General Electric and the University of Dayton have agreed to a leasing deal.

Dayton City leaders hope that a GE plant will help to attract other new high-tech businesses. Officials have estimated as many as 200 jobs could be created. City Commissioners are said to have unanimously approved the deal.

GE's new facility will be in an existing building on land that UD purchased from NCR. Officials said GE will not have to pay property tax for the first 15 years of their lease.

Construction is expected to begin in a month and to open in 2013

A meeting between RG Properties and Miami Township trustees has resulted in a deal to construct a $9 million retail building at Lyons Road and Ohio 741.

Last night, founder of RG Properties, Randy Gunlock, entered into an executive session with the township officials after they discussed passing a resolution for the construction.

According to the Dayton Daily News, the resolution removes the land from a joint economic development district established around the Dayton Mall. Township Administrator Greg Hanahan says the resolution was part of a deal with an unnamed developer to contribute $1.5 million in tax incremental financing toward the construction.

ITT Corporation has announced it will acquire YSI Incorporated.

Both companies manufacture technology used for environmental water monitoring. The merger was announced in a joint statement today.

Gretchen McClain, president of ITT's Fluid and Motion Control business, says the addition of YSI will complement ITT's existing business.

Rick Omlor, chairman and chief executive officer of YSI, said the merger allows for YSI to continue to grow its business. YSI was founded in 1948. The company currently employs 390 people in 22 locations. There is so far no word on how the merger will affect current employees.

Completion of the merger is expected before October of this year.

Springfield is adding another piece to its citywide redevelopment plans, as city commissioners have approved turning five acres of green space into two 8,400 square foot restaurant and retail buildings.

Commissioners will allow the development to take place at the site of the former Roosevelt Middle school on North Limestone Street. The new development will be called the Limestone Center and will be built by PGI Development of Powell, Ohio.

PGI will also build two office buildings behind the restaurant and retail space, which will be a combined 30,000 square feet.

Springfield's Upper Valley Mall has struggled to survive in the past decade, but a new mega shoe store may give the shopping center a much needed boost and bring more jobs and tax revenue to the local economy.

"The store is called Encore, and the space itself is 31,500 square feet.  So it's going to be the largest shoe store in the state of Ohio," says Brenda LaBonte, manager of the Upper Valley Mall.  She says the store will bring thousands of shoppers and employ between 20 and 100 people.

Encore fills the space left by Steve & Barry's, which left in 2008 after filing for bankruptcy.  LaBonte says the mall stands to grow as the economy gets stronger. 

Two new companies are coming to Springfield, one is an insurance firm and the other sells gift items.  Between the two of them, hundreds of the jobs could be coming to Clark County.  That's why the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, along with the Workforce Development Center, is holding a job fair tomorrorw to connect job seekers with employers.

With an 8.9% unemployment rate, Springfield's lackluster economy has made it hard to fine a job. But the situation is changing thanks to the arrival of 31 Gifts and Code Blue, and the growth isn't limited to these companies.

Amy Donahoe with the Chamber of Commerce says she's noticed a lot of growth with other businesses around town.