The Wood County Commissioners are giving the City of Bowling Green $250,000 that will be used to fund infrastructure costs for the new Abbott manufacturing facility.

Commissioners presented a check to Mayor Michael Aspacher at Tuesday’s meeting. He immediately handed it off to Kati Thompson, executive director for Bowling Green Economic Development.

Aspacher attended the meeting to express the city’s appreciation for the county’s support of the project.

“This financial support will directly support infrastructure development directly related to the Abbott project,” he said.

The project will be beneficial to not only the city but the county as well.

“This is the largest economic development in the city of Bowling Green, ever, so we are of course very excited,” Aspacher said.

The $530 million investment will create 450 jobs with a $27 million annual payroll, Thompson said.

She said the contract with Abbott would not have happened without the support of the commissioners, Wood County Economic Development, and other regional and state partners.

Abbott plans to build at a site on Nims Road and Ohio 25, north of the city.

David Topp, senior director for government affairs with Abbott, said in December that they plan for groundbreaking on the facility this year, with the site complete in 2026.

Thompson said there is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be completed for the project, including enhancements to the electrical that is already in place, water and wastewater.

That work is still under design and the cost has not yet been determined, she said.

Wade Gottschalk, executive director of Wood County Economic Development, said this is the second time the county has supplied similar financial help for infrastructure work.

“It’s a relatively new idea. It’s public sector money, from (the county’s) conveyance fees,” he said.

Abbott is a multinational healthcare company whose technologies and products span diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. This project will expand the U.S. supply of essential formulas, some of which serve as the sole source of nutrition for people with extreme allergies to most food products and other dietary and metabolic conditions.