Ascena finishes expansion of Etna Township facility

ETNA – Ascena Retail Group Inc. on Thursday officially marked the completion of an expansion project that has brought hundreds of new jobs to western Licking County.

Representatives and hundreds of employees from the national specialty retailer joined officials from the township and the county for a ceremony at its newly expanded facility at 200 Heritage Drive inside Etna Corporate Park on U.S. 40.

Ascena poured more than $75 million into expanding its former distribution center and adding an office complex onto it, said Dan Evers, economic development director for Grow Licking County.

Evers estimated the company added 550,000 square feet onto its existing facility, which already covered about 500,000 square feet.

The new office space includes an on-site cafe, fitness center, coffee bar and collaborative work spaces for the company’s employees. The new distribution space includes what Ascena CEO David Jaffe described as “one of the largest automated storage and retrieval systems in North America.”

Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb called the additions “state of the art.”

Ascena previously employed about 300 people, and the expansion has allowed the company to increase its workforce to at least 700, with the space to further increase that number to up to 900, Bubb said. Those new people are employed in a variety of fields, including information technology, administration, human resources, finance and distribution.

“That’s the equivalent of a good-sized employer all by itself, and to have that kind of job retention and expansion in place is important,” Evers said.

Ascena, formerly known as Limited Too, opened the distribution center inside the corporate park in 2001. It broke ground on the expansion project in late 2012, but not before local, county and state officials worked to convince it to remain in Etna.

The company, which is the parent company of retail brands such as Lane Bryant, Justice and Dressbarn, was considering relocating elsewhere.

The Licking County commissioners quickly approved a Community Reinvestment Area tax abatement, allowing the company to forgo property taxes on the new expansion for 15 years. The state also approved a Job Creation Tax Credit for the company, while Southwest Licking Schools approved a 100 percent, 15-year tax abatement.

“It really was a great team effort, and the ability to have all these partners collaborate and for us to present a unified front was vital,” said Evers, adding officials from Etna also deserve credit for coming to the table and negotiating with the various parties.

Bubb agreed, as did Jaffe and Ascena Chief Operating Officer John Sullivan, both of whom praised the state, via Jobs Ohio, and regional and local officials with working to ensure Ascena remained in Etna.

“Big development projects just don’t come out of the cornfield without a lot of help,” Bubb said.

Retaining Ascena, Evers added, could help the county retain and attract other companies in the future.

“It’s extremely significant for several reasons, but No. 1 is you have an internationally recognized company invest not once but twice in your community after a competitive analysis of multiple out-of-state options,” he said. “That’s validation in the corporate world of what we’re doing as a community to be collaborate and business-ready.”

Just as importantly, Evers said retaining Ascena allowed Southwest Licking Schools and other local taxing entities to benefit from the coming expiration of a 100 percent, 15-year tax abatement on Ascena’s original building.

“At the time this new facility is opening, the original facility is finally taxable,” he said.

Ascena previously contributed $250,000 for the turf installation project at the Watkins Memorial High School football complex, and on Thursday, Steve Daley, the company’s senior vice president of distribution, pledged $2,000 to help fund the district’s Positive Parenting Program and its Positive Behavioral Supports Program during the upcoming school year. In addition, Daley presented a $2,000 check to West Licking Joint Fire District.