The 2022 12 Days of Development will kick off tomorrow with a spotlight on new development in our area. Anyone excited to see who'll be featured? As you know, we share the latest and greatest development stories throughout this series. As a bonus #SundayFunday, here's a quick look at how a few of last year's featured projects turned out.

ARDAGH METAL PACKAGING | AMP broke ground on a substantial addition to their newly acquired Huron facility in 2021, and production is now rolling in the nearly 600,000 sq. ft. With the help of hundreds of new employees, this site is manufacturing both cans and ends of metal beverage containers for customers in sparkling water, soft drinks, and beer.

Watch award video for AMP's 2021 Deal of the Year 

EVERWILD SPIRITS | On July 1, the doors opened to Everwild Spirits Lounge and Tasting Room. Shortly thereafter Everwild made history in Sandusky noting that it is the first time (legally) that a fully licensed distillery produced whiskey in all of Erie County. On November 17, they filled their first barrel with their very own new make 'white dog' whiskey in their new American Oak charred barrel. Everwild Spirits was also awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Erie County Economic Development annual meeting in September. This has been an over 3-year journey for Everwild but what a year (or six months) this one has been! 

SANDSUKY MALL COMPLEX | It's a perfect time to shop! The Sandusky Mall has added and repositioned many key retailers. Dewey's Furniture and Ross Dress For Less are the newest additions to the complex, which opened this year. Specialty discounter, Five Below, Another Broken Egg Café, Hobby Lobby, and a larger, easy to access TJ Max are also now all open for your holiday shopping. A new, adjacent residential community, The Villas at Sandy Creek, will welcome its first residents in 2023.

THE HOGREFE BUILDING | The Hogrefe Building celebrated its grand opening this spring. The newly reconstructed building is a focal point in the downtown Sandusky revitalization. New tenants like Reminger Law Firm have found a home in this historic site, which contains retail space, office suites, and residential spaces on the 3rd floor. Other favorites of the building include the rooftop deck and comfortable courtyard. It also connects to the adjacent Marketplace which contains entertainment and retail shops. 

1826 PHOTOGRAPHIC | 1826 Photographic has had quite a year and developed in more ways than one. Flash back to last year at this time when they had 2 staff members – Jamie Speer, Owner and Head Photographer, and Lindsey Lemons Associate Photographer. Fast forward to today and they’ve enlarged their team with 2 additional staff members – Brooke Spafford & Jessie Yonek. Don’t shutter because they also added a new package – Pet Portraits! And we must zoom in on this, they received an award for “Best Photographer” in the 2022 Firelands Best of the Best Awards. Congratulations!