Ohio River summit to focus on growth, jobs, and redevelopment

Adams County’s search for a new use for the former Stuart and Killen power plant sites will land inside a much larger Ohio River strategy next week, when state and local leaders gather in Cincinnati to talk about jobs, infrastructure, and riverfront redevelopment.

The Ohio River Summit is set for June 10 and 11 at Anderson Pavilion, bringing together community leaders, economic development officials, maritime industry representatives, and municipal officials from across the river corridor. The Ohio River Commission, a nine-member body housed within the Ohio Department of Development, says the meeting is meant to strengthen collaboration around the river economy, workforce development, tourism, recreation, infrastructure investment, and redevelopment across Ohio’s 14 Ohio River counties.

For Adams County, the stakes are immediate. AES/Dayton Power & Light retired the J.M. Stuart and Killen plants in 2018, ending a combined 2,373 megawatts of generating capacity that had helped anchor the county’s industrial base for more than four decades. A study tied to the closures found more than 1,100 total lost jobs across the Appalachian region, a blow that still shapes the county’s economic outlook as officials look for replacement investment.

That is why the former plant properties have drawn fresh attention in 2026. County officials have been courting data-center developers for the Stuart Station and Killen Station sites, pointing to access to power and water, along with industrial infrastructure already in place and the sites’ distance from nearby homes. Adams County Economic Development director Paul Worley has been involved in that outreach, including conversations about electric capacity and grid interconnection.

The summit’s programming is designed to intersect with that kind of local pitch. June 10 will include a commission meeting, followed by dinner and networking on an Ohio River cruise. June 11 will feature sessions on federal and state tools shaping the river’s future, infrastructure development, riverfront redevelopment, recreation and conservation, and maritime workforce expansion. Those discussions are expected to focus on tools such as Opportunity Zones, Maritime Prosperity Zones, and Ohio’s Maritime Plan.

State development director Lydia Mihalik has said the Ohio River has shaped communities, industries, and jobs across southern Ohio for generations, and that the goal now is to help leaders talk about what comes next. Taylor Abbott, the commission’s executive director, has said the summit is meant to produce real progress and connect communities with partners. For Adams County, that could mean clearer paths to investment, utility upgrades, freight-linked development, or a redevelopment plan that turns dormant riverfront property into a new economic asset.