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Three community organizations come together under one roof

By Meagan Pant

In the coming weeks, three community-building organizations will be moving into a new building in one of the key development areas in the City of Dayton, a move they say is aimed at increasing opportunities for broad and deep collaborations with a wide variety of public and private partners.

Starting Aug. 23 through mid-September, The Dayton Foundation, the Dayton Development Coalition and the University of Dayton's Fitz Center for Leadership in Community will settle into their new homes at 1401 S. Main St.

“Collaboration is the way the Dayton community gets things done and our hope is that the new building can be a front porch where the entire community, can gather and come together to create exciting new opportunities for community and economic development,” said University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina.

The Dayton Foundation plans to move in starting August 23 and will be ready for business the following Tuesday.

“We are so excited about what this relocation means to The Dayton Foundation’s collaborative and leadership work for the benefit of the entire region,” said Michael M. Parks, president of The Dayton Foundation. “In addition to developing a deeper relationship with our community partners, the new office space enables the Foundation to be even more accessible to our donors.”

The Dayton Development Coalition plans its move on Aug. 28-29 and will be open for business the day after Labor Day.

Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, said the new location will place the coalition adjacent to two of its most high-profile projects, the $51-million GE Aviation EPIScenter and the $35-million Emerson Helix Innovation Center. Both are research facilities that tap the expertise and talent of UD students, faculty and staff.

“The DDC will join some of our region’s best success stories in Greater Downtown,” said Hoagland. “As we work to recruit businesses to the Dayton region, our new location will give our clients, our economic development partners, and our local community a place to collaborate and shape our region’s future.”

Finally, the University's Fitz Center for Leadership in Community expects to move in mid-September. Named for UD President Emeritus Brother Ray Fitz, S.M., the Fitz Center works collaboratively with Dayton residents to support community-based, neighborhood partnerships, and with students, faculty and staff to develop capacity for leadership in community building.

“The shared space is at the heart of our mission as a collaborative partner with our Dayton area partners, neighborhoods, nonprofits and community,” said Hunter Goodman, executive director of the Fitz Center. “Additionally, we are excited to have great meeting and event space with easy access to the building that can be utilized by the Dayton community’s neighborhood associations, community organizations, nonprofits and partners.”

The 38,000-square-foot, brick two-story office and academic building boasts an expansive front porch, increased office space and shared meeting space, as well as lots of environmentally friendly features. It's on track to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver accreditation, according to Joe Mitolo, project manager. 

Mitolo said a solar array on the roof will boost the building's energy efficiency and help power the building and sophisticated mechanical systems, such as its light-harvesting system. The landscaping is composed of Ohio and native plants. The entire building is designed to be open, light-filled, welcoming and encourage collaboration.

"An entry canopy makes an arc along the front of the building, reflecting the glazed wall of the multipurpose room, creating a light airy public space," he said. "The building will be busy both day and night, so the floor-to-ceiling glass will be a beacon of community activity." 

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About the Fitz Center

The University of Dayton’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community leverages the potential of civic engagement, shared partnerships and collaborative action to advance human dignity and the common good of communities. Since its founding in 2002, the Fitz Center has fostered forums for neighborhood and community leadership development; developed programs fostering student leadership alongside community; and engaged a partnership-driven, neighborhood-centric approach to family and community engagement in education. Its programs include the Rivers Institute and River Stewards, Semester of Service, Dayton Civic Scholars and the Dayton Corps.

About The Dayton Foundation

The Dayton Foundation is the regional community foundation for Greater Dayton. Since its establishment in 1921, the Foundation has helped people to help others, managing more than 3,700 charitable funds that have provided over $920 million in grants to nonprofits locally and nationwide. Ranked among the top five percent of all community foundations in the nation for total assets, The Dayton Foundation is second among them in the number of charitable funds and third in the number of grants awarded.

About the Dayton Development Coalition

The Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) is the leading economic development organization for the 14-county Dayton Region. Working closely with public and private regional partners, its mission is to recruit, expand and retain jobs. The DDC and the Dayton Region ranked as the nation’s top metro for economic development in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and runner-up in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2018. With the state’s largest single-site employer in its backyard, the DDC also focuses on advocating for the critical missions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and supporting the work of the United States Air Force. The Dayton Region was ranked as America’s top military community, being honored with the 2015 Community Excellence Award from the Association of Defense Communities, and was designated an ADC Great American Defense Community in 2016 – a testament to the collaborative efforts in support of Wright-Patt, America’s No. 1 Air Force base as ranked by the Air Force Times(2014).

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