Worthington Steel: Reality Check

The topic of Worthington Enterprises and Worthington Steel was discussed briefly at Council last Monday night, in the context of next year’s city budget. I offer some facts below on the topic, and then some commentary.

In the fall of 2023, Worthington Industries, the company that was founded in 1955 by John H. McConnell, and long headquartered on West Wilson Bridge Rd., split into two companies, Worthington Enterprises and Worthington Steel, each focused on different products and markets.  The motivation was to “capitalize on differentiated growth and value-creation strategies to generate returns for shareholders.” https://www.worthingtonenterprises.com/worthingtonindustries

Worthington Enterprises, the larger of the two resulting entities, will remain headquartered in Worthington.  Focused on building and consumer products, they will maintain their existing ≈ 500 current jobs in Worthington and are projected to add ≈ 75 IT jobs next year.

Worthington Steel, (with ≈ 330 current jobs in Worthington), focuses on steel processing, and is planning to move their headquarters to New Albany by the end of summer 2026.  Their manufacturing facilities along 270, east of Sancus Blvd., located in Columbus, are expected to remain at that location.

The impact of Worthington Steel’s departure amounts to ≈ 2.5 to 3% of our City’s total income tax revenue.

To put this into perspective, the City of Worthington’s income tax revenues have grown 48% in the last decade ($23.7 million to $35.1 million).  More dramatically, income tax revenues more than doubled since 2010 ($16.2 million to $35.1 million).

Regular budget surpluses have enabled increased, accelerated funding for capital improvement projects, such as sewer replacements in Colonial Hills, the Huntley Bowl/Rush Run Stream Improvement project, and special projects such as the impending redevelopment of our public pools.  A total of $10.9 million dollars, above and beyond the normal capital project funding levels (20% of General Fund revenue), have been added to capital projects since 2021, and additional funding (at least $500,000 per year) is budgeted through at least 2029.

These projects are necessary and their accelerated completion is all good news, made possible by our strong financial performance.

Even with this additional capital spending, the City’s General Fund Cash Balance as of the end of June, 2025 was a very healthy $30.3 million ($22.7 million unencumbered).

Regarding our efforts to retain Worthington Steel, our economic development team, led by Assistant City Manager David McCorkle, offered an unprecedented incentive package, combined with laudable direct personal engagement with their senior management. The incentive package was centered on the construction of a new office building – both Worthington Enterprises and Worthington Steel are in need of more space than their combined occupancy of the current facilities allows. Given the industry-wide high costs of new construction, and the current low cost of moving into a vacated office facility near New Albany, even our aggressive financial incentives were not enough.  Further, intangible factors such as a desire to form a new and separate identity, facilitated by moving to a new headquarters across town, and the proximity of Worthington Steel’s senior executives to the New Albany facilities, may have played a significant role in their decision.

As stated above, Worthington Enterprises and their 500+ jobs will remain headquartered in Worthington, and is expected to bring additional jobs to our city when the additional office space becomes available as a result of Worthington Steel’s move.  For starters, it is expected that ≈ 75 IT jobs will be relocated from Columbus to Worthington.

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I wanted to get this information out to the public because I have read what others have said about this issue, claiming that our city is in a state of financial “crisis,” that we are in a “precarious” economic state. I have heard this repeated in day-to-day conversations in the general public and felt it was time for some fact-checking.

The key financial numbers I’ve cited above demonstrate that our city is not in a precarious state of financial crisis. Far from it.

What strikes me most, however, is how the alarmists disregard the broad and underlying strength of our economic position.

Our foundational economic assets, our position in the regional market, and our resources for growth are strong, enduring, and enviable, and bode very well for the ongoing security and prosperity of our community.

Here’s a top-of-mind list of Worthington’s foundational strengths, which have and will continue to be the basis of our city’s economic vitality:

• an educated and civically-minded public
• strategically superb location (inner-ring, proximate to 315/270/71)
• excellent schools and other public resources (libraries, Community Center, Griswold, etc.)
• historic and distinctive built environment, centered on our Village Green and commercial downtown, multiple extraordinary neighborhoods, and preserved historic architecture from New England Federal to Mid-Century Modern and everything in between and beyond
• beauty and accessibility of the natural environment (urban forests, ravines, waterways, parks and playgrounds)
• the arts (the McConnell Arts Center, the Worthington Chamber Orchestra, our galleries, and public art)
• professional and capable city government (and affiliated organizations, such as The Worthington Historical Society, and The Worthington Partnership)
• Farmer’s Market and festivals, holiday celebrations and Historical Society tours
• stellar credit rating (Moody’s AAA)
• abundant (over 20%) land area already zoned for commercial and industrial use, far more than comparable communities (e.g., Dublin and Upper Arlington)
• finally, our favorable reputation for an outstanding quality of life and a hard-earned civic pride. 

Current strength and positive fundamentals do not mean that we should be satisfied with the status quo. We should not be. Worthington ought to have more diverse housing options. More restaurants, and entertainment venues. And more abundant and accessible public spaces.  All of that can be realized without compromising or degrading what we love about our community.

Innovative and appropriately scaled housing can and should be built in numerous smaller parcels throughout our city, and larger projects in select corridors. Abundant opportunities for commercial and/or mixed-use redevelopment exist along West Wilson Bridge Road — eight of the large office buildings on Wilson Bridge Road have, finally, been put up for sale by the Canadian owner, creating the very real possibility for development and redevelopment adjacent to 270. Additional opportunities include the Proprietors and Huntley Road corridors, up and down High Street, and the Linworth area. Opportunities for large public venues remain, though few, and ought to be wisely stewarded.

Decision-making based on unjustified alarmism about Worthington’s financial picture is likely to lead to regrettable outcomes. As we make big, strategic decisions with large-scale, city-wide effects, Worthington — founded in 1803 — can and should take the long view with confidence in who we are and want to be.