Toledo is slinking into the “Lost Decade,” 10 years of dismal economic prospects, according to the latest report on our nation’s metro economies.

That report prepared in June by IHS Global Insight for the United States Conference of Mayors concludes Toledo is among five large metro areas not slated to recover from the recession until the next decade. The others are Cleveland, Detroit, Dayton and Youngstown.

Since the turn of the 21st century, these cities have seen 10 years of “economic anemia” and “face the threat of 10 more years mired by arid labor markets and protracted unemployment.”

Toledo has suffered a net loss of nearly 41,000 jobs from a peak employment of 335,300 before the recession. The report blames our dependence on manufacturing as well as the burst in the housing bubble.

Despite this bleak report and another recent study from The Brookings Institution that ranked Toledo among the nation’s weakest performing areas during the “jobless recovery,” there is good news.

Housing foreclosures in Lucas County peaked in 2009, according to Bernie Quilter, Lucas County Clerk of Courts. Foreclosures for the first half of this year total 1,350, 40 percent less than 2009 numbers for the same period.  There’s also good news regarding new vehicle sales. Quilter reports a 14.9 increase for the first six months of this year compared to last year. To date, 10,795 new vehicles were sold in Lucas County. The bottom for the last decade occurred in 2009 when 18,997 units were sold in 12 months. To put this in perspective, the top sales year of the decade was 2002 when 30,477 new vehicles were sold.

Car dealers in our backyard have done much better still. The seven dealers located in The Press circulation area, which comprises parts of Lucas, Wood, Ottawa and Sandusky counties, have seen new vehicle sales for the first half of the year increase 42 percent. (See related story on page 8)

The increase in new car sales is an indicator of consumer confidence and a boost to local employment. Dennis Recker, Northwood city administrator, said income tax revenue for the first half is up 20.6 percent, much of it due to the city’s auto suppliers calling people back to work. Mike Beazley, Oregon city administrator, said tax revenue is running one to two percent higher this year.

There is also anecdotal evidence our economy is moving in the right direction. Gary Thompson, executive director of the Oregon Economic Development Foundation, reports that 11 of 45 business leaders at a recent board meeting said they plan to hire this year.

Thompson also said Spartan Logistics recently broke ground for a $5 million warehouse in the city’s industrial zone. The warehouse is Spartan’s eighth since 1999. The tenants have not been announced. Spartan’s other buildings house approximately 10 firms employing more than 600 employees.

Thompson spoke with The Press last week, two days after Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and representatives from The Dashing Pacific Group broke ground on a $200 to $300 million project for East Toledo’s Marina District. The Chinese investment group will build an international village on the site.

Across the street, The Weber Block was purchased by developer Bill Lorenzen and his son Justin. The two are renovating the building to take advantage of development at the Marina District. They have replaced the heating and air conditioning units, repaired the roof and fixed the windows on the third floor.

Lorenzen has also purchased Thompson’s Eastgate Lanes at 3316 Navarre in Oregon. He said he will sell the bowling equipment, renovate the building and divide the 28,615 square-foot space to accommodate smaller retailers. Lorenzen is bullish on Navarre as a retail center because of the high traffic and lower rents compared to other retail centers in West Toledo.

“I wish I had more spaces along Navarre near the AutoZone because I could have filled them up a long time ago,” he said.

Just north of the bowling alley at the corner of Coy and Seaman, two long-time Oregon residents are planning an multi-faith senior housing development. Mike Pryzbylski, pastor of New Harvest Christian Church, and John Shousher, a prominent member of the Muslim community, are planning a development tentatively titled Legacy Corner.

Pryzbylski said the two are in the process of gathering partners to build 84 units on 13 acres owned by the Shousher family. They hope to provide a community room through the church and integrate The Gathering Place, The Lutheran Home and Oak Shade Grove into the new senior-oriented neighborhood. Pryzbylski foresees seniors volunteering at the daycare and the daycare, perhaps, providing a mobile meals service. Oak Shade Grove could provide exercise opportunities and Lutheran Home social services.

The two hope to make a statement that “Muslims and Christians can work together on something that is a blessing to the community,” Pryzbylski said.

Shousher said the idea is “still unfolding” and the group is looking for community input.

Whether we are mired in another “Lost Decade” as the United States Conference of Mayors report concludes is really up to us. Predictions of our future are based on our past, not on what we do today.

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