DAYTON, Ohio – On Monday, February 3, 2025, local and state leaders gathered for a press conference to announce an agreement between Synergy and the Department of the Air Force to enter into a 50-year Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) to develop approximately 43.5 acres of land at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to build the Convergence Research Center, a collaborative space for industry, academia, and government stakeholders focused on innovation.

Representatives from the State of Ohio, Wright-Patt, Synergy, JobsOhio, and the Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) were present to commemorate the establishment of the Dayton Region’s first EUL. The formal agreement was signed on December 6, 2024.

“We’re here today to celebrate a transformational partnership between the Department of the Air Force and Synergy Development and to share what it means not just for our region, but for our country,” said Jeff Hoagland, President & CEO, Dayton Development Coalition.

“It’s going to be a place where industry, academia, and government and innovation can happen,” said J.P. Nauseef, President & CEO, JobsOhio. “Looking into the future, we know one of the many places that Ohio is going to be successful.”

“I do think this is a true win-win partnership,” said Col. Dustin Richards, Commander, 88th Air Base Wing. “Synergy is going to have this opportunity to develop the space and build something that’s going to be really new and amazing for the community, and we’re going to be able to take full advantage of it from the installation. As has been mentioned, the population of Wright-Patt is growing, and in one area, we are not growing just to grow. We’re growing because the capabilities and the activities that go on at Wright-Patterson are exactly what the nation needs in this time of great power competition.”

“Not only will this be one of our largest projects ever, this will be one of the largest commercial projects in the history of Dayton,” said Jerad Barnett, President & CEO, Synergy and Mills Development. “I really do have to pinch myself that we actually got this EUL signed. It’s been a labor of love for so long.”

“That’s one reason why we’re here today, one reason why this project and the Enhanced Use Lease exist, and why it is so important not just to our community, not just Ohio, but to our nation, because truly, Ohio is the foundation of innovation in aerospace and defense,” said Joe Zeis, Senior Advisor for Aerospace and Defense, Governor Mike DeWine. “It’s the Governor’s vision that Ohio leads this nation into the aerospace age of the 21st century.”