a facility we purchased. And the team has done retrofits on it and we’re now installing the tooling and equipment, and we’re really excited to see parts starting to come out of that facility in the months to come.”
Wright-Patterson fence work signals start to Synergy’s ‘Convergence’
Fence work on Wright-Patterson’s Area B is a signal that physical work for Synergy and Mills’ “Convergence Research Park” is nearing.
The situation: Shifting of a fence line has started near the Air Force Institute of Technology, National Road, and Air Force Research Laboratory Facility 620 on Wright-Patterson, the 88th Air Base Wing recently said.
The significance: This work marks the start of an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) development, tied to Synergy and Mills Development’s plans for eight commercial buildings over the next 10 years on nearly 44 acres across two parcels, known as Hilltop and Gerlaugh farms.
The damage: Stratacache Tower sustained more than $1 million in damage in the March wind storm that ripped an upper parapet from an adjacent downtown Dayton building, Chris Riegel, Stratacache founder and CEO, recently told us.
The upshot: “I think it is safe to say that Dayton needs a strategic plan to manage these buildings and to remove unused or decaying old office infrastructure in the city,” Riegel said. “Without a doubt, that’s a problem, and it’s a problem that has to be addressed.”
What happened: Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment to let the state issue up to $2.5 billion in bonds for infrastructure improvements.
What it means: The bonds can be used only on roads, bridges, water treatment and supply systems and solid waste disposal facilities, according to a nonpartisan analysis.
The state first issued a lump sum of general obligation bonds to fund this kind of work in 1987. The approach has now been approved by voters four times. Issue 2 was the largest such ask in state history.
The landscape: In the past three years, at least six major development projects have been proposed for the section of Executive Boulevard area of Huber Heights that spans from the intersection of Brandt Pike west toward the industrial-commercial district just northeast of Interstate 70.
Where development plans stand: Just two of these projects have come to fruition: A Sheetz gas station opened last summer on the corner of Brandt and Executive, and a new Warped Wing restaurant/brewery location a year prior, just west of the Rose.
Contact me: Thanks for being here. Tell me about your business at tom.gnau@coxinc.com or at X and Bluesky. I’m also on LinkedIn and on our Dayton Business page, with my colleagues. Find me as well on my own Facebook page here.
Six major projects have been approved for Executive Boulevard; two have been completed, two are in preliminary phases, and two have slowed but in the works.
CareSource, a Dayton-based health insurer, is pursuing an affiliation with Lakeland Care Inc., a Wisconsin-based managed care provider, in order to add Lakeland Care to the CareSource Family of Companies.
Kettering College has appointed Scott Bennie as interim president after its most recent president, Nate Brandstater, stepped into a new role outside of the college.
A new Wawa gas station is a step closer to coming to Fairborn after the city council greenlit a site plan for the chain....
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