LORAIN, Ohio — Could a presidential plan to increase shipbuilding in the U.S. open the door to reviving an industry that was a prominent part of Lorain’s history?
“We used to make so many ships,” President Donald Trump told a joint session of Congress Tuesday. “We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.”
The president announced plans for a new office of shipbuilding offering tax incentives to increase production at home.
The announcement came while Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, along with dozens of other Great Lakes mayors, was in the nation's capital, planning to meet with members of Congress and the Trump administration.
He called the president’s announcement “encouraging” for Lorain.
For decades, the city was home to the Steinbrenner family’s American Shipbuilding, before it left town in the early 1980s.
“It left a gap in the city of Lorain,” said Bradley. “We have a great harbor. We built 1,000 foot lake vessels during our heyday. During World War II we built ships for the war effort. 43 Ships were built in the city of Lorain for the war effort so we are a shipbuilding community.”
Lorain is still waiting for the US Navy to decide on a plan that could bring a submarine repair station, along with 500 or more jobs to the city.
Bradley said the president’s announcement could open the door to more projects.
“We have a deep-water port that we continue to dredge,” said Bradley. “We have room for ships to actually turn around in our harbor and there’s some actual interest in the economic development at the old Republic Steel site in the city of Lorain.”
It’s exactly what Ali Cocco believes could be needed in the city.
"That’s great news and I think that the fit for Lorain is strong,” said Cocco.
Last summer she opened Lorenzo’s Pizzeria in downtown Lorain.
She said business has been good, but the possibility of a new industry bringing new jobs to the area seems made to order.
“I think we’ll see a lot more people buying pizza,” said Cocco. “That’s for sure.”
Possibilities that Cocco said would be great.
But as someone who grew up in the area, she said any optimism about days when storefronts and city sidewalks are full, is guarded.
“I think that we’ve heard it a lot over the years, you know this developer, or this business is opening,” said Cocco, “and I think we can be hopeful for big projects to come in and create jobs in Lorain, but realistically only time will tell.”
Bradley said he doesn’t want to over-promise and under-deliver on any potential new project for the city, but said he plans to spend the next couple of days in Washington, D.C. making sure Lorain is a part of any consideration for new development.
“Like any legacy city that had a rich history of an industrial base, we had steel, we had shipbuilding and we had auto manufacturing,” said Bradley. “That’s all gone away and so our workers had to go to other places to find employment. It would be nice if people could have high-paying, high-tech jobs in the City of Lorain.”
