The Chinese-owned Dashing Pacific Group has big plans for East Toledo's Marina District and envisions an attraction that will put Toledo on the national and even international map, a representative for the company said Wednesday.
Jimmy Wu, director of international investment for Dashing Pacific and the son of co-owner Wu Kin Hung, said the firm has commissioned a market study to help determine the best use for the Marina District. He said the company does not have specific ideas for the district yet, but is determined to make it a place that people from other parts of the country will want to visit.
"We want the marina to be the place to be," Mr. Wu said. "I don't want to steal people from other parts of Toledo like downtown or the Franklin Park Mall. I want to attract people from outside."
Speaking alongside Mayor Mike Bell at a meeting for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce-affiliated group EPIC, Mr. Wu said Dashing Pacific invested in Toledo because it sees real potential in the city. He said the firm's executives were also impressed by the energy of local officials and business leaders seeking to bring new development to Toledo. Dashing Pacific, owned by Mr. Hung and Yuan Xiaohong, bought the 69-acre Marina District from the city for $3.8 million in July.
They also purchased the nearby Docks restaurant complex for $2.15 million. Mayor Bell met Mr. Hung on his first visit to China in September, 2010.
"Everybody is aiming for a better tomorrow," said Mr. Wu, who moved to Perrysburg with his wife three months ago. "That is why [we have] confidence in the investment in Toledo."
The market study, which also incorporates The Docks complex, should be completed by early next year, Mr. Wu said. Dashing Pacific chose a Canadian firm to conduct the study because it wanted people beyond the Midwest to look at the Toledo area and "think outside the box," the director said. Mr. Wu yesterday said he did not have the name of the marketing firm available to him.
Property improvements to the Marina District, such as installation of water and sewer lines, roads, or other changes could begin by the end of next year, he added.
Mayor Bell, meanwhile, said his visits to China have helped attract many other potential investors to Toledo. He said 30 delegations of international investors have visited the city since he returned from his first trip to China a year ago. The mayor said Chinese people other than Mr. Wu have also moved to the Toledo area, and some have donated heavily to local charities. He did not elaborate further.
John Gibney, a spokesman for the Toledo-area development agency, the Regional Growth Partnership, that hosts many of the delegations, confirmed that many Chinese businessmen have visited the area in the past year, although he could not give an exact number.
Attracting international investment, whether it's from China or other parts of the world, is crucial to ensuring Toledo's future success, the mayor told the crowd of mostly young professionals at the meeting. Bringing in money from outside the United States is also preferable to trying to take jobs from other parts of the country, Mayor Bell said.
"Right now there is a national economy but most things have gone global," the mayor indicated. "I realized we had to be able to reach out globally if we were going to be able to stabilize our economy."
Chinese visitors have been impressed with what Toledo has to offer in terms of cultural institutions, quality of life, and cost of living, Mayor Bell said. He urged local people to believe in Toledo too and to have a more positive attitude about the city. He also called on Toledoans to be patient with Dashing Pacific and give them time to move forward with their investment plans.
"We can make Toledo into an international community, that is the plan," the Mayor said. "If we can do it, we can change our own destiny so that the kids that live here have a future."
Local businessman Scott Prephan, who helped coordinate the mayor's Chinese trips, did not return calls seeking comment.
Councilman Mike Craig, whose district includes East Toledo and the Marina District, reacted enthusiastically to Dashing Pacific's plans.
"Anytime you're bringing new money into the city, that's a positive thing," he said. "I would love to have the spillover go into East Toledo and Main Street. I'm going to encourage them all I can and I hope they complete their market study soon."
Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett cbarrett@theblade.com or 419-724-6272
First Published October 27, 2011, 4:30 a.m.
